Later that evening, as the school slowly emptied out and the injured were taken to the nurse's office or home, Jalen stayed behind.
He found Logan Lee in the infirmary, sitting up with an ice pack on his jaw, groaning every few minutes. The once-feared bully now looked a lot smaller. More human.
Jalen stepped inside. The door clicked shut behind him.
Logan flinched when he saw who it was, eyes narrowing slightly. "What? You here to finish the job?"
Jalen walked over calmly and pulled a chair beside the bed.
"You think what I did was finishing the job?" he asked, voice even.
Logan didn't answer.
Jalen leaned forward, elbows on his knees. "If you ever lay a hand on anyone at this school again—Zack, Vasco, Daniel, even Vin Jin—I won't just knock you out."
He paused.
"I'll break you. Piece by piece. Slowly."
Logan stared at him, trying to mask the fear behind a shaky glare. Jalen didn't blink. His voice was calm, no emotion—just truth.
"And no one will stop me. Not the teachers. Not the school. Not your parents. Understand?"
The silence that followed said everything.
Logan nodded once, eyes dropping to the floor.
Jalen stood and turned to leave.
As he reached the door, he overheard two teachers walking past in the hallway, holding a clipboard.
"...we'll be going to the the amusement park for the picnic next week. It's gonna be a big event."
"Did you hear? DG himself might be showing up. Something about scouting new models."
Jalen's steps paused.
DG.
The top model. The most elusive figure in the country. And someone who, in the original story, had a terrifying amount of hidden weight behind his name.
He waited until the teachers passed, then walked off silently.
His thoughts were already racing.
If DG was coming… then the game was changing again.
And this time, Jalen would be ready.