“Define that. Are you suicidal?” I ask. I have no idea what he means when he says “death”.

“No. I just like the idea of life after death.” Hametsu says. I want to end the conversation right there. Right now. It got dark.

“I gotta go. I have to do… things. So I'll see you Monday. Bye.”

I hang up on him and text Roxy about two hours later.

Me: Hametsu is 70% insane. He's been tested. I'm seriously doubting if we can ever be friends with him.

Roxy: Kal, give him a chance. He was sick for three months. He can change.

Me: Yeah, but...

Roxy: Kallan. Second chance.

I can sense that she is stern with that reply.

She's right. I haven't gotten to know him very well. Maybe he's just joking with me and he really isn't a near insane lunatic. But his love of horror movies is real. He likes to talk about it. A lot.

I honestly have no idea where this thought came up, but I'm hoping that he isn't genocidal and hates everyone and wants to kill us all after he grows bored with ruling the world. I don't know why that thought came into my head. It just did. It’s probably my anxiety that thought that.

A lot of weird things come into my head. Like that time when I wrote about mini-fridges for my English homework, as I’ve mentioned before.

I kept texting Roxy for a while. We talk about many different things. Then I randomly text, without even thinking, if we can hang out next weekend.

“Um… Sure I guess.”

I gave myself about fifty mental lashes. I'm such an idiot.

“So uh… Any suggestions?” I ask.

“We could go see a movie.” She replies. I agree. We both want to see Jumanji because the trailers for it look amazing, plus we're both fans of Dwayne Johnson. So I buy the tickets online and we decide to go to the 8:30 pm showing.

When we stop, I scream in my pillow for a good five seconds. I swear I want to cry again. I text my mom about my date with Roxy. She is very proud and tells me not to rush into a relationship and, of course, she gives me her favorite saying:

“Early is on time, on time is late, late is unacceptable.”

I laugh a little bit when she tells me that.

I get off my phone and do a little house cleaning. Sweeping the floors, cleaning the bathrooms which is pretty gross, and the ever constant war between me and my bedroom. I swear I clean it one day and the next day it looks like a tornado hit it. Then there are the stains. Those evil stains. I get rid of one and a new one takes its place. It's a never ending war. I should stop being so clumsy with spilling things.

Then I need to clean my entire desk. I have to remove everything out of the drawers and clean the insides of the drawers. I have special cleaning supplies for them. It's called: Orange Glo. That wood cleaner stuff you get at the local store. I’ve seen ads for it on TV and decided to try using it for my desk. I honestly really like that stuff, but that's just my personal preference. People can use whatever wood cleaning product they like.

Then I tackle my floor.

“All right, floor, it’s just you and me. Those stains will be removed whether you like it or not,” I say. I aim the stain remover at a particularly annoying stain. It never goes away permanently. I get rid of it and a week later it reappears.

I will get rid of that stain even if it kills me.

I spray it with the carpet stain remover and scrub it like there's no tomorrow. The foamy stuff goes from white to a disgusting brownish-black color, sort of like rot. I rinse it off with water and the stain is gone, temporarily. I clean my other stains. Those actually go away. The one by my bed though, that one stupid stain, never goes away. It's taunting me.

I even changed carpets twice and had the area underneath the carpet cleaned.

It. Reappears. Every. Single. Time.

I screamed: “MOM IT CAME BACK!!!” When I saw it again.

I hate that stupid stain. It's a nightmare to get rid of. Just an absolute nightmare. I can't get rid of it.

Anyway, I grow bored after a few minutes so I decide to go on my laptop and fool around on Facebook and Instagram for a while. Hametsu sent me a friend request on Facebook which I reluctantly accepted. He isn't on at the moment, which I am silently thankful for. I had enough pessimism for one day. Pessimism and insanity. He's starting to drive me a little crazy.

Two of my other friends, Adair and Aidan, are currently on and bombard me with a bunch of invites to games. They're brothers. Adair is 27 and the more mature one. Aidan is 30 and has a little bit of a wild side. I've known them for basically my entire life because they used to babysit me all the time. I spend a few hours talking to them. Then I go to eat dinner and get ready for bed and promise to text them later that week.

When Monday rolls around I almost dread it. Hametsu had a really bad reputation at his old school, bad enough to get him expelled. I really hope he won't be like that now. He did say he is going to change.

But he's being a moderate jerk to the biggest jerks in school. Everyone else isn't worth his time.

Sakura is a bit harsh. A girl says hi to Hametsu and she's clinging to him glaring at the girl who spoke to him with dagger-like eyes. She’s possessive. Hametsu tells her to lighten up.

