Vernon“You really don’t remember the girl?” Mingyu exaggeratedly combed his hair. With a fed-up look on his face, he glanced at me. “I told you a hundred times. Which part of “I don’t remember” you did not understand?”I sighed and closed my locker door. I leaned on it instead as I watched Mingyu frantically unload his things. There is a drug inspection to be held next month and just in case there is a random inspection anytime soon that isn’t announced, we wiped our lockers clean for safety measures. “You sure there’s nothing left in yours?” Mingyu suspiciously eyed my locker.I scoffed. “I don’t keep drugs in there.”“Yeah, what’s this?” He jokingly grabbed something from my back pocket and brought up a sachet of marijuana. I glared at him and caught his hand down. It was his of

v e r n o n The realization dawned into me like nightmare coming true. My heart was hollowed, and my body froze for the ice-cold shiver that penetrated through my veins. Cruel thoughts raced through my head, and not the biggest effort could hide the venomous wrath that has dominated my body. “Are you okay?” Catherine’s soft whispers momentarily brought me back to sanity. At that very moment, I just wanted to destroy Jackson. The truth that I held begged to be freed. But as I looked at Catherine swimming in the shadows of the dark and worn-out bookshelf corner, her night-cloaked eyes holding me cautiously were the purest reflection of the sincerity that lies beneath her, I felt guilty.I could not lie to her. It’s terrible enough that her boyfriend lied to her. But I could also not be impulsive enough to say something that can change everything for her. She took another check o

c a t h e r i n e  “You sure want to talk to him?” Jackson checked in on me worriedly. It was the very same night he saved me from that party, I talked to him on his car and asked whoever tried to do it to me. He was reluctant at first but I convinced him through it. “Yes.” I said with a nod.“But wouldn’t it be harder for you?” “No, I want to talk to him. I can’t keep my anger to myself.”“W-what are you going to do? Are you going to sue him? Tell your father about it?” Jackson grew excessively panicky.  I shook my head no. I am certain I

v e r n o n  “What’s with the solemn face?” Mingyu shoved my arm.Disturbed from my reverie, I glanced at him with a scowl. It was early in the evening and we were playing basketball in a nearby court just outside our high school. Some of the late classes had just finished, and the teachers had already left too. Mingyu and I were practicing for our tryouts like usual. We sat on the bleachers to refresh ourselves, and for just a moment of rest, my mind instantly wandered to Catherine.“I was thinking about what might have happened to Cath..” I admitted after gulping from my water bottle.“Yea. That sucks.” Mingyu shook his head.I have a

v e r n o n "I can't do it." I protested as we stood outside our usual hideout. Together with JB and Mark, we waited on a hidden alley a few blocks away from our school. It's a vacant street that looked like a dumpsite, given the vacant establishments that stood along it. We had often come here and never for a good cause. We came here to smoke, to get high, and to pick fights. "Snap out of your cowardice, dude! This is for us! For college!" Mingyu shoved my arm as he tried to make sense of this plan. "We still can't get into college even if we get into the basketball team! Don't you think there wouldn't be any medical examinations before then? We would still be found as junkies. The moment we did this, we destroyed our fucking future!" I lost control and yelled back at