2:00 PM.
A new email with an image was sent. The remaining students had one more hour to find their partners.
"Aryt, third time's the charm".
Malakai stood up from his seat and made his way out of the cafe. For the last hour, he had been in a cafe, drinking a milkshake while scrolling his phone. He watched one anime episode, and for the rest of the time, he scrolled through social media. He sat in a booth near the back so no one disturbed him. The cafe was quiet as it wasn't busy. A few students from the academy were in the cafe, but they didn't notice Malakai, and if they did they didn't want to talk to him.
"This shouldn't be too hard", Malakai said, stepping out of the cafe. He made his way to the courtyard with his hands in his pockets.
"I hope people are still there. Imagine if everyone left and changed the location", he thought. Malakai still walked with caution in case Anthony was still around. He was in his uniform, so he had nothing to cover his head or face. Malakai checked his shoulders every few seconds to see if anyone was following him.
He reached the courtyard and,
"At least there's less people than before". The courtyard looked to have less than fifty people. "This should be easy".
Malakai looked around and did not recognise anyone. "Did everyone I know find their partners? I should've texted them to check. Eh, who cares? I can find out after. Wait, where's Destiny? She should be here. Should I find her? Nah, forget her. I should be finding my partner".
While Malakai talked to himself in his head,
"Malakai".
Malakai turned around to see who called his name. A light-skinned boy with light brown cornrows, pale blue eyes, and a few freckles stood behind him.
"Yo".
"What image do you have?" the guy asked.
Malakai lowered his eyebrows, "That accent. Are you from England?"
"Yeah".
"What? London?" Malakai quickly asked, recognising the accent and feeling close to home.
"Yeah".
"Oiiii, my guyyy!" Malakai dapped him up. "I didn't know there was another guy from London here. How come I've never met you sooner?" he excitedly asked.
"I don't know. We haven't had the chance to meet", he calmy replied, but his facial expression was excited.
"What's your name?"
"Nathan. I'm in class 1-D".
Malakai was smiling ear to ear, "Brooo, I'm so gassed (excited)". Malakai dapped Nathan up again.
"You looked shocked, fam", Nathan said, also smiling.
"I am. Like, hearing a London accent in front of me don't feel real", Malakai replied, a little shell-shocked. It had been a long time since Malakai heard an English accent in person.
"What's your image? If we have the same one, we can talk more", Nathan said, holding out his phone.
"My image? Wait, what is my image? I haven't even checked", Malakai said, pulling out his phone.
"You haven't checked?" Nathan asked, looking at him funny.
"Nah", Malakai giggled. "I saw it was two o'clock and came here". He opened his email and checked the image he had been sent. "I got a picture of a penguin".
"Yo, I got a penguin", Nathan replied, smiling, happy they matched.
Malakai and Nathan smiled at each other and dapped each other again.
"Easy 1000 points".
They both made their way towards the main office to complete the challenge. Malakai knew it was going to be easier to find his partner, but he didn't expect the first person to approach him to have the same image. Plus the person was from London. The two of them were already automatically friends before they properly conversed.
"Are there more people from England here?" Malakai asked.
"There's two girls in my class from England. One's from Manny (Manchester), and the other is from Brighton", Nathan said.
Malakai looked at him, surprised. "Why don't I know this? Wait, you said you were from 1-D innit. That's probably why. I don't know anyone from 1-D", he replied.
"Yeah, our class don't like you", Nathan said. "Even those two girls didn't want to introduce themselves to you".
"Rah (woah)".
"I told them, let's talk to Malakai, and we can have our own English group, but they hated the idea".
"My own people hate me", Malakai laughed.
"They're posh, that's why", Nathan said.
"What? Are they posh white girls?" Malakai asked.
"Yeah. They think you're a roadman (gangster)".
"Cuz of how I speak?".
"Basically. And how you act".
Malakai smirked, he found it amusing.
Nathan looked at Malakai with a side-eye and saw that smirk. "Are you a roadman (A gangster)?" he asked, not sure if he was.
"Bro, if I was, I wouldn't be here innit", Malakai replied, smiling.
"Fairs. You're like me then. Surrounded by them man, but weren't involved", Nathan said.
"Yeah, yeah. I was friends with some guys, but I didn't chill with them that much. I stayed in school, went home and played games. I wasn't outside like that", Malakai replied, looking up at the sky and reminiscing the days.
"What part of London you from? I'm from North", Nathan said.
"South London", Malakai replied. "We're on opposite sides".
