2025-05-28 04:46:12It went through.
No error. No decline. Just a beep. “Approved,” she mumbled, stunned. People started cheering. Some clapped me on the back. Even Jordan looked confused from across the room. I didn’t say a word. I just walked away. That night, I got another message. > [Well done, Mr. Turner. You’ve shown initiative. Your next task arrives tomorrow.] I stared at the screen with disbelief. Who am I? The euphoria of the cafeteria victory faded faster than I expected. By the next morning, I was nobody again. The whispers returned, laced with bitterness instead of awe. “Bet it was a one-time thing.” “Probably stole it.” “Didn’t you hear? That was his grandma’s pension money.” I tried to ignore them, but it was like walking through a swarm of flies. Persistent. Annoying. Biting. And, of course, Jordan was waiting. He caught up with me outside the locker room after gym, where I’d stayed behind to change. Everyone else was gone, and I was just tightening the straps of my old backpack when the door creaked open again. I didn’t have to turn around to know who it was. “Well, well, look who suddenly thinks he’s the prince of Crestwood.” I kept my back to him. “Not in the mood, Jordan.” He laughed. “You think flashing some card around and paying for a few lunches makes you important? Please. Half the school thinks you stole from your sick grandmother.” I stiffened. “You didn’t, right?” he added, stepping closer. “Or did you finally pawn her wedding ring while she was asleep? Real heartwarming stuff.” That did it. I turned around and shoved him. “Shut your mouth.” He stumbled back a step—not from the force of the shove, but from surprise. His grin vanished. “Did you just touch me?” “You don’t get to talk about her. Ever.” He chuckled again, but this one was colder. “You want to play hero now? Is that it? You want to pretend you're better than the trash you’ve always been?” I clenched my fists. “Try me.” And that was all the invitation he needed. His fist came fast—faster than I expected for a guy who coasted through life on charm and inherited muscle. I dodged the first swing, but the second caught me in the gut, folding me in half. I gasped, stumbling backward into a row of lockers. He didn't stop. Another punch, this time to the side of my face. My vision flashed white. I dropped to my knees, the metallic taste of blood filling my mouth. “You're pathetic,” Jordan hissed, grabbing the front of my shirt and yanking me upright just to slam me against the cold steel. “And this—this little ‘rise from the ashes’ act? Everyone knows you’re a joke. You’ll always be a joke.” He let go, letting me collapse like a rag doll. I heard him spit before walking out, boots echoing. The janitor found me five minutes later. I laid on the floor gasping. My eye was swelling shut. My ribs ached. I had a cut on my lip that wouldn’t stop bleeding. " Eli turner?" He looked at me " Yes, you are talking to him." I said slowly rising to my feet. " You are being summoned at the Dean's office. Can you walk?" " What? What is this about?" I looked at the janitor who was as clueless as I was. I winced as I make my way towards the Dean's office with just one thought. Why was I summoned? When I got called to the dean’s office, it wasn’t Jordan sitting in the chair next to me. It was just me. The dean, Mr. Collings, peered at me over his glasses with forced sympathy. “Eli, several students witnessed you confronting Jordan with physical aggression. I’m afraid we have a strict no-violence policy here.” My jaw dropped. "What was going on here? What do you mean several students saw me?" I stammered a bit. " I am sorry but I think you must have heard wrong Mr Collings.. Jordan here is a bully.bHe attacked me first!" I stared at him, incredulous. “He beat me. I was defending myself.” Mr. Collings sighed. “You pushed him first. He claims it was unprovoked. And you know Jordan—he’s never had an issue before. You should know how you behave around the richer kids Eli. You are just a nobody here and you are also benefiting from Jordan's father hard earned money. You owe him an apology." Mr Collings said looking at me. That was a lie and we both knew it, but Jordan’s father sat on the school board. I was just a charity case. " If you are not going to apologise to him then I might have to hand you a suspension letter." The Dean said looking at me.. “You’re suspending me because I refuse to apologise when he is wrong and I am right?” I asked, voice cracking. “For two weeks,” he said. “Take this time to reflect. Violence isn’t the solution.” I left the office feeling like I’d been punched all over again. Suspension meant missed work, missed classes, and worse—two weeks of sitting at home, looking my grandmother in the eye and pretending everything was fine. It was raining when I stepped outside. Fitting. I pulled my hoodie up and walked across the lot, each step heavier than the last. I wanted to scream, to break something, to cry. But all I did was keep walking, the weight of the world settling back on my shoulders like it had never left. And then I saw it. A sleek black car. Parked at the curb like it had been waiting for me. It didn’t belong. Not in this part of town. The windows were tinted black, the finish polished to a mirror shine. Even in the rain, it gleamed like something out of a spy movie. The engine was running. I slowed, heart hammering again for the second time in twenty-four hours. I looked back trying to see who was right behind me. As I approached, the back door clicked open. Not a word. No signal. Just… open. Inviting me in.
