Richard's Underestimated Dominance

Richard's heart beat fast when he hit a dead end. He stopped running before he fell over the rooftop of Gavin High School. He looked back at the boys chasing after him. They stopped several inches from where he stood and started laughing at him. Of course, he won't dare jump, so they would deal with him as always. He can't let them beat him to a pulp again. They always do that to him from his first year in school, just because he doesn't have rich parents like them and was transferred to the school through a scholarship. “You want to jump, huh? Do we need to fabricate a last wish? Come on,” one of the boys, Elvis, said as he swung his hammer. “What do you all want from me? I did everything that you wanted!” He cried, knowing that the hammer would be used to hit his toes like they did the last time. He can't tell his father because he would only come to the school to rant, and in the end, he would end up being the one to be suspended for creating a nuisance in the school. Meanwhile, these spoiled kids are the ones always looking for ways to bully him. “No, you didn't get a copy of the upcoming Maths test question paper. So why would you say that you did everything? Are you saying that we are the ones lying here?” Carter, a skinny boy pointed out accusingly. “The Math teacher didn't leave her table today, so I wasn't able to get it. But I promise to make sure I get a copy before tomorrow ends. Please…” Richard begged, forcing his eyes to stop looking down at the building. “I'm sorry, but you need to be taught a lesson so that you will try your best to obey commands next time. We are not going to beat you up, all I have to do is pull off one of your toenails, then you can go.” Francis, the son of the richest man in Cubana, stepped forward. Elvis extended the hammer to Francis, he took it, and started towards Richard. He was shaking, not sure of what to do. Jumping would be next to killing himself and there's nothing anyone would do to them, not like anything ever comes out of it. They're untouchable kids of the wealthiest men in Cubana. It's just a toenail, the pain would still go, so he should just accept that and not think about jumping. He's the only child of his father and his last hope. If anything happens to him, then his father won't survive. He went down on his knees and crawled to them in tears. Two boys held him tightly while Francis pulled off his smallest toenail. He groaned in pain, cursing the day he was born, but it didn't seem like anyone heard him. “Hey, if you don't want to die, don't you dare say a word to anyone about us or anything that happened here. And believe me, this is little compared to what we would do to you tomorrow if you don't get the test question paper!” Francis said without remorse. He went down the steps of the rooftop, and the other two followed him. Richard sat gnashing his teeth when a girl suddenly appeared in front of him from where she had hidden. “What did you do to them? Why let them treat you this way? Come on, let's go down there so that you can talk to the school authority! They have to be stopped!” She said in a very harsh tone. “Don't you f*****g do that! Leave me the hell alone! And who are you to interfere?” Richard yelled at the girl as if she were the cause of his misery. “You know, I think you deserve what you got!” She intentionally matched on his wounded toe and left him wailing like a hungry baby. “You're a sucker, b***h!” Richard sat trying to contain his pain for hours before he stood up and went back to class. He pretended to be cool until dismissal. He carried his bag and left through the back door of the school, afraid that his presence in the locker room or the hallway that led to the main entrance of the school would become another greater problem for him. His presence has never been conducive to the other students. They all hate him, they don't want him anywhere around them because he's infested with poverty. He's so different from them, and he has no special powers or gifts. He's just like a church rat. He would never belong. He stopped by a clinic and had the doctor help clean and cover his wound. The man has become his friend since he turned out to be a regular at the clinic. “Hey, kiddo. How the hell do you end up with bone-cutting wounds like this? The last time I remember, your nose bled for days, and now your toenail is pulled off. What happened this time around?” Doctor Landon asked as he bandaged Richard's toe. “I dashed my foot against a stone.” Richard made up a quick lie. The man can't help him out of his plight, so why should he tell him about how the other kids maltreat him at school? “And it cut this deep to even pull off your toenail? It must've hurt so much, be very careful next time, okay?” The man seemed to understand as he didn't push the topic. While Landon finished up, Richard's mind went to the girl who had come to the rooftop and matched him in anger when he shouted at her. He had never seen that face at the school before, so he wondered who she was. “It's all done, chap,” Landon said with a little slap on Richard's arm. “All right, thanks, Doctor. I will make sure to pay up by tomorrow. I will get my pay this evening after work, so tomorrow is tomorrow.” Richard got up and adjusted his schoolbag. “Please, call me Landon. And don't hesitate to talk to me whenever you need a shoulder to lean on. I trust you about the payment, so don't think deeply about it at all.” Landon smiled at him. “Well, then. See ya,” he left before he said anything further. He just can't tell anyone anything because it would worsen his suffering. He went to the place where he worked with his friend as a cleaner. It is a wine store, so Richard and his friend, Blake, always come early every morning to clean up the place before they go to school and they clean it before going home as well. It can't be called a part-time job, can it? Well, as long as they make some bucks and get tipped at times to eat, it doesn't matter. Whatever may be, man has to survive first. “You haven't told me what happened to that bandaged toe. When did we start keeping things from each other, Richie?” Blake asked after they'd worked for a few hours and he didn't say a word to him. Richard wasn't affected by his wound as the thought of the girl who had trashed him ate up his mind. He just has to forget her, the boys of Gavin High School say every girl in the school belongs to them so she's theirs and he's their errand boy. “It's nothing,” Richard shrugged tiredly and lifted another wine from its portal to clean. As he bent slightly to dip his rag into the bucket of water in front of him, his butt jammed with a wine cluster behind him and three wines crashed on the floor. “What exactly is going on there?” The Manager's voice shook the store. Oh, damn! And that woman never liked him!