"Hm, I wonder what I should pick today?" Melissa Matsumoto stood in front of the vending machine as she began contemplating which fruit juice she should buy.
"Should I buy green apple or strawberry? Or maybe guava?" She pressed her dainty fingers on her bright red lips as he thought to herself.
"Ugh! Who the hell is taking so long to buy a fucking fruit juice?" Melissa's thoughts were interrupted by the group of girls who were standing behind her. One of the girls said with an annoyed tone, "Girl, are you going to take the entire day to pick what juice you need to drink? Because people like us have classes to get to."
"Oh, really now?" Melissa said with a cold snort as he turned around, and the girl who had spoken confidently just a second ago flinched in surprise as he realized who she was talking to. "Hyeh! M- Melissa?"
"Oh shit! It was Melissa?" The girls behind her started whispering amongst themselves. Melissa, who was part of the most popular girl groups in the school, had more power and influence within the girls. So much so that a single negative word from her about someone could ruin their reputation within the girl circles.
"You want to say that again, girl?" Melissa said as he took a few steps forward and stood right in front of the girl's face.
"Uh, n- no, not really…" The girl spoke nervously before taking a few steps back. "You can take as long as you need!"
With that, the group of girls ran away, and Melissa chuckled in disdain before turning her gaze towards the vending machine once again. "What a bunch of pussies.."
Click!
"Melissa! Melissa!" The loud voice of Selina Kamada, one of Melissa's friends, was heard echoing throughout the hallway as soon as the green apple fruit juice fell down.
"What is it?" Melissa turned around with an annoyed expression after picking up the fruit juice.
"It's- it's… it's that loser guy, what's his name.." Selina, who was in the middle of gasping for air, couldn't remember Mark's name, and began waving her hands in the air like a crazy person.
Pop!
"Are you talking about loser Mark?" Melissa popped the straw into the juice box as she spoke, and Selina nodded her head furiously. Melissa took a sip, after which she asked, "What about him?"
"He.. him and Derek… they're…" Selina had to stop speaking to take a deep breath in. She looked like she had sprinted all the way from class in order to find Melissa.
"He's getting bullied again? What's so special about that?" Melissa said before taking another sip out of the juice box. "Losers get bullied, and they stay bullied because they don't fight back. We shouldn't interact with losers because they'll drag our social status down along with them. So don't bother with what they're doing, alright girl?"
"That's… that's not it!" Selina, who had finally calmed down a bit, said out loud, catching Melissa off-guard. "It's.. it's the opposite!"
"Mark, he's.. hes.." Selina pointed her finger in the direction where their class was, and said, "He's beating Derek's ass!"
-----------------
Derek Watanabe has always been feared by most of his peers. He was, after all, enormous in size and had a scary face. And his facial hair made him look a lot older than he really was.
Of course, Derek used this fear as a stepping stone in controlling the entire classroom. And with his skills in combat that he learned through fighting kids in the street early on, he wasn't just scary in appearance anymore.
He had the power.
He had control.
He was the boss.
".....What did you just say, you little shit?!" That's why the words spoken by usually meek and nervous Mark Fukuoka, one of the victims of his bullying, caught him off-guard for a few seconds. He couldn't believe what he was hearing, and from whom he was hearing it.
Derek leaned forward, and spoke in his most menacing tone. "Say that again, punk. I dare you." His voice was cold as ice. If it was anyone else, they would've been scared to death.
But what threat can a mere mortal make to an immortal god?
"Wow! I didn't think that you'd be so into hearing about your mother's sex life. That's a bit weird, don't you think?" Mark replied calmly without even turning around. His voice oozed confidence, something Derek would've found confusing had he not been distracted by Mark's words.
Clench!
Derek clenched the sides of his desk, making it creak. His eyes were bloodshot, and he was gritting his teeth while staring right at the back of Mark's head.
"You're dead, you bitch. You hear me?" Derek moved closer to Mark and whispered once again. "Wait till the class is over, and I'll make sure that you can't say a word about my mom!"
"Now that is no way to talk to your future stepfather, Derek." Mark replied back instantly. "You're going to make your mom sad."
Derek didn't respond, and instead continued to stare at Mark with hatred in his eyes. He was waiting for the class to end and the bell to ring.
He was furious. He had never felt so disrespected in his life before. Even people who had defeated him in combat weren't so disrespectful to him. But this pest, this worm who was beneath him, dared to disrespect him and his mother? This loser?
Ding!
"Ah! Looks like that's the end of my class," Miss Gillian said as she stared at the clock hanging on the wall, and was getting ready to leave the classroom.
"Thank you, Ma'am!" The entire class yelled out in unison as the teacher stood up from her seat and headed towards the door.
Tap!
Both Mark and Derek were carefully watching Miss Gillian's movements as she stepped in front of the door and opened it.
Tap!
Derek glanced at Mark, who was sitting in front of him as Miss Gillian stepped outside the door. 'I'll make sure that you know the meaning of the word pain today, bitch,' He gritted his teeth as he thought to himself. He wasn't going to let this loser go. He had to pay for his words.
Tap! Tap! Tap!
After making sure that Miss Gillian was at a considerable distance from the classroom, Derek started to get up from seat, yelling, "MARK! YOU LITTLE BITCH! YOU'RE GOING TO-"
But what Derek didn't know was that Mark wasn't a fan of theatrics right before a fight. He didn't like to engage in taunts after the fight had begun, and he definitely wasn't going to let his enemy do it either.
Whoosh!
That's why, as Derek was in the middle of getting up from his seat while yelling loudly like a lunatic, Mark had already grabbed the desk in front of him, and while clenching it tightly, he swung it around with great speed, aiming right for the still talking Derek.
"What the-"
BAM!
The desk slammed onto the side of Derek's left shoulder with such force that it produced a loud noise that was akin to the sound of a small explosion, as he was flung to the side, slamming onto the wall and crashing down onto the floor.
For a second, it was as though time had stopped. Everyone's eyes were on Mark, who was standing in front of the fallen Derek, staring at him with an intense gaze, as though he was death himself.
"Come on now, Derek. You can't give up so easily.." Mark crouched in front of Derek, grabbed his hair and pulled his head up, and as he looked into his eyes, he continued, "After all, the punishment has only just begun.."