"I don't know anyone from South. Do you know anyone from North? I might know them", Nathan asked.
"Nah", Malakai shook his head. "I haven't been North that much".
"Fairs. I can't talk, I haven't been to South London", Nathan said.
"Ever?"
"Nah. I've never been".
"Don't worry. You're not missing much", Malakai scoffed.
"You don't like South London?"
"Nah, I like it. It's home innit. I have to like it. I'm just saying if you want to go somewhere, South London shouldn't be your top spot", Malakai replied. "I mean, look where we are. We're in America, bro", he said, looking grateful.
Nathan picked up on that. "Is this the first time you've been away from the UK?" he asked. He was judging this from Malakai's reaction. His tone of voice sounded like this was a one-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
"Rah, you can tell", Malakai paused for a moment, he realised he might've sounded like an excited kid. "Kinda. I went to Mauritius when I was a kid with my family because that's where my parents were born. But I haven't travelled since", Malakai replied. "I was too young, so I don't remember anything. I can't really count that as travelling".
Nathan didn't know how to reply, all he could come up with was, "Mad. You need to travel man".
"Why have you travelled lots? Where have you been?"
"I've been to Spain, Italy, Greece, Dubai and Nigeria", Nathan listed using his fingers.
"You've been to that many countries? How old are you?" Malakai asked, looking at Nathan more carefully, thinking he must be much older than he looked.
"I'm twenty".
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"Twenty?!" Malakai replied in shock. "I'm still eighteen".
"That's not mad. It's only a two-year difference", Nathan said, not understanding his shock.
"I know, but like, I didn't expect you to be twenty".
"So you'll be twenty-one when you graduate. That's sick, you'll still be so young with that graduation certificate. Then you can travel cuz you've got time", Nathan said.
"Yeah, with the hundred racks (thousand) I get from first place", Malakai cheekily said.
"You really believe you'll get first?" Nathan asked.
"Naah, I'm just enjoying first while it last", Malakai replied with a small smile.
"Fairs, I would do the same. I can't lie".
Malakai and Nathan kept walking and talking about their childhoods and experiences living in London. Malakai was having a great time, finally talking to someone who had similarities to him. But Malakai can't have good things for long.
"HEY!" A voice shouted from behind them.
Malakai and Nathan turned around.
"Is he shouting at us?" Nathan asked, looking at the guy who shouted.
"Don't know", Malakai replied, shrugging his shoulders.
The guy came walking towards him, with another guy following behind.
"I feel like I know him", Malakai said, squinting his eyes, feeling the familiarity.
"What's up, Malakai?" the guy said, trying to intimidate him by standing close to him.
"I'm calm. What you saying?" Malakai calmly replied. "You going to the main office as well?"
"Main office? Pfft, I finished the challenge in the first hour. I was just walking around with my friend, and then I noticed you. You haven't completed the challenge yet?" he laughed, giving Malakai a condescending look.
"Nah, I haven't. I had some complications", Malakai joked, smiling, knowing he was being down upon.
"Complications, my ass. Just admit you couldn't do it".
Malakai glanced at the other guy. He looked like a model. He was tall and had smooth skin, brown eyes and black hair with brown tips.
"Aryt man. What you want?" Malakai asked, stopping the small talk.
"What do I what? You've already forgotten what you did to me. I haven't! I still remember!", he said, clearly irritated. His hand gestures showed he was still angry about whatever Malakai did.
"I did something to you? What did I do?" Malakai replied, confused. He looked at Nathan.
"Don't look at me, bruv. I don't know", Nathan said.
"Okay, wait. Let me remember", Malakai said, putting a hand on his head.
"You've done a lot of shit", Nathan commented.
"I know", Malakai said. He looked at the guy in front of him of him. He had tanned brown skin and long light brown hair that was held back with a headband. Malakai felt some deja vu.
"Oh, I remember. I brake checked your team", Malakai remembered, pointing at him. "Your name was Fabio innit?"
"You do remember, you fucking prick", Fabio replied, smiling menacingly.
"He's pissed", Nathan whispered to Malakai.
"I know", Malakai whispered back. "Aryt, what do you want then? Cuz I've already had my punishment".
"Punishment? You were alone in the last challenge. Do you think that punishment is worth what you did?" Fabio asked.
"Yeah, why not?" Malakai replied, smiling like it was a joke.
"You nearly killed me!" Fabio said in a darker tone.
"I just didn't though. My car wasn't even close to yours", Malakai casually replied
"SHUT THE FUCK UP!!" Fabio shouted in Malakai's face.
