Pt 2 - 17

A crowd had gathered in front of the school gates. According to Raven, this meant either of three possibilities; a fight had broken out; a fight was occurring, or a fight was about to ensue. The tension in the air—a heady mixture of anxiety and testosterone—pointed to the latter.



Zach scanned the crowd and spotted Adrienne animatedly talking to an older lad who had a pair of angry looking bodyguards glued to his shoulders. As soon as they spotted Zach the older guys were in motion, mouths agape with accusations.



“You’re the fucker who tried to rape my sister?” The wild-eyed teen asked, pushing back longish black hair that hung over his eyes. He looked like he could be a singer in some grunge band.



Zach’s face screwed up with confusion as he slowly told the stranger, “No?”



He felt a punch connect squarely with the end of his nose. It didn’t hurt, but annoying tickly drops of blood dripped from his septum to his lips. He shook them onto the floor where they shone upon the freshly re-tarmacked pavement like rubies.



“I didn’t try—” Zach tried to say before another punch interrupted him. This time in the mouth. The metallic taste of blood coated his teeth.



Adrienne was pulling at the attacker’s arm crying, “He didn’t do it! You’re making a mistake, Lee.”



Scanning the crowd, through the sea of confused and curious faces, he saw Alissa approach. Their eyes met, hers wide with guilt and worry. As Lee threw another punch Zach caught it in his hand and squeezed. He twisted the arm against the grain, pushing the bone in a way it did not want to go. He continued to push until Lee was down to the floor, all the while keeping eye contact with Alissa.



As Lee’s friends made a move forward, Rick Johnson and his gang also made a move, joined by Matty, Rhys, Kenny and Connor. If the bodyguards tried to intervene, a full-on brawl would be on the cards.



“Stop,” Alissa shouted as she dropped her bag and ran to her brother’s aid. She pulled at Zach’s hand, repeatedly telling him to let go.



“Tell him the truth,” Zach ordered quietly. He twisted Lee’s arm painfully, eliciting a sharp cry.



“Tell him,” Zach demanded again.



Staring at Zach, Alissa opened her mouth, but no words came out.



A further twist, cracking of bone and a scream of pain spurred Alissa to action.



“I made it up!” she cried. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.”



For the briefest moment, the only sounds in the world were shocked whispers and sounds of pain. Lee’s friends helped him up and moved him on without uttering a word.



“Come on, let’s get you to the nurse,” Adrienne took Zach’s hand and pulled but he didn’t move.



“I’m fine,” Zach told her.



“You have a broken nose,” Rhys diagnosed after a brief inspection of Zach’s bloody face.



“I can’t believe she accused you of trying to rape her,” Raven whispered, shaking her head.



“Yeah, If I wanted to rape her there wouldn’t exactly be much trying involved,” Zach said loudly enough for Alissa to hear. “How exactly did she manage to fight me off in her fantasized version of events?”



Alissa stared at the floor, not taking the bait.



“And to think I was going to call a truce,” Zach said, staring at Alissa. Her eyes darted up to meet his. “She can forget that now.”



Zach watched for a moment as Alissa chased after her older brother. He pushed her away with his good arm as she caught up and tried to assist him, shouting something that Zach couldn’t quite make out.



“So wrong that she would cry rape,” Libby said, breaking the silence.



Adrienne nodded, “Hmm, it’s hard enough to get convictions for sexual assaults.”



“Yup,” Raven agreed.



“So wrong,” Libby muttered.



The crowd was starting to dissipate, ambling back to their own lives as their minds returned to their own concerns. Zach spotted Rick and his gang pushing around a small, bespectacled kid as his own gang passed by them on their way through the front gates. He grabbed Rick by the back of the neck and extended his arm, forcing Rick into a bow.



“Bullying is what insecure pricks with abusive stepdads do,” Zach informed the boy and his followers. “Is that what you are?”



“No, no,” Rick cried as Zach released his grip and let the boy fall to the tarmacked floor. “I’m sorry!” Rick put up his hands defensively.



