---
CRACK!!!
BOOM!!!
Thunder roared loudly amidst the clamor of rain falling on the earth...
Its bright light under the dark, cloudy sky instantly revealed the cruel features of the tall man's face...
A face that looked unforgiving...
And...
A face that Vins absolutely despised....
Vins, no longer able to contain his rage, decided to intervene.
The memory of what Brando had done to Belina back then hadn't eroded his vengeful feelings one bit.
Now, he had to witness Brando's savagery once again, this time directed at his friend, Jafar.
"HEY, BRANDO, YOU BASTARD!!!"
They stopped, seeing Vins step out from his hiding place. Brando furrowed his brow, then smirked, finally seeing the one he'd been looking for.
"Well, well, well... What do we have here? Looks like the monkey finally took the banana bait!"
"HAHAHA HAHAHA"
Brando sneered at Vins's presence, his words followed by the mocking laughter of his thug friends.
"Monkey? You call me a monkey? Hahaha... Did you forget? There was another monkey with a bloody temple who ran away in fear..." Vins said, insulting Brando.
Brando looked annoyed at Vins's words.
"HEY, YOU SON OF A BITCH, VINS!!! WATCH HOW YOU TALK TO BOSS BRANDO!!!" One of Brando's thugs yelled.
"Shhh... Quiet! Let's get this blood party started! Hahaha..." Brando said, shushing his subordinate.
"Alright! Now that the person I was looking for is here..." Brando continued, taking a deep breath.
"...ANYONE WHO CAN CRUSH THIS BASTARD THE WAY WE DID DANI, I'LL TREAT YOU TO GET WASTED TONIGHT!" He screamed, pointing at Vins.
"WOOO... ATTACK!!!"
Three of Brando's thugs scrambled forward to attack Vins.
Hahhh... Vins sighed.
"COME AT ME, ALL OF YOU!!!! YOU BASTARDS!!!" Vins challenged, wiggling his eight fingers.
Vins appeared to strengthen his stance, as he was about to face three of Brando's thugs at once. Without hesitation, a student charged forward to attack Vins, landing a flurry of punches on him.
"YOU'RE DEAD, VINS!"
TAP!!! TAP!!! TAP!!!
Vins parried every attack from Brando's thug. While defending, Vins observed, paying attention to the direction of his enemy's every attack. Seeing an opportunity, Vins counter-attacked with a hard punch aimed at his opponent's face.
"LEFT!!!"
THWACK!!!
"RIGHT!!!"
WHUMP!!!
"EAT THIS, YOU SON OF A BITCH!!!"
SMACK!!!
"ARRGGHH..." The groaning scream of pain from Brando's thug, who was hit squarely in the mouth by Vins's punch.
THUD!!!
The first one had been successfully taken down to the ground by Vins.
"ARRRGGGHHH... IT HURTS!!!" He cried out, writhing and holding his mouth. He was feeling the pain and impact of Vins's hard punch.
The second one charged, aiming a punch at Vins's head.
SWISH!!!
Vins managed to avoid the punch.
"YOU WANT SOME TOO?" Vins kneed the student in the stomach.
WHUMP!!!
"EAT THIS!"
THWACK!!!
With a headbutt from Vins to his enemy's head, another one was taken down. And now, only one opponent remained. Brando's last thug took a ready stance to run.
"AGAIN? COME HERE, YOU!!!" Vins taunted.
The last of Brando's thugs ran quickly toward Vins. Without hesitation, he charged at Vins's face with his fist.
TAP!!!
Once again, the enemy failed to land his attack, as Vins managed to catch his opponent's fist this time by hooking his arm with his enemy's arm. Without hesitation, Vins bombarded his opponent's side with hard punches.
WHUMP!!! WHUMP!!! WHUMP!!! WHUMP!!!
"Uhhh..." The thug groaned in pain, clutching his stomach.
"EAT THIS, YOU BASTARD!" Vins swung his leg toward the student's head.
"M-M-MERCY!!!" The thug cried out, trying to cover his head.
But it was too late. Vins's foot was already soaring freely through the air.
SMACK!!!
THUD!!!
His final opponent fell to the ground.
"Uhhh..."
THUD!!! THUD!!! THUD!!!
The thug groaned in pain, clutching his head while slapping his hands on the ground three times.
Hahhh... Vins sighed, looking at the thug who was in pain. He then swung his leg again, kicking his opponent in the stomach.
