“What the hell was that little flip off the rope for?” Wolfgang asked. He, Dorian, and Reina were stood under a tree in the courtyard, taking advantage of the shade. Dorian gently rubbed his sore arms and shoulders as he tenderly leaned against the bark, wincing as he shifted a bit. Gingerly, he unwrapped a sucker and stuck it into his cheek.
“Ever heard of showing off, Wolfgang?” he asked. Both him and Reina looked at Dorian who continued. “I was also trying to get some blood flow back into my arms. Absolute fat lot of good it did me….” He rolled his shoulders as Reina shook her head at him. “Yes, yes, I get it. I was stupid and should’ve stopped while I was ahead. Can I not impress the teacher on my first day?”
“And how long do you think you’ll be sore for?” she questioned, folding her arms across her chest. Dorian looked at her out of the corner of his eyes for a moment at her disapproving posture.
“Shut up,” he muttered. Wolfgang laughed at his disgruntled expression which earned a slight smile from Dorian. “Nothing a hot bath and some rest couldn’t fix….”
“Still a bit stunned at how flexible you are,” Wolfgang chortled himself back to seriousness. “I mean…the only person in our year I wouldn’t be surprised to see do that is Reina, but you….”
“Did you do gymnastics or something?” Dorian interrupted, looking at her.
“Martial arts, actually,” she said. “Just kinda happened over the years, really….”
“So, if you wanted to, for whatever reason, take me down,” Dorian began, but whatever was going to follow this up was interrupted.
“Croxton!” Dorian looked past Wolfgang at McDonna and two others as they walked towards him. He had a serious expression on his face that told Dorian what he needed to know. Depending on how he reacted, he could be in for a bad time.
“McDonna,” Dorian sighed, trying to find something else to look at. “What d’you want?”
“I’m not here to hurt you, if that’s what you’re thinking,” he stated. “I’m actually here to say that you’ve got guts. I offered a challenge, and you proved me wrong. I can respect that.” He offered Dorian a hand, but Dorian didn’t take it. After a few heavy seconds, he let it fall to his side. “Not just a showoff, then…not really gonna be making any friends by being an arse.”
“You’ve got friends, don’t you?” Dorian muttered. He didn’t have enough time to register McDonna’s fist until it connected with his jaw, knocking Dorian’s sucker into the dirt and almost causing him to fall. Dorian rubbed his jaw and brushed away the blood trickling from his lip. “At least you being strong wasn’t a lie…along with that bad temper of yours.”
“I’d suggest you give up the hard ass, smart aleck bit,” McDonna sneered. “Could get you into more trouble than it already has….” Dorian offered him a smug smiled, still wiping the slow trickle of blood away.
“I’ll take it into consideration….” McDonna huffed before walking away, Reina and Wolfgang watching as Dorian fished another sucker from his pocket.
“McDonna’s not the kind of guy you get on the bad side of, Dorian,” Reina said, her expression a strange mixture of concern and impressed. “But I’m more impressed by the fact you didn’t hit him back….”
“First week of term,” he answered, feeling where he’d been hit. “I’d rather not get detention this early, especially not for something as stupid as a fight. Quite the impressive punch, though, I’ve gotta say.”
“What would you get detention for, if you don’t mind me asking?” Wolfgang asked.
“I’d love to tell you, but I usually don’t kiss and tell if it hasn’t happened yet….” Reina shook her head as a slight smile crossed her face.
“Regardless, you might want to be careful what you say,” she offered. “He might be an ass, but he’s not stupid….”
“Not so sure about that,” Dorian muttered. “There was something else in that punch…not just from what I said. McDonna’s not the type of guy to throw a punch just for a smart comment, is he?” The lack of a response from both of them were enough for him. “Yeah….” Their silence was broken as the bell rang.
“Madame Ball doesn’t like it when people are late,” Reina told Dorian. “And I sure as hell am not writing lines because of you, so keep up.” With a quick goodbye to Wolfgang, they bolted back towards the school, racing towards the second floor and their elderly French teacher.
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