She acts differently towards Roxy though. She has it in her head that I'm dating Roxy. Which is good I guess because she kinda scares me.

“Roxy your boyfriend is here,” Sakura says.

I can tell that Roxy gave up on telling them that we're not dating…. Yet. I'm actually considering dating her. I mean I did ask her out last night so I guess that's a step forward.

“Hey guys,” I say rather glumly.

“Dude, what's wrong?” Hametsu asks. “You look glum.” I can hear a hint of pleasure in his voice. He’s enjoying my moodiness. I scowl. He smiles.

I didn't answer.

“Don't give me the silent treatment. I did nothing wrong,” he says. Roxy eyes me sharply. I sigh, slightly agitated.

“I'm just tired.” I finally say.

“Understandable dude,” he tells me.

Hametsu is wearing a dark green hoodie with his sleeves rolled up. He's wearing dark grey jeans and black converse. He has a black Jansport backpack that looks like it has nothing in it but is full when he opens it up. Three different folders and textbooks, and PE clothes. Plus some loose papers and a pencil. He pulls out his schedule.

“Mrs. Mackey. Sixth period. Is she cool?” He asks.

“Strictest teacher in the history of everything,” I say. “She's also very serious. Don't attempt to crack any jokes or it's an automatic detention.” It's true. I once tried to tell her a joke my dad once told me, I got a thirty minute detention for just asking if she wanted to hear it. She labeled it as “disrupting class”. That day we were all done with classwork and notes and she gave us free time. Which half the class translated as “do your homework”. I was like “haha no. Time to fool around on my phone,” and she didn't like it.

I laugh silently to myself.

“What's so funny Kallan?” Hametsu asks me.

“For the millionth time-”

“I don't care,” he says, cutting me off. I scowl.

I notice that for some reason people seem to be slightly afraid of Hametsu. Except for the jerks who decide to pick a fight with him.

“Look it's the new kid.” One of them says.

“Pleased to meet you too,” Hametsu says, with his voice dripping in sarcasm. He is holding on to Sakura as if his life depends on it. I guess he’s also defensive of his loved ones.

“Who's the pink haired chick?” Another one asks.

“This is Sakura, my girlfriend,” Hametsu replies, getting very defensive. “If you touch her you will end up in a hospital having your bones reconstructed. That's how badly I will beat you.”

“Liar,” A third one says.

“I've seen it happen,” Sakura warns. “It's actually kinda scary.”

Roxy and I are just listening to their conversation, not even bothering to jump in. They kept arguing about which one of the two is a better fighter, Alec, the jerk leader, or Hametsu, the new kid.

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“Fine, then we'll fight. Today at four o'clock, after school near the old park.” Alec says. I can tell Hametsu isn't one to back down from a fight, no matter how many times people warn him.

“Great. See ya then. I hope you know what you're getting into.” Hametsu says.

The jerk group walks away.

“I hate them,” Hametsu says. He hugs Sakura.

“We can tell after how menacingly you spoke to them,” Roxy says.

“It was pretty startling,” I say.

He smiles. He looks very proud of himself. He actually has a pleasant smile.

“Let’s just get to class already. I don’t want to be late,” I say.

First period rolls around and is generally pretty much the same, aside from Hametsu telling us that he’s allergic to sunflower seeds. He didn't go into much detail about it.

One of those jerks is in the class too. I see this smirk on his face that didn’t look friendly at all.

I eye him coldly. He flips me off. Hametsu looks at him and smirks a very cold smirk.

He sits down next to me.

We vigorously take notes and we try to ask the teacher to slow down. He refuses.

Hametsu is also in my PE class. Today we have to run the mile. Oh god please no. I hate the mile. Hametsu is fast. He is the first to finish the mile. I'm somewhere in the middle.

Hametsu just leans on the fence, lost in thought. Then this evil looking grin crept upon his face. He's most likely having an insane episode again. I know he tends to have a strong hate towards certain people. I decide to try and help him with his insanity problem.

“Yo Hametsu.”

He sighs.

“The insanity of my mind is blooming right now. I need help,” he says. “Help me get out of it.”

“So, how do I help you?” I ask him.

“Just talk to me about stuff that doesn't involve torture or whatever,” he says. I can see the insanity in his eyes and him struggling to control it

I'm not exactly paying attention because a caterpillar is crawling next to his foot. I go over to it and pick it up. It's a western swallowtail butterfly caterpillar because it's green and has eye spots close to its head. It's fat, almost ready to become a chrysalis. A couple of days away it looks like.

Hametsu notices the caterpillar I'm holding. A look of disgust crosses his face.