"HAAAAA!!!"
WHUMP!!!
THUD!!!
Vins's kick successfully finished off the student, the last of the three opponents. Vins stood looking at Brando, his long bangs falling to cover his eyes. Vins lifted his bangs, staring at Brando with a sharp gaze.
Brando was completely shocked by the result of the fight.
His three friends were groaning in pain on the ground, having received Vins's fatal punches and kicks.
However, Vins was still just a human, with stamina that could run out.
CLAP!!! CLAP!!! CLAP!!!
"Well... I'm impressed, 'the punching bag' is a skilled fighter now, huh!" Brando said dismissively to Vins.
"Hahaha... Hahhh... Only three? Hahhh... I can still handle three more, plus YOU!!! Come on! Want me to bust your temple open again? Hahhh..." Vins retorted, panting.
"HAHAHA!!! At least get your breathing under control first, YOU MORON!!!" Brando said, pointing at Vins.
Brando heard a groan nearby, and it turned out to be Jafar, who was still conscious.
He immediately looked at Jafar, who was curled up in pain.
"Uhhh..."
Seeing an opportunity, Brando immediately took advantage of it to break Vins mentally.
"But... at least... I can do THIS!!!"
Cunningly, Brando kicked Jafar in the stomach again, who was already lying there helpless.
WHUMP!!!
"Arrgghhh!"
Jafar screamed.
Jafar told Vins to go, to leave him as he was, his faint groans barely audible with the sound of the falling rain.
Shhh...
"Viii... ins... I... I'm... fine... Ju... just... le... leave... me..."
WHUMP!!!
"Arrgghhh..."
Brando's unending cruelty rumbled along with the loud thunder.
Rumble! Rumble!
"HAHAHA!!! TAKE THIS!!!"
WHUMP!!!
"HERE'S ANOTHER ONE!!!"
WHUMP!!!
"HEY VINS!!! LOOK AT YOUR BASTARD FRIEND!!! YOU THINK THIS IS ENOUGH TO PAY ME BACK FOR WHAT YOU DID TO ME, HUH??? YOU SON OF A BITCH!!!"
WHUMP!!!
Jafar's voice was no longer heard; Brando's last kick made Jafar stop moving completely. But Brando, who was truly a bastard, continued his vile actions on Vins's friend's body.
SQUISH!!!
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
The sound of Brando's foot stepping on Jafar's head was heard as he insulted Vins.
"HAHAHA!!! THE PUNCHING BAG BASTARD CAN'T DO ANYTHING NOW, CAN HE??? HAHAHA!!!" Brando said with such arrogance, followed by his laughter.
A flash of memories of Vins and Jafar passed through Vins's head.
Brando was truly cruel; without a shred of guilt, he just laughed, seeing Jafar, who was now motionless.
"HAHAHA!!! HAHAHA!!! YOU STUPID KID!!! YOU DIED FROM JUST ONE KICK, HUH!!! YOUR MOM'S GONNA DIE!!! GET UP!!! HEY!!! GET UP!!! HAHAHA!!! MORON!!! HE DIED INSTEAD OF HELPING HIS MOM!!! HAHAHA!!!"
However...
TAP!!! TAP!!! TAP!!! TAP!!! TAP!!!
"HAHA- Huh?"
"DIE!!!"
BAM!!!
Vins ran quickly toward Brando, swinging his knee, which landed directly on Brando's face while he was still laughing.
With Brando's mouth open, several of his teeth were dislodged from his gums, followed by blood gushing from his mouth.
It didn't spare Vins's knee either; because he attacked the teeth, his knee was wounded and bloody.
Brando, who received the direct hit from Vins, lost his balance, his vision became blurry, and he fell.
THUD!!!
The brief event shocked Brando's remaining friends; they were speechless and frozen, seeing their leader fall to a middle school boy with an innocent face.
Vins straddled Brando's body and beat the prone Brando blindly.
Seeing Vins's madness, not a single one of his thugs dared to help him.
Amidst the rage and murderous intent that enveloped him, he occasionally remembered all his memories with Jafar, from the first time they met.
"...just relax, Vins! You're my friend now, right?" Jafar's voice clearly said in his memory.
WHUMP!!!
WHUMP!!!
A memory from his past rang in his ears...
"...My mom is in her room now... but, she's severely ill..."
WHUMP!!!
SMACK!!!
WHUMP!!!
