Miss Kida began assigning seats, and she started at the back of the rows of desks. I gulped when Kyler ended up in the last desk of a row, with me in front of him. The smirk on his lips before I sat warned I’m in for a genuine treat. Zach sat in the next row, the second desk from the back, so we were across from each other. Whereas Kyler’s friends ended up to my right, and in front of me. Between the four males, I felt caged in and took a moment to quell the panic building in my chest. This wasn’t like the accident. It wasn’t deliberate. Still, several seconds passed before my heart slowed.
As soon as Miss Kida began teaching, I had to stifle my whimper of pain when Kyler poked me hard in the back. My spine radiated pain, while my sensitized nerves screamed theirs, which spread across my back like fire. Licking the nerves that should not even realize anything happened. Zach frowned when he saw my grimace of pain, his shadow indicating his head turned towards Kyler. A kick to the leg of my chair caused the back to whack into me, and tears of pain filled my eyes. While gritting my teeth, I curled my right hand into a fist while taking notes with my left. The breath trapped in my lungs escaping as a soft hiss.
When my eyes met Zach’s, concern and anger darkened them. I sensed movement and saw his fingers clench into a fist so tight they turned white. Frowning with worry, I met his gaze, and his expression softened into a gentle smile. The boy in front of me turned around, and I gulped, but he only offered me a smile before glaring over my shoulder. I knew from the way my skin itched that the boy on my right stared at me too, but I didn’t dare look at him. Upon eyeing his shadow, it surprised me to note that he turned his head towards Kyler too.
A soft growl from behind me had all three boys returning their gazes to the front of the room, with Zach clenching his hand into a fist once more. After Miss Kida dismissed us a few minutes early, I began navigating the hall only to stop when Zach angrily addressed Kyler. My feet faltered, and I looked over my shoulder to see the almighty jock clench his fists.
Without thinking, my feet ate the distance between us, and I grabbed Kyler’s fist when it was mere inches from Zach’s face. After switching my grip, I pressed down on the pressure point in his wrist, hearing his gasp of pain, and twisted his arm behind his back without loosening my grip. “Do not pick on others, Kyler,” my voice was soft but firm. Zach backed away, shock shining in his eyes, and I shrugged before dropping mine. I released Kyler once Zach was out of the line of fire, and he turned around with a murderous expression.
“You little bitch,” Kyler snarled, his hand flashed. I could have caught his fist, but why bother? The sooner I let him hit me, the sooner he’d get over himself. Pain exploded across my face while my nose crunched. Thick blood leaked down my face to drip from my chin, and I shuddered, albeit I didn’t cry out. This wasn’t the first time someone broke my nose, and I doubted it would be the last. Zach pulled my shoulder, and I swallowed my cry of pain from my back screaming its protest, but I still caught the fist aimed at the boy standing behind me. Kyler’s scoff reached my ears after the gasps of the students in the hall quieted.
“As you so fondly call me, I am a street rat, Kyler. I know how to fight and defend. I don’t bother protecting myself because there isn’t a point. Your anger will build, and you’ll catch me unawares, and it’ll be worse for me. This isn’t my first rodeo. But I’ll be damned if I stand by and let you hurt someone else. I am not an enabler, nor do I side with the aggressor by allowing them to behave as they desire. I’m not a coward. Nor do I place my value above another’s. Everyone here has people to love them, which puts me below them in my eyes. So, yes, if you attack someone who has done nothing to you, I will stop you,” my voice was calm, with no accusation coloring my tone. Kyler seemed to swell with fury, and I sighed, although I released his hand from mine even though my skin cried at the loss of the comforting, tingly warmth.
“You will respect me, street rat, or I will beat it into your thick skull,” Kyler snarled, and I scoffed.
“I will respect you when you are worthy of my respect and not a moment sooner,” I warned with my voice carrying a slight tinge of anger.
“Do you have any idea who I am?” Kyler demanded, and I laughed wryly.
“I know exactly who you are,” I replied mildly while my eyes remained locked on the floor. “You’re a boy who let his fifteen minutes of fame go to his head. You have quite the kingdom here, but once you leave it, the cruel reality of the world will strip you of your crown. The odds are not in your favor, so you’ll end up as a washout struggling to make ends meet.” Drinking away every excess penny. “So, no, I owe no respect to you. I wish you, and those like you, wouldn’t set yourselves up for the crushing disappointment, but you do. In the real world, you earn respect. Hate me for being your dose of reality, it’s nothing new, and I don’t hold it against you.”
Kyler’s face was slack with shock, although his eyes darkened to burnished gold. When our gaze met,
