FIXated

Predators: Troublesome Duo

As quickly as the weekend passed, Monday arrived, marking the starting line for the first school day of the week.

Monday blues hit everyone like a truck as students were still sluggish after returning from the weekend. Their feet dragged across the tiled floors as they walked to their classrooms. Others loitered in the hallways, lingering around the lockers, trying to do last-minute homework, while some copied straight from their friends to finish it before the morning bells rang.

“Ah! W-what the fuck are you doing?”

One of the female students standing by the staircase screeched as heads turned towards her direction in wonder.

“Hey, stop that!” Another one exclaimed. Her brow furrowed over her forehead, and her lips curled up in disgust.

“Perverts.”

“Ugh. It’s the Predators.”

“Disgusting.”

Snarls and snide comments filled the halls, their voices whispering next to each other while eyes intently watched two men, wearing unprescribed uniforms, strode down the halls in confidence, hands in pockets and shoulders relaxed like they owned the place.

The man in a white cap approached another woman, lifting strands of her hair in his fingers as he took a quick whiff of the scent. Then, he hovered near her ear and whispered in a mellow voice.

“Mmmm, darling, you smell wonderful. Bet you took a shower this morning.”

“Eww, Mikey, get away from me!” She pushed him away before quickly walking out.

Mikey clicked his tongue. “Tsk. Tsk. I’ll never understand them… wasn’t that a compliment?” Then, he turned his head to the man next to him. “Right, Flipper?”

Meanwhile, Flipper, with a phone in hand, sneakily crouched right next to a female student who was completely oblivious of him while in the middle of picking up piles of papers scattered on the ground and stuffing them in the locker.

He glanced up at Mikey. “Huh? What are you talking about, dude?”

The shutters of his phone camera snapped with a quick flash, taking an upskirt photo of the unsuspecting student. Immediately, the girl turned around, her eyes widened upon realizing what he was doing.

“Ah! Pervert!” she screamed at the top of her lungs, holding down her skirt.

“Oops.” Flipper snickered, grinning widely at the girl who stared at him, mortified, still clutching at the hem of her skirt.

“Argh. Frickin forgot to shut it off!” he groaned as he stood up from his position, leaving the scene as he headed towards Mikey from across the corridor. While fumbling with the phone in his hand, flipping through the stash of photos he had recently taken, he stopped right in front of him.

“Well, check this out, man. She got her cheeks shown in a cute pair of undies.” Flipper revealed to him a picture of white, frilly tongs with cute strawberry designs.

“Pfft. Not bad, I dig it.” Mikey snorted, biting his lower lip.

“We can probably sell it for a quick buck,” Flipper suggested, grinning widely. “I’d say 5 to 10 bucks a piece.”

“Oh-ho? Who’s the weirdo buying stuff like this?”

“A hotshot perv in our channel. He likes to keep a stash of them.”

“You bet. So long as we're raking in some cash.” Mikey chuckled softly as he agreed, rubbing his fingers together. “Come, buddy, let’s get more of them.”

The two laughed it off, wrapping their arms over their shoulder as they continued to walk along the corridors, followed by stares, glares, and whispers from the rest of the students in the area.

---

Locker doors slammed shut after taking their books and notebooks for the morning session. Last-minute goodbyes and see ya later were exchanged before the group dispersed into the walking crowd and entered their respective classrooms. Slowly, the halls cleared out of boisterous laughter, late-homework rushers, and gossipers. The morning bells had not rung yet.

It’s been almost a week… still nothing.

Standing in front of the rows of lockers along the hallway of class 2-C was Kim Hyeon-ju. Another letter was held in her hand, caressing the crisp edges with the tip of her fingers.

…Maybe he is busy?

Or… is he…

The smooth sheet of the paper crinkled as her fingers gripped it tightly. She shook her head furiously, snapping out of the daze.

…No. Kim Hyeon-ju! Keep on trying. Someday… He will read it.

A deep sigh escaped from her lips as she glanced up, looking at the numbers imprinted on a brass plate at the locker’s metallic doors.

Locker 2154

As her eyes paused on that specific locker for a moment in silence, she held her breath, lifting the letter from her fingertips and aiming it towards one of the slits.

“Oh? Locker 2154, huh?”

A man’s voice crept up from behind, standing a few inches away from her as warm breath huffed at the back of her neck. Hyeon-ju jolted up, slowly turning as she looked over her shoulder.

“W-who-?”

Her stomach dropped as her heartbeat hammered loudly in her chest after laying her eyes on a man in a white baseball cap, wearing a blue varsity jacket and joggers. His dirty blonde locks swept over his forehead, his deep blue eyes glinted against the light, and a charming smile curved out of his lips. Right next to him, Flipper peered behind his shoulders, hands stuffed in his pocket with a wide grin on his face.

The letter in her fingertips trembled as Mikey swiped it from her grip, turning it over to the backside as he read the addressed name.

“To Raphael Kiersten?” He scoffed, tossing the letter to Flipper.

“Pfft. Love letter, huh? Too cheesy.” He chuckled under his breath, waving the letter in between his fingers. “Should I read it?”

Mikey beckoned, smirking. “Go on. Let’s see. Is it a sweet, lovely note or some crazy smutty one?”

“N-no!” Hyeon-ju protested as she tried to grab the letter from him, but he held it further up beyond her reach, watching her struggling, hopping on her feet, and stretching her limbs.

“Whoa, there. She’s a feisty one, eh?” Flipper just laughed mockingly.

“G-give it back!”

Suddenly, a fist slammed hard against the metal, pinning her against the lockers. She softly gasped as she slipped on her footing, hitting her back against the cold lockers before looking up to see Mikey hovering his face onto hers with a wicked smile.

“Hey, cutie, why bother if you've got someone like me ready to sweep you off your feet?” he whispered, leaning closer into her ear.

Her breath hitched, turning her head to the side, avoiding his leering gaze. She couldn’t speak up, frozen in place.

H-he is too close….

W-what is he doing?

“If you go on a date with me…” Mikey continued with his voice lowered, caressing his fingers on her cheeks. “I’d give back this junk.”

Hyeon-ju flinched, trembling as the beating on her chest pounded rapidly. Her eyes and lips pressed shut as his fingers ran across her cheek and pinched it lightly.

“So, what do you say, darling?”

Footsteps echoed hurriedly on the tiled floors as the soles of his shoes clicked in each step, running past several classrooms and sets of lockers along the hallway. Students stepped back, paving the way for a man in his mid-forties with slick back hair and thin-framed glasses.

“Michael Godfriede!”

“Felipe Dominguez!”

His voice boomed in the halls as he called out their names, startling the two men as they turned their attention towards that direction.

Hyeon-ju took a peek, opening one of her eyelids, and noticed a figure approaching them with heavy steps.

Mr. Callahan?

“Hey, what on earth are you doing?!” Callahan roared, gripping Mikey’s shoulders, pulling him away from her as he stumbled back on his feet.

A sigh of relief escaped from her lips, clutching her chest. The trembling of her fingers had ceased as the beating of her heart slowly relaxed. She had been saved!

“Tsk. Sir Callahan, I was talking to her.” Mikey argued, scratching the back of his head as he clicked his tongue.

Right beside him, Flipper wrapped his shoulders over his friend, tapping it lightly as he nodded in agreement. “Yeah, sir. Nothing to worry about.”

Their excuses never changed the expression painted on Mr. Callahan’s face, jaws clenched with a frown, tucking his hands on his hips as he glared.

“You two, to the office, NOW!”