(Disclaimer: All the mentioned people’s ages are 21-22.)
(TW: Mild physical assault)
(PART 1)
I would be shamelessly lying if I denied that I was utterly envious of Elias.
It would be just wrong, and I'm a messed up person. Morally and emotionally. Even though I loathed him for being the polar opposite of me, it should still be acknowledged that the guy is great. He's intelligent, wise, and an overall wholesome person. How he manages his senior year thesis and student council chairman responsibilities is just mindblowing to me.
Obviously, I'm none of those things. I'm a mediocre, chainsmoking, caffeine-and-booze-dependent engineering student who is, fortunately, fairly intelligent to reach graduation year in a program I never wanted. It didn't help that Elias majors in the subject I originally wanted to take, which is humanities. Our sour, non-existent chemistry and my irrational hatred for him only makes it harder for us to bond.
But Elias and I share one thing: we're both popular. He's popular for being these goody two-shoes role model, I'm popular for being an award-winning student athlete... and a staple at every frat party. So you could say we were the typical "polar opposites" trope. The geek and the jock. The nerd and the bully. The angel and the devil.
Only thing is those tropes are true. I did bully the poor guy since high school, and even until now. Although bullying becomes lame in college so I just irritated him most of the time. Part of me always thought that I probably just attended this university to piss him off until the end. I've always known this was his dream school. Well, boo-hoo.
It was just months ago that I realized what was the root of my hatred for him. I mean, yes, he was a smile with two legs which just irritates the fuck out of me. He got great grades, great friends, great papers... even great family, goddamnit. My god, he was great.
And then it hit me. I wasn't just envious of the guy. I admired him. God, I wanted to be him and be with him. I wanted to be friends with him.
But of course, who would want to be friends with someone who made their entire high school life a living hell? Scratch that, who would want to be friends with someone who has tormented them since 13?
And he took revenge for those awful, awful things I did. A revenge I deeply, truly deserved.
It was a busy yet boring Friday night. I went back to the dorm so frustrated and sleep-deprived. Coach Wen knew about the swim team's weekly booze-filled rendezvous at the pool hosted by none other than me. Of course, I was the one most heavily reprimanded. As a respected figure in the swim team, I can admit that I should've done better.
Like always lock the doors when the party starts. Or know where to hide liquor bottles so it can be cleaned up the next day. Or fucking realize that the student council always stay late for meetings in the nearby hall.
That goddamn son of a bitch Elias ratted us out. And now we lost our key privileges.
I know I always mess with him and truth be told, he should mess with me more so we're even. But this shit is where I draw the line. He just ruined a swim team traditional that has been ongoing for two years, thanks again to me.
And the perfect opportunity to get back at him presented itself to me, in the form of a knock on the door.
"Knock knock," a vaguely familiar voice said.
I didn't bother to respond. I sat on my bed, coffee in hand and my phone on the other.
"It's Kendrick, I need to drop our thesis paper."
And there was it. Insert lightbulb above my head.
I placed my cup on my study desk and walked to the door. That sassy, poker-faced councilor of the student council presented himself on the doorway as I opened it, a pile of papers tightly clutched between arms.