“Yeah, that’s what I thought,” Zach said before walking away from yet another crowd of interested onlookers. Did none of these kids have better stuff to do?



“What was that all about?” Adrienne asked, but Zach ignored her question.

###

Later that day Zach was called into the principals’ office. He didn’t have to rack his brain too hard to guess what it was about.



Mrs. Samuels sat behind a study mahogany desk that was sleekly polished but littered with half a dozen student files, a half-eaten sandwich and books.



“Sorry,” she said after swallowing the last mouthful of her lunch. “Please take a seat.”



Zach did so, smiling politely.



“So, there was an altercation outside the front gates. I saw the entire thing through that window,” Mrs. Samuels pointed to the window on her left. It did indeed provide a bird’s eye view of the front gate. The office was perfectly placed to give a good view of most of the school, apart from the bike shed.



‘No wonder they all smoke there,’ Zach thought. ‘Kids aren’t stupid.’



“I saw that boy hit you first. Twice, in fact.” The Principal paused for thought. “If I may ask, why did you not try to dodge?”



“Is it my job to move out of the way when someone else throws a fist at my face?” Zach asked.



He enjoyed the way the woman floundered at his words, trying to dream up a way to excuse the question. She had to have realised it came off sounding like victim-blaming. Like the interrogators who ask rape victims what they were doing out drinking so late, wearing so little.



She shuffled the papers on her desk and coughed. “Oh, no, I didn’t mean to blame you. The question was purely out of my own curiosity. I saw you take both punches without moving or even flinching. That isn’t…” the woman wet her lips. “That isn’t normal.”



“Oh,” Zach flashed her a smile, “I’m not normal.”



The woman stared at him for the longest time, her brow creased in deep thought.



“Is that it?” Zach asked finally.



“Erm, it’s just, you snapped that boy’s arm like it was made of spaghetti. How is that even possible—” the woman shook her head. “I… I don’t know what I’m even saying.”



“Show me your hand,” Zach ordered.



She looked down at her hand, frowning, before lifting it slowly as though about to give a high five.



Zach raised his hand and pressed it against hers. Her eyes opened wide, but she didn’t move to pull the hand away.



“See, my hand is almost twice the size of yours. You right in the assumption that you couldn’t snap a bone so easily, but you are using hindsight bias in judging my ability to do so,” Zach explained “Also, as a biology graduate, you should know about the Palmar Grasp Reflex. A baby can support its full weight with just the power of its grip.”



The teacher frowned deeply, “When did I tell you—”



“Your diploma,” Zach pointed to the back wall.



“Oh,” Mrs. Samuels let out a small sigh of relief.



“With hands like mine, I could snap your neck as easy as a chickens’!” Zach declared with a bright smile, before seeing her horrified look and adding, “but I would never do such an awful thing!”



Zach could sense her fear. The hairs on her arms stood up, despite the overbearing heat.



“I had to wait for the other boy to hit me first. I will only do to others what they are willing to do themselves. And I could never hurt someone as kind as you. You are the sort of person who would change paths to avoid stepping on a bug or take the time to gently place a spider outside rather than killing it.”



It was an attempt to soothe the woman, but if anything, she looked even more terrified.



“How… How did you know that?”



“Omnipotence,” Zach said with a smile. He laughed. “It’s obvious. Look at your boots. They are vegan leather. The sandwich you were finishing… also one of the cafeterias slim vegan selection. The book on your desk, the ragged trousered philanthropists, suggests you are a socialist as well as a vegan. Finally, you are taking the time to speak to a student on what is probably your only break.”



The principal sat, mouth agape, and for a moment Zach thought she was going to burst into tears.



“You are without a doubt the most insightful student I have ever had in this office,” she said finally. “Just, please, please no more fighting.”



“I promise.”



Zach smirked to himself as he turned and left. He could feel her eyes boring holes into his back as he walked away. He knew Mrs. Samuels would not be bothering him again.