“Hey, asshole,” I said, curling my ringed fingers into fists and peering past the hulk to Kyle. “Your new sentry sucks.”
“Now wait a minute,” Hulk said, but I cut him off.
“Out of my face, asshole. I don’t have time for you.” I stared him down, pulling into play the couple of inches of height I had on him.
Asshole’s job as a sentry wasn’t watching for teachers. Knowing what was good for them, they didn’t patrol this corner. It belonged to lowlifes like me, though the staff had their territory to defend like we all did. Classrooms, hallways, and the cafeteria were their domain. Coaches and jocks had the right of way in the gym and around the football field. The Latino gang La Rasa Prima had the entire south portion of the school.
“When’d you get out?” Kyle asked, acting all cool and shit as he looked at me.
I glared at him. “Earlier than you expected, apparently.”
“Don’t get your boxers in a twist.” Kyle passed the ziplock bag containing an assortment of pills to his client, then turned and strutted to me. As his client slinked away, Kyle jerked his chin up, a respectful greeting to me.
“Don’t play around, man.” I marched straight to him, ignoring the bag of muscle who lumbered into action to stand beside him. Physically, I might not be the biggest badass here, but my reputation was. “You know why I’m pissed.”
“Give ’im his cut, Randy,” Kyle said. He not only knew my reputation, he’d experienced it.
“Okay.” Randy uncrossed his arms and started to reach his hand into his letterman jacket, but that start was all he got.
My forearm to his throat, I slammed him back into the brick wall and poked the pointy end of my newly acquired switchblade under his chin.
“Be real still, motherfucker,” I said low as he blinked his no longer bleary blue eyes at me.
“Oh yeah,” Bryan said. “I got him on the ground. He doesn’t look so good.”
“Fuck, War.” Kyle wheezed, and I knew without taking my eyes from Randy that Kyle was in a fetal position, his hands cupped over his shriveled junk. “Randy was just gonna give you some cash. I kept your corner for you while you were gone. I ain’t gonna try to keep it. You want it back, all you had to do was ask.”
“I take what I want.” I dug my forearm into Randy’s windpipe one more time just for fun. “I don’t ask anyone for anything, ever.”
I stepped back, away from Randy. He eyed the blade and me with the right amount of trepidation now, remaining where I’d pinned him.
I clicked my blade closed and turned to Kyle, jerking my chin toward the building. “Get your worthless sentry and your sorry ass out of here.”
“But, War—”
“Stay off my corner. Go. Now,” I snarled the words at Kyle, my lips pulling back from my teeth.
Wisely, Kyle and Randy decided to do as told. I kept my gaze on them until they disappeared into the building.
“Why’d you wanna give Kyle such a hard time?” Bryan asked.
“He had my corner,” I said. It was as fucking simple as that.
“He had it because you told him to keep it until you returned.”
“Yeah, so I’m back now.” I shrugged. Bryan didn’t always see things the same way as me.
“Why didn’t you take his money?”
“Not opposed to free samples, or the other occasional perks that come my way from having a friend who deals.” Focusing on Bryan, I lifted a brow. His naiveté sometimes surprised me. “But I’m not taking drug money from him and getting my ass thrown back into the alternative school. Or worse, jail.”
“Sorry, man.” He winced from the dig. “It should’ve been me who went to juvie, not you.”
“Not gonna lie, Bry. That shit sucked.”
Worse than I’d ever let on, though I’d do it again if necessary, but only for him. Bryan was my brother in all the ways that counted. But I wasn’t sure I’d survive a second time. The shit that happened inside juvie made Southside High seem like a fucking garden party.
“I owe you big.” He clenched his teeth together so tightly, a muscle spasmed in his jaw. “Never going to be able to repay you for that.”
Yeah, he probably had some idea what happened in lockdown. I nodded to acknowledge his statement, but I wasn’t going to rub it in. If it were anyone else, fuck yeah. But that wasn’t how