“Ew, gross. Caterpillars,” he says. I'm offended.

Caterpillars are cool. They turn into butterflies and butterflies are pretty.

The caterpillar quickly crawls up my arm and onto my shoulder.

“Yeah you better crawl away you stupid bug,” Hametsu says.

“Dude that was mean!! Caterpillars have feelings too.” I say in defense of the cute little caterpillar. The thing seems to be afraid of Hametsu. He sighs and apologizes.

On the way back to the locker room, I stop by a plant that western swallowtail caterpillars like to eat and put the caterpillar on a leaf. It wiggles its head and six front legs at me and happily begins munching away on the leaf. I smile at it.

Then Hametsu grabs me by my arm and drags me away towards the boy’s locker room to dress out.

“I hate bugs. Especially butterflies,” He tells me.

“Why? Butterflies are cool.” I retort. He scoffs.

“My mom told me that butterflies represent the beauty of life, and life's a bitch in my opinion,” he growls, as we change back into regular clothing. He has a six pack on his abs, which made me jealous.

I'm offended by his remark. Butterflies are important to the world. They bring beauty and color and are a symbol of change. But I do understand where he's coming from, having to deal with the death of his parents while still in elementary school. It’s incredibly unfair for someone who had to witness the cruelty life can bring at such a young age.

“I can see your point, but it was still kind of offensive,” I say. He sighs heavily, most likely missing his parents and wishing life is fairer to him. When he finishes changing he gets his stuff and storms off to his next class without another word.

At lunch Hametsu, Roxy, Sakura, and I sit by the quad area near the hallway near Mrs. Mackey’s room. Hametsu seems to be in a much better mood.

“You said that you were allergic to sunflower seeds. How bad is the allergy?” I ask.

Hametsu swallows his food before he responds.

“They make me feel a feeling that is similar to being high,” He says. “You don't want to see me like that. I get violent. Really violent,” he explains, pretty ashamed. “and I get really cruel. In that state, I can't control it. I also break out in hives shortly afterward.”

“Ok so we need to keep sunflower seeds away from you,” I say. We laugh.

I'm completely unaware of my surroundings. I didn't even see the caterpillar as it's crawling up my arm. Roxy tells me.

“Kal there's a caterpillar on your arm,” she says to me. I look down. it's the same caterpillar from my PE class. It wiggles its six front legs at me. I cautiously wave back. Hametsu begins to laugh a little bit.

“That’s cute, but let me get rid of that caterpillar for you.” He says trying to reach over. I gently grab the caterpillar and place it on my shoulder.

“You just want to kill it. I will not let you do such a bad thing,” I say. The caterpillar rests happily on my shoulder. Hametsu rolls his eyes. Then the jerk group comes and they decide to pick a fight with him. Great. Just great. That's the last thing he wants. I can tell by the really cold way glares at them. There is also a look of absolute annoyance. We all share that look of annoyance.

“You still up for the fight, Hammy?” Alec says.

I swear I think Hametsu is about to rip Alec’s head off.

“As ready as I'll ever be asshat.” He replies in a voice so cold, it sends shivers down our spines. Me, Roxy, Sakura, and the jerk group. We all shudder. He smiles, obviously pleased with himself, but quickly stops seeing the shivers it gave us.

They walk away, talking about some upcoming wrestling match that Alec will be in.

Everyone knows Alec is on the wrestling team. He also does karate and is a first degree black belt.

“Hey Hametsu, what degree black belt are you?”

“Third, almost fourth. I'm having a test for karate on Wednesday, jujitsu on Thursday, kung fu on Friday, taekwondo on Saturday-”

“We get it,” I say, cutting him off. He shrugs and continues anyway.

“Hapkido is tonight. I was supposed to have one last Saturday for judo, but you know I was sick so I had it pushed back until I got better, and tomorrow for aikido,” he explains. “Also these are all make up tests.”

“Dude. How much do you know?” I ask. “How long have you been training?!”

“Since I could walk,” he says. “So about 16 years. And some of the tests I had pretty early. I got a black belt in all of them when I was five.”

“Don't end up killing Alec. The last thing we need is you getting arrested.” I caution him.

“I know how to control myself. Unless I eat a sunflower seed,” he says.

Hametsu and I get entirely lost in our conversation. We talk about mushrooms, martial arts, poisonous plants and animals, bacon, and fruit, specifically pineapples. We had a debate on its pronunciation. Causing us to fall into fits of laughter occasionally.

It's a really interesting conversation and he tells me that he once ate a wild mushroom thinking it was a safe one. That part of the conversation quickly gets depressing so I turn it around to weird fruits. We talk about the durian, which he says he once had.

