chapter 26: Monday Morning Murmurs — Marcus the Problem Solver
POV: Zai
Monday morning was not like any other.
I walked through the school gates feeling as if I were a ghost everyone noticed but no one wanted to talk to. Not quite, of course.
Whispers clung in the air like fog. I didn't even need to activate my System Scan to realize who this week's target was.
Me.
Or more precisely—
Marcus.
"Yo, you heard what he did to Dre?"
"Son came back from the bathroom lookin' like he got baptized in hands."
"Nah, Deshawn don't even look Zai in the eye no more."
"He had his bodyguard handle him. Like he hired a hitman or somethin'."
"That ain't no bodyguard. That's a problem solver."
"Bro. Marcus different."
I kept my head low, hoodie over it, earbuds in—not music, though. I was listening. Tapping in. Permitting their words to ricochet through my system interface like ambient noise data.
Marcus accompanied me as he always did, loose in his denim jacket and skin-thin joggers. Chill. Cool. Unfazed.
And people parted for him.
They didn't even try to pretend.
Like he was royalty. Or a wild animal they weren't sure was fully tamed.
Even teachers glanced our way but didn't say much.
You'd think they'd question a transfer student showing up late last week with no files, no parents, and a stare that could fold metal.
But nope.
System Attendance Registry: Marcus Zane – Fully Registered
Digital Trail: Forged by the System. Undetected. Clean.
We made it to our lockers, and I at last leaned in and whispered, "You hear what they're saying about you?"
"I hear everything," Marcus replied coolly. "They're not wrong."
I snickered quietly. "You know you're being like a Final Boss, right?"
He smiled. "I'm your Final Boss."
Deshawn and his gang weren't anywhere to be seen during homeroom. When they finally walked into 2nd period, they seemed. hollow.
No pout. No growling stare.
No mouth.
Dre had his hoodie pulled low and limped a little.
Malik threw Marcus one glance and turned away as if he stared at the sun too long.
And Deshawn?
He didn't even glance my way.
It was as if he'd taken the loss—and the message—to heart.
The system chimed quietly in my head.
[SOCIAL THREAT ZONE: NEUTRALIZED]
[REPUTATION: "Unapproachable"]
[XP GAINED THROUGH INTIMIDATION NETWORK EFFECT]
+1% Sync Boost Efficiency Bonus
I sat down in my chair, head still spinning.
I should have been tense. Anxious. Exposed.
I wasn't.
I felt like I had cracked open a space in this insane world—with power. With Marcus. With my choices.
The system hummed again.
[LEVEL 9 CHALLENGE UNLOCKING SOON.]
[CLASS MANIFESTATION PROJECTION: 78% READY]
"Prove Your Identity. Shape Your Path."
"Zai," Marcus leaned in slightly, whispering in the middle of Algebra. "Today. After school. We see what kind of fighter you are."
I nodded slowly.
Because I wasn't just surviving high school anymore.
I was building it.