Malakai quickly glanced at Nathan; they both held their laughs.
"I want to fight you", Fabio clearly said, quickly composing himself.
"Again? I've already had a fight today with someone else", Malakai complained.
"You did? When?" Nathan asked.
"In the first hour with some second-years. They were pissed at me", Malakai replied.
"Why?"
"It's a long story".
"Stop lying. You can't fight. All you can do is run", Fabio bitterly said, interrupting them.
Malakai looked at Fabio, and his expression was condescending but angry. His eyebrows furrowed, and his mouth frowned. Seeing this, Malakai made his mind up.
Malakai kissed his teeth. "Fine, I'll fight you", he replied in a fed-up tone.
"W-what? You will?" Fabio didn't expect him to agree that quickly.
"Yeah. Go back a bit and let your friend hold your stuff", Malakai said, shooing Fabio back with his hand and wasting no time.
His sudden change of attitude took Fabio aback, but he didn't mind. Fabio smirked. "Okay", he replied. He stepped back and gave his friend all the belongings he had in his pockets.
"What are you going to do to him?" his friend asked, holding his stuff.
"Breaking some of his teeth so he won't smile anymore", Fabio replied.
"Should I jump in?"
"Alejandro, you think I'm going to lose to that midget?" Fabio asked in an offended tone.
"N-nah, you'll beat him", Alejandro replied, slightly worried and not entirely confident in Fabio.
"You're actually going to fight him?" Nathan asked, unsure if Malakai was serious.
"Yeah", Malakai replied, handing Nathan his phone. He looked down at his knuckles. Despite dishing out two punches earlier, they looked untouched.
"Where should I punch him? His chin, his cheekbone, his nose or his temple?"
"What? You're not serious bruv. You're not going to land the punch where I tell you", Nathan said, smiling, thinking he was messing around.
"Just tell me where to punch him man", Malakai replied, coldly looking at him, not smiling.
Nathan hesitated. "He's serious. He's not joking for once", Nathan thought, looking at Malakai's body language.
"If you're bad (gangster or cool), punch his temple", Nathan told him.
"Aryt".
Fabio was waiting, hopping on his tiptoes, eager to start. Malakai took his hands out of his pockets and stood about fifteen feet in front of him.
"He looks different", Alejandro thought, standing behind Fabio. He could see that Malakai's mood was different. The aura he had about him was different. This person was different.
"Come on then", Malakai said, looking uninterested.
Fabio stood with both hands guarding his face and slowly edged forward towards Malakai.
"You're not going to punch?" Fabio asked, cuatiously watching Malakai's hands.
"I'll wait for your first punch".
"Hehe, okay", Fabio happily said with a grin and wide eyes.
In that instant, Fabio rushed forward, charging at Malakai. He threw a jab with his right hand and then a quick overhand with his left towards Malakai's face. But Malakai's face wasn't there. Malakai blocked the jab with his left hand and moved back to dodge the right hook. As Fabio threw an overhand, he was left open for a split second. In that split second, Malakai closed in, pulled back a right hook and landed his punch. Landed it straight on Fabio's temple.
It was done. Fabio's legs gave out. He fell to the floor. Nathan's and Alejandro's mouths gaped. Fabio wasn't out cold. He tried to stand up, but his legs wobbled when he tried to put pressure on it. His legs couldn't withstand standing. All he could do was stay on the floor on all fours.
Malakai looked at Fabio, discombobulated on the floor with a straight face. He casually put his hands in his pockets and started walking away as if nothing happened.
"Where are you going!?" Alejandro shouted, angry Malakai was walking away.
Malakai turned around, "I'm going. He can't fight anymore. His head is spinning", he replied.
"You're just going to leave!?"
"What do you want me to do? Do you wanna fight me?" Malakai asked. "It looks like your face means everything to you. You don't want a black eye".
"No, it doesn't!" Alejandro fiercely replied, taking offence. "Just because my face looks good doesn't mean it's my prized possession. You don't know me!".
"Aryt then, prove me wrong", Malakai said, looking at him bored. "I wouldn't recommend it though. Someone needs to stay by him for a while", he pointed at Fabio. "You can't help him if you're concussed as well".
Alejandro stared at him, not knowing what to do. He's never been in this situation before. Every boy thinks that if they see their friend get beat up, they will help them without a second thought. So why wasn't Alejandro moving? This boy that was shorter than him was standing right there. There was no better opportunity to get revenge and land a punch, but Alejandro didn't move. His friend was struggling on the floor next to him, and Alejandro couldn't do anything for him. The reason for that is because Alejandro has never fought in his life.
