Why was Kenzo beating up Banks Awolowo?
No, the right question should be, why was Kenzo, a boy who rarely got angry, let alone raise his voice, now raising a fist?
Kenzo was furious. I had seen him pissed before…many times. And it was always after speaking to his father on the phone. But I had never seen him this furious, this lethal…uncontrollable.
This feral rage his face was twisted in didn’t belong to him. Not to my Kenzo. His knuckles were bruised, blood slick at the edges.
What in the world happened?
“Kenzo–”
“–Say it again!” he growled, throwing another punch, his fist tangled in Banks collar that was now smeared with blood. “I said fucking say what you said just now. I dare you!”
“I–” Banks opened his bloodied mouth but couldn’t seem to form the words. “I didn’t mean–”
“You idiot, you said you liked her.” Kenzo shook him violently. “You fucking told her you liked her. How dare you go ahead and act like a fucking douchebag?”
My pulse stumbled. And now my legs moved. But instead of forward, it was a step backward.
Her.
Theherwas me, right?
Another punch startled me, jolting me out of my temporary state of shock.
“Kenzo, stop!” I forced out, my voice cracking at the edges.
He didn’t hear me. Or didn’t want to. He threw another punch and gasps rippled through the crowd.
My ear buzzed, the chaos around me blurring. My heartbeat thundered so loudly I felt it in my eyes.
What was going on?
What did Banks say to awaken this rage-filled side of Kenzo?
“Kenzo, stop!”
This time, he heard me. His head jerked up, eyes searching until they landed on me amongst the crowd. His wild eyes sharpened, shock flickering in it then…guilt.
He released his hold on Banks, letting him stagger backward and hit the nearest locker, a coughing, trembling mess as he wiped blood from his face.
Bank’s dark brown eyes fell on me, guilt flashing across them, but it didn’t last. His gaze shifted to Kenzo, then swept across the room, jaws clenching in reaction to having so many eyes on him.
Wiping blood from his face again, he stumbled away, slightly bent, as he clutched his stomach.
I knew Kenzo was strong, but I didn’t know he could actually beat up someone and escape a punch. I had never seen him fight. Kenzo wasn’t a violent person.
What must Banks have said to bring out this side of him?
The crowd that was gathered just now suddenly scattered as if someone yelledfire.
Kenzo stood there still, chest heaving, his body trembling from the remnant of rage flowing within him. His fists were clenched, eyes tightly shut as he tried to rein himself in.
“Are you okay?” I asked softly, stepping closer to him. I placed my hand gently on his shoulder, and he tensed under my touch, before he suddenly began to relax.
“Let’s go to the infirmary.” I slipped my hand into his bloodied one, dragging him away. “We should clean the blood.”
Kenzo had never had any record of violence since he started here. None that I had been told about. And this right here was violence. That too in the school premises. ‘No Violence’ was one of the rules watched with scrutiny. There was no way he wasn’t getting summoned by the disciplinary committee.
