The Wrong Side of Kai

by Estelle Maskame

  “A fight?” Chyna says, exchanging a look with me.

  My stomach tightens with a sense of unease. There’re a thousand kids in this school – anyone could be throwing punches right now, but it’s usually only seniors who know to keep the fighting off school property. Just beyond the student parking lot is where the campus boundaries are.

  “I just got a weird feeling,” I say, swallowing hard as I stare at the crowds amassing off in the distance. People are sprinting past us now, desperate to see all the action.

  “You think it’s Harrison?” Chyna asks, and I nod.

  I also think it could be Kai. If Harrison and his buddies dragged me into a janitor’s closet and threatened me, then I can only imagine what they will do to Kai now that Harrison knows he’s involved . . . It could be a coincidence that there’s a fight breaking out the very next morning, but my gut tells me otherwise.

  I am definitely going to be late for first period again.

  Chyna and I take each other’s hands and help one another skate across the campus, back in the direction we’ve just trudged from. We weave around all the cars in the parking lot until we reach the crowd on the open field at the other side. My heartbeat’s rocketing the nearer we get.

  A circle has formed, everyone packed in so tightly, fighting to get a clear view. The noise is deafening – people are yelling and cheering, their Friday morning brightened up by a live-action fistfight. It makes it impossible for Chyna and me to see what’s going on. We search for any weak spots that we can push our way through, but I only grow more desperate. I need to see who’s fighting.

  “Go!” Chyna yells in my ear, letting go of my hand and giving me a push into the crowd. She shoves me forward, ramming me through the thicket of bodies, but I don’t even get a chance to thank her. Suddenly, she’s left behind and I’m jammed in the midst of the crowd.

  I elbow my way through everyone until I find myself at the front. We are circled around a group of guys like an impromptu boxing ring, and my heart drops into my stomach.

  My gut feeling was right.

  Kai is on his knees on the ground, fighting to get to his feet, just as Harrison slams a fist into his jaw. It sends Kai straight back down, but Harrison isn’t his only opponent – Noah is involved too, of course, and he hurls his foot into Kai’s ribs. There’s no Anthony, but there are a couple other of Harrison’s friend from the team. It’s four against one, and Kai is already heavily roughed up. His lip gushes with blood, his cheeks are grazed, and he can’t open one eye. It’s serious. He’s on his hands and knees, defenseless, coughing hard. Noah and the other two guys kick him again.

  “STOP!” I scream, but my voice sounds strangled amid the noise of the crowd.

  Right at that moment Harrison’s eye catches mine. He stares at my horrified expression then smirks as he swings his fist into Kai’s mouth, sending him flying back to the ground.

  “Alright, we’re done here!” Harrison yells just as I’m about to throw myself into the fight. His eyes roam the crowd, flickering all around the circle that’s formed, and he threatens, “Remember, snitches get stitches.”

  The crowd disperses almost immediately. No one needs to be reminded to keep quiet about what they’ve just witnessed – everyone knows the score. Harrison wipes the sweat from his brow with the back of his hand and then slinks off into the distance, following the crowd back to school.

  “Hey, sugar,” Noah says, barging his shoulder into mine as he passes. I don’t pay any attention to him because my eyes are set on Kai.

  He’s lying face down on the grass, his body heaving, and I run straight to him and drop to my knees by his side. I place a hand on his shoulder, but instantly retract it when he groans. He spits blood and then rolls over on his back, staring up at the sky with his one good eye.

  “Oh my God!” I wave my hands in panic, unsure what to do to help. Kai’s face is totally busted and there’s blood dripping from his nose and mouth. His ribs are most likely bruised too; he’s holding his hands to his sides and moaning as he tries to take a deep breath.

  “Oh. Hey, Vanessa,” he says through busted lips when he turns to me. “What’s up?”

  I stare at him, utterly horrified. Harrison would have never found out that Kai was involved if we hadn’t gone to his house last night, and it was me who insisted we did. Kai suggested that we stop, that it could be risky to keep pushing Harrison . . . but I didn’t listen.

  “This is all my fault!”