After that, Malakai turned around and started walking away with his hands in his pockets and Nathan beside him. Alejandro clenched his fist and stared at Malakai's back while he walked away.
"Alejandro", Fabio said, holding his left hand to his head and lying on his back.
Alejandro looked at him with concern.
"I lost. Badly". The realisation hit Fabio.
"Don't worry. Next time we'll get him by surprise. Both of us will jump him", Alejandro replied.
"No no. Aah!" Fabio tried to lift his head, but it was hurting. "Let's leave him alone. It was my problem, and I got what I wanted".
"Got what you wanted? You wanted to beat him up not get beat up", Alejandro replied, frustrated.
Fabio was still dizzy and in pain. "True, but I wanted to fight him. And I lost".
"That's what I'm saying! We can jump him and beat him up", Alejandro said, focused on getting revenge.
"We can't", Fabio shut him down. "If we do that, he will come back ten times worse with his friends, and his friends look strong. I'm not trying to have beef with them", he said. "It's not so bad, he only punched me once. My head's hurting, but it could've been much worse". Even though he got embarrassed, Fabio was weirdly glad. No one was here to watch what happened except for two other people. Also, he wasn't punched in a place where it was noticeable he got punched in. If he got a black eye or a broken nose, that would've been worse, in his opinion.
Alejandro shook his head and furrowed his eyebrows.
Fabio noticed his frustration. "Dude, don't do anything stupid. I know you work out, but you can't fight. I can tell you've never been in a fight", Fabio told him.
"You can't say that. You can't fight either. Look what happened to you", Alejandro bitterly replied.
"Exactly. I thought I would win because I could lift a few dumbbells, but look at me. That's why I'm telling you. Don't do anything stupid. This is embarrassing for me, not you. This is my loss, not yours", Fabio clearly said.
Alejandro couldn't do anything but listen to what Fabio told him. Alejandro thought while his eyes fixated on Malakai until he was out of view.
"Malakai Junior. How is he friends with Maria? Why is Maria his friend? Does Maria know he's like this? He's dangerous. I have to tell Maria".
Malakai and Nathan were silently walking. Nathan was hesitant to talk. He was still shocked by what he saw. Malakai, who was 5'6, won a fight with one punch against someone who was about 5'10 and well-built.
"When did you get good at fighting?" Nathan awkwardly asked, side-eyeing him.
"I'm not good at fighting", Malakai replied, with a little smile.
"Come on, bruv. I saw you one punch a man", Nathan said.
"Trust me, I'm not good. You could do what I did", Malakai replied. "All I am is really fast and can read movement quickly. I have no technique or real strength, only speed".
"I don't believe that", Nathan couldn't believe him after what he saw, he thought Malakai was being humble.
"Bro, put me up against a boxer. I will lose. I'm good at fighting against idiots. You saw me win against an idiot", Malakai said.
"Did you get into a lot of fights when you were younger?" Nathan asked, seeing if his childhood was the story behind his ability.
"Nah. I've had one or two, but that's it. I've seen a lot of fights, and I learnt from them. That's why I can read movement well", Malakai replied. "When you're short, you can't rely on strength. You have to find an opening and strike. You have to keep dodging until they make an opening for you. I can't break through someone's guard, I'm not the strong".
"What if someone grabs you?"
"Then it's game over for me innit", Malakai smiled.
They walked in silence for a few moments.
"You need to be careful, bro. Don't get caught in too many fights. There's some strong guys here. You might get caught by surprise and get a bang to the face. There's guys here who want to seriously hurt you", Nathan warned him.
"I know, but that's a problem for another day".
6:00 PM
1) MALAKAI JUNIOR (1-C) - 4683 POINTS
2) ALEXANDER BURRELL (1-A) - 4144 POINTS
3) FRANK CARTER (1-A) - 4131 POINTS
4) DESTINY SIERRA (1-A) - 4071 POINTS
5) LUNA WOLFE (1-A)- 4068 POINTS
6) ISABELLA GRACE (1-A) - 3867 POINTS
7) ALEJANDRO PEREZ (1-A) - 3815 POINTS
8) SABRINA HALE (1-D) - 3742 POINTS
9) BRI LOPEZ (1-A) - 3651 POINTS
10) EVE MASON (1-A) - 3645 POINTS
"Tch. Every student completed the challenge".
"The leaderboard stayed the same".
"What a useless challenge".