Ody leaned back, uneasy. “I just want you to be careful. If you ever feel like someone is following you, if anything happens at school or outside… if they say or do something…”
“Relax, mikre. Nothing’s gonna happen,” Mano said with calm confidence.
“But if it does? If you feel threatened, promise me you’ll call me right away. I’ll gather everyone for your sake,” Ody insisted, his voice firm and sincere.
“For my sake?” Mano frowned, searching his face.
“Yeah. I mean… like how you guys did it for me. That’s what I meant,” Ody said awkwardly.
Mano gave a slow nod, studying him. “Okay, mikre. I’ll call you,” he said, meeting Ody’s gaze before stepping out of the car. “Stop worrying about me. There’s no need.” He leaned down again, hands on the roof of the car, keeping their eye contact. “What shouldIdo?” he asked.
“What do you mean?”
“I left you alone with them until we got there. Do you know how worried I—” He cut himself off, straightening quickly, like he’d said too much.
Ody blinked. “You were worried about me?”
Mano leaned back down, his gaze intense. “They would’ve eaten you alive.”
“What are you talking about? I punched Pablo in the bathroom the first time,” Ody protested with offense.
“Oh, tough guy,” Mano said with a smirk.
“Don’t underestimate me.”
“I’m not underestimating you,” Mano said, the smirk fading. “I was just… worried.”
The silence stretched between them as they held each other’s gaze. Finally, Mano stepped back. “I’m going.”
“Good night,” Ody said.
Mano raised a hand in a casual wave and walked away toward his building.
Later that night, Ody lay in bed when his phone buzzed. Anna was checking in, asking where he was and whether he had played basketball. He told her he was home now and that he had gone out earlier. Then she asked who he had been with. Ody hesitated before texting back.With Mano
The typing bubble appeared, then disappeared, then appeared again.Mano?
He confirmed it, and told her they had gone for sushi. Her replies grew shorter, more pointed. She hinted that he had been spending a lot of time with Mano lately. Ody felt tension creep into his chest.We need to talk,he wrote.
That set her off. She wanted answers, to know what he meant and why he was being vague. He tried to calm her, told her something serious had happened, and that they should meet tomorrow to discuss it. Anna refused to wait.
He swallowed hard, thumbs hovering over the screen before he typed the truth.Remember when you saw me bruised and I said it was some guys at school? Those guys have been bullying me for a year
Her shocked reply came fast asking what he meant. Ody told her he would explain everything in the morning. It was too big to fit into texts. He put the phone down with a tight breath, knowing tomorrow would not be easy.
The next morning Ody met Chris and Steve before class. “I’m telling Anna everything today,” he said.
“What do you mean? Kash, Mano, all of it?” Chris asked.
“Yeah. She disliked him from the beginning, but you saw it yourselves. He’s a good guy.”
“He has his issues, sure, but he’s okay,” Steve muttered.
Ody shot him a sharp look. “Don’t say that again.”
“Why?”
“You don’t know what he’s been through,” Ody said. “He lost his parents. And he went through horrible bullying in school. That’s why he is the way he is. He’s not cold. He’s not what he seems.”
