Needing 13 - Johnny Kavanagh

NINJA TURTLE MOVES

JANUARY 7TH 2004

TARA

I had just finished smoking a cigarette with Erin and Darragh behind the PE Hall when I noticed Joey charging toward us, his face twisted in a fierce, murderous expression. Hot on his heels were Podge, Mr. Nyhan, and—wait—Mam?

"Joey, what...?" I began, but before I could finish my question, my brother was upon us. He grabbed Mike Maloney by the collar and threw a punch that landed with a sickening thud against his face. The force of the blow sent Mike staggering backward, his eyes wide with shock.

"What the hell, Joe?"

"Fight! Fight! Fight!"

Joey wasted no time. He grabbed Mike by the collar, yanking him down to the ground with brutal force. In a flash, my brother had Mike pinned beneath him, his hand clamped around his throat, squeezing with relentless pressure. The look on his face was a mix of rage and grim satisfaction.

"Scary, isn't it?" he spat, his voice a low, dangerous growl. His knuckles were white as he squeezed harder, the tendons in his arms bulging with the effort. "Being attacked for no reason?"

Mike's face was turning a shade of red that deepened with every second, his hands flailing weakly as he tried to pry my brother's grip from his neck.

Podge tried desperately to pull him off. "Joey, come on, lad, you're choking him."

"Good!" Joey roared back, his voice full of raw anger and hatred. "Maybe this way his whore of a sister will take the fucking warning."

"Did he just say—?"

"No, he didn't," Erin replied quickly, her voice tight with concern.

"He did," Darragh said, his tone filled with a mix of shock and anger.

"What the hell happened?" I demanded, grabbing Joey by the shoulders and forcing him to face me. His green eyes were blazing with an intensity that matched the fury in my own chest. His breath was ragged, his face flushed from the fight and from the anger that still simmered beneath the surface. "Tell me," I insisted, my voice cutting through the cacophony of screams and shouts surrounding us. I didn't give a fuck—this was family business, and it needed to be addressed now.

"That bitch cut off Shan's ponytail and drowned her in fucking sour milk. I found her in the bathrooms, Tara. She had a busted lip."

The words hit me like a physical blow.

I was going to fucking murder that little bitch.

Ciara Maloney had just signed her death warrant.

"Tara, wait!" Erin shouted, her voice urgent as she ran up behind me, trying to catch up. "Fuck you, bitch, and your long legs." Her words were a mix of frustration and desperation, but they did little to slow me down.

I kicked the door open with a force that sent it slamming against the wall, the loud bang drawing every head in the classroom to turn in surprise. My eyes, however, were laser-focused on Ciara Maloney and her little friend, who were huddled together, laughing with an air of smug satisfaction.

"You," I snarled, my voice low and menacing as I advanced on her. The fear that spread across her face was almost palpable as she looked up at me. Her eyes widened in terror as they met mine. On top of her desk lay a pair of scissors—those same scissors she had used to mutilate my little sister's hair.

"Time for a little makeover, Maloney."

Ignoring the teacher's frantic shrieks and threats to call Mr. Nyhan, I lunged for the scissors. With a fierce grip, I yanked them off the desk and seized her by the neck. My hands pressed her face forcefully against the tabletop, her fear-stricken gasps muffled by the surface. The scissors sliced through her ponytail with a harsh snip, each cut punctuated by the rising shrieks of her friends around her as the strands of her hair fell to the floor.