Read with BonusRead with Bonus

Bullied

Chapter 3

A Month had gone by and Nathan found himself barely settling into college life,

Life here was different from what Nathan was used to, he was behind on every topic that they taught here, so he had resoluted to start taking online classes, hoping he would be able to catch up. Everything here was new to him and Nathan hated changes, but one thing he liked was the fact that the food at the cafeteria was free.

Nathan hurried towards the cafeteria, his phone kept on buzzing, he was late for his online classes, he was struggling to balance time for normal classes, online classes and time for himself. Nathan reached into his pockets and quickly brought out his headphones, “ maybe he could join the online class while eating at the cafeteria.” He thought to himself.

As Nathan hurried towards the cafeteria, the driver’s door of a red ferrari packed at the front of the cafeteria opened luxuriously and a thin tall kid stepped out.

Nathan’s concentration was still on his phone as he came rushing towards the cafeteria , oblivious to his surroundings,

“Watch out!” Someone screamed from the crowd of students outside the cafeteria, before Nathan could raise his head, he had already bumped into the thin tall kid.

The kid stumbled to the ground, while Nathan held the door of the Ferrari for support.

“I’m sorry!” Nathan yelled, as he ran towards the cafeteria.

He pushed open the door to the cafeteria and joined the long queue of students.

The doors to the cafeteria violently flew open, five boys slowly stepped inside.

The whole cafeteria went silent, the students began to whisper in hushed tones.

The thin tall kid who Nathan ran into outside stood at the forefront.

Thin and tall with long wavy brown hair, his facial features were very feminine, almost making him look beautiful.

His eyes were very prominent, they were bloodshot red, like he had a disease of some sort.

He wore plain white pants and white sneakers topped with a white designer biker jacket, his dressing was a contrast to the other four boys behind him, who were all dressed in black suits.

Marcus Reddington or as he was popularly known, Marcus Red-eyes and his gang had entered the school’s cafeteria.

Everyone knew Marcus was up to no good and no matter what he did, no one could hold him to it.

Marcus was the only son of the city’s mayor, his mom was a senator, his uncle was an ex vice president and his older brother was the ceo of Achilles, one of the biggest technology exports company.

Marcus raised his hand slowly and pointed it towards Nathan.

The whole room exploded in hush whispers.

"You, Who do you think you are?" Marcus sneered, his voice dripping with menace. His cronies smirked , blocking any avenue of escape.

“Huh” Nathan muttered innocently.

“You pushed me with your filthy body” Marcus continued as he stared at him in disgust.

“Oh, I’m sorry about that.” Nathan muttered, he was getting uncomfortable.

“You’re sorry?” Marcus whispered, he stared at him like he was a prey as a wicked smile tugged at his lips.

“Then why don’t you go down on your knees and beg.” Marcus sneered.

The whole room burst into loud hushed whispers.

Nathan's jaw tightened as he attempted to maintain his composure. "I don’t think I want to do that," he replied, his voice trembling slightly.

Marcus’s laugh was cruel and condescending. "You don't get it, do you?”

He slowly walked towards Nathan, his walking step was sleek, like an experienced model, his goons right behind him, rolling up their sleeves.

“You owe me an apology! And I want you to give it on your knees." He emphasized his point with a sharp shove, sending Nathan stumbling backward.

Nathan's defiance wavered as he felt the weight of their aggression bearing down on him. Fear mixed with anger in his eyes as he glanced around, hoping for someone, anyone, to intervene.

Marcus raised his leg, planting it solidly in Nathan’s chest and sending him flying towards the wall.

Nathan wheezed in pain.

“Apologize now! You fool!” Marcus whispered loudly.

As Nathan struggled to his feet, Marcus planted two solid punches in quick succession to his jaw sending Nathan back to the floor.

Nathan cried out in pain.

The whole room was hardly controllable as people began to film the scene on their phones.

"Enough of this!" Someone yelled from the crowd.

The whole room went silent.

Joan slowly stepped out of the crowd.

“I said enough of this.” She whispered through gritted jaws.

Joan's voice carried an edge of authority that commanded attention.

She stepped forward, her eyes locked onto the ringleader, Marcus.

Marcus who was caught off guard by Joan's sudden appearance, sneered at her. "Hey pretty, what are you doing here?” Marcus sneered.

“ A girl like you shouldn’t be here… or wait— are you his girlfriend?” Marcus smirked.

“She’s his girlfriend!” Marcus said loudly to the crowd of onlookers

"I said, enough," Joan repeated, her tone unyielding. She flexed her fingers, her resolve evident. "Back off."

The cafeteria seemed to hold its breath for a fleeting moment, the standoff hanging in the air. But the bullies, fueled by arrogance, refused to yield. Marcus took a menacing step closer to Joan.

Joan's voice, however, remained resolute. "You've made a grave mistake today."

And then, in a blur of motion, the confrontation erupted into chaos. The bullies attacked Joan with brute force, but she responded with lightning-quick kicks and strikes, her taekwondo skills making her a formidable adversary.

Nathan, observing this unfolding drama, knew that Joan was stepping into danger. He couldn't let her face this alone. "Hey, stop it!" he shouted, his voice quaking with a mixture of fear and determination.

But the bullies, their anger reaching a fever pitch, only turned their attention back to Nathan. "You want a piece of this too, pretty boy?" one of them sneered.

Nathan's heart pounded as he steeled himself for what came next. "You're not getting anything from me," he muttered defiantly.

Marcus’s eyes gleamed with hatred and malice. "I think we'll have to teach you a lesson then." The bullies closed in, their fists clenched, and the cafeteria transformed into a battleground.

Nathan, overwhelmed by the sheer force of their blows, made a gut-wrenching decision. Fear and instinct converged as he bolted, fleeing the bullies and leaving the girl who had saved him behind.

The cafeteria doors swung shut behind him as he ran, the echoes of his footsteps fading.

But Joan wasn't one to back down, even in the face of overwhelming odds. She fought with unwavering determination, her dad was an immense lover of martial arts and he had made her take the classes ever since she was a kid, she was a black belt in taekwondo, jujitsu and karate, beating down four boys felt like a piece of cake for her.

Nathan, ran and ran till he was far away from the cafeteria, he quickly flagged down a cab, but his conscience kept pricking him, he couldn’t leave the girl who had rushed in to save him when no one else wanted to.

He quickly bade the cab and made his way back.

As he stealthily made his way back to the cafeteria, he was met by an astonishing sight.

The girl stood victorious amid the defeated bullies, the noise from the crowd was deafening.

Marcus and his goons dragged themselves away from the cafeteria seething with rage.

“I’ll see you around.” Marcus whispered to Nathan as he brushed past him, he drew his hand along his neck, making a slicing sound. Nathan understood what it meant, it was a threat, even though he had planned to keep a low key profile in school, he had managed to get on the bad side of this kind of kids.

Nathan looked back towards the girl who had saved him but she was gone.

Previous Chapter
Next Chapter