Page 4 of A Vicious Rumor

“Alright, Tyson, say goodbye.”

“Bye, Lily,” I said to her, as I got up from my swing.

I started to walk towards my Dad, but she grabbed my hand. “Don’t let it get to you,” she said.

I shook my head. “Let what get to me?”

“What they said.”

She let go of my hand then and skipped past me and into the house. I looked down to see a shiny tiger-eye gemstone bead in my hand. By the time I lifted my head up, she was already in the house and out of sight.

1

TYSON: PRESENT DAY

“Fight! Fight! Fight!” the crowd around me jeered as I stared down my opponent. He already looked unsteady on his feet. One more hit and he’d be done for, but I wasn’t going to let him off that easily. I enjoyed toying with my prey a bit, and the crowd seemed to love it, too.

More than that, the kid standing in front of me deserved it, in my eyes. Cocky sonofabitch thought he’d be able to win in a fight against me. Clearly, he hadn’t been at the Academy that long.

“Come on, Rock! Stop toying with him,” someone called out from the crowd. I smirked. Just a little bit longer. This kid needed to learn that you didn’t mess with the Triad. And, more than that, you didn’t fucking think you could walk into a fight with me and come out standing. It’d been a long time since someone had defaulted in Rochambeau and an even longer time since that person thought they’d be able to win back their debt by winning a fight with me.

The kid across from me was entirely forgettable. Medium brown hair, medium height, medium build, and his dad owned a medium successful business that made enough to buy him a seat at King’s Academy. But still, he walked around acting like he owned the place. Fucking punk.

“Shouldn’t have bargained for something you couldn’t deliver,” I taunted him.

He spat out blood and gave me a wary look. “You three set me up.”

I just shook my head. “That’s not how the Triad works and the whole school knows it.” He looked unsteady on his feet as he tried to circle around me. I followed his pattern, keeping him at bay just a little bit longer. “Anyone needs a favor? They go to Paper. He documents and makes a recommendation. Scissors cuts the deal. You don’t deliver? You play Rochambeau and go up against me. Beat your opponent, which has never happened before, and your debt is repaid. Don’t, and your name is blacklisted from the Social List.”

“I don’t care about the fucking Social List,” the punk in front of me tried to yell, but his voice was giving out from exhaustion.

I shrugged. “Okay, man,” I replied, because I really did not give a shit. The Social List crap was more Scissors’ thing. I just enjoyed giving punks like this beatdowns and it’d been so very long since I’d had the chance. It’s why I’d agreed to be a part of the Triad in the first place. A guaranteed and protected way to get my punches in.

I looked over to where Paper was standing and briefly locked eyes with him. His tall, lithe frame easily stood out amongst the crowd, along with his jet black hair and glasses that obscured that dead look in his eyes. He gave me the signal to go ahead and end the fight.

I moved forward and before medium-kid even knew what to do, I was landing a punch to his nose that had him falling back into the dirt, clutching his face and screaming in pain. I looked up to see Paper rolling his eyes in a bit of exasperation. The crowd rushed forward to huddle around the kid on the ground, which really fucking irritated me.

They were supposed to crowd around me. I was the one to win the fight. And yet, here they were, taking pity on this little sack of shit. I cracked my knuckles in irritation as I turned away from the idiotic scene in front of me.

“Hey! I think he broke his nose!” someone called out, as if I cared. This kid came to us for a favor. We did what we were supposed to do for him, and then he didn’t deliver on his end. He decided to play Rochambeau. He knew what he was getting into. He shouldn’t have defaulted on his debt.

“Alright everybody,” Paper said, clapping his hands to get everyone’s attention. “The nurse has been alerted to expect a visitor. You two,” he said, pointing to the two people closest to the kid on the ground, “go ahead and escort Brian to the nurse.”

They both nodded their agreement and helped Brian up off the floor. He limped away with them, which was pathetic because last I checked, it was his nose that was broken, not his fucking foot.

Paper approached me, and I groaned. I knew I was going to get a lecture from him. Luca Anderson, aka Paper, was currently a junior and one of the smartest kids at the school. He knew it too, the dick. Acted like he was higher and mightier than everyone else. It was hard to blame him. His family was extraordinarily wealthy. They owned a restaurant group that operated super well known franchises for middle-class Americans, plus his mom was a high-end fashion designer. Not only that, but Luca was tall, had dark hair, and a darker attitude. The girls flocked to him, but he acted like he couldn’t give a damn. Which only made them all want him more.

Him and his “better than thou” crap really pissed me off. But, he was the brains behind the entire Triad operation. Without him, this whole thing wouldn’t work.

“Rock,” he said in his stern voice.

“Yes, Dad,” I said with a roll of my eyes.

“Hilarious,” he replied in a flat voice. “Next time, not so much on the blood, please. It has the tendency to create paperwork.”

I scoffed. “Your name is fucking ‘Paper.’ What you’re telling me is that I’m giving you job security.”

“I wouldn’t expect you to understand the intricacies of such things,” he replied, and I cracked my knuckles. He looked down at my bloodied fist and sighed. “Just keep it in mind for next time, yes?” he said, walking away before I had a chance to even respond.

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