Later that day, I had swim class on my schedule. I always enjoyed swimming and was very pleased to hear that Highridge had a huge pool. Swimming has always helped me free up my mind. And I had a lot going on my mind right now.

The others were still either gossiping about me or mostly ignoring me. Which was fine with me, I wasn't in the mood for socialising. So I ignored them too and stayed longer in the pool so I would not have to deal with the girls in the shower room. I was also drugging out the time in the hopes that the parking lot would be empty when I come out.

When I finally headed for the showers, there were only a few girls left. As I stood there, letting the hot water wash away the tension in my body, I almost forgot all my recent troubles.

But just for a moment. I wanted to cry, but I knew I'd need to save that for bedtime when I'd have to think about how I'd possibly survive another day at Highridge.

The hot shower felt really nice. And here, the water didn't smell of so much chlorine as at my other school. So I just stood there for a long time, lost in my thoughts. I could feel my body relax more and more, as I massaged the muscles. Some parts were bruised from the day before. I'd punched the punching bag too hard.

So absorbed was I in my worries, that I didn't notice right away that it went silent outside. I think I felt danger before my mind caught up. I heard steps.

I quickly turned off the water and reached for my towel. But it was no longer there. I pulled the curtain to the side and peeked through. And there he was - Blake!

He was leaning against the sink with his arms folded. He was looking half amused and had a "gotcha" look on his face.

I swallowed hard.

I stood naked in the shower, only protected by a thin curtain. It flashed through my mind that this was what my father wanted to protect me from when he sent me to learn how to fight. This town wasn't a safe place for girls on a good day. And recently, I have been having some really bad days. I shouldn't be surprised given this guy's reputation that he would play dirty.

Meanwhile, he was silently studying me through his narrowed eyes. I wished I could read his mind. No, scratch that. I was glad I couldn't read his mind.

"If you think that the fear of being seen naked by you would intimidate me, think again," I said challenging him. It was probably not something he expected me to say, then he raised a brow at that.

"Don't flatter yourself," he replied sounding almost bored.

What did I expect? I had been under the hot water for a long while. I could see myself in the mirror behind him. My face was flushed red and my hair a mess. While he looked all polished in his perfectly fitted uniform.

I wanted to reply something snappy to that, but then I taught better of it. If he was well-mannered, he'd not be here in the first place. I totally believed that someone like him could and would, given enough provocation, do something stupid.

I caught sight of my towel beside him.

"Give me the towel," I told him instead, stretching out my bare arm.

"Come and get it," he replied with a raised brow. He had it all planned out and he wasn't gonna make it easy for me. I was in a most vulnerable position and he knew that. And he was clearly not interested in letting me out of my predicament. I let my arm drop again and grabbed the curtain more firmly instead. I gave the room a quick glance. There were a thing or two that I could turn into a weapon.

"I'm warning you. If you so much as touch me..." I began.

He rolled his eyes.

"If I really wanted to touch you, I doubt there is anything you could do about it," he said with an icy voice as if stating the obvious.

"What do you want?" I demanded to know.

"For now, I want you to get dressed and come out." With that, he moved toward the door. I sighed with relief as I watched him leave.

As soon as the door behind him closed, I immediately darted for the towel. Only feeling more or less safe, when it was firmly wrapped around me.

"Jerk," I mumbled more to myself. It was just a game for him. This was a very calculated move. To catch me off-guard like this.

I considered crawling out of the window, but they were too small even for me. I hesitated as I dressed, but ultimately I knew that the best course of action was to come out and face whatever he had planned for me.

Besides, wasn't I the one who told him to face me like a man? So here he was.

My hand trembled slightly as I pushed down the handle and walked out of the shower room.

Blake stood leaning against the wall and he was not alone. Josh and Frank were also there. But then I gasped when I saw the same boy they had been after at the library. The scarred rabbit. He was tied to a chair, dangerously close to the edge of the pool. He gave me a look that was begging for help. Part of me felt sorry for him, but another part of me was angry. It was his fault after all that I got caught up in this predicament.

"What has he done to you?" I demanded to know, walking up to them.

"That's none of your business, you bloody bitch," hissed Frank, looking at me with pure hatred.

"Let him go!" I was looking at Blake, then I knew that ultimately he was the one who called the shots here.

"You better worry about yourself," Blake replied simply. He was calm and looked pleased with the situation.

"If it is a fight you want, let's have it then," I said in anger. I threw my bag on the floor, readying myself. Blake was taller than me, but I was used to fighting all kinds of guys. Against him alone, I knew I stood a chance. Against all three? I hoped it wouldn't get to that.

Blake just gave me a look of annoyance and stepped closer to the edge of the pool. He nodded to Josh, whose one push was enough to send the chair with the boy over the edge. I watched as the chair fell into the water with a splash.

