Most students were already mentally checked out.
The teacher sighed as she looked over the class.
"Before everyone disappears..."
A collective groan filled the room.
She ignored it.
"The presentation project."
Immediately several students started complaining.
Marco had finally returned with Sonia and dramatically fell onto his desk.
"We literally just got back."
The teacher pointed at him.
"And you'll still do the project."
The class laughed.
She continued.
"You may present anything you feel passionate about."
"History."
"Science."
"Art."
"Culture."
"Business."
"Psychology."
"Whatever."
A pause.
"But make it interesting."
Then the bell rang.
Instantly chaos erupted.
Students grabbed bags.
Chairs scraped.
Conversations exploded.
The teacher barely finished saying goodbye before half the class was already gone.
Andre was putting away his notebook when Esmeralda leaned toward him.
Their shoulders nearly touching.
"Partner."
Andre looked at her.
"What?"
"The project."
A grin appeared on her face.
"What are we presenting?"
Andre thought for a second.
"No idea."
She looked offended.
"You had one job."
"I had many jobs."
"Name one."
"Making you smile."
Esmeralda rolled her eyes.
"Smartass."
Andre smirked slightly.
Before either could continue
Students suddenly began rushing toward the door.
Fast.
Very fast.
Almost running.
Marco blinked.
"...Why are they sprinting?"
Hugo immediately stood.
"Oh."
Misheal groaned.
"Oh no."
Sonia sighed.
"Please tell me that's not what I think it is."
Hugo grabbed his bag.
"It is exactly what you think it is."
The realization hit the group simultaneously.
Yard.
Fight.
Rufus.
Buck.
The entire classroom emptied within seconds.
Marco jumped up.
"We are absolutely not missing this."
The Yard
The atmosphere felt different.
Dangerous.
Electric.
Hundreds of students surrounded the open space.
No teachers.
No supervision.
No adults.
Just students.
Waiting.
Watching.
Anticipating.
Everyone knew the rules.
No restraint.
No interference.
No mercy.
Rufus stood in the center.
Pacing.
Back and forth.
Back and forth.
His fists clenched.
Jaw tight.
The bruises from earlier were still visible.
Minutes passed.
No Buck.
No Carlos.
Nothing.
The crowd began whispering.
Rufus became more irritated.
More agitated.
Finally he stopped pacing.
And laughed bitterly.
"The coward ditched."
A few students murmured.
Rufus spat to the side.
"I should've known."
A pause.
"He doesn't have the balls to face me."
Then
A voice answered from behind the crowd.
"Oh."
The crowd immediately parted.
"He has the balls."
Carlos stepped forward.
Hands in his pockets.
Smiling.
As usual.
Rufus' expression darkened immediately.
Carlos chuckled.
"I really want to see you in bad shape after this."
The crowd laughed nervously.
Rufus cracked his neck.
"Funny."
A pause.
"Because initially it was you I wanted."
Carlos smirked.
"That's adorable."
The crowd oohed.
Carlos slowly approached.
Stopping several feet away.
"I won't waste my precious time on you."
His smile widened.
"Besides."
A pause.
"Someone else wants to kick your ass."
The crowd shifted.
Confused.
Then footsteps echoed from behind Carlos.
Slow.
Measured.
The whispers started immediately.
Then grew.
Then exploded.
Andre.
He walked forward calmly.
Already loosening his tie.
His sleeves rolled upward.
No smile.
No joke.
No emotion.
"I need to clear my head and violence is my only option."
The crowd immediately became louder.
Even students from other classes were pushing forward now.
Because nobody expected this.
Rufus stared.
Andre stopped several feet away.
The distance between them felt much smaller than it actually was.
Then Rufus noticed something.
Someone standing behind Andre.
Esmeralda.
Watching.
Concern visible on her face.
Immediately
Rufus smiled.
A cruel smile.
"Oh."
His eyes moved between them.
"I'll enjoy this."
The crowd grew quiet.
Rufus pointed toward Esmeralda.
"I will enjoy giving you a beating."
A pause.
"Right in front of her."
Silence.
The atmosphere tightened instantly.
Everyone looked at Andre.
Waiting.
Expecting a reaction.
Any reaction.
But Andre simply stared at him.
Expressionless.
And Rufus smiled.
"You know what's more funny?"
The crowd quieted.
Rufus pointed toward Esmeralda.
"After I put you in the infirmary..."
A pause.
"...she'll be hurt."
His grin widened.
"Broken."
The crowd began murmuring.
Then he delivered the final blow.
"And I'll be there to fuck her."
Another pause.
"And make her moan screaming my name."
The yard exploded.
Students shouting.
Whistling.
Screaming.
"OHHHHHHH!"
"HE'S DEAD!"
"DAMN DID YOU HEAR THAT!"
Even Carlos looked impressed.
"Wow and I thought I was the only good good at triggering people."
Then everything happened at once.
Andre moved.
His fist slammed directly into Rufus' face.
The impact echoed across the yard.
The crowd erupted.
"HOLY SHIT!"
"HE HIT HIM!"
"LET'S GO!"
Rufus staggered.
But immediately fired back.
His punch connected with Andre's jaw.
The crowd screamed again.
The two collided.
Punch.
Counter.
Punch.
Counter.
Neither backing down.
Each strike louder than the last.
The yard became a frenzy.
Students climbing benches.
Standing on tables.
Recording.
Screaming.
Then Rufus threw a heavy right.
Andre caught it.
The entire crowd froze.
Andre's grip tightened.
Then landed a straight right hand
Rufus stumbled but immediately fired back.
His punch connected.
Andre's head snapped slightly.
The crowd roared louder.
Now both of them were throwing.
