You know the phrase: 'Karma's a bitch'? Well, I didn't believe it until only recently, although I didn't think it would take me 10 years for me to learn that lesson, the hard way. The name is Josh, let's start from the beginning.
2008
15 years old and still living in the innocent world of secondary school, I was the top of the food chain. Having gone through puberty early, I was the tallest in my class, although I never really filled up in the muscles department. Still, considering that we are talking about secondary school, height was enough to assert dominance on the other boys in the class. So, there I was, cocky and arrogant, and I must say, quite the top pick for the girls in my class. My classmate, Carey, not so lucky. As if having a relatively feminine name wasn't bad enough, he was short, frail and pale; Traits I thought would stay with him forever. Anyway, long story short, I picked on him quite a lot. During recess, my posse and I picked on the poor boy with a variety of activities from basic things, like pantsing and wedgies, to more criminal things, like taking his money and beating him up. Basically, his life was a living hell in secondary school. Still, one event does stand out.
It was just another recess and we were having our little session with Carey. Carey had forgotten to bring his lunch money and we had no benefit from harassing the boy. We had to find some way to make our time worth the while and our brilliant idea was to humiliate Carey. We had him kneel in front of me as I sat on the steps of a secluded stairwell, behind the school.
"Hey Carey, you know you're a loser, right? You're pathetic, weak, and no one really likes you." I taunted.
Carey remained silent as his head hung low, staring intensely into the ground, avoiding all eye contact.
"Come on Carey, the faster you admit it, the faster you can get out of here. Say it, Carey, tell us what you are." I pushed harder.
The other boys snickered while Carey remained silent.
"Hey, bitch! I said tell us you're a loser!" I nodded to a member of my posse who then proceeds to slap Carey on the back of his head. Carey flinches.
"I- I'm... a loser." Carey muttered.
"Good boy! That's more like it. Let's move on, shall we? Now, as the loser, you must do whatever we say, right? Less you want a beating."
"..." Carey was practically trembling in fear right now.
"Right?" I probed, a little louder.
"Yes..." Carey said.
"Okay! In that case, what we need you to do is simple. Kiss our shoes, Carey. Every one of us."
The 6 guys with me took a seat on the steps next to me.
"Come on, bitch. Get started!" Taping my foot as I demanded.
Carey started moving, slowly and reluctantly. He went to the first guy and did as he was told. He pecked the tip of the shoe and moved on to the next guy, crawling on all fours as he moved. At the end of the line was me. Carey kisses my shoe and steps back. I caught a glimpse of Carey's face. It wasn't filled with shame, fear or sadness. I could only sense anger, not that I cared.
2019
Fast forward 11 years and the only thing I can say is that I did not grow up well. I'm 26 years old and I haven't grown since secondary school. I stopped growing at 165cm and I remained skinny. To make things worse, life wasn't treating me well either. I got laid off the year before and I was still drowning in student loans and rent. I had no job and I was about to be evicted and bankrupt. I sent my resume to a whole bunch of companies but none of them had gotten back to me yet. I was working at Starbucks in the meantime.
One day, I received an email. An offer for a paid internship at Whiz-Tech, a huge tech-company as a member of the secretarial team under the CEO of Whiz-Tech. It wasn't the job position I applied for but working under the CEO of a huge company could pay substantially. It could probably open some doors for me as well. All I had to do was have an interview with the CEO himself. Anxious to make some money, I agreed to the interview.
The next day, I walked into Whiz-Tech headquarters dressed in a suit a little too big for me. I've lost weight since I had my last job. I walked into the office and introduced myself to the receptionist. She directed me down a long hallway to the office at the end.
"Mr Willis is free now. Just knock and enter. He knows you're here." The receptionist directed.
I grabbed my briefcase and walked down the hallway. I reached the office door and knocked.
"Come in" a low voice answered from behind the door.
I opened the door and walked in, ready to impress. I took two steps into the office and froze. Shocked at the sight in front of me.
"Josh! Hello man! Long time no see! You remember me, don't you? Its Carey from Secondary school!" Carey shouted as he stood up from his chair, smiling as he did so.
I stood still, speechless.
"Come on now! Don't just stand there, we're not strangers! How have you been, my friend?" Carey stretches out his hand for a handshake.
"C-Carey? W-wha-? You're the CEO of Whiz-tech? H-how?" I stuttered as I weakly shook Carey's hand.
"Yeah man! I started the company while I was in university and things took off from there. You? Well, you're obviously here for a job so I guess the economy didn't treat you that well huh?"
"y-yeah, wow you look good Carey. Um, you're doing really well."
Unlikely me, Carey had grown up really, really, really, well. He was now at least 180cm. Lean and fit, he looked like a model. His suit strained around his arms and chest, as they tried to contain his muscles. In summary, he was rich, famous and a conventionally, hot guy.
"Thanks, Josh. Let's not waste time, shall we? Have a seat and we can get started." Carey ushers to the chair in front of him, as he sat down on his.
"Yeah sure, but before we begin, I just want to say. About secondary school, I was young and- "
"Hey, hey, hey. Don't worry about it, man. Bygones! Water under the bridge! We're all adults now, no need to fuss about the past." Carey chuckles. He continues to explain.