Part-5

  A month had passed, and a fragile peace had settled over James' world. The bullies, chastened by their two-month suspension and court-mandated anger ma csses, had bee a distant memory. The schoolyard no longer echoed with the sounds of intimidation, repced by a sense of tentative normalcy. James walked with his head held a little higher, a newfound fidence simmerih his usual reserved demeanor.

  One evening, as the familiar e glow of the setting sun dipped below the horizon, James was making his way home from his karate css – a newfound hobby his father had enced after the i. The rhythmic thwack of his punches against the heavy bag echoed in his mind, a testament to his newfouermination. He rounded a er, whistling a tuneless melody, his mind already drifting towards the uping history exam.

  Suddenly, a hulking figure stepped out from the shadows, blog his path. James' heart lurched into his throat. It was Lemon, his face etched with a familiar sneer, and fnking him were his two ies, their expressions mirr their leader's malice. James' stomach ched, the memory of the alleyway attack sending a fresh wave of nausea washing over him.

  He averted his gaze, desperately trying to formute an escape pn. Maybe if he just walked past them quickly, pretended not to see them, they wouldn't bother him. But as if sensing his iion, Lemon reached out a meaty hand and cmped it down on his shoulder.

  "Well, well, well," Lemon drawled, his voice dripping with a siing sweetness. "Look who it is. The mighty nerd who got us suspended."

  James remained silent, his jaw ched tight. He wouldn't give Lemoisfa of seeing his fear.

  Fury welled up within James, momentarily eclipsing his fear. "Isn't the punishment enough?" he spat, his voice ced with defiance.

  Lemon's smile vanished, repced by a grimace that torted his features. "Enough?" he roared, his voice thick with venom. "That punishment was nothing! You humiliated me, nerd! Now I want to make you pay for real!"

  Before James could react, Lemon luhrowing a wild punch that grazed James' cheek. The other two bullies joihe fray, raining down blows from all sides. James, despite his month of karate training, was woefully outmatched. His punches and kicks, honed against a heavy bag, cked the power and ferocity o ter their brutal assault. He blocked what he could, the pain of each blistering as a dull ache that spread through his body.

  The ground seemed to e up a him with a siing thud as one of Lemon's ies swept his legs from under him. James nded hard, the breath knocked out of his lungs. He tasted blood metalli his mouth, a testament to a split lip. Panic cwed at him as he scrambled to his feet, only to be met with a vicious kick to his stomach that doubled him over. The world spun, his vision blurring at the edges. He was trapped, a defenseless prey surrounded by a pack of ravenous wolves.