Lydia’s smirk was pure sarcasm. “So, you get beat up outside, then run home and cry to your mom? Is that really all you’ve got?”
Fred’s face turned red, and even his yellow hair seemed to bristle in anger.
“Lydia!”
“I already told you, you don’t get to call me by my name. Do you want another round?”
Lydia stepped forward, and Fred immediately shrank back, his bravado cracking. He whispered over his shoulder to his two friends, “Come on, let’s take them together. There’s no way they can handle all of us.”
But his friends hesitated. Lydia might be a girl, but her moves were fast and sharp. And Connor… just standing there, saying nothing, he gave off a pressure that made them both uneasy.
They didn’t even dare get close, let alone start a fight.
“Fred, maybe let’s just leave it for today,” one of them muttered.
“Yeah, Fred. Weren’t we going to play some games? Let’s go.”
Fred almost exploded. “Are you kidding me right now? They just turned my face into ground beef and you want to go play games? I’m not going anywhere until I settle this!”
His friends looked defeated, but none of them were brave enough to step up.
Fred was so furious he felt like he might burst. “Fine, whatever. Next time you get bullied at school, don’t come running to me for help.”
He whipped out his phone and dialed a number, his hands shaking.
The call went through right away. Fred’s voice was loud and full of drama. “Mom! You have to come right now. I’m getting beat up in broad daylight. My knee’s busted, my face is all swollen, my head is ringing. I think I have a concussion. Mom, hurry up. They’re going to kill me…”
Whatever his mom said made him calm down. He hung up, then shot Lydia and Connor a smug look. “Just wait. You two are so dead. My stepdad is not someone you want to mess with.”

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