No. School Day

The school day started beautifully. I'd always known that when it came to gossip, every girl was a world champion. Still, I didn't expect things to spread so fast. In just two days, my reputation with the ladies had skyrocketed. Most of them stopped giggling when they saw me. Some looked at me slyly, others stole glances at my crotch. Hunter's conquests had clearly spread the word about their... impressions. It was obvious. A few girls even brushed up against me suggestively – supposedly by accident, when we passed in the almost empty hallway. It was nice to see the changes. The best change, though, was the shift in attitude toward Hunter. Until now, he had been the king of the campus, like any jock. Until now, every girl drooled at the sight of him – both in class and in the hallway. Today was different. Instead of admiration, they looked at him ironically. They giggled behind his back. He never would have believed that gossip among girls spread so fast. Every one of his pickup lines now ended in sweet defeat, followed by a meaningful glance at his crotch. It was wearing Hunter down and pissing him off more and more. He hadn't gotten laid all weekend, and there was no sign he would anytime soon. Who would have thought that one small change could bring such a magnificent result? I knew, however, that this was just an appetizer. The main course was waiting for me after his practice. I couldn't wait for classes to end. Toward the end of the last class, I realized something. I wasn't part of the jocks' club, so I wouldn't have a view of the locker room. I needed to fix that quickly.

"Ryder Knox can, at any moment, turn on his phone and watch in real time whatever a permitted person – whose name he enters – is doing."

I hit "send" and the change happened. On my phone, instead of a text field, two apps appeared. One showed a genie, the other an open eye. You didn't need to be a genius to figure out which was which.

After class, I headed home. Walking down the hallway, I saw my brother. His face was completely red. It was hard to tell if it was from humiliation or rage. Maybe both. The reason didn't really matter. What mattered was that he was suffering. I got home, where lunch was already waiting. I ate and ordered my bitch to clean my room while I stretched out comfortably on the sofa in the living room. I checked the time and turned on the feed. I had perfect video and audio from a bird's-eye perspective. They were just finishing practice and heading to the locker room. Hunter opened his locker with a flourish – and vials and syringes fell out onto the floor. What happened next could only be described as Armageddon. In an instant, everyone crowded around. His loyal buddies suddenly became his worst enemies. They hurled insults at him – cheater, weakling, loser, liar… I never thought something like that would be enough to turn everyone against him. But the best was yet to come. Apparently alarmed by the commotion, the coach walked in. Less than ten minutes later, Hunter was clearing out his locker. I never thought a human being could be as furious as his former coach was. Completely and on the spot, he kicked him off the team and out of the club. He was also going to get a reprimand in his file worthy of a dishonorable discharge. I turned off the feed and looked at the ceiling. I savored the moment of my triumph. I had just completely ruined his school life. I had crushed him, burned him, and fired him out of a cannon. It was beautiful.

As I was eating dinner, Hunter came home.

- I got kicked off the team. - he said, broken, from the doorway.

- For what? - my mother asked, surprised.

Then came absolute pandemonium. When he said that steroids had been found in his locker, a demon from the very depths of the circle of wrath possessed my mother. I don't even know where she got a thick leather belt. She lunged at my brother and started beating him with the belt, swinging blindly. All the while, she screamed furiously about how disappointed she was in him. What a failure he was. What a loser. I watched with wide eyes. I had never seen her like this. It was a much smaller affair when she caught me with cigarettes. For twenty minutes, the belt struck his body, and the house filled with screams. When she finally calmed down – or simply ran out of strength – she stepped back and leaned against the table.

- Go to your room. - she commanded, pointing imperiously down the hall.

Hunter, beaten, pale, and scared, marched off to his room.

- Listen. - I asked cautiously. "Weren't you a bit too hard on him? - I couldn't believe I was saying it.

- Too lenient. - she replied. - The steroids have gone to his head. - she spat on the floor. - To disgrace the noble spirit of sport and competition like that. To disrespect his own body like that. - she was trembling with rage. - I don't know anymore, master, if he's even my son.

I blinked in surprise. I hadn't expected that. I had wanted to ruin him, but not to strip him of his entire family. I had to think about what to do next. I had no doubt that if I left things as they were, Hunter would end up on the street as a homeless person in less than a month.