Still with the same memory...
"...At first it was a stroke and diabetes..."
SMACK!!!
WHUMP!!!
SMACK!!!
"DIE, YOU BASTARD!!!" Vins yelled, his uncontrollable rage completely destroying him.
His hands were red, drenched in Brando's blood.
He grabbed the collar of Brando's uniform and screamed at him while punching his face again.
Again...
"...Hahaha... We never know how God writes our destiny..."
"YOU SON OF A BITCH!!!"
SMACK!!!
WHUMP!!!
SMACK!!!
And again...
"...Our job is just to try and be a happy person, and be able to make the people we love happy..."
"I'M GONNA KILL YOU, YOU BASTARD!!!!!"
Rumble! Rumble!
WHUMP!!!
SMACK!!!
WHUMP!!!
SMACK!!!
WHUMP!!!
SMACK!!!
---
Brando was already covered in blood and bruises, which made his face unrecognizable.
Brando's vision started to darken; he slowly lost consciousness.
Vins had lost his human side. The memory of meeting Jafar in school made him lose control even more.
"Uhhh..." Brando's last weak groan before he closed his eyes.
Vins didn't care; vengeance had darkened his eyes.
He still seemed to want to beat Brando.
"DIE, YOU BASTARD!!!" Vins yelled, followed by his fist, clenched incredibly tight, which he intentionally threw to finish off Brando.
Whoosh...
Suddenly...
WHUMP!!!
THUD!!!
"UHHH... YOU SON OF A BITCH!!!" Vins groaned in pain from the attack he received.
Vins was kicked in the stomach by Brando's friend, making Vins fly back two meters.
His body looked taller and bigger than Brando's.
He was Elgor, the cold-blooded monster of Tripsix Middle School.
Elgor and Brando were classmates, both in the 8th grade at Tripsix Middle School.
A Little Introduction to Elgor.
Elgor was the most respected student at Tripsix Private Middle School.
That school was the dark side of Ontreight Public Middle School. It was a school funded by a foundation, and it occupied the same building as Vins's middle school.
Unlike Ontreight Middle School, which was a national standard school, Tripsix Middle School operated during the daytime, right after the students of the official school went home.
Due to its reputation, this school only contained rebellious kids who had no intention of studying. They came just to smoke, hang out, and even get drunk. Not a few cases occurred among them. Some of its female students were involved in prostitution cases and sometimes even had pregnancies outside of marriage.
Similarly, some of its male students were involved in several cases, such as drug trafficking, extortion, and cases of harassment toward female students from Ontreight Morning Middle School. Due to these things, the teachers became reluctant to teach at that school.
However, there were also quite a few who genuinely came to study.
It was rumored that Elgor had just been released from a juvenile detention center. He was suspected of being involved in a murder case during a student brawl three years ago.
This caused him to be held back and be in the same grade as Brando, even though he should have already graduated three years ago (he was currently 17 years old).
---
Vins vomited the food he had eaten during school recess, due to the hard kick from Elgor's large foot.
"BLAARGHH... YOU BASTARD!!!" Vins said, holding back his pain.
"Can you stop now? If you can't, then I'll be your opponent!" Elgor said in a challenging tone. He pointed at Vins, a cold gaze from above.
Vins, who had just received such a hard attack for the first time, looked unsteady after withstanding Elgor's kick.
Seeing him, Elgor reconsidered his intention.
"Looks like it's not necessary... Hey, you guys! Those who are still conscious... Carry your friends who are lying there inside! Bring that idiot Brando too!" Elgor said, giving orders to his gang.
In the middle of the rain that had yet to stop, Jafar's body was left with Vins's body at that spot, by Elgor and the other Tripsix students.
Vins fell because he had no more energy to walk, also due to Elgor's devastating attack.
With the last of his strength, he crawled toward Jafar's body, which was lying not far from him.
"Faarrr... ju-st... ha-ng on... a li-ttle... lo-nger, buddy... Argghh!!!"
He arrived beside Jafar's body; Vins cried hysterically out of his concern for his classmate.
Vins screamed for help, hoping someone would come to his aid.
"HEY!!! ANYONE!!! ANYONE HELP ME!!!"
He hoped his screams could pierce through the sky's weeping at that time.
But, all he received were heavy drops of rain.
THUD!!! THUD!!! THUD!!!
"BASTAAARRRDDD!!!"
CRACK!!! BOOM!!!
