"You scoundrels have always amounted to nothing since you arrived here. There's nothing for you out there, nothing for you in here." Sera spits on the floor before resuming her tirade. "Don't worry, when we make it out you can shine my boots by the docks as you bring me my Eel stew." Sera always seems to goad others, rumour has it her parents are still alive and they left her here as a baby simply because they didn't want such a genetic anomaly of a child, draws too much attention from the higher leagues. Too many risky questions. Perhaps Ma should have done the same.
There's a slight murmur from the room as others' attention turns to us.
Barlo watches her furiously, as she strides over towards our table. He turns and walks towards her with clench fists. They meet in the dead center of the hall and come to a standstill, chests pressed against each other, Barlo cocks his neck at an uncomfortable angle to hold her gaze. Though it's only moments before she locks her eyes with me.
"Hand me those J-buds and maybe I won't turn your little friend here into a cripple."
"Fuck off. You don't run this place." I snap back quickly, though most of my energy is focused on Barlo, knowing his short temper, things could explode any moment now. He hasn't taken his eyes off Sera either. Zant. He's trying to protect me, I don't need it. I've tapered the strength I've shown over the years, so no one really knows what I'm capable of. Nobles may be naturally strong from physical labour but no one expects me to be able to possess the strength to stop moving Holofliers with my bare hands.
"And who does run this place? Surely not the fat gnome boy who stood by and watched as his dad wither away." She continues to goad him.
Barlo's eye twitches, he breaths faster.
"Barlo…" I look towards my brother, trying to bring him back from the edge. "You know it's a bait."
Thankfully, he turns around and walks towards me. Phew, a wave of relief rushes over me as I realise my friend has come to his senses.
I was wrong.
Once again I have overestimated his intellect. Turning swiftly, he charges Sera head on, thrusting his shoulder into her stomach. Sera lets out an audible grunt as her body folds from the impact and flies across the room, breaking through two chairs and a table. She pushes herself up with her right arm. Her dominant hand I note, in case things take a turn. But Barlo is already on top of her, he sends two more fists into her cheek bone before she eventually catches his hand, fist only millimeters away from her face as she proceeds to whisper into Barlo's ear.
"If only you had that drive when your daddy needed it most." She cocks her head back and jolts it forward, headbutting Barlo directly in the nose. Once. Twice. An audible cracking noise fills the hall on the third, met with oohs and ahhs from the blood thirsty onlookers. Blood gushes, splattering on the cold concrete below. I sigh, wondering if this is the third or fourth time I'm going to be clicking his nose back in place this year. I'm not worried yet, I've seen Barlo in much sorrier states than this, even now, as he's hovering in the air, being strangled by the much larger girl.
Sera holds him eight feet into the air, making clear to the onlookers who the victor is.
"So about those J-buds…" She's smiling now, grinning ear to ear, basking in her triumph. But I know too well that a bloody and beaten Barlo is a dangerous Barlo. He channels the last bit of his air through his nose and paints Sera's face with blood and mucus. She turns and drops Barlo in horror, pawing at her eyes helplessly. Sounds of disgust fill the air, but Barlo wastes no time, he kicks the back of her kneecaps in and reaches for a broken chair leg by his side.
I sigh again, this time with relief, I won't have to risk exposing myself today. Barlo somehow managed to steal a win against Sera, so now I just have to talk him down from the ledge, I can do that much.
"Search her pockets Barlo, she's bound to have some good stuff." I play towards his thieving side, but it's no use, he holds the makeshift splintered club high in the air, shaking from the pain, the rage, the unjustified insurmountable guilt.
"I did everything I could." Tears stream down his face, turning a light shade of red as they pass his bloodied nose.
Sera, cocks her head to the left, ensuring every word spoken will pierce his heart. "You sure? Perhaps you can use some of that rotting ointment you've held onto for all these years, maybe it'll fix that broken mug of yours, unless it's the same one you used on daddy. Oh how disappointed he would have been."
Barlo's too far gone to notice the obvious goading. He falls for the trap, furiously bringing the chair's leg down in a vertical swing. Sera roles out of the way as he slams it into the concrete, sending vibrations reverberating through his arms and dropping the club. She takes a moment to laugh and throws a wild swing. But Barlo's rage empowers him. He ducks under her fist and springs back up, channeling all his momentum into an uppercut, he catches an overextended Sera right in the jaw knocking her out cold. A trembling hand reaches for the splintered piece of wood. The room falls silent as it scrapes its way across the floor and into the air. I run. There's no time to worry about exposing myself, he's going to kill her. As the makeshift club is raised slowly above his head, I grip it at the peak of its arc, where its momentum is little, nearly non-existent. A wave of relief floods over me as I realise I don't have to use any real force.
Barlo tries jerking the weapon down, but I don't budge.
"Barlo…" I begin to try to talk some sense into him.
"Is to be seen in my office. Now. Along with you." Patricia's boney finger jabs at me from across the room. "For the rest of you, figure out amongst yourselves who is to take Sera to the infirmary. And clean up this sodden mess."
Barlo drops the wood from his hand. Emotions of rage and anger swept away as we share a look of dread. Not knowing what will come of us, we turn and leave the bloodied scene and head for the principal's office.