As Graham and Hailey continued their discussion, the door slammed open so hard it banged against the wall, making half the class jump in their seats. Heads snapped toward the entrance.
Ken stood there again.
His nose was still bleeding, a white handkerchief pressed against it, stained dark red in the center. His eyes were swollen with fury, but this time, he wasn't alone. Four boys stepped in behind him. They were all built like athletes, shoulders broad, arms thick, the kind of guys who lived in the gym and believed intimidation was a language.
Some students slid their chairs back. Others pulled out their phones to record. Sophia who had been watching everything earlier with that smug amusement, straightened up and frowned.
Hailey's eyes widened, her hand flying instinctively to Graham's arm. She didn't grip him, but the worry on her face was clear. "Graham," she whispered, voice thin, "they're serious. You shouldn't stand up to all of them."
Graham didn't move.
He didn't flinch and didn't look away. He simply watched Ken and his squad walk deeper into the room. But beneath Graham's calm expression, the understanding that he might have gone too far earlier. Taking on Ken alone had been easy enough, but five at once was another matter entirely.
Still, he didn't show a hint of fear.
Ken lowered the handkerchief, revealing his swollen nose, and pointed at Graham with a shaking finger. "You really think you're tough?"
The four boys behind him cracked their knuckles, rolling their shoulders, eager for an excuse.
Graham stayed seated, jaw tightening slightly, eyes steady. He wasn't naïve...he knew he could handle a fight, but even he wasn't stupid enough to think he could blow through five guys without taking serious hits.
Trouble had walked in the room again.
The words had barely left Ken's mouth before his boys surged forward like they had been waiting for the signal all along.
"Beat him up."
The first one reached Graham with a raised fist, but Graham reacted the moment he saw the motion. He pushed himself up from the chair and stepped in, driving a hard kick straight into the guy's knee. The crack wasn't loud, but it was enough to drop the boy a few inches, and Graham followed it with a clean punch to the jaw. The boy's head snapped sideways, and he stumbled back, dazed.
Before Graham could look up, another one of Ken's boys charged at him full speed, lowering his shoulder like a battering ram. Graham barely had time to brace.
They collided with a force that knocked the breath out of him. The two of them flew backward into a table, the wood groaning before it split under their combined weight. The classroom gasped as the pieces clattered to the floor.
Graham rolled, trying to rise, but the remaining two boys grabbed him before he could get free. One clamped onto his left arm, the other onto his right. They yanked him down hard, forcing him onto his knees, pinning him in place.
Ken stepped forward slowly, savoring every moment, the handkerchief still in one hand. His voice trembled with fury. "You think you can humiliate me?"
Graham didn't answer.
Ken didn't wait for one.
He swung, hitting Graham across the face. The impact echoed through the room. Graham's head snapped to the side, but he gritted his teeth, refusing to let out a sound. Ken threw another punch, this one to his chest. Graham wheezed, breath escaping him sharply. Then another hit came, this time to his abdomen, forcing his body to curl in instinctive pain.
"Get off him!" Hailey shouted, rushing toward them. Her voice cracked with panic.
One of Ken's friends barely turned his head before he shoved her away with a single arm. She stumbled back and fell, catching herself on the floor as her face contorted with anger and fear.
"Stop it!" she yelled again, but it did nothing.
Some students stood frozen, hands over their mouths. Others whispered anxiously to one another, but none dared step in. A few are already recording the entire scene as it unfolded.
Ken pulled back his fist again, breathing heavily, the rage building with each strike. "Let's see if you still talk big after this."
Graham struggled against the arms holding him, but they were too tight. He felt another punch coming, and he braced for the impact, muscles tightening even as pain radiated through his ribs.
Sophia had been standing near the back of the room the entire time, arms folded. At first she thought Graham would somehow slip out of the situation the way he handled Ken earlier, but as soon as she saw those two boys pin his arms and drag him to his knees, her jaw tightened.
She didn't like Graham. Not in the slightest. To her he was stubborn, annoying and had an attitude she didn't care for. But watching him get beaten down by five guys while everyone else either froze or recorded with their phones made something twist sharply inside her.
People already whispered that he stayed at her house. They whispered even louder that she and the new boy had something going on. She hated the rumors, but she hated the idea of him being humiliated in front of the whole class even more. It would reflect on her too. And besides that, seeing Hailey get shoved aside while Graham struggled made the whole thing feel uglier by the second.
Sophia clicked her tongue and muttered under her breath, "This is getting stupid."
Her eyes scanned the room until they settled on a folded metal chair leaning casually against the wall near the windows, heavy enough to make a point if used the right way.
She reached for it without hesitation.
A girl beside her whispered in shock, "Sophia, what are you doing?"
Sophia didn't answer at first. She wrapped her hand around the cold metal handle, lifted the chair with one arm, and let out a soft exhale. Then she dragged the chair forward, letting its legs scrape the tiled floor just enough for the sound to turn heads.
The boys holding Graham didn't notice. Ken didn't notice either. He was too focused on raising his fist again, too wrapped up in his anger and the attention on him.
Sophia tilted her head, her eyes narrowing at the scene in front of her.
"Let's even things up a bit," she said.