THIRD YEAR

YEAR THREE

"Hey NERD!" Mark shouted to me.

Having been in the same school with Mark since kindergarten, I knew there was a beating waiting for me, given the harshness of his tone.

I already expected him to come after me, since I was the flint that caused a fire in his little world. My feeble attempt at escape was useless now that I had been caught just outside the school premises.

"Issa broke up with me," he said as he walked up to me, looking for an opportunity to start thrashing.

"Well good for her," I said. Now there it was, golden.

"What did you just say?"

He was never going to let me go so there was no point trying to take my comment back now. "I said good for her." The words rolled out of my lips ever so freely.

Mark took a step closer to me, stopping just a hair's breath away, his glare was painfully hateful. Sensing the explosion waiting to happen, Lucas tried to play the peacekeeper, "chill guys it's a new session, let's all-"

"I'm taking to Daniel!" And to me he said, "Why good for her?" His entire squad of five circled around me.

"Because you, as you already know, are a dumb idiot!" I didn't mean to come off so sharp, but what did it matter. Even the boys howling behind me didn't matter.

"I'm an idiot?" He asked clenching his fists.

"A dumb idiot," I corrected, clearly unconcerned about the consequences. For once I knew I had to do what was on my mind. He walked closer pushing back my chest with his, his hot breath baring down on my face.

His approach forced my feet back one after the other but that was it, taking no more, I shoved him backwards with all my strength.

He stumbled backwards but quickly regained his footing. Then he clenched his jaw and narrowed his eyes. I knew that look all too well. It was the look he always gave me before he beat my ass.

Lucas saw the look too and realised hell was about to be let loose. "Come on guys let's not do this, we are senior-year-three students now," he said, rushing in between us and spreading his arms apart.

Mark didn't agree, he shoved Lucas out of the way and made towards me. "None of you interfere," he motioned to his friends who dispersed from behind me.

Taking leap forward, Mark lunged himself at me with hands ready to grab, aiming to bring me down under his weight. At first I stood still, fear crippling every part of me, because I knew absolutely nothing about fighting.

And as I was about to find out, neither did Mark. He had always been bigger and stronger than all of us and I was particularly scared of him, but not today.

Today I was fighting for an important cause, so important it didn't matter if I won or lost. For Issa, I had to stand up to Mark.

Adrenaline rushed through my body and I figured I actually knew something about fighting! I had seen enough of Jet Li and Jackie Chan movies and this was the now-or-never opportunity to do what they always did: fight!

I stopped retreating and threw myself at Mark, swinging my elbow at his face and that was it. An elbow to the face was all it took to put Mark down, writhing in pain.

"And my name is Daniel!" I yelled.

Everyone but Mark was eerily quiet, turned out he was never used to pain. As he laid there clutching his bleeding nose, Lucas pulled my arm and we hit the road at full speed.

It was a good way to cool off and expend the adrenaline because I was so furious I wanted to jump on Mark and beat him till my heart's content, even though I never expected that I would be able to lay a finger on him in the first place.