"Chester Sawyer! You fucking... %&*￥%..."
"Is that the only insult you know? You should read more, you little moron!"
"If you've got the guts, fight me one-on-one! Why are you running?"
"This is called adapting to the situation! I've seen tigers in the mountains, so why would I be afraid of a dog like you!" Chester shouted as he ran. "By the way, that last line is from the movie *Mrs. Leo*. You little dumbasses have probably never seen it."
...
Sydney Sawyer had never seen someone so arrogant while running for their life.
He even threw in a fun fact with his insults.
The alley twisted and turned, and Chester, who didn't come here often, was unfamiliar with the layout.
Sydney Sawyer watched his figure flash past her, closely followed by a group of boys. Just a dozen or so seconds later, she heard the group erupt in triumphant laughter.
"Chester Sawyer, you're the real moron! You ran yourself right into a dead end. Let's see you run now!"
"You were running your mouth so much, weren't you..."
"I'll just hang back right here and watch your little show!"
Chester was mortified. When he rounded a corner and saw nothing but a wall in front of him, his mind went completely blank.
As he watched them close in, all he could do was roll up his sleeves.
'If worse comes to worst, I'll just have to fight!'
"Ethan Bauer, what's the plan? One-on-one?"
"With a guy like you, I shouldn't bother with a code of honor. Let's get him, boys!"
The words had barely left his mouth when all five of them moved at once, lunging toward Chester to beat him up. Chester was bracing himself to fight one against five, but he never expected one of the boys to get kicked from behind—
THUD— He face-planted on the ground right in front of Chester.
"Holy shit, Chuck Lowell! We're supposed to be fighting, why are you giving your grandpa such a deep bow?" Chester's sharp tongue spared no one.
The boys turned around and saw Sydney Sawyer.
She was dressed simply in a white T-shirt and jeans. In the dim light of the alley, she gave the boys a sweet smile, the corners of her lips curling up.
Her beauty was more than just skin deep, and it left the young hotheads stunned for a few seconds.
Chuck Lowell, the one who'd been kicked, was just scrambling up from the ground, muttering curses. "Which bastard sneak-attacked me from behind..."
Before he could finish, he saw Sydney Sawyer lift her foot again.
All the boys heard was Chuck Lowell letting out a yelp—"OWW!"—as he was kicked to the ground again.
That kick was vicious and ruthless!
THWACK— The sound of him hitting the ground made their hearts jump.
Chester: "..."
'Holy crap, that was so cool!'
'Sis! I'll be your biggest fan for life!'
"What are you waiting for? Weren't you all going to attack together?" Sydney Sawyer said, raising an eyebrow at the boys.
"Bauer," the boys said, looking to Ethan Bauer for a decision.
They weren't very old. They were fine with bullying classmates at school, but when they ran into someone genuinely tough, they'd chicken out.
Besides, in their eyes, Sydney Sawyer was basically an adult. Her two kicks had thoroughly intimidated them, and they were feeling a little scared.
Sydney Sawyer shot Chester a look, signaling for him to come to her side.
Chester immediately scurried over to her, hugging the wall as he went. "Sis, don't be scared. I'll protect you."
"..."
Ethan Bauer had wanted to get back at Chester on Mindy Caldwell's behalf in the first place, and Chester's provocations had only angered him further. Besides, there were five of them; their chances of winning were high. "What are you standing around for? Are you afraid of a woman? Get her!"
As the group rushed forward, Chester raised his arm to shield Sydney Sawyer behind him.
But she had already lifted her leg and kicked Ethan Bauer square in the abdomen. It was a solid kick.
Ethan Bauer immediately started howling in pain.
Seeing their leader crying out in agony, the boys faltered, their movements slowing.
Before Ethan Bauer could even recover from the pain, another fist landed on his face.
'Damn it!'
'Is Chester's sister some kind of demon?'
'There are so many of us, why is she only beating me up?'
The others tried to rescue their leader, but Sydney Sawyer's moves were too ruthless. They were used to throwing their weight around at school, but they were complete cowards when faced with someone from the real world.
...
A student must have notified a teacher and school security, because soon, more footsteps echoed in the alley.
"Hey—you kids!"
As the security guard rushed over, the boys scattered like birds in all directions. They knew the area well, and the guard couldn't catch them, only managing to grab Ethan Bauer in the end.
"Ethan Bauer, you again!"
The security guard naturally recognized the school's handful of troublemakers.
Ethan Bauer, however, was just lying on the ground, screaming miserably.
Usually when he fought, he'd take a few punches at most. His family had a bit of money, so he was spoiled and coddled. Even though Sydney Sawyer had been holding back, his screams were still tragic.
"You're..." The security guard frowned. "Should I call an ambulance?"
Ethan Bauer: "..."
He saw himself as a tough guy. Getting taken to the hospital in an ambulance? If his followers found out, how could he ever maintain his reputation?
He pushed himself up with both hands, struggling to his feet. After glaring at Sydney Sawyer and Chester, he shoved the security guard aside and stormed off.
"Sis, your arm..." Chester suddenly grabbed Sydney Sawyer's wrist.
"Hm?"
Sydney Sawyer looked down and only then noticed that she'd scraped some skin on her right arm at some point.
It probably happened by accident during the fight. It didn't hurt, so she hadn't noticed.
"Those kids are always so reckless. Today they finally got what was coming to them," the security guard said. "Chester, why don't you take your sister to the school infirmary to get that looked at?"
"Sis?" Chester asked, looking for her opinion.
"It's just a little scrape. Let's just go home."
With the college entrance exams coming up, the guard also wanted to keep things quiet. He didn't want rumors spreading around the school, distracting students with gossip and affecting their exam-time morale. Seeing that Sydney Sawyer didn't seem to want to press the issue, he felt greatly relieved and promised that the school would definitely give them a proper resolution.
**
Chester found his book, clutched it to his chest, and followed Sydney Sawyer out of the alley.
"Sis."
"Hm?"
"Thanks for today," Chester said. He felt a little guilty for dragging her into his mess.
Sydney Sawyer just smiled at him. "You're my brother."
Chester was so moved he looked like he was about to cry. He pressed his lips together and stared at her. Sydney Sawyer thought he was about to get all sentimental, and to be honest, she wasn't very good at handling that kind of thing.
But then, he turned his head and said, "Sis, I don't have any money or my phone on me. Can you buy me a pork sandwich?"
"..."