"Finally decided to face me, have you?" Motoro asked cockily from in front of his gang. He was a pretty burly kid but there were no defining characteristics about him. He just had the nasty little habit of trying to cause problems for me whenever we saw each other. It lead to quite a few fights over the years. My crew did not like him or his crew so there was almost always fighting. The only problem this time was I only had Fias but that would not stop him from ganging up on the two of us.
"What do you want, Mo?" I asked back tensely. I could already guess what he was going to say.
"You already know what I want Skytel. Tell all these people what happened last time we were face to face like this. They have a right to know since they are all our peers." Motoro said with a grin.
"Why? What does that earn you?" I asked annoyed. He did not actually do anything impressive. Regardless, all eyes were on me. The crowd was very interested in what happened even with me telling them it was not anything special. That might have piqued their interest even more.
"Well since he is not going to tell you, I guess I will have to. It all started one night some time a few weeks ago when I was minding my own business walking to the corner store when out of nowhere, the famed Skytel shoulder charged me. It was a bit rude so I spoke up about it only to be greeted with 'watch where you're going or I'll make you next time' by him.
Can you believe that? So what happened next was all his doing. Like anyone in my position would do, I hip tossed him over me and punched him a few times. It was not anything serious but a few love taps.
His buddy Fias came rushing over to save him then and me being the good samaritan I am, I did not want to have to hurt him too so I backed off. Fias was all geared up and ready to fight, though, even though I did nothing to him. So I let them both off the hook and continued on about my way." Motoro said lying through his teeth. The story did not actually go anything like that. I would not allow him to paint me as the villain.
"That is not even near what occured. I admit I did bump into him but it was purely accidental. I was in my own little world and did not even notice him coming along opposite to me. I bumped into him and offered a small 'sorry about that.' but Motoro was not having any of it. He just said 'watch where you're going' to which I replied 'what are you going to do about it' and then he surprise attacked me and started punching me. That is what the bruises were from last week, from getting snuck by Motoro.
Am I really the type to just shoulder check someone and not apologize? Come on now." I said to the crowd but they were not listening.
They had lost all interest in what I had to say to defend myself even knowing how I actually was. It is not like I was just a blatantly rude jerk to everyone I came in contact with. Actually, I thought of myself as a pretty nice guy even though some people clearly did not deserve it.
"Now that you know the truth of the matter, let's all go back inside and party." Motoro said to everyone still on the deck. Only Fias, Nikki, and I remained. We went home shortly after since no one was interested in talking to either me nor Fias. It felt like it took forever to get back home. After I changed out of my varsity jacket into something more comfortable, I decided to go for a run and get a drink on the way back. The music in my ears helped calm my mind down so I did not do something I would regret later.
But no matter how much I tried to relax, the rage did not subside. Motoro was in for a rude awakening if he thought I would just let this go. I would do whatever it took to have my revenge. Little did I know a man was watching me the whole time I was talking to myself. The next few days passed uneventfully, especially since everyone at work and around the town was ignoring me. I was being ignored even though I did nothing wrong.
After carefully coming up with a plan for my vengeance, I started going to the gym even more than usual. Fias tried to talk me down a few times but I was not having any of it. Nothing was going to stand in the way of my revenge. I was a pretty strong guy for the lacrosse team even with how lean I was but that did not matter to me.
At the gym, I was lifting very heavy weights to drastically increase my strength quickly. By the end of the two-week winter break, I was lifting fifty pounds heavier than before and was much faster from all the running. The lean look I had before was now replaced with a muscular frame and a more carved definition.
"Hey, what's going on, buddy?" Fias said to me when we finally hung out a day before school started back up. We were sitting at a local cafe talking. Nikki was hugged right on Fias as usual but both had their eyes glued to me.
"You know what's up." I said back quickly. Fias was the only one who knew the details of my plan besides me. There were no secrets between us. We were brothers until the end.
"You put on a lot of muscle." Nikki said without thinking. This got her a sharp look from Fias to which she was silent.
"She is right, though, you do look a lot bigger. Well not bigger but more defined." Fias said still looking at me. My shirt was a little tight because of the frame change and I had to go buy new pants all together. All my old pants no longer fit with them being as skinny as they were already. I was already on my second burger by the time they came in and still had a pork chop and a fruit salad coming.
