Page 70 of His Untoward Hate

Sky woke up grumpier than usual. When he went downstairs to drink some water, his brother was nowhere in sight. He already figured Jasper had left for school, since it was past seven o’clock.

Sky knew Jasper well enough to understand why he had not waited for him. Waking him up without his notice was one of Sky’s biggest pet peeves. No matter who it was—his brother, his pals, or anyone else—they would definitely get beaten if they woke him up. As for Sky, he had not even bothered to set an alarm. Sleep mattered more to him than attending a pointless literature class at seven in the morning. His phone was already flooded with missed calls and unread messages, but he ignored them all, slipping the device back into his pocket without a second thought.

The sun was shining so brightly when Sky came out of their house in the afternoon, but it was noticeably colder than the previous days. It meant holidays were approaching and winter was coming. Sky decided to get a haircut first and went to class for a half day because he felt like he was not ready to face Jude yet, but a huge part of Sky wanted to see him.

When Sky arrived at school empty-handed, he noticed that it was chaotic. Aside from the sensual gasps, disgusting stares, vexatious ogles, and intrigued whispers he received from people around, he also noticed that there was more security on the line. The entrance to the founder’s building was heavily guarded, with three security personnel stationed at the main entry and one at the exit. The main entrance also had four guards, while two more were posted at the exit. Unlike before, only a single employee usually managed each passageway.

Students instinctively made their way as Sky walked toward the entrance. Just as he was about to pass through the gate, a security guard stepped in front of him and blocked his path.

“Hands up,” the guard ordered in a stern, commanding tone.

Sky frowned but complied.

“What’s going on?” he asked firmly, though he already had an idea.

“Drug-related problems. Don’t you know?” the unfamiliar security guard replied casually, though Sky could clearly sense the sarcasm in his tone.

The guard studied him closely, as if trying to catch a hint of guilt, but Sky remained unfazed. He knew how to deal with matters like these. He was a trained gangster after all. After a quick search, the other guard pulled Sky’s wallet from his back pocket. Sky stayed silent, waiting for him to finish, forcing down the urge to throw a punch at the man’s wrinkled, irritating face. One hit would probably be enough to knock him out cold. Sky glanced around at the other security personnel, but his accomplice was nowhere in sight.

“Why do you have a picture of Jude Finn?” a resident, a loyal guard, asked suddenly, grabbing the picture from his wallet.

“Mind your own fucking business, Pedro,” Sky growled, snatching his wallet back before pushing past them and walking through the entrance.

Inside were only condoms, IDs, bank cards, some cash, and a photo of Jude Finn, nothing unusual that would raise concern. Fortunately, he had already used up the one pack of methamphetamine he kept in his wallet days earlier.

Sky could not help but think about the school’s involvement in drugs. He knew it was likely connected to Parker’s death. Sky had only been gone for a day, yet everything had already escalated like this. They clearly needed to hold a meeting at the warehouse tonight.

It was not surprising to see so many students crowding the locker area, considering it was already quarter to one and lunch break was nearly over. Soon enough, the bell rang, signaling the start of the first period in the afternoon. Students hurried off to their respective classrooms, leaving the locker area nearly empty. Sky did not care in the slightest, even if he ended up late.

He opened his locker to grab a piece of chewing gum for class, nothing else. However, his brows furrowed when he noticed something was off. It was slightly disorganized, unlike how he remembered leaving it.

“The school security raided all the lockers for possible drugs.” Kevin’s voice suddenly chimed in from behind Sky’s locker as he appeared out of nowhere. “Lucky us that we still don’t have our supplies yet. Good call for meeting with the suppliers.”

“Fuck…” Sky cursed as he exhaled in relief, realizing he had narrowly avoided trouble, especially since he had not kept any drugs in his locker for the past week.

“Tell me what happened,” Sky said as he shut his locker.

Sky turned to look at Kevin, who seemed unusually downcast.

“What the fuck is going on? Is everything okay?” Sky asked, his brows knitting together.

“Nothing…” Kevin replied quietly, keeping his eyes on the ground. “I was just thinking…” he trailed off. “What if we quit doing drugs, Sky?”

Sky paused. He stared at Kevin, waiting until Kevin finally met his gaze.

“There’s still no news about Julius, and now the school and the Parkers are already getting involved in our business,” Kevin said quietly. “Graduation’s coming up, and I just want to finish senior high, man, at least. I’m scared the school might find out about the kil—”

Before he could finish, Sky grabbed him by the collar of his long-sleeved shirt and slammed him against the locker, catching him completely off guard. Kevin winced in pain as Sky leaned in, his expression hard and furious.

“You can leave if you want, you coward,” Sky hissed. “The school won’t find out about Parker if none of us talk.”

Kevin’s breathing hitched. Sky was his longtime best friend, but he could not deny that he was scared of him.

“Only we know about it, Kev,” said Sky.

With that, he let go of him abruptly, leaving Kevin gasping for air. Sky turned his back and took a couple of steps before stopping, as if remembering something important.

“Just keep your mouth shut. And if you’re going to keep complaining about Julius, then stop reaching out to him. Let me handle it. Tell the others we’re having an urgent meeting tonight. Anyone absent will face serious consequences.” Sky commanded.