  “Shut up, Nessie,” Kai says, trying for a laugh that quickly turns into a painful cough.

  A few people are still lingering, most likely checking out the severity of Kai’s injuries, and Chyna rushes over. Kai manages to give her a small wave, and it blows my mind that he can be humorous right now. He just got his ass kicked in front of half the school, but somehow his ego is the only part of him that hasn’t taken a beating.

  “Should we take him to the nurse?” Chyna asks me. She’s chewing on her lower lip as she glances back over at the school building in the distance.

  “Nuh-uh,” Kai objects, his words muffled through his swollen lips. “I’ll be fine, Chyna-but-not-like-the-country.”

  Madison also swishes over and kneels down on the grass, fumbling inside her bag. “Don’t you guys carry first-aid kits?” she asks Chyna and me, her tone patronizing. Of course Maddie carries around a damn first-aid kit in her bag. She pulls out a neat box of miscellaneous items and edges in closer to Kai. “Not so charming when you’re covered in blood, huh?”

  “Yet here I am, surrounded by ladies,” Kai groans jokingly. Slowly, he manages to sit up, his hands still pressed to his ribs. He releases a long breath of air. “Man, fuck that Noah guy. Now I know why he has a bad name for himself out on the field. He’s worse than Harrison.”

  “What happened?” I ask as Maddie gets to work on Kai’s face, dabbing at his open cuts with disinfectant wipes, cleaning up the blood. I’m impressed by how calm and unfazed she is.

  “Well, you see, Nessie, last night Harrison discovered I’ve been helping you—”

  “Kai,” I say sharply, cutting him off. I give him a serious look. Now isn’t the time for him to be flippant.

  “They pretty much ambushed me the second I pulled up,” Kai finally tells me, dropping his playful tone. He’s looking at me with his eye that’s still open while Maddie gently cleans up the other. “Basically dragged me over here. I’m guessing this is where the campus ends?” I nod. “Oh, and if anyone spots a bike dumped in the bushes somewhere, it’ll be mine.”

  My heart sinks a little. Kai loves biking around. “They took your bike?”

  “Actually, you took my bike,” Kai points out, his grin more of a painful grimace. “Those assholes took my dad’s.”

  “I’ll look for it,” Chyna offers. “I’m late for class anyway.” She heads off to search the surrounding area, doing her best to make herself useful right now.

  Maddie sticks a band-aid to a cut just below Kai’s eye while I sit and watch. I’m the only one doing nothing to help, because I don’t know how to. It’s my fault Kai is in this situation. I should never have come up with the idea of getting even with Harrison. Revenge seemed so fun at first, but now we’re in too deep.

  “What can I do, Kai?”

  “Kiss me better?” he suggests.

  “Stop moving!” Maddie scolds him. She reaches for his chin and holds him steady while she sticks another band-aid to his cheek. He’ll be covered in them soon. She also hands him a cloth for his nose. “You should probably still go to the hospital. You could be concussed or something.”

  “And build up a hefty medical bill that my parents can’t afford to pay?” Kai shoots back in disagreement. “No thanks. I’ll just let you nurse me back to health then I’ll go drink some coffee.” Maddie sticks one final band-aid to his face and then he pushes himself up from the grass, his balance slightly off as he stumbles on his feet. “Thanks, Maddie.” He straightens up, steadies himself. “I think I’m gonna
head home, though.”

  I nod and stand up too, looking him over. It’s probably best that he doesn’t go to school today – this is all such a mess. This fight will be the gossip of the day, and if it were anyone else, I’d be thrilled that attention had finally shifted away from me. But this is all at Kai’s expense.

  Chyna comes rushing back over, shaking her head. “No bike around here. Sorry.”

  “That’s alright. Thanks,” Kai says, then looks down at Maddie who’s still on the grass, packing up her stuff. “And thanks again, Madison.”

  She humbly waves away his gratitude. “It’s nothing, but keep those cuts clean – yeah?”

  I step toward Kai and put my arms around him, laying my head against his chest. My guilt feels like a ton of bricks pressing down on me.