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CHAPTER NINE
I could barely sleep. I lket wondering who sent the money and his they knew that I needed it. I shove my phone that kept making a funny sound in my face.. Ever since I left the grand hall of Crestwood. It has been tons of messages and friend request. Most of the students wanted to know who I really am. Who my parents were? Amd most importantly why I had been hiding the fact that I was rich. But the truth was that, I wasn't. I was just some street rat whose blood was collected to be tested if I was the real deal. My mind flashed back as I remembered what he said. Was I the lost long kid afterall? Or did he just took pity on me and sent me the money? No one sends that amount of money except if only...I couldn't think strait. I looked at my phone and saw the student forum had been blowned up with losts of pictures and video about what happened that day. But why did Cindy bet on me? Did she know something that I didn't? Cindy was one of the richest kids in
CHAPTER EIGHT
" Do you think he has the money?" " Eli is always a loafer and will forever be. Do you even see his shoes?" [ Some of the kids laughed. ] " I bet he does not have the money to pay. He is only stalling. Trying to buy more time." " And what if he is not?" " Have you seen the guy? He can barely afford lunch. What does that tells you?" " I had Jordan's father just bought the most biggest house in the city. Did you get an invite for the house warming party?" A girl in a short skimpy dresss asked looking at her friend. " No." " Huh? That means you are of lower class. I should watch the kind of friends move with." She said laughing " Ten thousand grand on Eli that he is bluffing." Tracy Stewart said laughing. Most of the students all began to drop their money all betting against me. But then a girl came forwards. She was known to be on her own. She was like the queen in the school and many feared her for some unreasons I know nothing about. " One thousand g
CHAPTER SEVEN
The rain had stopped by the time I reached Crestwood’s front courtyard, but the damage had already been done. Students were gathered in clusters, whispering, filming, laughing—phones pointed like weapons at the center of it all. In the middle, my grandmother stood, her coat soaked, curls frizzed from the drizzle, her back ramrod straight as she faced down Jordan and two of his usual shadows. Jordan was smiling like he was on stage. “Come on, old lady. Just say it. Kneel and beg, and maybe I’ll forgive your little grandson’s temper tantrum.” The crowd chuckled. “Show some humility,” one of his cronies added. My blood boiled. I shoved past a pair of junior girls, storming into the circle like a bull. “Grandma!” I shouted, voice cracking with urgency. “Get up! You don’t have to talk to them.” I said in anger shoving my way through the clustering crowd that were hovering over my grandmother who was on her knees. She turned toward me, her expression equal parts relief and fury. “E
CHAPTER SIX
The car door remained open, silent as the rain peppered the pavement. I stared at the black leather interior, unsure if I was hallucinating. Maybe I hit my head harder than I thought. Maybe Jordan had punched me straight into a fever dream. But the car was real. And someone was waiting. I hesitated. I could still turn around, go home, lick my wounds, try to explain to my grandma why I’d been suspended and didn’t fight harder to stay in school. But my legs didn’t listen. They moved on their own. I slid into the backseat, soaked hoodie dripping onto the plush carpeted floor. The door closed automatically behind me with a soft hiss. Inside, the air smelled like expensive cologne and leather polish. The divider between the driver and the back was up, blacked out. But I wasn’t alone. A man sat across from me in the wide backseat, dressed in a charcoal suit that probably cost more than everything I owned. He looked to be in his mid-forties, with a hard face, graying temples, and
CHAPTER FIVE
It went through. No error. No decline. Just a beep. “Approved,” she mumbled, stunned. People started cheering. Some clapped me on the back. Even Jordan looked confused from across the room. I didn’t say a word. I just walked away. That night, I got another message. > [Well done, Mr. Turner. You’ve shown initiative. Your next task arrives tomorrow.] I stared at the screen with disbelief. Who am I? The euphoria of the cafeteria victory faded faster than I expected. By the next morning, I was nobody again. The whispers returned, laced with bitterness instead of awe. “Bet it was a one-time thing.” “Probably stole it.” “Didn’t you hear? That was his grandma’s pension money.” I tried to ignore them, but it was like walking through a swarm of flies. Persistent. Annoying. Biting. And, of course, Jordan was waiting. He caught up with me outside the locker room after gym, where I’d stayed behind to change. Everyone else was gone, and I was just tightening
CHAPTER FOUR
My gaze was fixed on the screen. Just those two words: Yes / No. Simple. Plain. But they felt like a loaded gun pointed straight at me. My thumb hovered, shaking. Every logical part of my brain screamed Don't. This was insane. Creepy. Probably illegal. I should delete the message, block the number, call the bank, call the cops, do something normal. But then again, normal never got me anywhere. Not when normal meant watching my grandmother cough through the night because we couldn’t afford the good medicine. Not when normal meant skipping meals so she could eat. Not when normal meant walking to school with my shoes coming apart and pretending it didn’t bother me when Jordan and his gang laughed at me in front of everyone. $50,000 wasn’t normal. And maybe… neither was I. I took a shaky breath, the air thick in my throat. Then, I tapped Yes. Nothing happened. No confetti, no dramatic music. Just the message disappearing, like it had never been there. I stared at the
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