"I do not have a choice. I am gonna need the extra bulk for what is coming. All of them are being put down. Never again will someone even think of speaking down on my name when I am done with them. For that, I need the gym and food. They are all I think of now." i said back inhaling this burger as I did with the first. Nikki was drinking a milkshake and eating mochi while Fias was eating a plate of meatloaf and mashed potatoes.
"You might want to be careful, man. All that cholesterol can't be good for your conditioning." Fias said watching me finish the pork chop next. If I had not taken that into account and added even more running into my regimen, he would not be wrong.
"Do not worry about that. I have already accounted for it." I said back without looking up. My bill was high like it had been but not so much I had to worry. My job was well paying due to me not having parents around mostly. My boss was one of my father's friends from high school and knew he and my mother were often gone so he paid me higher than the others working my position unbeknownst to them. Without a word, I threw a hundred dollar bill on the table and got up to leave.
"Hey, buddy, you know I am just looking out for you. You have got to take care of yourself. What you are doing can't be healthy. Your body is not ready for such a drastic increase in intensive workouts and carbs." Fias said looking at me worried
"I know what my body is ready for!" I snapped back angrily without thinking.
"I'm sorry. But I know what I can handle and what I can't. Do not worry about me. Just worry about taking in as much as you can from your jiu-jitsu classes. You may need it when the time comes." I said to Fias. They both got into his car and drove off towards Nikki's house after we said our goodbyes. As I was rounding the corner to head back home, I bumped into Linz.
"Oh, Skytel, how's it going?" She asked carefully. I did not understand why she seemed to be tip toeing about.
"I am fine. How was the rest of your winter break?" I said not thinking too much of it. We shot the breeze for a few minutes until we got to the heart of why she was here.
"Fias told me what you have been doing. As the captain of the cheerleaders, I want you to look out for yourself. It would not look good to the scouts if our star lacrosse player injured himself from overwork just before senior year. You are looking a lot bigger, though." She said worried about me. She always had a habit of being blunt when she had something to say.
"Do not worry about me. And thank you for the compliment. Maybe Fias should just learn when to keep his mouth shut. His input is not needed." I said back losing my temper. He always tried to look out for me but sometimes he went too far. Linz had no bearing in what was going on and did not need to.
"You say that but look at you. I am glad you are worried about your physical shape but putting on that much muscle can't be good for your lacrosse form. You know lacrosse players have to stay lean to keep their speed at the highest it can be. I bet you can't even get up to the speed you were at your peak. Am I wrong?" Linz asked straight forward. She was not wrong. Even with all the running I was doing, I was not getting any faster.
Even though I could run longer, if I could not get up to the same speed, it made little difference. Something about Motoro always kept him faster than I was. Even though it was a negligible amount, he remained faster.
"It does not matter. Even if I am not quite as fast, I can keep top speed for much longer. I am in all around better shape than before and no one can tell me otherwise, not you nor the scouts. If they fail to see how much better I am, that is their problem." I said defensively. The anger was just boiling now. It came from nowhere but it was there now.
"Look at yourself! I made one comment and you lost it. Surely you are not going to pretend that is normal. It is almost as if you are back in your steroid days. This is how you used to be as well. But you put them down and you are in a much better place. I hope you did not start using again." Linz asked more worried now.
She was right; back then one wrong comment sent me over the edge. But this anger was different. This wasn't anger just for the sake of being anger, it was focused. I was focused.
"No, I am not using again. I promised everyone I would never pick up those drugs again and I have kept my word. This is not anger. This is determination." I lied. Linz could always tell I was lying so she did not believe me.
"I am just saying you might want to put them down before the next game. If the scouts see you in that condition, you will never even be looked at again. You will ruin your future. Consider my words carefully." Linz said before she took her leave. She was not wrong. The scouts would never take someone who was using steroids. After considering what she said for a few moments, I made my way over to the store to get a protein shake.
The same man was sitting in front of the building who had been there the last few nights.
"Why are you always here, man? Do you need some money?" I asked the man holding out a handful of cash. He looked up at me but something was different about him and it was not just his eyes.
"Ven....geance....Vengeance...." He was muttering as I bent closer to give him the money.
"I'm sorry, what was that?" I asked half expecting no answer. He was staring right into my soul with his blood red eyes.
"Would you like the chance to fill your quest for vengeance?" the man asked still staring at me.
"What are you talking about?" I asked feigning ignorance. He heard me talking to myself about it before so he knew already. I could not lie to the man about it.
"Would you like vengeance for your wrong doings?" the man in an almost demonic, bloodlust ridden voice.