The week after the broken broom warning was unlike anything Ridgeview had ever seen.
Students whispered in hallways. Teachers, pretending not to notice, kept giving awkward reminders about "focusing on your studies instead of outside matters." And yet, everyone knew the truth: Eastside was coming.
Gray hated it.
He sat slouched in his chair during class, staring out the window, wishing the world would forget he existed. But every time someone passed by the classroom door, he caught the whispers.
"That's him… the one who beat Razor.""Crusher's gonna flatten him.""Think Ridgeview even stands a chance?"
Gray wanted to bury his head under his desk. "Why couldn't I have just… tripped my way into being invisible?"
The Gathering
That afternoon, Mina cornered him outside the school gate.
"Gray. It's happening."
He blinked. "What, the cafeteria finally serving edible food?"
She rolled her eyes. "No. Eastside. Scouts are on their way right now. They're going to test you."
Gray felt his stomach twist. "Test me? What am I, an exam?"
"You're the face of Ridgeview whether you like it or not." Mina's tone was sharp, but her eyes held something softer — concern. "And if you run now, no one will ever follow you again."
Before Gray could argue, Riku came rushing up, sweat dripping down his round face. "Boss! We've got twenty guys from Eastside heading this way. They're armed with sticks, pipes, chains… everything."
Gray paled. "Twenty? With chains? What are they, a construction crew?"
The First Clash
By the time Gray, Mina, and Riku reached the back lot of Ridgeview, the Eastside scouts were already there.
They were older, tougher, wearing leather jackets and sneers. Their leader — a tall boy with buzzed hair and a scar running down his jaw — stepped forward, twirling a metal pipe casually in one hand.
"So you're Gray," he said. His voice dripped with mockery. "The broom king himself. You don't look like much."
Gray scratched the back of his neck nervously. "Yeah, I get that a lot. I'm more of a… background character kind of guy, you know?"
The Eastside thugs laughed. Behind Gray, his own ragtag group of Ridgeview students shuffled nervously. They weren't fighters — just misfits, geeks, and loners who somehow found themselves under Gray's banner after Razor's fall.
"Listen," Gray tried, raising his hands. "We don't need to fight. We could, I don't know, play rock-paper-scissors instead? Best of three?"
The pipe leader smirked, then swung.
Chaos Erupts
The fight broke out instantly. Eastside's gang surged forward, chains rattling, sticks swinging. Ridgeview's kids panicked, scattering like startled birds.
Gray, wide-eyed, ducked as a chain whipped past his head. "Ahhh! Nope, nope, nope!"
Riku tried to charge bravely, only to trip over his own feet and roll into three Eastside fighters, knocking them over like bowling pins.
"Boss, I did it!" Riku cheered, dazed.
"Not on purpose!" Gray cried, dragging him out of the way of another swing.
Meanwhile, Mina grabbed a stray stick and shouted at Ridgeview's students. "Stop running! You'll never stand if you don't fight together!"
Her voice cut through the panic. Slowly, Ridgeview students started backing each other up — blocking blows, pulling one another out of danger. It was messy, unorganized… but it was something.
Gray's "Victory"
Gray himself ended up in a desperate scramble with the pipe leader. The thug swung wildly, smashing into walls, lockers, and the pavement. Gray, in a blind panic, kept dodging at the very last second — tripping over cracks, stumbling sideways, even accidentally grabbing the wrong end of a trash can lid to block a hit.
It looked ridiculous. But somehow… it worked.
Finally, the pipe leader lunged forward for a finishing blow. Gray stumbled backward, slipped on a soda can, and fell flat — just as the thug's swing carried him too far. The momentum slammed him into a metal dumpster headfirst, knocking him out cold.
The lot fell silent.
Gray blinked from the ground, dazed. "…Did I win?"
Riku raised both fists in the air. "The boss wins again!"
The Ridgeview kids cheered — half in disbelief, half in genuine relief.
The Message
The surviving Eastside scouts dragged their unconscious leader away, glaring at Gray with venom in their eyes.
"This isn't over," one hissed. "Crusher's coming for you himself. And when he does, there won't be any accidents to save you."
Gray gulped, watching them vanish into the night.
Mina stepped up beside him, still gripping the stick tightly. Her face was serious, but her voice was softer when she spoke.
"You need to stop relying on luck. Today was a fluke. Next time… you won't walk away so easily."
Gray looked down at his scraped hands. For once, he couldn't joke back.
Because deep down, he knew she was right.
Chapter End: A Shaky Defense
Ridgeview had survived its first real test. Barely.
The gang wasn't ready. Gray wasn't ready. And Crusher was only getting started.
As Gray trudged home under the darkening sky, the weight of leadership pressed heavier on his shoulders than ever before.