“Dude it smells horrible, and it tastes just as bad as it smells,” he tells us. “I don’t understand how some people like it.”

Roxy has to tell us when the bell rings because we are so lost in conversation, we didn't even hear it.

I lost track of the caterpillar but I hope it's safe wherever it is.

Hametsu takes a seat next to me in math. We talk about math and how evil it is.

Then Mrs. Mackey comes up and begins teaching.

“Alright, class.” She starts. “Let's introduce Hametsu Yamashi, the transfer student.”

Hametsu stands up and introduces himself.

“I'm Hametsu. I'm 17. My favorite color is a dark forest green and I have a girlfriend and if you try to hit on her I'll make you regret it. Thank you,” he says. After that, he sits down. He smiles a nice smile.

Mrs. Mackey turns around and begins teaching about tangent lines and circles. Hametsu made a gagging face at me and we quietly laugh.

After school is over, I meet up with Roxy at our usual place by the large oak tree near the school. Hametsu follows me.

“Wanna watch me fight Alec?” he asks.

To be honest I kinda did.

“Sorta yeah. I guess,” I say. He literally grabs me and drags me to the old park.

Apparently, the news of the fight spread quickly because there are like twenty people there.

“Ready to lose twerp?” Alec taunts.

“I'm going to have you begging for mercy by the end of this,” Hametsu replies.

They soon begin fighting. Alec tries to land a blow on him by punching and kicking but Hametsu easily avoids his shots. Then Hametsu does some very advanced kicks that involve jumping in the air. Alec blocks it but it's obvious that it hurt him. Then Hametsu begins trying to punch him. Alec blocks some of them, but Hametsu is too fast and Alec ends up with a bloody nose.

Then Hametsu begins kicking him in the gut and face. Then he pauses to take a quick breath. That's when I see a sunflower seed fly into his mouth.

Hametsu ate it and spat the shell out. I don’t even know why he did that despite his allergy. He becomes dazed, I see some hives break out on his neck. I immediately know what’s coming. The uncontrollable cruel side is coming out. I can see him struggling to control it but he fails. I see the cruelty flood his eyes.

Alec lands a few blows on him, but before he can land the final blow, Hametsu grabs his hand, and then I hear his bones crunching. Hametsu begins to crush the bones of Alec’s hand.

“Which one of you idiots told him about my allergy to sunflower seeds?” Hametsu says in a cruel voice.

Everyone froze.

“Answer me. NOW!!!” He demands. “Or else your friend here won't have any bones left in his hand.” Hametsu squeezes Alec's hand a little more. Alec cries out in pain and goes on his knees.

No one moves. They are too scared. He smirks while his eyes shine brightly with pleasure at Alec's pain. He squeezes tighter. Blood starts to come out of Alec’s hand.

Finally, that kid from our first period class is shoved forward with a small bag of sunflower seeds. Hametsu sees him and eyes him very coldly.

“Give me one reason why I shouldn't be doing this to you,” he says.

The kid stood there, terrified like a deer caught in headlights.

“I'm waiting for an answer,” Hametsu says. Alec begins to plead for him to stop. Hametsu kicks him in the gut and slightly tightens his grip. More bone crunching noises can be heard.

The kid begins to stammer out an answer.

“You have every right,” he says, shaking.

Hametsu isn't satisfied.

“That's not a reason. I just want one simple reason why this shouldn't be you!!” Hametsu changes his position to a sort of move that looks like he's about to break Alec’s arm. He bent hard. I heard something snap.

“JUST MAKE HIM STOP!!! PLEASE MAKE HIM STOP!!” Alec pleads. He begins crying.

“Answer me,” Hametsu demands again. His smirk grew wider and crueler. He laughs a bit. I know his cruel side is bad, but I didn’t expect this.

“I told Alec that you were allergic to sunflower seeds and he made me get some so he can win,” The kid says frantically. “I don’t have a legitimate reason for you to not do this to me, but please stop hurting him.”

“Well clearly he isn't winning,” Hametsu sneers. “Very well then.”

Hametsu drops Alec on the ground and slaps the kid so hard, the kid loses balance. He ends up falling backward.

“You're a monster,” Alec gasps.

“I've been called worse,” Hametsu retorts.

Hametsu grabs his backpack and walks away after harshly warning everyone that if they tell anyone about what happened, they will be granted no mercy.

The crowd eventually disbands. Some people help get Alec to the hospital. I'm left standing there, terrified. I'm shaking. I walk home, regretting my decision of watching Hametsu fight.