"Ma- Mason… I didn't- I didn't recognise.." Derek began to stutter as he spoke, not able to find the right words in time. "Don't waste any time by trying to speak, Derek." The young man, Mason, interrupted Derek's attempts to apologize and waved his hands around. "Just take care of that loser who beat you. I don't want any changes being made to the hierarchy right now. It's too annoying to deal with. Do you understand?"
"Ah! Yes!" Derek said as he gave a short bow, and Jaxon and Richie both did the same. "Good," Mason nodded his head, and then pointed his finger at the staircase before continuing, "Well then, what the fuck are you standing there for? Get the fuck out of my sight!"
"Ye- Yes! Yes, or course! Of course we will leave right now!" Derek responded almost immediately, and he then rushed towards the staircase, motioning his two lackeys as he dashed down the stairs. Jaxon and Richie followed him close behind, and Mason was left alone on the rooftop.
"Hah…" Mason breathed a sigh of relief as he closed his eyes and felt the breeze brush up against his face. "It feels much more calm with those morons gone.."
"Wow! You know, you can actually just ask people nicely, right?" A voice interrupted Mason's thoughts, and he narrowed his eyes and turned around, staring at the entrance to the staircase.
Another young man stood there. His hair was blonde and his eyes were blue, and he wore designer clothes that made him look like a supermodel.
"Frederick! It's you.." Mason clicked his tongue as he spoke, and Frederick waved his hand at him with a smile on his face. "Jeez dude, why do you have to be so alert all the time? I'm not going to kill you, you know.."
"Well, it's good to be cautious…" Mason shrugged his shoulders and Frederick chuckled in response.
"I can't argue with that." He spoke with a sigh, and then continued, "Is that why you're trying to get rid of that kid who fought back? Because you're cautious?"
"You make it sound like I'm going to kill him or something.." Mason snorted with an expression of disdain on his face.
"Yeah, but it also doesn't mean that you're planning on letting him go easily either.." Frederick shrugged. He then shifted his gaze towards the sky before continuing, "Why can't you just let the kid join the hierarchy? He did beat Derek, so he's definitely eligible for his spot."
"And then what?" Mason snapped his fingers and then turned around towards Frederick, who seemed confused by his question, and continued, "What would someone, who has suffered the most as a direct result of the hierarchical system that we've established, do after gaining power over his oppressor?"
Frederick narrowed his eyes, but he didn't respond. Mason continued, "Remember what Derek said about the kid, Frederick. He was a loser. A prey. Someone who was at the bottom of the hierarchy. You think he won't have grudges against the system that put him in that position? You think he'll just suck it up and decide to let it go?"
"I didn't know you were this paranoid, Mason.." Frederick spoke with confidence, indicating that he wasn't afraid. "But as usual, you're overthinking again. This is why you lost to me in our last fight as well."
Mason let out a bitter groan as he spoke angrily, "I lost because I was injur-"
"Don't bring up the injury excuse again. You and I both know that you had already recovered by the time the fight rolled around," Frederick rolled his eyes. "But back to the issue at hand; you're thinking too much.
Tap! Tap! Tap!
Frederick took a few steps forward, walking past Mason and leaned towards the railing. "Even if the kid has not let go of his grudges.. What could he possibly ever do to us? We're the best fighters in the school. The best of the best. And we also have people who are loyal to us. What on earth can a scrawny little junior do that can hurt us?"
"You're underestimating him too much, Frederick.." Mason clicked his tongue with a dissatisfied look. "Don't forget that we too started from the bottom." He said, while shaking his head. "Maybe not at the very bottom, like he was, but it was definitely near the bottom. And yet, we got to the top, didn't we?"
"You're forgetting about the countless others who were with us at the bottom, Mason. You know, the ones who failed to reach the top?" Frederick spoke with confidence once again. He didn't seem to be taking Mason's words seriously at all. "Do you honestly think that anyone can reach the top?"
"No. But you seem to be of the opinion that no one but us can reach the top." Mason's response was immediate. "What would you do if that junior of ours continued to climb up?"
"Then we'll beat him." Frederick wasn't too slow with the responses either. "That's what I'll do."
"It's better to beat him now than wait for him to grow to your level.." Mason said with a serious expression.
"... Looks like we won't be reaching an agreement anytime soon." Frederick said as he stared back at Mason, and the two were engaging in a staring contest. "It seems so," Mason nodded his head.
The staredown continued for a few more seconds before Frederick shrugged his shoulders and turned away from Mason's gaze. "Then it looks like there's no need to continue this conversation anymore." He said as he began walking towards the staircase, getting ready to leave.
Ring! Ring! Ring!
Frederick's phone began to ring all of a sudden, and he halted his footsteps. He then reached into his pockets and pulled out his smartphone, answered the call and placed it close to his ear. "Hello?"
Mason was curious as to who was on the other end, but as he couldn't hear anything, he simply decided to ignore Frederick and turned his attention towards the sky.
Or at least he tried to…
"What?!" He was once again interrupted, this time by the loud shout of Frederick, who sounded extremely surprised at what was being told to him through the phone. "What do you mean he's fainted?"
"What's going on?" Mason, unable to contain his curiosity, asked, and Frederick turned to look at him. "It's Gerald." He said softly. "He was beat up."
"What? Was it the same kid?" Mason was surprised as well. He knew Gerald. He was a tough opponent for almost anyone, but someone took him down?
"No, no…" Frederick shook his head and paused for a second before continuing, "It was someone else!"