Once Mike finished dealing with the crowd of enthusiastic students, Aaron, the football captain, made his way over.
"Mike, your strength has hit a whole new level," Aaron said, his voice full of awe.
There was a massive difference between simply tackling someone and literally kicking them back fifteen or twenty feet. If Mike brought that kind of power back to the gridiron, it would be a total game-changer.
Back in the summer league, Mike was already dominant without being this strong. Now? He could probably carry the entire team to a state championship single-handedly.
The thought made Aaron genuinely excited. He asked eagerly, "Mike, have you thought about coming back to the team? I'd step down as captain and give you the starting Quarterback spot in a heartbeat."
Seeing Aaron's sincere enthusiasm, Mike still shook his head. "Sorry, man. I'm not planning on leaving the Math Olympiad team just yet."
A flash of disappointment crossed Aaron's face, but he kept it together. "I respect your choice. But hey, do me a favor and stop by the field sometime, alright?"
"Sure, I'll drop by when I have a free minute," Mike promised with a smile.
That was enough to make Aaron beam. His main goal for coming over was accomplished. To him, this was a great start—as long as Mike was willing to visit, there was always a chance to recruit him back into the fold.
Satisfied, Aaron led the rest of the football players away toward the locker rooms. To support Mike, the guys had run straight to the school gates after practice without even showering.
As the crowd of onlookers dispersed, Cady walked up to Mike, her face clouded with worry. "Is what happened going to get you in trouble?"
The scene had been huge. If the administration decided to crack down, Mike, being one of the main participants, was bound to get caught in the crossfire. Getting a major disciplinary mark on his permanent record could seriously hurt his college applications.
"Don't worry about it," Mike said reassuringly. "Plenty of students saw that Kermit threw the first punch. At most, it was self-defense."
In reality, Cady's fears were unnecessary. It wasn't just that Mike wasn't worried about getting into a good college; from a purely school-interest perspective, Principal Tom would always choose a star student over a troublemaker.
Before Cady could say anything else, Mike caught a glimpse of a figure ducking around a corner in his peripheral vision.
"Cady, wait here for a second. I've got something to take care of." Without waiting for an answer, Mike took off toward the side of the school building.
The figure he'd spotted was Regina, trying to slink away unnoticed.
There were too many coincidences regarding Kermit's outburst. Mike had every reason to believe the "Queen Bee" was the one pulling the strings.
---
Regina was hurrying away, cursing Kermit for being a useless idiot. Instead of making life difficult for Mike, his stunt had only made Mike look like a hero in front of the entire school. To Regina, this was unforgivable.
While she was walking with her head down, Mike took a shortcut and cut her off.
"Well, if it isn't Regina," Mike said, a slight smirk playing on his lips. "Where are you headed in such a rush?"
Regina didn't actually know why she was trying to avoid him, but now that she was caught, she felt an uncharacteristic wave of guilt.
"What do you want?" she asked, her voice sharp but lacking its usual bite.
School had been out for a while, and with the crowd at the gates gone, the campus was nearly empty—especially around the side of the building where people rarely ventured. Regina had picked a clever exit route, or so she thought.
"What do I want?" Mike raised an eyebrow, stepping closer and using his height to intimidate her. "I should be asking you that. I told you before: don't mess with me."
Seeing the look in Mike's eyes, Regina panicked. She blurted out, "The thing with Kermit... that had nothing to do with me!"
Looking at her shifting eyes, Mike stepped even closer, pinning her into a corner. "Really? I find that hard to believe."
Technically, Regina was responsible. She was the one who had dropped hints to Kermit about "handling" Mike.
"I-I'm serious..." Regina looked even guiltier as Mike's expression darkened.
Her reaction didn't satisfy Mike. He leaned in, trapping her against the wall with his arms—a classic "kabedon" move.
Finding herself with nowhere to run, Regina decided to play it tough. She channeled her inner Queen Bee and snapped, "What are you going to do? Break my arm, too?"
To Mike, her bravado was a dead giveaway of her guilt. He considered how to punish her, knowing that actual physical violence was off the table.
"What? You scared? Then get out of my way!" Seeing Mike silent, Regina mistook it for hesitation. Her arrogance came roaring back. She actually leaned forward, trying to use her own presence to force him to back off.
As she pressed closer, Mike felt the proximity, and his expression turned strange.
"Fine. You definitely know how to push my buttons," Mike said, his gaze intensifying.
Regina noticed the shift in his vibe. Although the Queen Bee hadn't exactly had her "coming out party" yet, she had a very open-minded mother and knew exactly what that look meant. She realized what Mike might be thinking.
"No... not here..." Regina shielded herself with her arms, shrinking back into the corner, looking suddenly vulnerable.
At the same time, she felt a weird thrill. She stole a glance at Mike and her mind started racing: He's so hot, it wouldn't be the worst thing. Should I put up a fight for show? Or just go with it?
Regina closed her eyes, bracing herself for whatever came next, but after a long moment, nothing happened.
She opened her eyes to find the scene wasn't what she expected at all. The intensity in Mike's eyes was gone; instead, he was standing a few feet away, watching her with a mocking grin.
"This was just a warning. If you mess with me again, I won't be so nice," Mike said. Without waiting for her reaction, he turned and walked away.
It took a good minute for Regina to process what had just happened. That feeling of being completely ignored—being treated like she wasn't even worth the effort—made her angrier than if he had actually done something.
"You total jerk!" Insulted that her charms had been dismissed so easily, Regina let out a scream of pure frustration.
---
Meanwhile, Mike met back up with Cady at the school gates.
"What was that about?" Cady asked curiously.
"Nothing much," Mike said, shaking his head. He took her hand and smiled. "Come on, let's head home."
"In such a hurry?" After spending so much time with him, Cady was starting to pick up on his subtle cues.
"Well, when you're walking with a beautiful girl, it's hard not to be..." Mike teased. Under her playful gaze, they headed home together.
It was definitely going to be another late night.
---