  “Ouch,” he says, flinching.

  I let go and jump back. “Sorry!”

  Kai rolls his eye – perhaps I’ll get him a pirate eye-patch – and then leans in to me, briefly pressing his lips to my temple. He turns around and walks off, his steps slow and pained, until he becomes nothing more than a distant figure. I know I should really skip class again and go with him, but when I look back at the school building, a new anger flares up within me.

  How dare Harrison hurt Kai.

  I walk with Chyna and Maddie back to the school. We have to stop by the office first to let them know we’re late, and I get even more hours of detention piled on me. Miss Hillman from reception seems genuinely stunned to be handing out detention to Madison Romy, but Maddie takes it like a champ. She doesn’t whine about it once, or even mention how much of a saint she is for sacrificing her attendance to help Kai. She just tucks the slip into her bag and heads off to class without another word.

  “So now do you realize that perhaps this whole plan for revenge was a bad idea?” Chyna asks when we’re alone in the hallway. Everyone is in class but us, and she gives me a condescending raise of her eyebrow, as though to say I told you so. And she did. She warned me that this whole thing was a stupid idea, that we could get ourselves into trouble.

  But Harrison screwed around with me first. Harrison instigated all of this, and of course Kai and I retaliated. It’s become an endless circle. But I can’t let Harrison make the final move. I can’t let him win. I just can’t, not after he’s hurt Kai like that. I need to end this myself. On my terms.

  “Yeah, this was a bad idea,” I agree with a sheepish smile, but I’m not done yet. The gloves are off now, and I don’t need anyone’s help anymore. This is between Harrison and me.

  Chyna groans, reminds me that it’s Taco Friday at the Tate house for dinner later, and then blows me a kiss as she heads off to her class. I catch it and safely tuck it away in the pocket of my coat, watching her as she disappears down the hallway. And then I spring into action.

  I don’t head for my History class. Instead, I take off down the hall toward the library, my steps quick. I didn’t want to have to do this, but Harrison has pushed me to my limit. I laughed when I found these pictures on Harrison’s phone the other morning, but then quickly realized I didn’t want to take things that far. That’s why I never told Kai about them. I’ve been secretly holding onto them, but not for much longer.

  I burst into the library and totally blank the librarian when she asks me to sign in. I tell her I’m running late for class and I need to quickly print my overdue homework, and she tuts and shakes her head at me as I dive for the computers. The library is empty, thank God, but I still angle the desktop screen away for maximum privacy. My heart rockets around in my chest as I plug my phone into the computer and load up my files, some of which are also Harrison’s that I transferred over to my own phone for safekeeping.

  I find the photo I’m looking for.

  I print it, then shut down the computer as fast as I can and race over to the printers in the back corner before the librarian can see what I’m doing. This definitely isn’t homework I’m printing off, and I would most likely be expelled if caught using school property in connection with such a photograph.

  “Thanks!” I say cheerily on my way out of the library, but the librarian’s skeptical frown doesn’t falter. As soon as I’m through the doors, I remember something else I need. I head back inside and stop at the desk. “Sorry. Can I borrow a marker? Oh, and a drawing pin.”

  The librarian looks fed up with me now. She mumbles some disgruntled words under her breath – she’s probably sick to death of dealing with teenagers – and reluctantly fetches me a black permanent marker and a pin. I thank her again and, much to her delight, leave for good this time. It’s about the first and last time she’ll ever see me.

  Armed with my photograph and marker, I make my way back to the locker hallway. First period ends in just under ten minutes, which means that soon these hallways will be packed again while everyone moves on to their next classes and stops by their lockers. And I want everyone’s attention to be on Harrison’s.

  “Vanessa,” a voice says, and I stop dead in my tracks and look behind me to find Anthony slowly approaching. I shove my printout and marker into my coat pocket and fold my arms across my chest, my stance hostile.

  “What?” I snap. I don’t even bother to ask why he isn’t in class. I have better things to do right now than talk to Anthony.

