Rise of The Charleston Heir

Chapter 9: The Joker

Laughter rang out in all directions as the whole school mocked Jason. 

The director chuckled, “What a hilarious young man.”

Jason's grandmother couldn't stand it anymore. She dragged him to the side, trying to find a little privacy to speak to him, try and dissuade him and get him back to his right senses, but avid eyes followed them everywhere. 

Her grip on his wrist tightened and she simply lowered her voice to an urgent whisper. “Jason, my little boy, I know how hard this is for you. They always treat us poor people like dirt. I have grown so used to it, but now I can see that being poor makes things so hard for you everywhere you go.”

She swallowed, eyes brimming with unshed tears. The people who could hear bits of what she was saying strained to hear more. 

“This boy, Jason, he's even worse than anything we've ever encountered. Jason, he has no soul and no sympathy for the likes of us. Please, let's just stop this madness and go home.”

Jason was already shaking his head before his grandmother was done talking. “No, grandmother. He disrespected you, humiliated you. This is not just about me anymore, I can't let him get away with what he has done.”

“Jason! It is me who is humiliated, is it not? Besides, I would never consider kneeling for you a humiliation. Please my boy, let's just go home. We can find you some other school…”

“Hey, old woman!” Hudson yelled, his foot tapping impatiently on the tarred road. “We're not going to wait all day for you two to finish whatever poverty stricken family discussion you're having. Tell your son to do the needful.”

Jason's grandmother suddenly flared up. She turned on Hudson. “He's my grandson! The only thing I have left of his father, and I will not sit back and let you bully him anymore than you already have!”

Hudson took a step forward, his mouth dropping open in surprise. “You were just begging me to have mercy on the stupid boy, and now this? Really, you must be insane.”

“For real, she became so high and mighty just now, how deluded are they?” Mia supported Hudson, hissing at them. 

Grandmother quietened down, chagrined that she had yelled at Hudson. “Please, I didn't realize what I was doing, just please let me talk my grandson out of this, he really shouldn't be challenging you.”

Hudson nodded and then winced as pain raced through his head. He held a hand up to the back of his head. “You're damn right he shouldn't have challenged me. But he has, and now he must finish what he started.”

Jason finally spoke, first to his grandmother. “Grandma, I will be fine. Just wait here for me and we'll go home once I've settled this. I'm not going to need to find any other colleges to finish at, trust me.”

Grandma shook her head almost frantically, her eyes filled with worry and panic. 

“Jason please, I know he has pushed you too hard today, but please, don't do this.”

Raymond also tried to reason with him. “Listen to your grandma, Jason. Really, who are you doing this for? She's asking you to stop.”

“He'll never leave us alone if I don't do this, Raymond, if I don't stop him once and for all.”

Hudson guffawed, taking care about his broken lips. “You think you can stop me? Let's see you try.”

Hudson gestured at the director and he handed him a piece of paper with the amount Hudson's father had donated to the college. 

It was boldly written on the white piece of paper, $10,000,000.

Jason chuckled. This was the teensy amount that was making Hudson rule over the whole school?

It was a huge college, with a large population of students but from the town and outside the town, and yet, Hudson had more say than even the director, possibly the whole school board. 

Silence rippled through the crowd. They all waited for Jason to exclaim and realize that he couldn't pay ten times that amount to the school. 

Jason stared at the director, unblinking. “May I have the school's official account then, Director?”

He planned to simply use the black card his ultra wealthy grandfather had given him to transfer money into the account. 

Someone in the crowd whistled and then yelled out in a tone that was obviously mocking. “Jason the hotshot! You're going to really top that now, are you?

Everyone laughed wildly but Jason ignored them. “If I do the transfer, I hope you keep to your words Hudson.”

“”One last condition!” Hudson laughed as he gestured to the crowd of onlookers, his fans really. “This is really the last one.”

“What is it, Hudson?” Jason asked, irritated by the oaf.

“I've thought about it, and Jason has kept us here for an extremely long time with his bullshit. I want him to properly entertain us, if he doesn't top the money like he said he would.”

Jason stared at him in disbelief. Really?

He continued talking. “If the transfer fails, Jason will run three laps around the school …” he laughed so hard, like he was so pleased with himself. “naked.”

“He'll run around the school field naked.” Hudson repeated as his fans started cheering and laughing. 

He had spun the crowd into a frenzy, fully prepared for Jason to fail. 

“And if the transfer is completed successfully, you'll be the one running three laps around the school field naked, Hudson.” Jason warned him.

The smug bastard choked on his laugh, bending to his waist, before straightening up again. “Yeah, of course, Jason boy. It applies to whoever loses.”

“How are you going to make this transfer, young man?” The director asked, his hands in his trouser pockets.

Jason felt around in his pockets for the black card and brought it out. 

Everyone was deathly silent now. Jason couldn't believe the number of people that had equally come out to the school gate ever since the confrontation started.

There were at least a thousand students gathered who would watch him forever humiliate himself if this transfer didn't work. 

He breathed in and then out, handing the director the black card. 

He trusted in his grandfather's words. 

The director proceeded to enter in the details of the card on the POS system a student had rushed to provide from the director's office, to attempt a transfer of funds. 

Hudson and Jason crowded close to the director, watching every step of the way. Hudson clearly saw the black card, but he was convinced that it was just a hoax on Jason's side, since Jason could never have that kind of money. 

He asked Jason for the details which Jason put in, remembering everything his grandfather's secretary had told him on the drive back to the school. 

Just when the director pressed the button to send, the screen showed the words in bold letters.

“Transfer failed.”