Bully HUMILI ATED her in front of everyone, not knowing who she really is…
A nervous chuckle cut through the silence, but it instantly faded when Max’s head snapped toward the sound. Anna’s eyes were fixed on the floor. Her hands were trembling, but if anyone had looked closer, really looked, they would have noticed something strange.
The tremor followed a specific rhythm. «Seven hundred eighty-nine. Did you hear me?» «Strange.»
Max’s voice dropped lower, becoming more dangerous. «I said, get on your knees and bark like the dog you are.» The circle of students closed in tighter, phones raised like weapons.
Anna Harper was in the center. Her small figure seemed even smaller against Max Thompson’s imposing presence. Six-foot-three, 220 pounds of muscle and malice.
The fluorescent lights of Chicago High School’s gym cast harsh shadows on his face as he leaned close enough for her to smell the protein shake on his breath. The crowd loved it. They always loved it when Max found a new victim.
The invisible girl who sat in the back of every class, ate lunch alone, walked the halls like a ghost. She was perfect prey. But what they didn’t know was that Anna Harper wasn’t counting out loud to calm herself.
She was counting backward to zero. Three weeks ago, Anna had made a mistake. She was exhausted.
Workouts at five-thirty a.m. before school. Fights at eleven-thirty p.m. Eastern time. After school, she was worn out.
So when Sean accidentally dropped her books in the hallway, she reacted. It was just a slight movement, a small shift of weight that completely threw off the subsequent shove. He stumbled past her in confusion.
No one else noticed, except Max. Max Thompson ruled Chicago High School like a king over peasants. Captain of the football team, nephew of the mayor, six years of wrestling training, and a father who taught him that power was the only currency that mattered.
He built his reputation on breaking those who thought they could stand up for themselves, and now he’d found his new project. «I’ll count to three,» Max announced, playing to the crowd. «One.»
Anna’s fingers twitched almost imperceptibly. In another life, her real life, those fingers had taken down Alex Romano. The same hands that seemed so small and weak had racked up 47 straight wins in places where losing meant an ambulance, not embarrassment.
«Two.» She thought of her sixteen-year-old brother, fighting a different battle on a hospital bed. Leukemia didn’t care about underground championships or school hierarchies.
It only cared about money. Two thousand dollars for experimental treatment. The insurance company called it non-medically necessary.
Anna called it her only chance. «Three.» The crowd tensed.
This was the moment the invisible girl would break, like all before her. She’d cry, beg, do whatever Max wanted, because that’s how the world worked. The strong devoured the weak.
Anna dropped to her knees. The gym erupted. Phones flashed.
Someone yelled «Bully star.» Others laughed so hard they could barely hold their phones steady. Max stood over her like a gladiator, claiming his victory.
Arms spread wide, basking in the adoration of his followers. «That’s right,» he said loud enough for everyone to record. «Know your place.»
Now bark for daddy. Anna’s lips moved. There was no sound, but her mouth formed numbers.
«Four hundred fifty-six.» The laughter grew. Everyone thought she was trying to speak but couldn’t.
Thought fear had stolen her voice. Thought a lot of things. «Seven hundred eighty-nine.»
Max was starting to lose patience. The script called for total humiliation, and quiet submission wasn’t enough. He needed her to bark.
He needed her to break. He needed the video to go viral by lunch, with a title like «Football Star Turns Weird Girl Into His Pet.» So he did what he always did when someone didn’t follow his script fast enough.
He drew his leg back to kick. Yes, the switch happened in that split second between heartbeats. One moment Anna Harper was a trembling girl on her knees…
