Part-104

  James bristled. The audacity of this kid! "Who are you?" he demanded, his voice firm.

  The boy puffed out his chest, a clear attempt to appear intimidating. "Roman," he spat, "Eighth grade. Now e on, before I have t you."

  James scoffed. This Roman character, despite being a year his junior, seriously cked manners when addressing a senior. He wasn't about to be bullied by some undercssman.

  "Sorry, Roman," James replied, a hint of steel in his voice, "but I don't know any Alex, and frankly, I don't have any i iing him." He tried to brush past the boy, but Roman remaiubbornly pnted in his path.

  "You don't get a choice," Roman snarled, his smirk repced by a menag frown. "Alex said you'd e willingly. And trust me, you don't want to make him wait."

  James narrowed his eyes. This "Alex" seemed to hold some kind of power over Roman, enough to make him act like a glorified messenger boy. A flicker of curiosity sparked within James, but it was quickly overshadowed by annoyanbsp; He wasn't about to be coerced into some unknown situation.

  Thinking fast, James decided to buy himself some time. "Tell Alex," he said, his voice dripping with mock seriousness, "that James is unavaible for impromptu meetings. Perhaps he could schedule an appoihrough the proper els."

  Roman stared at him, momentarily taken aback by James' ued response. The smirk threateo reappear on his face, but James held his gaze, refusing to back down.

  Just then, the school bell pierced the air, its shrill ring a wele interruption. A crowd of students began to flow around them, their presence subtly breaking the teandoff.

  A flicker nition crossed James' mind as the school bell sliced through the tension. Of course, he knew Alex! It was the guy who had approached him after his victainst Sourov in the Judo club, to share his Taekwondo expertise.

  The annoyance he felt towards Roman, however, almost overshadowed his memory of Alex. This undercssman's rude behavior had pushed James into a defensive mode, blurring the lines between Alex's earlier offer and the current situation.

  Roman, however, seemed thrown off by James' fident reply. The smirk that had threateo return was repced by a frown.

  James didn't have time tue with an undercssman about this; he o head to css as the teacher had scheduled a test for today.

  However, behind him, Roman called out, "Stop, you coward!"

  James' steps faltered as Roman's words s him. He wanted nothing more than to head straight for css and leave this bizarre enter behind. James now felt an itch to beat the crap out of this boy.

  "So what if you're a senior?" Roman parroted, his voice still tinged with annoyanbsp; "Just because you defeated a member of the Judo Club doesn't mean you boss anyone around."

  James stopped pletely, a mix of irritation and a strange sense of respect simmering within him. Roman's words, though delivered rudely, held a sliver of truth. James hadn't meant to bully the undercssman, but his initial response had definitely been desding.