Present Day

“Stop whining like a horse,” Godfrey said while frowning.

The boys laughed hard at the girl, aged 15, lying on the ground. They had taken her lunch and her bus fare, and when she protested for them to give her back her money for transport, the leader of the group shoved her to the ground. She cried when she saw her bruised thigh with plenty of blood.

Godfrey and his group always tortured girls at Ermelo High School because they wanted food and money for themselves. They came from poor families, and because they were struggling, they took advantage of the girls at school. They never attacked the boys because a majority of them were in the karate team, and they knew that they would fight back.

After coming back from a soccer match at the fields, Taffie saw what was happening from a distance. He hated the group of boys, so he strolled closer and saw that a girl his age was sobbing. He quickly dropped his bag on the ground and rushed to help the poor girl. He was muscular, with strong, power legs, and he was a striker in his football team.

“Leave her alone,” Taffie shouted while panting on his knees.

The boys were frightened when they heard Taffie screaming, until they saw that it was a boy like them. They thought it was a teacher or principal, and when they saw that it was not, they shared the cheese sandwiches which were in the lunch box and burst out in a chorus of laughter.

“Look who’s talking,” Godfrey said while chewing a chunk in his mouth.

“I said leave her alone,” Taffie shouted again, revealing his muscles with confidence.

Godfrey playfully opened his mouth in shock and gestured as if he was scared of him. He then raised his hands in a playful manner. “We’re afraid. Let’s leave the poor girl alone,” he playfully said, and the group roared in laughter.

“I will,” Taffie said while removing his shirt and clutching his fists.

There was a moment of silence, and even the girl had a smile on her face because a knight in shining armour had come to save her. She dusted off her dress and tried running away. She wanted to leave them there because Godfrey and his gang had been on her case since she started going to the library after school.

“You’ll what?” Godfrey hissed and pushed Taffie by his chest.

A hot slap flew across Godfrey’s cheek, and one boy grabbed the girl as she was escaping. Godfrey then slipped and hit the ground with a loud thud.

“Leave that girl alone, or I’ll give each of you a hot slap,” Tarrie said while showing the group his fists.

The gang was frightened and ran away. Godfrey sat up rubbing his itchy cheek and notice his gang drifting away, then he quickly followed them in a rush.

“Are you okay?” Taffie asked while holding the girl’s hand and checking for injuries on her body.

“I’m fine, thanks,” she replied with a smile.

“Those boys have gone too far. I wanted to …” Taffie said, and when he punched his one hand on his other, he noticed that she was terrified. “They need to be punished,” he continued.

When Taffie was done talking, the girl wiped the dust off her skirt and grabbed her bag from the floor. Taffie then took his dirty shirt and tried wearing it, but the girl took it before he could.

“I’ll wash it for you, I stay down the street,” the girl said, pointing with her finger to the left side of school, opposite the shops. She avoided eye contact with Taffie because there was some electricity flowing down her spine, and she didn’t want him to notice.

“Don’t worry … I …” Taffie responded, but before he could finish, she interrupted him.

“I just want to thank you, so please allow me to wash it?” she pleaded.

Taffie nodded in agreement. He then saw the emptiness in the girl’s eyes, which she was still hiding by avoiding eye contact.

“I’m Chenai,” the girl said with a smile, then she produced her hand as a way of introducing herself.

Before taking her hand, Taffie flashed her a killer smile. “Taffie,” he said, eyeing her beautiful face that send chills down his spine.

***

Tell us: What do you think is going happen next between Taffie and Chenai?