~Take Care Of Yourself, Son~

"What the hell is this?" Carlos' voice thundered across the hallway as he stood in the entrance. His eyes roamed over the walls and lockers, his eyebrows furrowing deeply as he spelt out each word. The same poster he had torn down from his locker yesterday was now plastered over every available space in many copies.

The question he had asked, hung in the air unanswered. People avoided his gaze, then resumed their activities like nothing was going on. Only a few had the nerve to stare him back in the eyes. Among those brave few waa Adelina and Dolores who refused to let their gaze falter. He wasn't so dumb as to do something stupid in the presence of so many people. One person might be a coward to challenge him alone but the whole school?

"Why are you worked up if you didn't do it then? Wouldn't it be better to avoid it like you didn't see it than act so defensive?" It was Dolores.

The hallway was thrown into a stunning silence at her voice. Some students nodded as they realized the truth in her words. One wouldn't feel so insulted if they weren't guilty of the things they were being accused of.

He stalked close to them, still livid with anger. He grabbed Dolores' arm in a death grip. "You did this, didn't you?"

She didn't do as much as flinch as he neared her with hot air from his nostrils blowing down on her. "You're angry all right but don't you dare accuse me of something you caused. I don't waste my time working on trivial things as this."

She yanked her hand out of his hold, then stepped closer to him. "Thinking about the things you've made me go through, I should be the one who should have these posters plastered over the school walls but sadly, I'm not."

"She's right, Carlos." Adelina piped in, walking closer to them. "Karma only went around to bite you in the ass. Stop trying to pin the cause of your misfortune on someone else. Fix it."

"You're right. You've been nothing but a big jerk to everyone else who didn't fall into the category you favoured. It's a good thing this happened." Someone piped up from the crowd that had gathered.

"I second that. Instead of pinning blames on innocent people, check within your own crowd. What goes around certainly comes back around to bite hard, idiot." A girl with a squeaky voice spat.

"Shut up, you pipsqueak." Carlos lunged towards her but got pulled back by some guys who were stronger than he was. Angry red veins appeared on his forehead and neck as he struggled against the restraint, cursing loudly.

"Carlos Alejandro?" A stern voice boomed throughout the hallway, drawing the attention of the students. The guys holding Carlos turned their heads to observe the newcomer but their hands didn't leave his body.

The noise reduced to a low hum as eyes moved in the direction of the voice. At the far end of the hall stood a thin, tall man in grey pant trouser and black shirt which was tucked in. His blonde hair streaked with grey shone in the morning sunlight as he walked towards the crowd.

"What the hell is going on here?" The man wandered close, with a frown on his lined face. "Can someone explain to me why there are posters stuck all over the walls of the school?"

Silence answered his question. Some of the students standing around immediately moved to their various lockers, pretending to be oblivious to what was happening. A few snuck to their class the moment they saw him approaching. The girl with the mouse like voice spoke again.

"Principal Winston?"

His head turned to observe a short girl with large frames on the bridge of her nose. "I suppose you have something to say now, don't you?"

"I do. Actually, I arrived school this morning to see posters plastered all over the place with an image of Carlos' face on them. No one has any idea who did it. We're all as clueless as you are."

The man stood silent for a while, a deep frown distorting his features as he read the posters. His eyes moved sharply to the other ones across from where he stood. After looking around for a while, his eyes zeroed in on Carlos. The boys had stopped restraining him.

"You! Come with me." He ordered with a sneer. He walked off in the direction he came in.

Carlos grabbed his school bag laying on the floor, refusing to let his eyes meet the people who stood around him. He heard whispers but ignored them. His concern was the fact that he had been called into the principal's office. What was the probability that his father would not be notified of it?

He shuddered with fear as he trudged towards the corridor where the man entered. The orange door finally came into view as he approached. He slowed his steps, wishing he could delay the moment of dread.

"Come in." The man's voice boomed out again from within, adding to his terror.

Reluctantly, he pushed the door open to reveal the principal giving him an unimpressed expression. Swallowing hard, he closed the door behind him and dropped on one of the seats available. It became unsettling as the man's eyes remained on him, rendering him immobile. It was as if he was peering into his soul through his eyes.

"What is this I hear, Alejandro?" The man questioned, breaking the spell of silence. His eyes moved away from Carlos as he picked out a bunch of colored files which consisted of students' records.

Carlos wiped beads of sweat away from his forehead at the same time that he pushed his hair out of his eyes. His little squirm did not go unnoticed by Winston. "They are not true. Obviously, someone is trying so hard to tarnish my image in this school."

"If I remember correctly, you didn't have much of an image, but if you want to add being a bully to the list, be my guest."

There was no response to his words. Carlos found his tongue tied and unable to smart himself away from the uncomfortable situation he was in. Instead, his eyes fell on the trophies stacked away in a big show glass next to a built-in shelf filled with books. One of those trophies were won by him but that was the very last time he has done anything as productive as that.

"If it wasn't true, why do we have those ugly looking posters everywhere on my school walls. Quite a lot of times, you have been reported to my office for causing a lot of trouble. How do I know your hands are clean on this one?" The principal's deep voice pulled him out of his wandering.

Carlos sighed. "I didn't do any of those. I know I've caused quite a lot of trouble in the past but I'm completely innocent. You've got to trust me." He begged in what hoped to be the most convincing tone he could muster.

Winston looked at him for a brief moment before shaking his head and letting out a deep sigh. "How do you manage to find yourself in the middle of these things?

There was a long stretch of silence. Silence that Carlos didn't bother fill with words. He wanted to get out of the office as soon as he could.

Winston leaned forward in his seat with a softer expression, all lines of hardness wiped off. "You weren't this way when your Dad had you brought into this office on that rainy Wednesday morning. What happened to you?"

Carlos leaned back in his seat, avoiding the man's gaze. "Nothing happened. I grew up."

"Something happened. It's fine if you don't want to talk about it. You're not under any compulsion to do what you don't want to. I'll do something about the flyers spreading hateful rumours but you need to give me an assurance that nothing will bring that up again." He stepped out from behind the table, coming to settle on the edge of the table in front of Carlos.

"You have it. Nothing is going to bring it up again. Now, can I just go?" Carlos stood up as well with his bag draped over one of his shoulder.

"You can. In the meantime," The man's voice took on a softer edge, stopping him in his tracks. "Take care of yourself, son. You look drained."

Carlos nodded slowly, feeling his heart clench in his chest at the endearing manner in which the man referred to him. In the short emotional moment that ensued, he wanted to sit back down and pour his heart out to him as a son would to his father. Instead, he turned away from his principal in a bid to hide the tears that clouded his vision.

"I will." He managed to reply before he dashed out of the suffocating atmosphere and into the silent corridor. The words rang out in his mind.

'Take care of yourself, Son.'

~~~{•}~~~

A few chapters ahead and we'll end this emotional rollercoaster.
Do I feel an ounce of pity for Carlos?
Yes. Yes, I do.

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~~Chignature~~