By September 7th, 2020, Aiden felt like the world was finally giving him a fresh start. New uniform, clean shoes, and high hopes stitched into his first Kingston High School badge. He didn't know a soul, but that didn't matter. This was supposed to be the chapter where everything changed.
At first, it was all confusion - too many faces, too many voices. But Aiden was quick to notice who ran the place. Bentley. Brown skin, calm face, smart without even trying. The kind of boy people notice without him saying a word. Teachers liked him. Girls liked him more.
Aiden started studying him like a science experiment - how he walked, talked, carried himself. Soon enough, he was mirroring Bentley's every move. People began calling him "Bentley," too. At first, he was annoyed. But the nickname brought attention - and in high school, attention was currency.
He and Bentley didn't talk much until Aiden got curious one day.
"Yo, bro, how you not talking to none of these girls?" Aiden asked.
Bentley just smiled. "Mi nuh deh pon dat."
Aiden scoffed. "You lame, man."
But under the teasing, there was respect. Bentley was focused, unbothered, driven. Like a white kid surviving in a black school, Aiden thought - untouched by the chaos around him.
Before meeting Bentley, Aiden had been in the top stream, "K" - the smartest class. He was doing fine until he met Kiyola, a slim, brown-skinned girl with a shy smile. She caught his eye, caught his heart for two weeks, then disappeared from both. After the breakup, his grades started slipping, his focus cracked, and he got dropped to "I." That's where he met Bentley again.
And that's when things started to change.
They clicked instantly - two boys tired of being broke, both dreaming of making something out of nothing. Aiden saw in Bentley the brother he never had, and Bentley saw in Aiden the energy he sometimes lacked. They became inseparable.
Then came her.
Rhianna.
Aiden saw her one morning and forgot how to breathe. Short, brown, with smooth skin and lips that looked like they were carved from pink sugar. Her friends - Lily and Chrissy - were pretty too, but something about Rhianna pulled him like gravity.
Lily was the light-skinned mix with the shiny hair that looked too perfect to be real. Chrissy was tall, confident, and December-born like Aiden. But still - it was Rhianna who stayed in his thoughts long after the bell rang.
Soon, Bentley's quiet charm pulled Lily's attention, which meant Rhianna was often around too. Aiden played it cool, joking and laughing until the group started feeling like family.
Then Maria showed up - short, dark, and full of fire. Aiden liked her, and she liked him. They'd video chat for hours, laugh about nothing, dream about everything. But one day, Maria's sister overheard him saying "We can go out," and thought he meant something else. It blew up. Maria ended it right there. Just like that, another chapter closed.
Not long after, he met King - a big, bold girl who became his friend and wingwoman. She knew Aiden had a crush on a quiet, skinny girl named Sashelle - the smartest in class. Sashelle was bright, driven, and saw potential in Aiden before he saw it in himself. They grew close, pushing each other in class, trading jokes and dreams.
Then came the heartbreak - he saw her with another boy, Tyrese, one of the popular ones. His chest burned like fire. She said it was a misunderstanding, but he couldn't hear her through the noise in his head. That day, he learned that love can sting worse than a belt.
Through the pain, Bentley stayed his anchor. They dreamed big - businesses, success, escape. They'd talk about money and meaning like two grown men trapped in school uniforms. Soon, their little crew grew: Recoy, Rehieme, Davia - the wild one with the soft heart. Together they became the new "I" class kings.
And then... the slap heard around the block.
It happened fast. One morning, Aiden saw Rhianna in town and, feeling brave, slipped his arm around her shoulders. Her uncle-in-law appeared from nowhere, shouting threats. She panicked, pushed him off, and stormed away.
Next morning - 6:30 a.m. - she found him before the bell. Without a word, blam! Her hand connected with his face. The whole school laughed, chanting, taunting. Aiden's pride caught fire.
"Yo, mi never do yuh nutten!" he shouted, hurt more than angry.
But when she called him a liar, something inside him snapped. He spun and kicked - a foolish, angry move. The crowd roared.
Moments later, the teacher came. Rhianna cried. Aiden felt sick - not because of punishment, but because he'd hurt the girl he liked. When Miss Gordon asked her what to do, Rhianna surprised everyone.
"Mi sorry fi box him, miss. Give him community service."
No suspension. Just grace.
Aiden never forgot that. From that day, she wasn't just a crush. She was his quiet redemption.
But time moved on, and life - as always - had other plans.
He met Abby next, through Lily. Brown skin smooth as glass, lips curved in ways that made him forget words. She liked him - actually liked him. For the first time, he felt truly seen. They'd talk for 15 hours straight, voice calls that lasted until dawn. She called him "her boy," and he called her Angel.
Until one day, she said the words that broke him all over again:
"I'm moving."
He begged her to try long distance, told her love could stretch across oceans. She cried, said she couldn't. Then she was gone. Just like that.
Aiden wore a mask after that - literally. A black one, like the boy from Tokyo Ghoul. It wasn't just for looks. It was armor. It hid what the world didn't deserve to see: his heart breaking quietly behind a smile.
When sports day came around, Aiden found a small kind of joy again. Running. The track was his escape, his way of saying I'm still here. He ran fast - too fast for the whispers, too fast for the pain. He didn't win champion boy that year, but he won something bigger: pride in his own power.
He saw Sashelle again that day. They laughed, ran together, like the past hadn't hurt at all. And even if he didn't get the medals or the girl, Aiden knew he was still climbing - still chasing light.
By June 2021, exam season came. He studied hard with Bentley, neck and neck in competition. From a boy who once failed in primary school, Aiden was now turning zeros into grades worth showing off. On report day, Bentley beat him by a hair, but they both smiled like brothers.
That summer was freedom. Rivers, shrimp hunting, football, laughter echoing through the bush. Sundays meant church, but weekdays belonged to adventure.
He didn't know it yet, but that was the calm before the next storm.
The world wasn't done testing The Boy Who Wouldn't Break.