He scrawled his name on the paper and handed it over to the principal. It was his third apology letter in one week. The principal, clad in a tailored suit, wagged his head, laying bare his disappointment.

Everyone saw the social misfit. The boy who once had a promising future had descended into the abyss of deviation. No one cared enough to know why. Dele knew he was just a helpless pup before a group of hyenas. So, when he got home that night, he penned what he imagined would be his final words.

The colours had drained from his face when he saw Luca with the wolf pack one year ago. 

The infamous wolf pack were a cult group in his school. Ever since he got into the school, they have trailed behind him like dogs sniffing his scent. 

They began with gentle persuasions. They changed to motivations. When those didn't work, they enlisted the best weapon in their arsenal— bullying.

His lunch was forced out of his hands. Allowances were gone from his pockets after a round of beating. Then, they graduated to incriminating him in their nefarious activities. They would rob a shop and leave a note with Dele's handwriting and name for the police to find.

His grades dropped. His reputation plummeted to whispers of scorn, discreetly spoken everywhere he passed. The Apollo of the school became known as a member of the band that spelt "Hades".

Dele knew he was innocent. He would stand his ground. It didn't hold water until Dele saw Luca smoking with the gang that day. The boy felt so happy that Dele felt miserable on his behalf. With his only friend gone, Dele turned to run.

" Dad, I need to change to a different school." He said at dinner time.

" Again?" He thundered. “ I acted like I don't hear the reports of you ruining our family's image everywhere, and here you are with a request to spend my money on your stupidity. No school will change you if you don't quit being a deviant.”

Dele wished he could tell his father about his struggles, but he was barely around to notice his bruises and sleepless nights. 

So, when that week came with his prints all over a case of rape, burglary, and harassment, Dele could not continue. No one believed him. 

He scribbled those words and waited for the lights to go off in his family home. It eventually went dark. He climbed the stool and adjusted the rope.

The switch flipped. Light swallowed the darkness, and by the door was his terrified mother.

" Do you want to leave me barren?" She screamed at him. “ You are my only child. My only hope...”

" Mommy... I can't go on living like this anymore. They won't leave me alone..." He stuttered.

Dele's parents read the full story from what could have been his last.    His father clutched the letter, fighting off a muscle spasm.

“ Why didn't you say something?”

" I did. You never listened. You didn't want to hear me." The teen buried his face in his mother's bosom.

Mr. Thompson pulled up at the school the next week. Behind him were seven army trucks. 

" Son, I just want names." He said and got out of the SUV. The pang of his son's pain was a heartache to him.

The boys were sorry. They didn't know Dele's father. That excuse was not an  acceptable line. Especially, not to a Navy Admiral, who could have lost his only child.

The case was opened, and their footprints were seen everywhere a crime was committed. Mr. Thompson could not accept their bail. 

“ If they are released today, tomorrow, they may become men who ambush innocent citizens on our highways.”

No one wanted to test if Mr. Thompson will be right. Not even the parents of those boys. It was there for all to see, and that evil needed to be nipped on the bud.