Jake watched her demonstrate a knee strike and realized Maya was becoming something more than just another victim who’d fought back. She was becoming their leader.
Meanwhile, Derrick had noticed the whispers. Students who used to scatter when they saw him coming were making eye contact now. Kids who’d been easy targets were walking differently, standing straighter.
“Something’s going on,” he told Tyler as they stood by their lockers Friday afternoon. “These losers are acting weird.”
“Weird how?”
“Like they’re not scared anymore. That freshman girl, Emma? She didn’t even flinch when I walked past her yesterday.”
Tyler shrugged. “Maybe they’re just getting used to you being back.”
But Derrick knew it was more than that. He’d built his reputation on fear, and fear was a delicate thing. Once people stopped being afraid, everything changed.
“We need to send a message,” Derrick said. “Remind everyone what happens when you don’t show proper respect.”
“What kind of message?”
Derrick’s eyes scanned the hallway until they landed on Jake Santos, who was walking toward the exit with purpose instead of his usual nervous shuffle. “The kind that leaves a mark.”
As the weekend approached, both sides prepared for what everyone could feel coming. Maya’s group had grown to fifteen students, all of them learning to fight, all of them ready to defend themselves and each other. Derrick’s group had also grown, recruiting older students and even some graduates who still hung around the school. The battle lines were being drawn.
Maya spent the weekend practicing combinations in her backyard, her father watching from the porch.
“You sure about this path?” Marcus asked during a break.
Maya wiped sweat from her forehead and looked back at the house where her mother was pacing by the kitchen window, worried sick about what was coming. “No,” Maya said honestly. “But it’s the only path that leads anywhere good.”
Monday morning couldn’t come fast enough. Monday morning brought the first real test.
Jake was walking to his locker when Derrick and Tyler cornered him by the stairwell, the same place they’d ambushed him dozens of times before. But this time, Jake didn’t look away.
“Well, well,” Derrick said, stepping closer. “Look who thinks he’s tough now.”
“I’m not looking for trouble,” Jake said, but he didn’t back down.
“Too bad. Trouble found you.” Derrick shoved Jake hard against the concrete wall. “I hear you’ve been talking to people, making lists. That true?”
Jake felt his heart pounding, but Maya’s voice echoed in his head. Don’t fight fair. Go for whatever it takes to get away safe.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Derrick grabbed Jake’s shirt and pulled him forward, then slammed him back against the wall. “Don’t lie to me, Taco Boy. You and that psycho girl have been recruiting losers for your little club.”
“Let go of me.”
“Or what?” Derrick laughed. “You gonna call your—”
Jake’s knee drove up into Derrick’s groin with everything he had. Derrick doubled over, gasping, and Jake broke free, running toward the main hallway where teachers would be.
“Get him!” Derrick wheezed, but Jake was already gone.
Twenty minutes later, during first period, Emma Rodriguez was leaving the bathroom when three senior girls blocked her path. Maya had warned them that Derrick might recruit others, but Emma hadn’t expected this.
“You’re Emma, right?” The lead girl, a blonde cheerleader named Brittany, smiled coldly. “I’m friends with Derrick.”
“Okay,” Emma said, trying to step around them.
“Not so fast.” Brittany moved to block her again. “Derrick told me you’ve been spreading lies about him. That’s not very nice.”
“I haven’t said anything that isn’t true.”
“See, that’s the problem. Truth is relative.” Brittany stepped closer. “And Derrick’s family has been good to this school. Your family? Nobody even knows who you are.”
Emma felt the familiar fear creeping up her throat, but then she remembered Maya’s words about standing your ground.
“Move,” Emma said firmly.
“Excuse me?”
“I said move. I need to get to class.”
Brittany’s smile disappeared. “You little—”
Emma didn’t wait for her to finish. She pushed past Brittany with enough force to send the cheerleader stumbling backward into the sink.
“You’re going to regret this!” Brittany called as Emma walked away.
By lunch, word had spread about both incidents. Maya sat with her growing group in a corner of the cafeteria, watching Derrick’s table across the room.
“They’re recruiting,” Marcus said quietly. “I saw Derrick talking to some of the football players during PE.”
“How many?” Maya asked.
“Maybe six or seven. Big guys.” Ben looked terrified. “What if they come after us all at once?”
“Then we stick together,” Maya said. “Nobody walks alone. Buddy system everywhere.”
Across the cafeteria, Derrick was indeed building his own army. His jaw still ached from Jake’s knee, and the humiliation burned worse than the physical pain.
“I want them isolated,” Derrick told the football players he’d recruited. “Pick them off one by one. Show the rest of the school what happens when you mess with us.”
“What about the girl?” asked Chad, a senior linebacker. “The one who started all this?”
Derrick’s eyes found Maya across the room. She was sitting with her back to the wall, positioned so she could see the entire cafeteria. Smart.
“Save her for last. Let her watch her little army fall apart first.”
After school, Maya’s group had barely started their training session behind the gym when Principal Anderson appeared with two security guards.
“This gathering is unauthorized,” Anderson announced. “You’re all to disperse immediately.”
“We’re not doing anything wrong,” Maya said. “We’re just talking.”
“Reports indicate you’ve been teaching students to fight. That constitutes planning violence on school property.”
Maya felt rage building in her chest. “What about Derrick recruiting football players to attack us? Where’s his punishment?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Derrick Mitchell hasn’t been involved in any incidents since your unprovoked attack on him.”
“This is unbelievable,” Emma said.
Anderson turned his attention to her. “Miss Rodriguez, your parents received a call today about your altercation with another student in the bathroom. One more incident and you’ll face suspension.”
“She didn’t start anything!” Jake protested.
“Mr. Santos, you’re already on thin ice after your fight this morning. I suggest you keep your mouth shut.”
As Anderson and the guards walked away, Maya’s group stood in stunned silence…
