I was dragged to the middle of the Spanish colonial living room where Veronica’s Girl Power Squad and Billy’s Gang were partying raucously and drunkenly. Despite there being a blackout, the living room was rather airy and bright, thanks to the innumerable portable lights that lined the flat surfaces or hung from the stands. The walls were a pastel white brighter than the one at my place. Wooden beams lined the ceiling like floating logs except it was a relatively calm river. Arched doorways of glass led onto a long, spacious balcony with Doric-columned railings. A hearth stood in the middle between both balcony arches, its wood crackling in a spectacular simulation and unlit candles standing on ornate metal poles that looked as if they were flickering. Two large golden couches sat on a large rectangular Persian rug dotted with all the geometric intricacies of the Islamic Golden Age. And right in the middle of that rug was a wooden coffee table with carvings that were probably Norse in nature. On top of it was a caravel in a jar. A metre or so above it was a bronze chandelier that flickered solely as a result of being bathed in a sea of light. Half of Veronica’s place was venerable luxury and half of it was modern fraud. This is me being generous here.

  The popular kids were in the middle of a dance. Neon lights pranced around on the ceiling, forming a rough kind of aurora borealis. Four speakers around the room were blaring out the nauseous Rainbow Pony song by that accursed ”pop witch” Miranda. Even though Billy was a very menacing boy, his girlfriend Veronica held much sway over him. She herself was vaping with one hand and holding a beer can in the other. Sheila was being fed shampoo by another one of Veronica’s dumb girls. Carla was stripping on a pole (still clothed in her pink soccer uniform) while a dozen or so boys threw fake cash on the marble floor. Tyrone was blowing out heavy smoke from his cigarette as he laughed and made jokey insults with the other boys. A bejewelled-crowned Chad was whacking Tyler with a royal staff made out of fake gold while the other boys cheered at this humiliation ritual.

  As they saw me, they cheered. I was their ultimate prize. Billy gave Mike a pat on the back and then told him and Chad to tie me up to the chandelier. While he was blowing vape smoke in my face, I was coughing to death in his open gas chamber. Mike ripped Dr. Jimmy’s jetpack off of me. He studied it for a minute or two, as if he was a savage islander who had never seen modern technology. He then passed it to Chad who proceeded to head for the kitchen trash can.

  While dangling it, he asked “Boss, what do we do with this?” Billy turned to look at the gleaming metal contraption and his face silently laughed.

  “Toss it in the trash. Why the hell we need it? It’s nerd stuff anyways.”

  Crunch! A million-dollar gift was going to end up in the landslide someday. Or as an inferior, lag-addicted computer. Then, his two goons fastened my hands quite tightly with zip cuffs. It was totally sensible for someone like him to do that as all jocks love to torture and imprison nerds (I’m not a nerd by the way-I’m an emergent jock challenging his authority). As they finished the job, Billy silenced everyone and then made his very nasty speech that would get him whacked to shreds if I was free.

  “Girls and boys. Our most annoying enemy is now in our hands. Calvin Garcia we now have!” A roar of applause erupted from the mob. They truly hated me, right from the depths of their hearts. “Calvin has done so much damage to us. He almost gave me a heart attack with that damned Grim Reaper. He punched me in the face. He punched me a second time with a baseball. And he wrecked my damn car!” He turned to me, his normally small eyes bulging with volcanic rage. “But now, I get to torture your ass for as long as I want!!”

  “And in any way we want!” chimed in a triumphant Veronica. “You think you’ve outsmarted me in ruining my carefully planned Spirit Assembly but karma has brought you right to me! Girls, isn’t it right that I am the goddess of karma?”

  “Surely you manifested it,” replied Sheila in a cheerful voice.

  “Yes, you are,” Carla affirmed. “And you will break this disgusting asshole into many pieces.”

  I had no response to their insults. The Black Eyed Kids had traumatized me so thoroughly that I was now as docile as a doll. I just wanted to get away from these demon kids and warn others of their immense evil. On a lesser note, I wanted to rescue my friends but I knew I couldn’t-I would die. Thus, the only thing to do was to plead with the popular kids for help. At this point, anything was possible.

  “The Black Eyed Kids!” I shouted. “They’ll destroy the whole world!!” A risible wave of laughter erupted from my captors. They obviously didn’t care. They were enjoying every moment of torturing me.

  “Boy,” Tyrone remarked to his boss. “You were right about this loser. He’s frickin crazy!!”

  “That makes me the KING!!!” Billy shouted, pumping his fists at the ceiling.

  “The king of prophecy!!” chimed in Veronica. “I love you king!”

  “I love you, my queen!” They kissed in the most trope-like way. Even an undiscerning observer could see that their love was artificial. Then to Chad, he ordered him to hand over the crown and staff. His henchman immediately complied, although there was a slight discomfort in the facial muscles. “How do I look?” Billy asked.

  “You are my true king,” complimented Veronica, on the verge of happy tears.

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  “The king of kings,” added Sheila.

  “The king who will destroy Evil Calvin once and for all,” Carla sneered, in a way that she actually wished painful death on me. Tyrone, for his part, was much more physical. He dragged Tyler by the ear into my proximity.

  “Kneel!” He shouted as he kicked the un-bespectacled nerd in the shin.

  “OWWWWIEEEEE!!!” shrieked Tyler in howling pain as he sank to the ground on his knees.