Punches.
Counters.
Blocks.
Neither giving ground.
Rufus rushed forward aggressively.
Andre stepped aside.
A hook.
A straight.
A body shot.
Rufus answered with his own combination.
The crowd could barely keep up.
For the first minute it looked even.
Neither man backing down.
Neither man afraid.
Then things changed.
Rufus threw a heavy right.
Andre caught it.
The entire yard gasped.
Before Rufus could react
Andre drove forward.
A sharp jumping knee to the face.
Rufus staggered backward.
The crowd lost their minds.
Andre didn't stop.
He pressed forward.
Relentless.
Rufus tried creating distance.
Andre refused to let him.
Every time Rufus stepped back
Andre was already there.
Another punch.
Another combination.
Another counter.
The pressure never stopped.
The crowd could see it.
Rufus could feel it.
The fight was slipping away.
Then Rufus charged.
Trying to overwhelm him.
A kick landed cleanly.
Rufus dropped to one knee.
The crowd erupted again.
"HOLY HELL!"
"HE'S COOKING HIM!"
Anastasia's face started changing.
The confidence was gone.
Now she looked worried.
Rufus got up with a punch but missed again Andre then grabbed him and landed a brutal headbutt.
Rufus stumbled backward.
Blood immediately appearing on his split lip.
The crowd lost their minds.
"NO WAY!"
"DID YOU SEE THAT?!"
"HOLY HELL!"
Rufus roared and charged.
This time faster.
More aggressive.
Andre waited.
Waited.
Waited.
Then spun.
A spinning kick slammed into Rufus' ribs.
The impact folded him.
Air escaping his lungs.
The crowd exploded again.
Rufus dropped to one knee.
Before he could recover
Andre was already there.
A driving knee.
Straight into Rufus' face.
The force launched him backward.
Gasps erupted everywhere.
Even Hugo stared.
"Damn..."
Misheal looked horrified.
"Did he learn teakwando."
Rufus got up and then he charged again.
Andre sidestepped.
Punch.
Punch.
Punch.
Each one cleaner than the last.
Rufus tried swinging back.
Missed.
Andre landed another.
And another.
And another.
His movements slower.
His attacks becoming desperate.
But Andre remained calm.
Terrifyingly calm.
Like he had finally stopped holding back.
Rufus threw another punch.
Andre slipped it.
Countered.
Then countered again.
And again.
Every mistake Rufus made was punished immediately.
The crowd that had been cheering Rufus earlier was now silent.
Watching.
Realizing what was happening.
Rufus tried another rush.
Andre shut it down.
He intercepted him.
Drove him backward.
Forced him onto the defensive.
For the first time all fight
Rufus looked uncertain.
And Andre saw it.
The moment he saw it
He advanced.
The pressure doubled.
The crowd was standing now.
Nobody sitting.
Nobody talking.
Just watching.
Because the fight had become one-sided.
Not because Rufus stopped fighting.
Because Andre simply wouldn't let him breathe.
Everyone could see how exhausted Rufus was.
How badly the fight had turned.
How different he looked from the confident guy who walked into the yard.
But Rufus refused to stay down.
He forced himself up.
Blood running down his chin.
His breathing uneven.
A deep cut just above his left eye.
He charged again and threw a desperate hook.
Andre ducked underneath.
Then drove a body shot into his stomach.
Rufus doubled over.
A second punch followed.
Then a third.
Then a fourth.
The crowd counting now.
"ONE!"
"TWO!"
"THREE!"
"FOUR!"
Rufus nearly collapsed.
Andre grabbed his collar.
Holding him upright.
As he landed a punch
Then another
Then another
The crowd fell silent.
Waiting.
Watching.
Andre slowly looked toward Marco.
Marco froze.
Still holding the bruise on his jaw.
Andre smiled.
A small smile.
But it didn't reach his eyes.
Then he looked back at Rufus.
And everyone felt a chill.
Because suddenly they realized.
This wasn't about Esmeralda anymore.
This was about Marco.
About seeing his friend humiliated.
About watching him call himself weak.
Rufus tried lifting his hands again.
Tried fighting.
But his arms barely responded.
His face and his eyes were all bloodshot, more like his eyes were closed.
Andre then looked at him and shoved him backward.
"Don't give up yet, I'm not done with you."
Rufus crashed to the ground.
The crowd was no longer cheering.
Now they were nervous.
Anastasia immediately rushed forward.
Throwing herself beside her brother.
Covering him.
Tears already falling.
"Please!"
Her voice cracked.
"Please stop!"
Nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
The entire yard held its breath.
Anastasia looked up at Andre.
Terrified.
"He's sorry."
Another tear rolled down her face.
"Please."
The anger in the yard vanished.
Leaving only silence.
Then another figure stepped forward.
Esmeralda.
She reached Andre.
Placed a hand on his arm.
"...Andre."
Just that.
Nothing else.
Andre looked down at her hand.
Then at her.
His body relaxed instantly.
Like a switch had been flipped.
The tension disappeared.
The fight disappeared.
The rage disappeared.
Without saying a word
He stepped back.
The crowd couldn't believe it.
"HE ACTUALLY LET HIM GO."
Esmeralda held his arm and smiled.
And together they walked through the parted crowd.
Nobody dared stop them.
Nobody dared speak.
Behind them
Rufus remained on the ground.
Anastasia holding him.
Students whispering.
Carlos walked closer to Rufus's laying on the ground
"Oh mate, trust me i could have done worse than this but I think I'm satisfied."
Carlos then walked away.
And the entire crowd was still silent because they understood something.
The frightening thing about Andre wasn't how hard he could hit.
It was how far he was willing to go once someone he cared about got hurt.