In the next classes, my brother did not speak to me, and the girls stayed by my side. So far, they did not seem that bad. In fact, they could be useful.
I quickly learned that they were massive gossipers. With their help, I could gather information about people and notice patterns in behaviour, even among students' families. It was easy to trace connections, pick up abnormalities, and quietly build profiles in my mind. If something ever felt suspicious, I would notice. And in the long run, any kind of information can be useful.
By the time the lunch bell rang, I already had a rough map of the school in my head and was updated on the juiciest gossip. Most of it was silly dating stuff, but some of it was hilarious.
I was seated with the girls at lunch, as I still couldn't see my brother yet. When I did see him, he was sitting with his friends. He would get an earful later for abandoning his dear sister to stay with them. Not that I wanted to stay with that annoying nerd, but he did not say a word to me the whole day.
We were still chatting when the party finally entered the lunchroom. I noticed them through the corner of my eye. I waved at him, acknowledging him since he was still my brother, but he just put his head down and ignored me. Jerk. I rolled my eyes at him.
I went back to eating until I noticed a commotion happening around the cafeteria. The students near me were all looking at something happening behind me. The girls were stifling their laughter. I must have looked confused because Grace voiced the answer to my doubts.
"Just Troy and James talking with some nerds," explained Grace, as if it were a normal everyday occurrence.
I turned around.
It was my brother and the party.
The names Troy and James didn't seem familiar at first. However, this bullying scene gave me déjà vu. They were the bullies who had put a knife to Dustin's throat and forced Mike to jump off a cliff in season one. If it wasn't for Eleven appearing, they would have killed him. I had forgotten because it seemed so insignificant in the grand scheme of things, but these two children were annoying as hell. How dare they?
I saw Troy steal a plate of porridge and dump it on Will's head. That was the final straw. I immediately stood up and stormed my way to that table.
"H-Hey, where are you going?" asked Emily, but I ignored her. I didn't hear what she said next in my anger.
"Leave them alone."
"Who are you to talk to me like that?"
James looked at me, confused for a second, then snapped his fingers in realisation. "Oh, you are that new girl with connections. She was with Grace and the twins the whole day."
"Look, I was just putting some freaks in their place. These are nerds: Frogface, Faggot, Toothless, and Midnight."
I looked at the party. Dustin was looking down, clearly used to this. Mike was glaring at me, probably thinking I was associated with them too since it seemed like the girls I talked were friends with this bullies. Will looked like he was about to cry. Lucas looked down, embarrassed to see me witnessing this. This was something he never mentioned at home. I focused my attention back on the bullies, my thin patience ending by the second.
"Dude, maybe she's just angry because she's black too. You're pretty despite being black, so balances it out," said James perversely, as if the bullshit he spoke made perfect sense.
"You're alright. You had Grace's pass, so you're not a freak like him." Stated Troy as if he owned the whole school.
I took a deep breath, trying to stop myself from getting detention on my first day.
"This is your last warning. Stop now, or else…" I threatened, giving them one last chance to get the hell out of here.
"Who do you think you are, threatening us? I could make your school life a living hell. For what, a couple of freaks?" shouted Troy, clearly not making the smart choice of backing down.
"Erica—" Lucas started, saying my name out loud for the first time to warn me not to get involved so I wouldn't be targeted too.
But he didn't finish his sentence. I punched Troy straight in the nose so hard that it broke, and he fell to the floor.
"The nerds are my brother and his friends. Lucas is my brother, and only I can insult him."
"Y-You broke my nose!" Troy shouted in outrage. "James, now we need to teach her a lesson. Let's get her!"
James was already charging at me, letting out a stupid war cry that sounded more ridiculous than threatening.
"Fight! Fight! Fight!" the students shouted, excited to watch the chaos.
"Erica, be careful! Behind you!" my brother shouted, worried.
"Shut up, nerd. I can deal with them myself!" I shouted back. As I said earlier, only I could insult him.
I had been training with Black Widow for almost a month. If I couldn't deal with two twelve-year-olds by myself, she would be deeply ashamed of me for acknowledging her as my mentor.
I dodged to the side, stuck my foot out, and made James crash to the floor. Then I quickly sat on him and started throwing punches at his face before he could recover. Every time he tried to fight back, I hit him harder, disorienting him and keeping control. I hit him until his face was swollen and bruised so badly that even his mother would struggle to recognise him.
Troy recovered by then and tried to hit me while I was distracted. I stood up and judo-flipped him to the floor so hard that I dislocated his arm. His scream echoed through the cafeteria.
I went for another punch, but Lucas reacted and grabbed me before I could jump on them again. I tried to force my way out of his arms, but I didn't want to hurt him. Natasha had taught me better ways to escape, but they would have hurt him, so I didn't use them.
"Help! If she keeps going, she'll get expelled!" Lucas shouted, finally snapping the party out of their shock.
They rushed in and held me back with all their strength. Even though they barely exercised, the numbers worked against me as I was only in the body of a ten-year-old.
Still, I didn't stop threatening the bullies while they lay trembling on the floor, even if I was being held back.
"You hurt them again, bully them again, and I will hunt you down! I will beat you so hard you that you will be able to eat sh*t out of your own ass!" I threatened.
Footsteps echoed through the cafeteria. Someone must have called the teachers.
"What is going on here?" the principal demanded.