  “This is lit,” remarked Billy, savoring his unrivaled and unchallenged power.

  I had to continue warning.

  “The Black Eyed Kids killed my babysitter!! They sucked out her soul!! And my friends-they’re MISSING!!!” Everyone turned their attention back to me.

  “Guys, I think this is the best show for our party-the madman is speaking!” Billy announced in host-like fashion. Another tsunami of laughter erupted and spread around the relatively large living room, soaring like a bird and then cascading like a waterfall.

  “You gotta help me! PLEASE!!! THE BLACK EYED KIDS WILL KILL US ALL!!!!”

  “Enough of this BS!” Veronica shouted sharply, stamping her foot on the ground. Billy looked at her, surprised.

  “But this is entertaining.”

  “No it isn’t! Mr. Grincher is dead and it is all because of him!!” She pointed a sharp accusing finger right at my eye. She was so close that if I wanted to, I could raise my head and bite it off. But as it was, trauma is not a good state to be in in order to fight back.

  “Veronica, please. The boys love this.”

  “I will no longer wait for justice to be served!! Girls, do you agree with me?” A chorus of “yeses” sounded from the hive mind.

  “I wholeheartedly agree,” said Sheila.

  “Torture him to death,” advised Carla. Her queen turned to her with eager eyes.

  “What do you suggest?” Her third-in-command’s reply came very quickly.

  “Pull out one of his molars.” Veronica turned to her boyfriend, with a very expectant and impatient air. After what seemed like a nervous minute, Billy nodded.

  “Go ahead.” He looked at Tyrone. “Do what you need to do.”

  Tyrone went into another room before swiftly exiting with a pair of pliers in his hand. My heart trembled-it was actually happening.

  “No. No! NO!!!” I shouted as he got closer and closer. “Please don’t do this! Don’t do this! The Black Eyed Kids, they’ll kill us all!!” Tyrone’s rough fingers were already opening my mouth. I kicked and squirmed but the zip ties were hella tight. Then the pliers entered my cavity, aiming straight for my left molar. As the coldness of the metal hit my tooth nerves hard and the pressure began to ramp up, an unexpected sound was heard. Knock-knock-knock-knock.

  I knew in an instant that it was not the Black Eyed Kids. My heart leapt in excitement. Jordan, Andy, and Ethan were back. The hope was enough to light my neural circuitry on fire. My Gangster Guyz loyalists always had my back. Billy motioned for Chad to open it. My heart dropped. Only Ethan was there. And immediately, Chad grabbed him by his curly hair and dragged him in.

  “Look, the nerd is here,” snickered Veronica. There was certainly no hope of getting out-Ethan was not the “fight guy.” No matter how hard I pushed him, he would never ever throw a punch.

  “Tie him up,” ordered Billy, his expression brightening. Chad and Tyrone lifted him onto the coffee table beside me and then zip cuffed his hands. Strangely, Ethan was unfazed by this-he was totally unemotional.

  “Ethan,” I whispered, trying my best not to be heard. “Where is Jordan? Where is Andy?” He did not respond. He did not even look at me. “Ethan?” His eyes were as glazed as dead. He must have been traumatized. “Ethan!” I moved slightly an inch to the right and gently bumped his shoulder. Finally, he turned. But his expression remained the same. “Ethan, what’s wrong? I’m your friend, you can tell me!” None of his facial muscles moved. It was as if he didn’t even see me.

  Billy swiped off Ethan’s glasses.

  “Guess you won’t be needing these anymore.” The bully king threw his small rectangular spectacles on the ground and with one stomp, had them crushed to smithereens. While this was going on, Tyrone returned to complete his mission.

  “Open your mouth,” he ordered.

  “The Black Eyed Kids!” I shouted, aiming for one last ditch attempt at convincing.

  “Shut up,” he snarled. “Open your damn mouth.”

  “But-.” Suddenly, he grabbed my teeth with such force that I felt that they were actually being ripped out. Then Mike Meanie came to his aid, pulling my jaw open to the widest, most maximally painful degree.

  “Say aaaaa,” Veronica mockingly spoke as Tyrone’s pliers shot onto my left molars. The clamp pressure shot up and then he began to pull. The pain had now increased to a point that I thought I would faint. As I turned my eyes to Ethan for pleading help, I saw Billy spit in his face. Suddenly, Ethan’s eyes-before they were light brown-now they were black. Both of his eyes were pitch black.

  He opened his mouth. Razor-sharp, needle-like teeth lined the insides. Just like the Black Eyed Kids. Billy was too focused on gloating to notice the imminent threat. And when he did turn his head around, Ethan took one bite and bit off his nose. Blood immediately squirted from the open wound, mostly onto Ethan’s face but large droplets also found their way onto my right cheek. Both me and Billy and everyone else screamed at this unspeakable horror.

  “My nose!!” Screamed Billy. “MY FRICKIN DAMN NOSE!!! YOU’LL PAY FOR THIS!!!! YOU’LL-.” Ethan opened his cavernous, carnivorous mouth even wider and this time, took off his entire head and left a bloody, spraying stump. This time, the boys screamed like girls and the girls all fainted (including Veronica). Then with one pull, Ethan freed himself from his restraints. Knock! Knock! Knock! He jumped onto the ceiling, crawled like a spider to the front door, slid down, and turned the doorknob. In an instant, all the portable lights went out.