Hearing Calvin's offer, Emma shook her head with a friendly smile.
"No need. It is me, who should have taken you home. At least my car is still in good condition." Emma rejected.
"I'll take Calvin home. You can go home now. It's getting too late." Troy said.
Emma nodded and smiled again, "Thanks for the soda, Troy."
"You're welcome." The man replied as he stood up and walked towards the rolling door. He raised it until it stuck to the top and came out with his two guests.
"Are you really okay going home alone?" Calvin asked with a worried expression.
"How if I take you to your home? I'll follow your car with my motorbike." Troy offered. He also seemed worried, but looked like trying to restrain himself. After all, they just had met. He didn't want Emma to feel uncomfortable.
Emma shook her head again as she opened her car door, "My house is pretty near from here. Thanks for the offer. I'll go first!"
The two men nodded, "Be careful on the road." they said at the same time unconsciously.
Emma laughed a little then got in her car and drove away.
"Is she really not your girlfriend?" Troy looked at Calvin innocently.
***
A baseball bat swung swiftly, landing on the back of a big guy until the bat broke in two. The guy winced in pain for the umpteenth time. His muscular body trembled and was lying weak on the dirty floor. He was Steven, a sophomore in high school who was the leader of the Mighty Hell group. The gang of delinquents had been roaming freely around Davis Street and Lothy Street for four years.
"FUCK! WHY ARE YOU SO WEAK?!" A guy with short hair dyed neon yellow shouted. He spat at Steven who was trying to get up from his prone position, to get back on his knees with the last of his strength.
The poor guy's face was full of purple bruises and bumps everywhere. His forehead, nose, and mouth also continued to ooze blood and fluid. But he was still submissive and trying to be strong. Even though he was already battered, he didn't want to lose his pride as the leader of the group he had raised all this time.
"He's only one jerk. You guys ganged upon him! How could you still lose?" The yellow-headed guy laughed in surprise, "How am I going to face the boss later, huh?! I shouldn't have supported you from the first place! You're like an ungrateful dog. I already fed you, but you bit my hand instead!" he growled.
"I.. I'm sorry. He's.. too.. strong." Steven's voice was almost gone. Every time he opened his mouth, blood and saliva dripped out. And that made the yellow-headed guy even more annoyed and threw a free-kick at his body.
"That's because you are so weak and incompetent!" He said.
"Cody, he is..."
BUGHH!! Before Steven could finish speaking, a fist landed right on the poor guy's mouth that made him fall backwards. He could only accept and spit blood to the side. Two of his teeth were coming out with blood clots.
"Hey, teddy bear! Do you know, what is the impact of the mistakes you made? You know, where does our income come from? , if the big boss doesn't want us anymore, what will happen? Are we still able to breathe freely in Handway city?" Said the guy named Cody, right next to Steven's ear.
Then he multiple times slapped the poor guy's cheek who was still lying down, "You were playing too much, Steven. You can't even take care of your own members and can't defend your territory. You're always looking for excuses for your weakness. From this moment on, I don't want to see Mighty Hell roaming around my area anymore." He continued before spitting in Steven's face again and leaving him in the abandoned warehouse.
Cody came out of the big dark warehouse door. In front of the dilapidated building, all of his members were waiting. One of the tall, skinny men handed him a cell phone. He took the phone and pressed it once.
He put the phone to his ear filled with earrings. His body was sturdy like a big boss. But suddenly, that arrogant back was bowing when the phone was connected.
"Hello, Boss!" He answered respectfully. "I've cleaned up my men. This incident will not happen again. I swear." he continued, then silently listened to his boss's answer. Then he smiled and bowed again, "Understood! Thanks, Boss! Thanks a lot!" he said with relief.
Somewhere from there, a guy with thick eyebrows lowered his cell phone and tucked it in his trouser pocket, "Cody has fired his men."
"Hmm.. I shouldn't be too soft on him. He's the kid with a yellow head, right?" Asked a guy with pale white skin and lips as deep red as blood. His eyes were sharp like snakes. He was the leader of the Black Hole group.
"He was holding the area around the square. I think you picked him up when you were drunk at the time." The assistant remembered. His name was James.
"Yeah.. He's begging like a hungry puppy. After all, it's only a very small area. He can only extort money from a few middle and high school kids around there. You know.. they don't have much money."
James nodded, "Then, are you going to let that kid named Calvin?"
"Of course. Why would I bother with one bug like him? He'll just run in a circle. His match is limited to groups of bugs like Mighty Hell. That kid will only tire himself out and give up." The chairman replied with a sip of a large, short glass of alcohol.
"People like him can't touch us, James." He continued with a big smile.
***
"One, two, whoops! One, two, whoops!" All the girls jumped, following the direction of a beautiful instructor named Diana.
"Come on! More excitement! This is a new move. I'll put it in one of the moves for the show." She shouted again.
After two hours of practice, the ballet class finally ended. All the girls scattered to pack their things and went to the bathroom. But there was a determined girl who was still practising in front of the mirror. She was Emma Hillland, a beautiful girl who was very ambitious to be able to dance perfectly.
Emma kept jumping, as if her legs had springs in them. It jumped high and landed gently. But at the end of the movement, she always shook her head annoyed because the movement was still wrong. Emma had just entered the world of ballet. Because of that, she was a bit difficult to keep up with, and her body wasn't very flexible and balanced yet. But Emma would not give up, she continued to practice every day. Even if the ballet club was on an off day, she would practice at home.
"Emma. Are you still practising?" Kathy walked over to her with a gym bag slung over her shoulder.