PRESENT DAY
FLORIDA
Kai Wells clenched her fists and stared hard at the girl who stood across from her. Her friends had left her alone, each scampering off to safe places, far away from the towering threat known as Vivian Gold. It had come to this: a face-to-face confrontation, off school property so no teachers would ruin the fight.
Kai kept her eyes locked on the tall girl with tangled black hair who faced her. The bully.
Vivian Gold. The human monster that quiet people feared. Anger. Threats. Pain. Kai tried a quick assessment of possible escape routes, but there weren’t any. Not today.
“I’m going to teach you a lesson on how to keep your pretty little mouth shut, Wells.” The bully said Kai’s last name like it was a bad word.
A young man jogged toward them, white earbuds in, oblivious to Kai’s predicament. He even smiled and waved at her as he ran by.
“Vivian, this is ridiculous. We used to be friends. Played soccer at recess together. Why are you doing this?”
But Kai already knew the answer. She was just buying time. A month ago, she went to the bathroom after recess and saw Vivian shove another girl into one of the stalls. The girl asked her to stop, but Vivian had a much different agenda, and stopping wasn’t on it. Her idea of justice was a hard shove and a handful of punches. Vivian yelled at the girl…something about not bringing extra lunch money. Kai tried standing between the two girls, but Vivian shoved her out of the way. That’s when their teacher walked in and saw Kai on the ground with Vivian looming over her.
“You just had to play hero and get in my way. Mr. Kay called my mother, and I got grounded. She took away my party too. All because you had to stick your nose where it didn’t belong.”
Vivian closed the gap between herself and Kai. She smiled. Her loose-fitting red shirt was the color of blood and hung all the way down to her knees. Her jeans were smeared with grass stains.
Kai ignored the girl’s rude words. It was one thing to have a bad day and say something unkind, but Vivian Gold was every bad day wrapped into an oversized body who spoke fluent Mean. Kai considered her options, but there weren’t any. It was time to face her fears.
She unclenched her fists. “You shouldn’t have hurt that girl. Doing that because she didn’t give you her money was dumb.”
Vivian shoved Kai. “And you should mind your own business. It’s your fault this is happening.”
Kai regained her balance. Even if she lost the fight, she wasn’t going to turn her back on this girl. She took a deep breath. Her phone was in her backpack. She’d call her father to come pick her up.
Two new girls came running up from the school parking lot. Kai quickly saw who they were and that they weren’t coming to help.
“Hey girls,” Vivian said. “Just in time to watch me knock out Wells. It’s going to be epic.”
Kai reached around for her backpack. As she knelt down to unzip it, Vivian’s right hand shot forward and snatched it away. “Good try, punk.”
Vivian reached into the backpack. She fished around and came out holding Kai’s cell phone. “This what you were looking for?”
“Give me that.” Kai knew the order was useless on Vivian but tried anyway.
“Ha! I’m going to give you one last chance to avoid a miserable ending to this day. One chance.”
“One last chance to do what?”
Vivian looked confused. “Really?”
Kai shrugged her shoulders. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“I’m giving you the chance to forget everything you saw in the bathroom. I’m giving you the chance to tell Mr. Kay that you were mistaken and that I wasn’t doing anything to that ‘poor girl.’”
Kai lunged forward in hopes of grabbing her phone, but Vivian was too tall. She raised the phone just out of Kai’s reach.
“Kai, I used to think you were really cool. I even remember my first day of school. I was the new kid, and you made me feel welcome.”
Kai remembered. Vivian had on the same oversized red shirt and the same dirty jeans. All the other kids were afraid to approach her, but Kai went up to her anyway. “Then why are you doing this?”
Vivian walked Kai’s phone over to the gutter where a storm drain waited like a hungry, openmouthed creature eager to be fed. “I’m done talking. If you want this back, you will listen carefully and do what I say.”
The two girls, Vivian’s toadies, came up and stood right behind Kai.
“Go ahead.” Kai was ready to get her phone back and go home.
More kids were walking toward her, interested now in watching the scene unfold.
“I’m going to give you some responsibilities, and if you do your best with them, then you’ll enjoy the rest of your school year.”
Kai closed her eyes and wondered what on earth Vivian Gold was about to propose. Whatever it was, Kai wanted no part of the plan. All she wanted was her phone back.
“First, you’re going to school tomorrow and you will tell Mr. Kay that I had nothing to do with that girl falling in the bathroom. Got it?”
Kai was not about to lie for this bully. But she wanted her phone back. “Got it.”
Vivian tossed Kai’s cell phone down the storm drain.
“What are you doing? I just said I’d do what you asked!”
Vivian inched closer. “Please. I’m not stupid. We both know you said that just to get your phone back.”
The girls behind Kai shoved her forward. Now she was a foot away from Vivian Gold’s bloodred shirt.
“But now that I have your attention, I think you might start meaning what you say.”
Somehow more kids materialized, standing in a sloppy circle around Kai and her nemesis. One kid started talking louder than the others. The word fight rose above the rumbling of expectant voices.
“Vivian—”
Just as the name came out, the girl in the bloodred shirt shoved Kai with more power than the first time.
The sound of fight got louder and louder. Kai didn’t want to fight, but she didn’t want to run away.
The bully closed the space between them, palms open.
“Vivian, you’re making a mistake. You’re going to—”
“Shut your mouth!” Vivian Gold’s right fist exploded outward, connecting with Kai’s face. Her world flashed white from the pain.
Yelling and cheering rang through Kai’s brain, mixing with the hurt and confusion. She thought she saw a teacher running up to stop the fight. Kai tried to shake off the blow, but she stumbled backward. This time, the girls behind her moved out of the way and let her fall.
Kai felt someone catch her. She was still trying to get her bearings, but she was certain it was a teacher. All she could make out were long blue sleeves that covered the person’s arms. Pain shot through her, causing Kai to keep her eyes closed.
More shouts. This time from the one who caught her.
“Everyone, go home!”
Kai thought she heard a second command. It sounded like, “Open her eyes,” but that didn’t make sense. Kai was just confused because of being hit and then falling.
Kai pushed back against the pain and opened her eyes, but what she saw wasn’t what she expected.
What she saw blew her mind.