Bully Lord

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 come on, before I have to drag you."

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

"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 interest in meeting him."  He tried to brush past the boy, but Roman remained stubbornly planted in his path.

"You don't get a choice," Roman snarled, his smirk replaced by a menacing frown.  "Alex said you'd come 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 annoyance.  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 unavailable for impromptu meetings.  Perhaps he could schedule an appointment through the proper channels."

Roman stared at him, momentarily taken aback by James' unexpected response.  The smirk threatened to 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 welcome interruption.   A crowd of students began to flow around them, their presence subtly breaking the tense standoff.

A flicker of recognition 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 victory against Sourov in the Judo club, offering to share his Taekwondo expertise.

The annoyance he felt towards Roman, however, almost overshadowed his memory of Alex.  This underclassman'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' confident reply.  The smirk that had threatened to return was replaced by a frown. 

James didn't have time to argue with an underclassman about this; he needed to head to class 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 snagged at him.  He wanted nothing more than to head straight for class and leave this bizarre encounter 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 annoyance.  "Just because you defeated a member of the Judo Club doesn't mean you can boss anyone around."

James stopped completely, 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 underclassman, but his initial response had definitely been condescending.