She said this all quickly and was now trying to catch her breath.
“How did he end up in the hospital?”
“They beat him up,” she said nonchalantly.
“Seriously?” Tyson asked, incredulous. “How badly?”
“No,” laughed Emily. “I was just kidding, don’t take everything so seriously, Tyson. He got a slap or two in the face, but he’s fine.”
They walked on in silence for a bit. They left the main grounds of the school and continued down the sidewalk. There weren’t many cars around, and no one was walking down the road. It was unusual, especially after school. Tyson and Emily didn’t notice.
“Hey, Emily, wait up!” they heard a voice from behind.
Tyson and Emily turned around to see who had called her. A rather skinny male ran up to them. He was pale and freckled and wore dark skinny jeans. His hair was short enough that it stood up on his head without being told to.
“What do you want, Vince?” Emily asked, annoyed.
“Look,” he started to speak, then hesitated for a moment.
“What is it?” Emily asked.
Vince took a deep breath and said, “I’m just going to say it. The reason I acted the way I did was because my buddy, Alger, said he would give me twenty bucks if I could get in bed with you.”
“Oh, wow!” Emily said angrily. “Twenty whole bucks! Even I’m not desperate enough to do something like that for twenty bucks. How do you feel, Vince? Richer than Bill Gates or Mark Zuckerberg? Like you’ve now accomplished something with your life?”
Vince sensed that he had said something stupid and spoke with less confidence this time, “It wasn’t too hard for me to do. I mean, look at you,” he smiled as if hoping he was complimenting her. “If there’s one great thing about you it’s that you’re so hot that you’ll never have trouble getting guys. And it’s not like I’m the only one who has done something like this to you. I’m sure you used to it by now.”
“Oh, okay! Makes sense now!” Emily said with a large, fake and cheery smile.
“R-really?” Vince stammered.
“No!” Emily screeched at him and slapped him hard across the face.
She slapped him once more on the other side and Vince staggered back and put his hands to his cheeks.
“You crazy bitch!”
Those were the wrong words to say.
Tyson threw a powerful punch at Vince that hit him hard on his nose. Tyson thought he may have felt Vince’s nose break but didn’t care. All he wanted was to avenge Emily. He had always thought it was sick how much bullshit she went through and how many guys took advantage of her.
Vince fell to the ground, his nose splattering blood down his front.
Tyson was breathing hard, not from exertion, but adrenaline, fueled by his anger. His knuckles had blood on them.
“You didn’t have to do that,” said Emily, but sounded pleased all the same. She and Tyson looked down at Vince in disgust. He was slowly starting to get up while covering his nose with one hand. Blood leaked through his fingers.
“Don’t come near me again,” Emily said and then pulled Tyson away from him. They continued down the street. When Tyson looked back, Vince had just managed to get up and was walking the other way.
“We could get in so much trouble,” Emily said. “I haven’t lost control like that in years.”
Tyson said nothing.
They kept on walking until Emily broke the silence.
“I really hate him.”
“So do I,” Tyson replied.
“I can see that,” said Emily. “You almost looked more pissed than me.”
Tyson cracked a smile. He liked Emily for many reasons, but one of the main things he admired about her was how resilient she was.
“And by the way, where the hell did you learn how to punch like that?” asked Emily, impressed.
“I’m on the football team,” he replied.
“Yeah, not the hockey team,” Emily retorted.
Tyson shrugged. “They’re both sports.”
“Well, I appreciated it,” Emily said. “It’s nice to know that you have my back like that.”
“Of course,” Tyson said.
Emily looked back for a second. The street was now empty. “I know you live at the end of the street, but do you mind walking me home?”
“Sure,” he said, completely unaware of the girl who was watching them from a distance.
They continued to walk down the road. Their observer kept watching them, but stayed out of sight and did not follow. When Tyson and Emily were out of sight, she walked down the street. She was attempting to behave normally, seem like someone on a casual stroll, but she kept looking back as if she were waiting for something
And then it came. A white car drove down the street. Katie was driving it. She had forgotten something in class and went back to pick it up. The girl smiled. This was what she was waiting for. The girl put out her arm and Katie felt her car slow down to a halt. She hadn’t touched the brakes herself.
Katie pushed on the gas but nothing happened. She then noticed the girl and rolled down her window.
“Can I help you?” Katie asked.
“Hello, Katie,” the girl replied. Katie thought the girl’s voice sounded familiar. Plus, the girl seemed to know who she was, so she asked, “Do I know