"Huuhuuhuu... AGAIN... Huuhuuhuu... I'M POWERLESS AGAIN!!! Huuu..." He screamed, angry with himself, while repeatedly hitting his forehead on the ground.
He then lay on his back, looking at the sky.
Vins's consciousness, which was decreasing, began to darken his eyes.
"Jafarr... Forgive me..." He said in a small voice.
He began to lose consciousness.
He remembered again the time he met Jafar, when the two of them first set foot in Ontreight school.
---
A few months ago, on the day they had just met...
"Hey, what's your name?" Vins asked the middle school boy with slanted eyes, who was standing in front of the school's announcement board.
"Oh? Yeah? Hey, bro! My name is Feriko Jafarius! Just call me Jafar... What about you?" Jafar replied, throwing the same question back at Vins.
"My name is Vinson Briliantino, people call me Vins! Nice to meet you, bro... Did you bring a scooter?" Vins asked Jafar, who was looking at the new student announcement board.
"Nah, bro, did you?" Jafar asked his new friend.
"Yeah... Where do you live? Maybe we're heading the same way, bro!" Vins replied, offering to go home with Jafar.
"I live near Sector B, Coffee Hut area, Vins! What about you?" Jafar asked, running his finger down the names of the new students.
"Then we're heading the same way... Let's just go together later, bro! My house is in Sector A of the Coffee Hut area, too..." Vins answered.
"Okay! But you're not gonna do anything to me, right? Hahaha..." Jafar asked playfully, teasing Vins.
"YOU SON OF A BITCH!!! HAHAHA!!! I'M STILL NORMAL, DAMN IT!!!" Vins answered, laughing in annoyance. They laughed together after that conversation.
Looking like a pair of war veterans who had known each other for a long time, Vins and Jafar felt no awkwardness with one another. Jafar then asked to be the one to drive, and Vins happily allowed it.
Jafar's body was four centimeters taller than Vins's, which made them the same height when sitting on Vins's automatic scooter.
All the way home, they talked about each other's lives. However, Vins felt as though Jafar was keeping a big secret that he didn't want to tell anyone.
They arrived in front of Jafar's alleyway, in Sector A. Jafar got off Vins's scooter, and Vins held the scooter from behind with his legs.
"Bro! Your house is in this small alley?" Vins asked Jafar.
"Yeah, Vins!" Jafar replied.
"Get on, Far! Hurry up!" Vins insisted.
"It's fine, Vins..." Jafar said, forbidding him from taking him all the way to his house.
"Ah, you're overreacting! Just relax... I want to say hi to your parents, too!" Vins replied insistently.
Jafar just looked at him silently. Vins returned the look with an annoyed stare.
Jafar, who didn't want his new friend to think something was wrong, could only agree to his friend's request. He smiled slightly, as he got back on Vins's scooter.
"Yeah... Yeah... Alright, let's go..." Jafar said, defeated.
The real reason Jafar refused was not because he wanted to forbid Vins. But there was something about his house that Vins didn't understand.
As he got back on Vins's scooter, he smiled faintly. He was seen shaking his head a few times, because he was astonished by Vins's stubbornness.
They arrived in front of Jafar's house. Vins parked his scooter in the narrow alley. He got off and followed Jafar from behind. They greeted as one, while entering Jafar's house.
"Assalamualaikum..."
The voice of a man in his 20s was heard answering their greeting.
"Wa'alaikum salam..."
The man approached Jafar and Vins, who were standing at the front door. His name was Ari, Jafar's oldest brother.
He had long hair with bangs covering his forehead, styled like an Emo.
Jafar took off his Converse shoes and entered the house, leaving Ari and Vins at the front door.
"Hey... You're Jafar's friend from school, right? Come on in! What's your name, bro?" Ari welcomed Vins warmly.
"Uh, yeah, sir, I'll just stay here... It's just for a moment... My name is Vins, sir!" Vins replied, smiling as he returned Ari's welcome.
"Whoa! Your name's cool! My name is Ari! Nice to meet you! Come on... Just come in, it's fine..." Ari replied, complimenting Vins's name as he invited him into the house.
Vins still refused Ari's request to come in, as he still felt awkward as someone who had just met his brother.
Vins peeked from outside the door; he saw a folded wheelchair next to the wall inside the house.
Not long after, Jafar came down wearing casual clothes, with boxer-style shorts and a black t-shirt. Seeing his brother come down from the second floor, Ari then left the two of them.
