Sage Rage

Chapter 3: Strange Connection

For some reason, Sage wasn't scared, but she felt angry when she was called a weirdo. It reminded her of the misunderstanding she had with Clark earlier.

"Call me weirdo one more time." saying this made the bullies laugh.

'Are you trying to get yourself beat up too?' Clark thought.

"You know, it's brave what you're all doing," Sage continued with a hint of sarcasm. "Four against one, it's a disgrace for a guy of your size, Drake." She hoped that telling him how shameless he was would make him back down. She could sense his shame, but Drake wasn't ready to back down; perhaps his pride wouldn't let him.

Lifting his left hand, Drake placed it on Sage's right shoulder. "Weird-do," Drake dared himself and called Sage a weirdo, besides he didn't think she stood a chance against him.

There was a frown on Sage's face showing she was angry, and it wasn't because Drake had called her a weirdo. It was because the big-headed bully had touched her, and the smug look on his face irritated her, if only she could wipe the stupid smirk off his face with a slap. She took his hand off her shoulder and twisted it, also turning in the process. This made Drake scream at the top of his lungs.

This had come as a surprise to everyone, including Clark. They never expected to see a bully getting bullied.

Letting go of his hand, Sage threw a punch to Drake's face. She didn't think the punch would do any harm, so she was surprised when she heard a crack.

"You broke my nose!" Drake exclaimed. "I'm gonna report this to the principal," he said before walking away with the rest of his gang, while Sage helped the now smiling Clark up.

"Yeah, go tell him a girl did that to you," Clark suggested, still clutching his belly. He was in pain, but that didn't stop him from making a mockery of Drake's loss.

To everyone present, Sage's punch was weak, and they felt Drake had let her win the fight because she was a girl, but Drake knew the power packed behind the petite girl punch. She was too fast for him to react. He had really underestimated her.

"Look, I'm sorry for my behavior earlier," Clark apologized.

"I can't stay mad at you; you're the only friend I have."

Keeping the misunderstanding aside, they soon made fun of Drake, whose scream had sounded like that of a scared girl.

Clark was thinking Sage had really changed since the last time he saw her. She now said what was on her mind and stood up to those who bullied her. Since he was the closest to her, he noted the difference first. It almost seemed like she was someone else.

****
School was over for the day, and Sage was left wondering where her cousins were as she walked towards the school exit. She didn't come across them as usual. Stopping five feet away from the exit, she stood there and waited for Clark.

She was meant to wait for Clark by her locker, but she felt a pair of eyes looking at her, and when she turned to see who it was, she saw Drake staring at her with his eyes slitted. Not wanting to be anywhere near him, she walked towards the exit and decided to wait for Clark there.She stood in place, looking at the crowd of students that walked past her so she could spot Clark and signal him to come over.

While waiting, most students who walked past her would bump their shoulder into hers and not care to apologize. It was either they were too carried away with what they were chattering about, or they just didn't care.

Suddenly, Sage could feel something move from her shoulder to her head. She couldn't explain the feeling because she had never felt like that in her life. All she could register was that the feeling was similar to the time she had a mild electric shock, but instead of moving from the source, she wanted to find out what it was.
The feeling was brief as it was triggered by one of the students walking out the double doors when whoever it was brushed his or her shoulder against hers. Turning around quickly, she didn't want to miss who the person was, and to her surprise, someone was already staring at her with furrowed brows.