Chapter 16:  

This had gone on for long enough. She wasn’t going to let this nonsense continue. The person who attacked her was standing in front and mocking her. She had to fight back. Silje frowned aggressively and spat out his name.

“Kail Jorgen Bruntland.”

At her angry voice, Kail slowly looked up at her. Silje didn’t look away and asked, “That’s your name, right?”

“So?”

When he answered with a sweet smile, Silje gritted her teeth and continued, “And you are the cruel king of Bestrum Skole, right?”

One, two, three seconds.

Suddenly, Kail laughed loudly, filling the entire hallway.

“You got it. It seems like you know me very well, so I have nothing to say about that.”

Kail smiled seductively and continued, “You’re funny. I hadn’t realized how famous I was. I am honored.”

When Kail bowed mockingly, Silje bit her lips.

“Stop making fun of me. I hate that.”

“I’m not making fun of you. I want you to fight me to the end. I want to see how far you can go.”

“What?”

Silje became nervous. Did he mean that he was going to come after her? Was this a threat? When she looked at him anxiously, Kail smiled and walked toward her.

He whispered gently, “It seems like you already know me, so I guess I don’t have to warn you. Besides, we’ve been properly introduced recently, right? Every time you see the scar on your wrist, you will think of me. Isn’t that so?”

Unfortunately, it was true. He had marked her.

She was afraid, but she had to say the words. It was the only way for her to erase his presence from her head.

Biting her lips, she looked straight at him.

“Kail Jorgen Bruntland.”

Her voice seemed determined.

“It’s true that I will always remember your name, but that also means that I will never forget what you did to me. Every day, I will try my best to fight the pain you caused me, so thank you. You have given me a scar that will forever remind me to become stronger.”

Kail seemed to be confused by her words. He looked at her for a few more seconds before smiling again. Then he strode away and said to her in the sweetest voice, “Don’t be so certain that scar is the last of it. I might just end up engraving myself on your heart as well.”

***

How many people could look at their misery with calmness? Most would resent their situation or just give up. It was rare to find those who could use their misfortune to strengthen themselves and escape their predicament.

Then what type was he?

Kail was easily the bored kind.

Even during the worst circumstances, he remained detached. There was no fighting back or attempting to escape. He just let his life drain away and all that was left in him was boredom. His life felt meaningless.

As if he had lived a thousand years, Kail was tired of life. He was sick of people, and he just let time pass by. He breathed, walked, and ate, but he wasn’t actually “living”.

“Kail, did you sleep with Brigit last night? I’m so jealous, haha.”

“Brigit is the only worthy girl in this school, right?”

Everyone else was the same to him, including Brigit. She was annoying just like everyone else, but he let her stay near him out of laziness.

However, Brigit dared to do something stupid.

“Kail! There is a place I want you to go with me. I want to show you something funny.”

She took him to an unfamiliar neighborhood to a quiet cafeteria.

[skog]

The place was nothing special. If Brigit hadn’t dragged him here, Kail would’ve never come to a place like this. He was suffering from a hangover, but Brigit seemed to be oblivious of his dangerous mood.

“Kail! That’s the girl. She works here. How poor and stupid is she that she works at a place like this? People call her the Asian Queen, but ha! She acts all high and mighty, but she is only a part-time waitress. She is so annoying.”

She was determined to destroy Silje in Kail’s eyes. She continued, “Someone like her needs to be taught a lesson. Gunhild said she will do it. Felicien hates her too.”

Kail wasn’t even listening to her. His head was pounding, and Brigit was annoying him as usual. He warned her, “Just shut up, Brigit.”

When Brigit flinched and became quiet, Kail lit his cigarette and ordered.

“Espresso.”

The girl who approached the table with the menu must’ve been surprised to see them, but she remained calm and didn’t look away.

Silje Kim Pettersen. So she was working at a place like this. Kail gave her a twisted smile as she glared at him with clear aggression.

At this moment, he wanted to see her panic. Like Brigit said, Silje always looked arrogant and confident, and he wanted to see her show more emotions.

But all she did was bring him what he ordered with a blank face.

“Here is your espresso.”

Silje wasn’t working in a typical waitress uniform. Instead, she wore a sweater and jeans just like she did at school that morning.

Yet, she still looked self-assured. It wasn’t obvious confidence, but her attitude felt strangely calm and stoic.

Perhaps that was why he wanted to shake her up to make her feel something. He wanted to be the root cause of these feelings to her.

Kail looked at Silje and shot her another wicked smile.

“Hope you enjoy it.”

Silje placed the cup on the table and left. She ignored him even though he was openly staring at her.

Instead, it was Brigit who was becoming anxious at his behavior. She tried her best to get his attention.

“Kail, what do you think of my outfit today? Should I wear a shorter skirt?”

However, Kail wasn’t interested in her at all. All he could do was continue to stare at the one person that amused him. He watched her like a predator during a hunt. It was still a surprise that she worked at a place like this.

“Coffee and a sandwich for table 2.”

“It’s ready, so you can take it to the table, Silje. Oh, and we have a leftover sandwich so let’s split it between us.”

“Oh, but I’m still full from the other sandwich we ate just now.”

Kail raised his eyebrows.

She was laughing.

Shockingly, Silje was smiling. She didn’t look unhappy or angry like she usually did.

Silje seemed to get along well with her co-workers. This was unexpected, considering how she acted at school.

Suddenly, Kail grinned, making Brigit even more frustrated.

“Kail! Who are you looking at? Hmm?”

He continued to ignore Brigit and followed Silje with his eyes.

An interesting new toy for him.

He didn’t know when, but he remembered seeing the elk getting hit by a truck. For some reason, this girl reminded him of that elk.

The girl who fell off the building into his arms.

The Asian girl he couldn’t stop thinking about.

The sticky red blood. He remembered the feel of the warm blood on his skin.

He could see the will to live in that elk’s eyes, just as he could see the strength in Silje’s black eyes when she fought against him.

He didn’t know why, but he couldn’t stop watching her.