  He walks over to me and stops a few feet away, stuffing his hands into his pockets. He rocks back and forth on the balls of his feet and stares at the ground. “I just want to say that I’m sorry for what happened yesterday. You know, in the janitor’s closet. It wasn’t right,” he mumbles, unable to look at me. “And I don’t think it’s right what they did to that guy this morning either.”

  “And yet you said nothing and did even less,” I bitterly remind him. “That makes you just as bad as Harrison and Noah.”

  “I’m not like them,” he says, his eyes flickering up from the floor. He’s riddled with nerves. It’s clear from the bead of sweat that trickles down his skin. I always knew Anthony was the nicest of the trio, but still. He’s a jerk through association.

  “Then get better friends,” I say, and I stare him down until he sighs and gives up. I watch him walk away, his head lowered, until he is out of sight. I count to twenty in my head to allow Anthony enough time to be a safe enough distance away, then I immediately get back to business.

  I pull out my weaponry from my pocket and continue down the hallway. Harrison’s locker is easy to find. It’s on the very end of the row. He pinned me against it and kissed me hard often enough. I stand in front of the locker now, listening closely for a moment to ensure no one is approaching in the distance.

  If Harrison wants to screw with me, then fine.

  But I’ll fight back harder.

  I slam the photo against the locker door and pin it in place, using all my strength to pierce the metal. Then I pop open the cap of the marker and in huge, capital letters, I write:

  #SMILEFORTHECAMERA

  I stand back to admire my work. On Harrison’s locker, there’s a picture. A picture he took of himself, a picture that was so easy for me to get my hands on. It was taken recently and it’s only one out of a batch of them. It’s of Harrison standing in front of his bathroom mirror, his phone shielding his face, two fingers up in a peace sign. He is totally naked.

  If Harrison wants to leak that video of us to the world, then I’ll give our classmates a bit more content to enjoy. He might not even care that much. He’s already in that awful video with me, but this photograph is more personal. It’s not his choice this time. How will he feel when he discovers something so private has been shared to the world without his consent? How will he feel to be as disrespected, mocked, and knocked off balance as I was?

  And the hashtag? A nice touch.

  I dump the marker in a nearby trash can and remove myself from the scene. I walk down the hallway and linger around by the noticeboard, a safe distance away from Harrison’s locker, and wait patiently. I stare at the clock on the wall and watch the seconds tick by
, counting down to the moment the bell rings out and my peers discover Harrison’s nude selfie. My stomach is knotted with nerves and excitement. I’m terrified about how Harrison will react and what the fallout will be from this, because I know I’m taking it too far. I know I’m only adding more fuel to an already blazing fire. But I have to do this, because my ego demands that I’m the winner of this war, no matter what the cost of victory.

  The bell blares out across the school, echoing down the empty hallways. It feels louder than ever as it rings in my ears. I lock my eyes on a poster on the noticeboard, something about a new after-school yoga class, trying to play it cool as the sound around me gradually amplifies from silence to a chorus of voices and footsteps. My heart feels like it’s no longer beating in my chest – as if it’s stopped completely, and my breath has caught in my throat. I want to turn around, to watch the stunned expressions of the Westerville North student body when they discover what’s pinned to Harrison Boyd’s locker, but I quickly realize I don’t have to. I can already hear the gasps of shock and the bursts of laughter.

  Subtly, I angle my head and watch the scene unfold out of the corner of my eye. A crowd is forming around the locker at the end of the row, everyone pushing and shoving to get a good view, just like they did thirty minutes ago outside when the fight was going down. I remain in my spot by the noticeboard, keeping out of the way.

  Harrison’s life hasn’t changed at all this week, despite that video. No one has tormented him, or whispered behind his back, or refused to sit at his table at lunch. No one cares about him and that video, because a football player hooking up at a party? That’s to be expected. It’s cool. But the girl the football player hooks up with? A tramp with no self-respect, apparently.

  Harrison deserves his fair share of humiliation too. He was the one who shared that video with the world, perfectly aware that I would be the one to receive all of the backlash.

  “What the hell is going on?” I hear a voice yell over the buzz of commotion, and I recognize it instantly. He’s here.