Problem

Jared returned home after the rap battle, his mind boiling with emotions.

The defeat couldn't have been more humiliating. He wasn't arrogant enough not to consider all the possibilities today; he knew he could lose, but like this? An entire audience shouting that he was nothing. Not even in his worst nightmare did he imagine this happening.

"Jay! How was the competition?" his mother said excitedly, not noticing Jared's dark expression.

Jared clenched his fists, feeling the frustration grow inside him. He looked at his mother, wanting to share his defeat today, but the words wouldn't come out. Just thinking about telling her everything that happened made him feel worse.

"I don't want to talk about it, Mom," Jared replied. He walked past her without waiting for a response, heading up the stairs.

Jared's mother watched him with concern, her excitement fading. She knew that whatever happened wasn't what her Jay had expected.

She stood there for a moment, unsure of what to do. Jay was impulsive and needed space to process his emotions. With a sigh, she decided it was best to wait and talk to him the next day when he had cooled down.

In his room, Jared threw himself onto his bed. "Damn it! How did I let this happen?" Jared yelled at the ceiling.

He grabbed a rhyme notebook, feeling a mix of anger and despair. With a brusque gesture, he threw it against the wall, scattering the pages across the floor.

He closed his eyes, trying to push away the turbulent thoughts that haunted him.

Jared's breathing gradually calmed, and he finally fell asleep, even though his mind was still restless with the events of the day.

[Classroom 1-B]

Jared was in the classroom, his head down and his gaze empty. The noise of laughter and conversations around him seemed distant, as if coming from another world. He stared out the window, watching the activity outside, but his mind was trapped in the night of the battle. Every word, every laugh from the audience, and Slim's mocking look replayed incessantly in his head.

The defeat still weighed heavily on his chest. He felt the humiliation burning inside, every detail of the previous night haunting him. Jared could barely hear the teacher's voice, lost in his own thoughts. He closed his eyes for a moment, trying to shake off the feeling of failure, but the images kept coming back.

Sarah, sitting near him, noticed his state and hesitantly tried to strike up a conversation. "Hey, Jared… are you still writing?" Her voice was cheerful.

He slowly lifted his head, not hiding his irritation. "What do you want, girl?"

She got a bit nervous after noticing his expression, adjusting her glasses. "Oh, I… was just curious. You know, that notebook… are you still writing in it?" The words came out awkwardly.

Sarah tried to continue despite Jared's reaction. "It's just that you were so excited writing in your diary… I mean, notebook! And I thought it was strange not seeing you with it now."

Jared felt the anger grow at hearing the word "diary." "Why don't you do like everyone else and leave me alone?" he said, his voice full of frustration.

Sarah tried to hide her embarrassment. "I just… sorry, I didn't mean to… I mean, I didn't want to bother you…" She stumbled over her words.

Before she could finish, Jared stood up and left the classroom, leaving Sarah speechless, still sitting there, trying to understand what had just happened.

In a shadowy corner of the school yard, three teenagers surrounded Jake, a skinny and frightened boy.

"Where's the money, Jake?" Tommy pushed him against the wall, his voice threatening.

Jake, his eyes wide, stammered, "I… I didn't take anything."

Charlie laughed loudly. "You think we're idiots? We know your old man gave you a wad of cash today. Where is it?"

Mike approached, his gaze hard. "You better start digging in your pockets, man."

"I don't…"

Before Jake could finish speaking, Mike stepped forward and delivered a powerful punch to Jake's stomach. The boy doubled over in pain, letting out a muffled groan as he tried to catch his breath.

"Ah… Stop!" Jake pleaded, breathing heavily.

Mike smiled and delivered another punch to Jake's face, making him stagger to the side, holding his swollen face.

Mike grabbed Jake's hair and pulled it back, looking into his eyes. "You don't learn, do you? When we tell you to bring money, you bring it. We don't care if you have to steal it or ask your damn dad for it."

The other two bullies, Tommy and Charlie, watched with perverse pleasure as Mike continued to hit Jake. Tommy kicked Jake's legs, making him fall to his knees.

"We're just getting started," Charlie taunted, laughing loudly.

Jake breathed heavily, raising his hand in a sign of surrender. "Please, stop! I'll give you the money, just stop!"

"Hey, go somewhere else. This place was already taken," Jared shouted, sitting not too far away.

The bullies turned to Jared, surprised they hadn't noticed him before. Tommy stepped forward and replied with a cynical laugh, "And who are you to tell us what to do?"

Jared stood up slowly. "You guys don't go to this school, do you?" he asked.

The bullies laughed among themselves, provoking Jared. "And what if we don't?" Charlie replied sarcastically.

"That explains why you're still standing in front of me…" Jared said.

Without hesitation, Jared took a few steps toward the bullies. "You come to my school and mess with these nerds? If anyone's going to mess with them, it's going to be me, you bastards!"

The group exchanged glances, and Tommy asked sarcastically, "Who are you, the school hero?"

"Today I'm more of a villain," Jared said, continuing to advance. "Normally, I'd let you go with just a few punches. But today is not just any day. Today, you had the misfortune of finding me at the worst possible time."

Tommy took a step forward, facing Jared with disdain. "We don't mind adding you to the party."

Trying to catch him off guard, Tommy threw a direct punch, but Jared blocked it with his forearm. "You think you can catch me that easily?" Jared taunted with a smile.

Mike advanced with a kick, which Jared skillfully dodged. "Is that all you've got?" he mocked.

Charlie tried a surprise attack from behind, but Jared sensed his presence and ducked in time. "Trying to be clever, huh?"

Frustrated by Jared's comments, the bullies began to attack with more fury. Tommy attempted another punch, but Jared dodged and responded with a quick blow to the stomach.

"Already out of breath?" Jared commented.

"You're going to regret this, punk!"

In a rush, Tommy stood up and delivered a powerful punch to Jared's face, causing blood to spatter from his lips.

"You hit like a little girl…" Jared muttered.

Charlie and Mike didn't stand still and quickly moved to grab Jared's arms, immobilizing him.

"Hold him!" Charlie said.

"Hit him, Tommy!" Mike shouted.

Tommy approached with a victorious smile and landed another punch on Jared's face. "Still feeling confident?"

Punch

Even restrained, Jared didn't lose his composure. Blood could be seen trickling from his lips. "This is going to end badly for you."

Jared saw an opportunity when Tommy got closer, throwing his body forward and landing a headbutt on Tommy's nose, causing it to bleed and making him stagger back, holding his nose.

Wasting no time, Jared turned to Mike, who tried to react but was hit by a powerful elbow to the stomach. Mike doubled over in pain, gasping.

Charlie made one final desperate advance but ended up receiving a spinning kick to the head, throwing him backward.

Tommy still tried to recover, but when he looked up, Jared was already right in front of him.

"Let's see who can last longer," Jared said, wiping the blood from his lips.

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Reader-Kun: Throw a right punch! Then a left! Then kick him in the head! This is a good protagonist; he needs to fight! Teach those punks a lesson. Enter the area, get wrecked!

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Author-Sama: Tell me I did a good job and that I'm a good author.

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Reader-Kun: You're the best author ever! Who's the good author?

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Author-Sama: Is it me? ⊂( ͠๑ ᴥ͠๑ )⊃