"Come on in, Vins! Just go inside! Relax..." Jafar offered Vins.
"Nah! Let's just stay here..." Vins politely refused, pointing at the floor of Jafar's front porch. He was just afraid he would be bothering Jafar's family.
"Okay then... My brother's making us iced tea!" Jafar said to Vins.
"Aw, damn... You're going to too much trouble! I'm being treated like a state guest or something..." Vins replied, feeling awkward about being treated like an important guest.
"Ah... You're overreacting! Just think of it as your own house!" Jafar replied, annoyed at his friend being so hesitant.
They talked on the porch, sitting and facing out, sharing many more stories until Vins realized that Jafar's parents weren't in sight.
"Where are your dad and mom, Far?" Vins asked out of curiosity.
"My dad's at work, Vins! As for my mom..." Jafar replied, looking down as he heard Vins's question.
"Huh? You don't have to answer, bro! If you really don't want to... You don't have to!" Vins said in a panic, seeing his friend suddenly look sad after he asked about his mother.
"Hahaha, just relax, man! You're my friend now... About my mom, I really don't feel like talking about it... My mom is in her room now... it's just that she's severely ill..." Jafar answered in a sad tone, while looking up at the blue afternoon sky.
"Huh? Seriously? What's she sick with? Geez... I'm so sorry, Far!" Vins asked, shocked and feeling guilty about his question.
"At first it was a stroke and diabetes, but now she has complications..." Jafar answered, his eyes beginning to well up.
"Sorry bro... I didn't know your mom was sick... I really just wanted to say hello..." Vins said, apologizing again for his questions.
"Just relax, man... Hahaha... We never know how God writes our destiny... All we can do is walk the path that has been made! Our job is just to try and be a happy person, and be able to make the people we love happy... So... just enjoy it! Right?" Jafar said, smiling as he looked up at the sky, while calming Vins, who felt guilty about the question he had asked.
"You're absolutely right, bro..." Vins replied.
Hearing Jafar's words, which were full of resilience and patience, he fell silent, following Jafar in looking up at the sky.
Not long after...
The two of them then fell silent, staring at the blue afternoon sky, planting their hopes and dreams among the white clouds that moved every day...
"Hey guys! Come on, have a drink, Vins! Here! I also bought you guys some snacks... Don't let them go to waste..."
The silence was broken by smiles and a feeling of happiness on both of their faces, due to the arrival of Ari, who came bringing food and drinks.
The three of them then talked about many things while enjoying the afternoon...
The afternoon was slowly being swallowed by the dark...
It was time for the sun to rest from its daily duties...
The warm topics that strengthened their bond...
were spoken so naturally without any awkwardness...
like their favorite bands, and the girls they had a crush on...
Until it was time to go home...
"Hahaha... I told you! Don't take me all the way into the alley, you moron! It's fine if you want to hang out... Just park your scooter a little further out! It's safe here, bro!" Jafar teased Vins, who was having a hard time getting his scooter out of the narrow alley leading to Jafar's house.
"Jafar, you bastard! Why didn't you tell me, you son of a bitch! Hahaha.... Damn it!" Vins replied, grumbling, as his scooter was now stuck and sideways, blocking the alley that could only fit two scooters.
"Ugh! And now the scooter is sideways lik-Wooow... Wooo..."
And...
CRASH!!!
"HAHAHA!!! Be careful, man! Your behavior is something else..." Jafar said, walking calmly to help his friend who had fallen, trapped under his automatic scooter.
"HAHAHA!!! You're such a brat! Help me up, hurry! Besides... What idiot builds a house in an alley this small? Damn it!" Vins said, laughing, looking resigned as he sat there, trapped under his own scooter.
"My dad built it, Vins..." Jafar replied, giving Vins a sidelong glance.
"Ugh... I'm so sorry, sir! I'm sorry, I didn't mean it..."
---
-To be Continued
F*ck! I Dropped My Pen! - Author's Trivia (Episode 1)
Did you know?
Ontreight Middle School is actually a fictionalized version inspired by a real school in Jakarta!
F*ck! I Dropped My Pen!). Its signature graffiti tags (the real-life abbreviation, which I have to keep secret for privacy reasons) are scrawled across the walls of houses, streets, narrow alleys, and the entire surrounding neighborhood.
F*ck! I Dropped My Pen!
Much love,
Your New Vision
