He sat on the balcony, quietly looking at the trees and the field where the junior classes were playing soccer. It was just after break time and according to our timetable we were meant to be having Mathematics, yet none of us could care about our exes right now.
Nate, my best friend, quickly cleaned his face before turning and seeing that it was I who was approaching him. I rested on the balcony, looking at the field too. The striker with the ball had dribbled past a midfielder and defender and tried a shot but it hit the bar and was deflected out for a corner.
"It hurts." Nate finally said as we watched the student go to play the corner. "Mmmhm, " I replied, prompting him to carry on. "Like she could have just told me. I would have taken it as it is. I would have accepted it!" "Now I'm hearing about it from juniors like it's an urban horror story. 'Senior Kate was kissing Senior Joshua on the staircase.' It's just stupid." Cheers alighted from the field as the keeper caught a shot that came from the corner.
"Still... Going on to beat Joshua to the extent of breaking his tooth is wrong." "He deserved it!" "It's wrong, Nate!" "So what should I have done?" he shouted. He came down from the balcony and stood eye to eye. "Tell me Joseph, what should I have done?" "Should I have let the disrespect go unanswered?"
I took a look at Nate, an SS3 student, top of his class in Biology, best striker and the third head of the Toman Gang. "You beat up your junior." "Who made out with my girlfriend!" "He's our junior still!" "Damn it Nate, you've belittled yourself by even reacting physically to him!" "You're a gang head. Act like it." He kept eye contact with me then broke it. "You wouldn't understand Joseph. After all, you haven't loved before." "Yes yes, love hurts. I've heard it a thousand times before. Love's meant to hurt! Everything about love is hurt." "When you asked her out and she accepted, don't you think it hurt those who liked her? Don't you think it hurt those who liked you? Did anybody come to hit you when you were kissing her on the staircase?"
"So you're justifying his actions?!" "I'm rebuking yours!" I screamed back at him. "As a leader, you shouldn't raise your hands because of such silly tantrums. Don't be like David and his squad of buffoons. We the new generation have to be better. Every action of yours falls back on us. Every blow at your reputation is a blow to ours." His stance softened as he ruminated over what I said. "He stole from me." "For him to be successful in stealing her means she was already half gone." He looked at me one last time before going back to watch the match.
There was another corner happening and from the referee's signals, it seemed this was to be the last play of the game. "What's the score line?" I asked him as he was there before me. "1-1, if this enters, the juniors win." The referee was about to blow it but there was a player who went out for a quick drink of water and they were forced to wait. "So what should I do?" Nate asked me, looking for advice. "Meet up with Vanessa and break up with her. Apologize curtly to Joshua. I'll write the speech down." "An apology? That'll hurt my pride, and I don't want to break up." The player was back in and the referee gave the signal for the kick to be taken. "Your pride would heal, and it's best you break up now, the fact that it hurts is good, it means you know where you need to fix." The ball was crossed in and after a slight scuffle the ball was fired into the net by the player who was out a minute ago taking a drink of water. The referee called the game, the juniors had won and their classmates joined the team in the celebration. After a while of watching the celebration, Nate made his decision. "I'll do it. Please have all preparations made. Sorry for the inconvenience."
With nothing left to say, I left him there, walking back down to each class, subtly informing our gang members of the decision and how best to help carry it out. I stood just outside the door of SS2 C taking a moment to call myself before walking in and running into Rias talking to Daniel. Our eyes locked for just a moment and she went back into the conversation. It was a hassle every day since our argument and breakup last term. We kept the relationship a secret because of her status as the Head Girl and my notorious status as Second in Command of the school gang. As such, there was no one to talk to or be consoled by. "Senior Joseph?" Tristan asked. He was who I came to see. I told him the plan and was on my way out of the class. Coincidentally, Rias passed the doorway just before me and I had a whiff of her perfume. Immediately my heart ached and I had to physically stop myself from reaching out. I walked back to my class, hands clenched into fists and again, I personally felt the saying. "Indeed, love hurts."
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