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It was a regular day on the Saint Louis Boarding School for Boys. It was the third of April. Two days ago the boys had exchanged their gray woolen trousers for shorts with green knee high socks. It was however very cold for this time of the year, so most boys stayed inside the school during the lunch break. Except for Alex.
Alex didn't like the company of the other boys. The other boys only talked about soccer and cars, and bragged about girls. Alex wasn't interested in any of these three topics, so he usually stayed inside when everyone was running and screaming on the playground. Now that everyone stayed inside, he felt compelled to leave the school canteen, where he usually sat down, staring at the ceiling.
He went outside through a side door. The icy wind bit through his woolen sweater and messed up his hair. No wonder all the boys were inside, it was freezing. He quickly walked toward the school gym, his arms crossed over his chest. He entered through the front door and sat down in the locker room. Nobody ever went to the gym during the lunch break, so he pulled off his sweater and put it down on the bench beside him. He then untied his polished black shoes, kicked them off, and lay down on the bench. 5 minutes later, Alex was asleep.
He heard the front door squeak, and jumped up from the bench. The door closed again, and he heard soft footsteps coming towards the locker room. He was not supposed to be here! Alex grabbed his sweater and shoes, and quickly hid inside the toilet. The door to the locker room opened, and closed again with a dull thud. Alex felt nauseous inside the small, dark toilet. The light bulb had been broken for weeks, nobody had replaced it. He heard the footsteps move up and down the room, then stop in front of the toilet. There was a soft knock on the door.
'Alex, are you in here?' Asked a voice Alex didn't recognize. It didn't sound like a teacher, more like one of the boys. But none of the boys ever spoke to him. Had someone followed him here? But why?
'Who are you?' he asked in a trembling voice. He was still holding his sweater in his hands, his shoes were on the floor.
'You can trust me. Please just come out of there.'
Alex opened the door, and stepped into the light. He looked at the strange boy in front of him. The boy was dressed like Alex; gray shorts, green socks, a white shirt with a green tie, gray sweater and black shoes that shone in the cold light of the fluorescent tubes. His hair was a brown curly mess, and his round face was covered with little freckles. He was a little shorter than Alex, but was well-built and looked strong.
'Who are you,' Alex asked again. The other boy looked at his face, then moved his eyes down over Alex's body. Alex felt uncomfortable, to say the least. Who was this strange boy, and what did he want?
'Sorry for following you,' the boy finally responded, 'But it was the only way to make sure we would be alone.' He smiled, and added: 'You really are a loner, aren't you?' Then he burst out laughing, took Alex by the hand, and gently pushed him against the cold wall. 'You know, it's a good thing you are such a loner,' he said with a sly smile, still holding him against the wall with his right hand. Alex confusedly looked into the boy's big brown eyes, and the boy stared back. They were both silent, Alex was hardly breathing. He felt like he had to look into these eyes, these big brown persuasive pools. He sensed a trap, something seemed.. wrong, and yet he felt strangely attracted this weirdly charismatic, confident boy.
After what seemed like an eternity, but in reality only took seconds, the boy resumed: 'Loners always make the best targets.' And just like that, something changed in his eyes. The sparkling laughter was exchanged for a dark hunger, and Alex found himself trapped in the boy's grip. The boy grabbed his wrist, turned him around against the wall and forced his arm up his back. Alex groaned and tried to resist, but the boy pulled him backwards and threw him on the ground.
Alex tried to roll away, but the boy was quicker, and jumped on Alex's back, forcing him down with his knee. He then grabbed Alex's wrist again, and twisted the arm behind his back. Alex let out a single wordless cry, combining pain, despair and confusion in one outburst. The boy put his knee on the arm, trapping Alex underneath him.
'Let me go!' Alex cried, tears rolling over his face. 'What did I do to you?'
'Shut up, crybaby,' The boy responded, 'Shut up, or you'll regret it.' He took off his sweater, popped the collar of his shirt and untied his green tie. He then tied one end around Alex's wrist, and twisted the other arm behind his back. After a few seconds Alex's wrists were tied behind his back. He groaned and struggled, but there was no escape. The boy new what he was doing, and Alex was his prisoner.