"Are you crazy?" I shouted at them moving dangerously close to the edge of the pool myself.

"Help!" The boy cried before water began to swallow him. He trashed about, sending waves throughout the pool, gasping for air. But it wasn't helping him to stay afloat. I knew there was no way he'd make it. Not without my help.

"What's wrong with you?" I shouted at them still incredulous, but they all just stood there watching. And it seemed like none of them even cared a dime whether they were killing the boy or not. Is this what the rich world was like? They'd kill in cold blood and think they could get away with it?

The truth was, they could. I looked at them as if seeing them for the first time. I had a hard time believing even given all the facts, that someone would truly be such a horrible human being and leave an injured, helpless girl to die. But now, I was seeing it unfolding before my own eyes. And I knew that I had my answer.

But I didn't have much time to dwell on it. So I did the only thing I could do - I jumped into the water after the boy. When we emerged again to the surface, Blake was kneeling beside the edge of the pool. There was a smile on his face, the wicked type.

"Quit school," he said almost in a friendly voice.

"I'm not a quitter," I told him through my heavy breathing.

"Well, that's too bad. For him," he said pointing at the boy in the chair. "It's either you quit or this new friend of yours will have to pay the price. It is your choice."

"Arsehole," I spat back and splashed some water at him. How I wished I could wrap my fingers around his neck and squeeze the air out of him.

"Don't push it." Blake stood up and to my dismay, I watched Josh hand my bag over to him.

"Get your hands off of it!" I shouted to them, but Blake just ignored me. He opened the zip of my bag and flipped it so that all the contents fell on the damp floor. But there was only one item he truly had an interest in - my phone.

"Hey, don't you dare take my phone!"

"Or what?" Frank replied in his stead, the twat that he was.

"Or I'll decorate your other eye!" I could see that Frank now was considering jumping in the pool and coming after me himself.

"Don't mind her, Frank," Blake told him. "Let's go." It took the two of them, to make Frank finally leave.

"I'll get to you one day!" Frank promised. I ignored him. I was more worried about my phone.

"Give me back my phone!" I called after them, but they were already on the way out.

When I finally managed to pull the boy out of the pool, I was out of breath. I was of course soaking wet and I had no spare clothes with me. I made a mental note to myself, that besides lunch, from now on I should also be bringing another set of clothes. Just in case.

But today, I'd need to ride back home in the ones I have. Just perfect!

"What's your name?" I asked the boy as soon as he stopped coughing.

"Justin. Justin Morris," he replied, with a trembling voice. I watched him dry his glasses and put them back on. How he managed not to lose them in the water, was a mystery to me.

"What's their problem with you?"

"I don't know," he replied, avoiding my gaze.

"Don't lie to me!" I said grabbing him by the collar of his wet shirt. "If I have to quit the school so they leave you in peace, you better start talking." I shook him for good measure.

"Let go of me," he pleaded. "You are hurting me."

"I'll hurt you more if you don't tell me right now what all of this was about."

"They want me to break into the Headmaster's computer. They make me do this every year. But this time, I told them I didn't want to anymore."

"If you know how to, why don't you? Still better than getting beaten up every other day."

"I almost got caught last time. I thought that maybe if I stood up to them, I would get myself out of it." Justin looked shaken. "They would've beaten me up that time at the library, and it would've been the end of it. But no, you had to mess it all up!"

"Excuse me?" I asked incredulously.

"You just don't understand how things work here. I'm a scholarship kid."

"You are? How long have you been at this school?"

"Since the first grade. Principal Hitch is my uncle. That's how I got in."

"You must know everybody here then..." The wheels in my head were beginning to spin. Justin could be my access to the information I needed, to the surveillance cameras, and so on. And he is Principal Hinch's nephew. He could get me access to a lot of intel.

"I have no friends here. Most just ignore me." Justin picked up his bag from the wet floor and came to his feet. I did the same.

"Maybe we could help each other out," I began.

"I am not helping you get better grades. Forget it."

"Relax, I am a good student. I'm thinking that together, we could stand up to these guys. I could protect you."

"Right now you can't even protect yourself... Just stay away from me," he said throwing his bag over his shoulder and heading toward the exit.

"We gotta work together..." I shouted after him, but he was already on the way out.

I looked from his retreating figure, at the wet chair. I wanted to kick it, I was so mad.

"Damn it!" I cried loudly instead and threw my hands into the air.

Blake had my phone! If he cracks the code, he will know everything. I wasn't big on social media and I was always careful to have all my information set on private. He probably figured that he couldn't find out much about me as I could about him through a simple google search. So getting my phone was a smart move. I could not allow this to happen. I had to get it back!