Taylor tries to attack from the rear

Rot balanced watching Luke, Coach Phillips and the other football jocks. While he'd often sparred against multiple opponents, no fighter wants to need eyes on the back of his head.

He pounded a side-kick into Luke's knee taking the football player to the ground and then some instinct told him to move to the side.

If he hadn't moved, Taylor's baseball bat would have smashed his skull. As it was, it hit his shoulder and would have broken his collarbone if he hadn't jumped forward, inside the bat's swing path. Rather than the bat hitting his shoulder, her fingers did the strike and his shoulder bones were harder than her fingerbones.

She dropped the bat. "You hit me. You--"

"Unlike loser-Luke," Rot said to the students who'd gathered for the martial arts demo, "Taylor actually had a plan and a tool. She knew she couldn't defeat me directly, so she chose an indirect route and a weapon that could offset my greater strength. It wasn't a bad strategy and you should always be open to other options when you face someone stronger or more skilled than yourself."

"But--"

Rot considered Taylor. In high school the first time through, she'd been a frequent masturbatory fantasy. "Attacking a fellow student from behind, using a baseball bat when he's unarmed. I'm afraid those are both violations of school rules. Grounds for expulsion if I'm not mistaken. Certainly you'll be kicked off the cheerleader squad."

"What are you talking about."

He gestured at the crowd, then at Luke who remained on the ground. "Do you really think Luke can silence them now? There are dozens of witnesses to what you did. I'm afraid you're in serious trouble."

She looked confused, then put on a sneer. "Once Coach Phillips finishes with you, you'll be nothing again. Just like you always have been."

Rot shrugged. "Maybe, Taylor. Here's the thing. What if you're wrong. What if Coach Phillips doesn't kill me. What if he's as pathetic as loser-Luke? You might just spend some time thinking about how you want to persuade me to forget about that attack. And while you're thinking, make sure you're ready to be extremely convincing. Because frankly I'm sick of you rich and beautiful types bullying the rest of the students and making their lives hell. You tracking."

A flicker in her gaze gave her away. She was following but something else was happening.