Chapter 2 “Is this just a dream?”

Yes, and I was right; there was a fight set up that I was unaware of. I got beaten up by Jiang and his friends.

Clothes all torn up, I could hardly keep steady on my two feet. Jia, my little sister, was waiting for me in class. Her teacher had been kind enough to stay behind with her.

When arriving at her class, her teacher was flustered with anger and ready to scold me, but she changed her mind when she saw how I looked, torn shirt and bloody, red, swollen eyes.

One day this asshole will meet his match, five students kicking him around like a ball, and his glasses lens is cracked.

"Are you okay young man?" Said the teacher in a soft tone.

"I am fine, thanks. Let's go, Jia." I replied in annoyance.

"Thank you for taking care of her. It won't happen again." Her teacher nodded.

Jia spoke back home about what a fantastic day she had. I looked up at the clock; it was 3 pm; mom would be home in two hours. After giving Jia lunch, I walked to the room and sat on the bed. My ribs were hurting. I could feel pain all over my body.

Sitting there unbuttoning my shirt, I looked up in the mirror. My body was covered with bruises, and I felt pain with every breath I took.

"Welcome back, stranger." Oh shit, that's Maka's voice. Any moment the screen will go on.

I button up my shirt.

The screen went on, and there Maka sat with her legs crossed on the bed. She leaned closer to her camera. Her eyes darkened; it was like a dark cloud shadowed her appearance, "what the hell happened to you?"

Straightening my glasses, I looked up, "nothing, I fell."

"Bullshit! Sounds like the excuse I would use when I was beaten up."

I could no longer hold eye contact; with anger, I said, "It's that asshole, Jiang."

"I will see you tonight at sunset."

"Maka, wait, you don't know where I stay and where we will meet?"

As usual, she switched off her screen without saying goodbye. The clock ticked, and every passing second felt like a minute.

I stood up, and my legs felt like jelly under me. I kept dropping to my knees; It felt like I'd been walking a desert for miles. "Damn you, Jiang," I cursed, looking up in the mirror and removing my cheap glasses. I looked closer into the mirror; all I could see was blood, purple or blue spots, but it hurt.

I took my cloth, walked over to the fridge, and placed ice cubes in the cloth. I placed it gently against my face, the coldness and the pain, but my legs and ribs were hurting.

"Kai, I want to watch a cartoon."

In unbearable pain, I through my body down to the sofa, holding my waist. When I coughed, I noticed the blood on my hand.

"Kai, Doctor Mcstuffin." She insisted.

I wished Doctor Mcstuffin was here to patch me up, cursing Jiang. He had not just beaten me but also humiliated me. I angrily tighten my fist, that smirk on his face. I want to wipe the floor with it.

Forgetting for a moment, I am here with my sister, demanding her favorite orange Juice. Which had a hello kitty image on the box; yes, thats pretty much a hint for me to go get the juice. It's not like my dad will walk in here and say, "hey, son, to make up for all the hard times and shit I put you guys through, I will go get Jia Juice," a perfect reminder of why I hate this bloody selfish earth so much.

Kai stood up and crawled over to the fridge. Jia thought he was playing a game and voluntarily decided to climb on his back - no, not on Jia- "climb horse," she screamed.

"Who the heck taught you that humans are horses, and do I look like a horse to you?" I wanted to scream. I took a deep breath; these bloody schools, you pay them to make sure kids make your lives harder.

Come to think of it, why don't they just allow kids to attend twenty-four-hour classes, wait, that's called boarding school. I wonder how mom will feel about Jia attending boarding school. I am sure they have horses there, the kind of horses that runs you through a marathon with a pile of paperwork.

I stood up, and every bone in my body was hurting. This happens whenever I decide to move from A to B. Opening the fridge door, and I look at my knuckles; it's bruised, no don't get the wrong idea; I didn't beat him up. In fact, after he beat me shitlessly, he could still walk into a modeling agency without changing clothes.

So here is what happened after being beaten up and thrown on the ground. My hand got trapped so hard I heard my finger breaking like a pencil was bent, not just one, but a few.

"Damn You, Jiang," I cursed opening the fridge; the light and breeze I felt when opening the fridge eased over my body, removing my pain and thoughts for that split second under the little rascal, pulled me by my shirt, stretching out her arms, "Jia," I said in a tone, "I will bring it to you."

"Bring to me," she repeated. From up here, it sounded like an instruction, "bring my juice to me."

"There is your juice, my fair lady," I said sarcastically.

She sat on the couch staring at the Tv, which was off, probably waiting for her slave to put the TV on.

"You stay here," I said, "do not move, Okay?"

Jia shook her head. That head shake didn't seem too convincing. Maybe it's her way of telling me to go away. "I will call you when I can make use of you again."

I walked over to the room, damn this blue wall was annoying. Suddenly everything around me irritated me, even my bloody room door.

I looked over at my dressing table, searched for a bandage, and came across the ring I had found on the beach. It was fascinating. I found this ring the same day I met Maka. It was special to me, or maybe im just emotional cause I got kicked the heck out of means all this pain. I looked at the ring; I repeated, "all this pain," that I should hand it back to that asshole Jiang.

The ring seemed like it had five different colors, which reflected clearly because of the sun being so high up and shining down on this ring. Trying to identify the colors, I looked closely, and my blurred vision seemed gone. I felt my face for a moment to see if I had my glasses on, but it turned out my glasses were still in the bathroom, on the window seal. I rubbed my eyes. Am I dreaming?

No, I can't be dreaming; it's only four-sixteen in the afternoon. I can't be dreaming. I looked at my arms; the bruises were gone, and the pain was all gone.

Being drawn to this ring with five colors, I said softly, "green, blue, orange, yellow, and red."

I'd never seen anything like this. The house phone rang, and I placed the ring down. Suddenly, everything seemed clear. What is happening? I walked over to the phone and picked it up the phone.

"Xhia residency, how can I help you."

There were heavy breathing sounds on the other end of the phone, "hello asshole, speak up, or I will hang up."

The person on the other end hung up.

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Hearing the clock tick while staring at the dull grey walls of the hospital – everything seemed to be still. Tap. Tap. Impatiently tapping my foot, my heavy breathing was audible (Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale) over the (ring - ring) the sheer shrill of the telephone. Shaking my leg in the dead silence of the room, I licked my dry lips. Why am I so thirsty? And what the hell happened to my bruises?

I walked back to the bathroom and put on my glasses, which blurred my vision, I removed them, and my vision became clear.

Kai walks over to the fridge. The smell of the raw meat in the freezer made him hungry. He looked over at his sister and then drank the juice left over, squeezing the bottle and tossing it to the bin, surprisingly in the bin without looking.

The phone rang, "Xhia residency, how can I help you?"

Heavy breathing at the other end of the receiver, "Who is this?" I said, sounding annoyed, as I clenched my fist, "Your thirst will increase every hour if you don't get the right supplements." Said the sinister voice. "Who is this? Show your face, you coward."

The call ended, and Kai walked to the mirror to change his top. His body had transformed into the body he always wanted. The red stone on the ring had started to fade.

This has to be some sort of dream. What is that sound? There was a loud zinging sound in his ears as he covered them. He then collapsed, "wake up, honey."

It was his mom. He couldn't see her clearly and looked around for his glasses, "what happened to you? You are all bruised, and your shirt is torn."

"Nothing, mom."

In disbelief, his mother gave him the benefit of the doubt, "I will get you another shirt tomorrow."

It was just a dream. It felt so real. Kai stops staring in the mirror, trying to put on his broken glasses, which keep falling down.

Damn you, Jiang, I cursed yet again.