Copyright © [gurenomuto], edited by me.
CHAPTER 3 PART I-THE THREAT
Derin walked down the school corridor with a can of cola in her hand. Classes had ended half an hour ago. There was no one left inside.
She ran through the plan one more time. With Deniz’s help, she’d sent that piece of trash an anonymous love letter yesterday. At the end, she’d added a note:
“Tomorrow after school, I’ll be waiting where the hall monitors stand.”
If he didn’t come, she’d switch to Plan B. But that piece of trash would come. She could feel it.
She would give him the cola as a “gift,” keep him busy until the laxative kicked in, and then the real fun would begin.
Derin took a breath.
“Don’t lose to your nerves,” she whispered to herself.
She was close. A little farther, then a right turn, and that was it.
As she quickened her pace, a boy’s voice drifted over.
“Aahaha! No, man, I’m still waiting!”
She smiled. With the pride of being right, she squared her shoulders and forced her face back into something neutral.
She was about to step right when what she heard made her stop.
“He didn’t come today, did you see? Ahaha!”
Were they talking about Eren?
She leaned slightly and looked down the corridor on the right. The bastard was sitting at the hall monitor’s desk, grinning into his phone. His back was turned.
“Dude, that loser won’t show up for a week. He’s gonna die of embarrassment!”
“Winning bets is literally my job.”
So that’s what it was. A bet. That’s why he did all of it.
“Listen. I want my new shoes in two days, got it?”
“Aahaha! That idiot was useful for once.”
“I don’t care, man. Let him go rot at some disabled school!”
Derin couldn’t stop the fire that flared inside her. She felt like a volcano about to split open. The lava was already climbing up her throat.
“W-why? Why? Ahahah!”
He was mocking Eren. Straight up imitating him.
Derin slammed her fist into the wall in front of her. Her eyes burned.
Why had she bothered with a plan for this lowlife? Why not just jump him, right here, right now?
“Ooo… New bet? I’m in for a round…”
She couldn’t hold herself back anymore. Her feet moved before her mind could argue.
She came up behind him and tapped his shoulder twice with her fingers.
The second he turned around, her fist was already there, right by his ear.
His phone flew out of his hand. He toppled off the chair and hit the floor.
“Crutches? A new bet?! You filthy little bastard!”
Derin kicked him hard in the stomach as he curled on the ground.
“Ah! Wh-what are you doing?”
Everything happened so fast he couldn’t even react. The hits didn’t stop.
She dropped onto him and started punching his face. He tried to shove her off, flailing, and finally managed to grab her face.
Seconds later, she bit down on his finger.
Derin spat his finger out like it was trash, grabbed his blood-smeared face, and stared at him.
Her eyes were enough to scare a normal person to death. She looked at him, but it felt like she was staring straight into whatever darkness lived inside him.
“So you want crutches, huh? You should’ve said so earlier.”
She stood up, grabbed the edge of the desk, and planted one foot on his leg.
“No! Don’t! Don’t! Please! Ah!”
“This will take a minute. Legs don’t break just like that. Hold on.”
“Shh. I’m giving you what you want. Why are you screaming?”
“You’re sick! You’re a psychopath! Ahh!”
Right then, a boy’s voice cut through the air.
The boy on the floor tried to scramble away.
“Derin, what are you doing? Stop! He’ll be crippled!”
It was Deniz. He grabbed her from behind, trying to pull her away from the desk.
“Derin, snap out of it! This wasn’t the plan!”
Derin froze, then whipped around to face Deniz.
For a second, silence fell between them. Only the boy’s groans filled the corridor.
“Do you get it? To hell with your plan! This piece of trash doesn’t have the guts to report us. He’s too low for that!”
Her voice was so loud Deniz instinctively lifted a hand, like he might have to cover her mouth.
“Shh… Someone could still be in the school. Calm down. I get it. I do. But let’s finish it.”
Derin blinked, like she was coming back to herself.
“You’re right. Okay. Grab his leg. We’ll carry him.”
“First we need to shut him up."
