The seniors began a casual match of basketball on the court, the rhythmic thud-thud-thud of the balls and the frantic squeaking of sneakers against the polished wood echoing throughout the vast hall. To them, this was just another afternoon of amusement, a light warmup before the main attraction. But for the group sitting at the makeshift observation table, the atmosphere was thick with the suffocating tension of a hostage situation. They knew with absolute certainty that if any of them stood up and made a move toward the exit, the athletes would be on them in an instant, their physical superiority used as a brutal leash.
Thankfully, the cacophony of the game provided a small mercy: a veil of noise. The bouncing balls and the echoing shouts of the players allowed the freshmen to huddle and speak in hushed tones without being overheard by their captors. Not that the seniors seemed to care what their "guests" had to say; they had already stripped the group of their phones, cutting off any hope of a frantic call to the police or a message for help. They were isolated, trapped in a playground ruled by a Stern.
"Alright, that’s it. I can’t take this anymore," Yovan hissed, her voice trembling with a mix of fear and sheer irritation. She was positioned in the middle of the row and jerked her head to look at Rick and Aki, who were sitting at the end with a jarringly calm demeanor. "So what is it? What is it about Max that makes you two so damn confident? Look around you! He’s just one guy. You really think if he walks through those doors, he can save us from a dozen of these monsters? You two have officially gone mad."
Both Aki and Rick didn’t flinch. Instead, they shared a knowing, almost nostalgic smile that only made Yovan’s blood boil further.
"Right, right. I guess anyone in your shoes would think that," Rick said, his eyes drifting toward the rafters as he let a memory surface. "And honestly, if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I would have thought the same thing. But you see, that ’Max’ they’re trying to mess with? He’s the same one who united every single delinquent high school in the city under one banner. He did it in the absolute worst neighborhoods of Notting Hill, where the streets don’t forgive mistakes."
Rick leaned in closer, his voice dropping to a low, reverent rasp. "He came out of nowhere and did it entirely on his own. He didn’t use money or names; he proved his strength to every gang leader until they had no choice but to follow. And as the person who actually went against him, me, I know full well how terrifyingly strong a person has to be to pull that off."
Steve’s ears practically burned at the confirmation. He wanted to jump onto the table and shout, but he caught the eye of a nearby soccer player and stayed glued to his seat.
"I knew it! I knew it!" Steve whispered excitedly, his hope finally outweighing his dread. "It really is the same Max! I told you the descriptions matched! Didn’t I tell you? He’s the legend from the high schools! We’re going to be okay!"
"Right, right, whatever," Yovan snapped, though her voice lacked its previous bite. "Even if that story is true, which I still seriously doubt, this isn’t high school anymore. This is a university, and those guys are sports club seniors. They’re nearly twice Max’s size, they’re adults, and you delusional people still think he’s going to be able to do something alone against an army."
"You really think size matters to him? You think because they’re ’adults’ it changes anything?" Aki asked, her gaze turning cold as she looked down at her folded hands. "When Max gathered those schools under him, he didn’t do it for fame. He did it for one reason: to take out a professional gang. Not just a small-time group, but one of the biggest, most violent syndicates in Notting Hill. Think about that. A high school student dismantled a criminal organization. If he can do that, these campus bullies are nothing to him. They’re just children playing at being tough."
Yovan remained stubborn, her mind struggling to reconcile the quiet, brooding boy in her business lectures with the image of a gang-slaying warlord. No one could really blame her for her skepticism; the stories sounded like a fever dream. What she needed wasn’t a legend; she needed something tangible to cling to before Donto decided to turn his attention back to them.
"I... I think Max might actually be able to do it," Talia said softly, breaking her silence. "The senior that came to our class, the one Max went to ’help’, we saw Max take him out. He told us to keep quiet about it at the time. It appeared he didn’t want any trouble or for things to escalate into a scene like this. He was protecting his cover."
"What? You too, Talia? Are you pulling my leg now?" Yovan asked, looking betrayed.
"No, she’s not. I was there as well," Jono added, touching the bandage on his face. "He’s definitely strong. I’ve seen him move. I just don’t know about him taking out a whole group of these guys on his own. It’s a lot of muscle to get through."
While the debate raged in the basketball hall, the situation at the business department had already moved to the next phase. Sono and Sylan, acting on Donto’s direct orders, didn’t have to search long to find Max. They caught him on the way to his next lecture, and to their surprise, it didn’t take much to convince him to follow. The moment they mentioned who they had taken and where they were being held, Max had agreed to go with them immediately.
’Why...’ Max thought, his expression a mask of cold indifference as he followed the two seniors across the campus. ’No matter what I do, no matter how much I try to keep my distance, I always seem to drag people who aren’t involved into my mess. I wanted a fresh start, a normal life... but the shadows always follow.’
His thoughts darkened as the large sports hall came into view. ’I don’t want any more people getting hurt because of my name. I don’t want to see others killed because they stood near me.’
The heavy doors of the athletic hall were slid open, and Max stepped onto the polished wood of the court. The sound of the basketball game died instantly. The seniors stopped their play, turning like a pack of wolves sensing a new presence in their territory. Max didn’t look at the other seniors. His eyes locked onto one person, and Donto Stern locked right back onto him.
The silence was deafening until Donto began to laugh, a sharp, jagged sound that carried no warmth.
"What a freaking surprise," Donto said, stepping forward and tossing the basketball aside. "I knew I had a weird feeling the second the name Max Smith was read out on the roster. The hair, the attitude... it all makes sense now. You aren’t just some transfer student. You’re Max Stern."