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going to defend his kind?” Russ asked waving his hand
contemptuously at Quentin. “His parents aren’t
straight.”
    “ I don’t care one way or the other if someone is vertical or
horizontal. It makes no difference. I just care about people not
being bullied. What’s uncool about that?”
    “ A rebel with a cause,” Russ spat out the words.
    “ We’ve got to have some values. We can’t just go on in life
hassling people.”
    “ So you’re going to fight for him?”
    “ You’re too big for me. But yes I’m going to defend him even if
I get hurt in the process because I think your phobia is wrong.”
Byron’s face clouded.
    Russ’s
was rattled by this line of reasoned arguments. He knew he could
beat Byron to pulp but he wanted to do so with students’ support.
At that moment there was a murmur of support for Byron from the
crowd that was gradually growing bigger.
    Abruptly
he waved Quentin away and looked directly at Byron. “We haven’t
finished this yet,” he said darkly. “I know how your devious mind
works.”
    “ She’s like a sis to me and it pained me to see the way you
treated her. I’ve nothing personal against you. I just hate to see
girls being beaten up. Get help.”
    “ You need to be taught a lesson. It’s going to come in your
Iphone,” Russ whispered cryptically.
    Byron was
about to say that these kinds of hacking could backfire but kept
quiet. It would be good for Russ to learn his lesson in a practical
way. He couldn’t tolerate Russ and was surprised that students let
him do whatever he wanted without showing their dislike or
contempt.
    Russ and
his gang had spray painted a school wall. Byron had used
fluorescent paint to write, “Russ you’re a bully. Stop all this and
grow up. Get help.”
    He knew
that Byron had written over his graffiti and was waiting for the
right time to pay him back. He was frantically working on trying to
hack Byron’s facebook password. He was planning on writing some
very embarrassing ‘admissions’ under Byron’s file. These hacked
posts would put out to the world that Byron was rabidly gay. These
thoughts gave him a very pleasant feeling.
    He had a
strong feeling that Byron had advised Natalie to get rid of him. He
thought that Byron was infatuated with her and was always looking
for an opening to create a barrier between them. They could have
worked out their differences but with Byron pulling the strings, he
sensed that he had steered her in Matt’s way. He would later
maneuver his way to her. Byron was a brash gamer, he thought as he
swore under his breath. The pleasant feelings evaporated quickly,
replaced by bitterness and anger.
    What Russ
didn’t know was that Byron had already seen the fake message Russ
was going to post in his timeline. He had hacked into Russ’s
account and was going to place it on his timeline instead. He had
also added, “I will stop being a bully and stop hitting
girls.”
    Russ
walked away abruptly.
    The crowd
cheered and clapped.
    Quentin
lingered back looking at Byron with admiration. He decided against
thanking him at this point. He would have to choose an appropriate
time later when Byron was more relaxed and alone.
     
     

Chapter 8: Natalie and Quentin
    As
Natalie moved up the stairs Quentin came by.
    Natalie
looked quizzically at him.
    “ Thanks.”
    “ Was glad to help.”
    “ You’re my hero.”
    “ Anyone could have stepped in. I was just there at the right
time as the drama unfolded.”
    Quentin
did not say that he felt remorseful that he had not stayed to
defend her especially as Russ had slapped her. He had resolved that
if another incident like this happened he would stay and fight to
the end.
    “ I’m just thankful it was you. Didn’t realize they’d followed
me from school.”
    “ These things happen.”
    “ For a moment i thought I was mince meat.”
    “ I think they just wanted to frighten you. Not to hurt you.
They were going to let you go.”
    “ I’m taking up martial arts