Chapter 2

I avoided Axel for the next couple of days. It was difficult, since we shared the same classes, but I tried anyway. It didn’t take him long to notice. He made several attempts to talk to me, but I always managed to slip away before he got too close.

It was on my way back to the dorm after class that he finally cornered me. And clearly, it wasn’t out of friendly concern--or because he wanted to buy me a hot meal. He wanted something from me, that much was obvious. “Whatever it is, you’re not getting it,” I told myself.

“The final is happening in a month,” he said. “I need to borrow your notes.”

I shook my head no. “You should have written them by yourself,” I told him. “I am not giving them to you. I need them today anyway.”

I walked past him and quickened my pace. My goal was to put my things in my room and leave for somewhere that he would not be able to find me. I had the idea of taking the metro to go to a shopping mall or somewhere quieter. I had this whole plan of coming back home only when it was very late at night.

All my plans disappeared when I saw him waiting in front of my room. “Shit,” I muttered. I immediately made a U-turn along the corridor, but he saw me and called out my sister’s name.

“Emma.”

That got my attention, and I stopped in my tracks.

The sound of her name coming from his mouth sent a cold ripple down my spine. I turned to face him, my fists clenched at my sides. He wore that same smug expression, the one that made my stomach twist.

“You walk away now,” he said calmly, “and I might just send her a message. Maybe she’ll be more responsive than you.”

He was threatening me with Emma now. Does he have Emma’s number? Is he bluffing? All these questions ran through my head.

Not wanting to make a scene in the corridor, I walked toward the door and opened it. He got the message and silently followed me into the room.

Once we were inside my room, with the door closed behind me, I confronted him.

“What’s the meaning of this?” I said with a voice loud enough to express my anger. “Are you threatening me now?” Soon, my initial anger gave way to panic, and my voice started to shake. “I thought you were my friend. Friends don’t threaten each other.”

Axel dropped his leather backpack onto my bed and casually settled into the armchair next to it, while I remained standing in front of him.

“What kind of friend refuses to lend his notes?” He retorted.

I was impressed. I hadn’t expected him to turn my own words against me like that. But I wasn’t about to let him threaten me and get away with it. My mother had taught me that if you let someone walk all over you once, they’ll keep doing it forever.

So, I mustered up whatever little courage I had. “I am not giving you my notes,” I said. I worked hard for them, and you don’t have Emma’s number anyway. I would never give it to you.” I was quite pleased with how I all sounded. It sounded tough.

Axel smirked as he pulled out his phone and unlocked the screen, revealing his home screen. He tapped a few buttons and held it out to me. “I’ve been keeping tabs on her,” he said, showing me her Instagram page. “You see? She went to a Korean BBQ place yesterday. Must’ve been quite delicious.”

He paused on a photo--Emma in a light summer dress, standing in the glow of the setting sun. To my dismay, the dress stopped mid-thigh, her legs clearly visible to Axel’s leering face.

“She really knows how to pose, doesn’t she?” He continued, shaking his head. “Just begging for attention.” He zoomed in on her dress, stopping just above her thighs. “I’d love to get my hands under that--see what kind of underwear she wears when she’s looking for attention.”