Devil on the Rooftop [Book 1]

Chapter 17 - Arisa

I ran so hard during gym class, the teacher, Mrs. Lister tried to recruit me for the school's track and field team. I couldn't humour her suggestion. I couldn't take in anything anybody was saying to me after hearing about the school legend. I was having a hard time understanding why a smart and capable guy wanted to stay in high school when he could be thriving in university. If I had his brains, I wouldn't waste time selling answers to entitled rich kids. I would go above and beyond to build a name for myself in the real world.

I grabbed a water bottle from a cooler near the benches and gulped it down. I took a seat and stared out at the impressive track to watch my peers run laps around the course. I was so excited for this class, I was looking forward to putting my mind at ease with some exercise, but the universe was working really hard to ruin my day. I didn't want to be scared of the human lie detector, even though he had given me a ton of reasons to be—even though he threatened to push me off the rooftop. I didn't want to lose to him.

A wild scream stole my attention. I whipped back and saw a group of girls from my gym class running to the fence. It was separating the track field from the basketball court. The boys' gym class was segregated on the other side for obvious reasons: the playboy attracted way too much attention. My eyes followed Zander as he dribbled the ball and manoeuvred around his opponents before shooting a three-pointer. More screams followed his victory.

Mrs. Lister sharply blew her whistle and commanded her class to return at once. No one listened to her. It was a little awkward watching an adult struggle to tame a pack of teenage girls. I didn't have to go out of my way to help her, but she looked like she was ready to cry, and end the class early. My anger hadn't settled yet either. I was still recovering from my fear of falling.

I stood up and marched to the gate to push open its doors. I wanted to lash out. I wanted someone to take responsibility for what Loyal did to me. Zander wasn't at fault for what happened but that didn't matter. I was ready to challenge him for all the victims who came before me. If provoking the rooftop losers meant expulsion, I would happily take them to court. I would love to watch them get ripped apart by the best criminal lawyer in the country. My mother.

"Put me in sir," I said to the gym teacher. He was a short man with beefy arms and legs, and the bushiest eyebrows I had ever seen. He was dressed in a white shirt, grey army pants, and had a red whistle hanging around his neck.

"And who are you?" the man asked.

"Arisa Hoffman," I said. "I want a game against Zander Easton."

The teacher raised one of the caterpillars above his beady eyes. "You think you can win against the captain of the junior basketball team?"

Shit. He was the captain? Maybe this wasn't a such a good idea after all.

"If I fail, you can have bragging rights," I bluffed.

Double shit. Why did I say that?

The players on the court stopped their game and walked over to stand behind me. I could hear girls from my gym class on the other side of the fence whispering and complaining about it.

"What's going on, coach?" Zander asked.

"She wants to challenge you to a game," the awful man chuckled. His sexist students followed suit. A fire grew inside me. I wanted to use it to burn the horrible man standing in front of me. I was used to being underestimated. I was used to people assuming I wasn't good enough because I was short and docile looking, but I wanted to let them know that I was better at upsetting the patriarchy.

"Unless he's afraid of losing to a girl," I smirked, keeping my back on the players. I didn't want them to see my nerves unsettle. I had talked a big game and now I had to back it up with some talent. I could do this. I could win. I had some tricks up my sleeves when it came to basketball.

"What sort of captain would I be if I turned down a challenge?" Zander asked.