Chapter 4: The Boast
650 Words
The school courtyard was crowded during lunch.
Students sat on benches, leaned against trees, or gathered around tables, talking loudly and laughing as if nothing in the world could bother them.
At the center of one of those groups sat Jason Reed.
He looked completely relaxed.
One arm rested on the back of the bench while the other held a soda can. His friends surrounded him, listening with amused expressions.
“So you really did it?” one of them asked.
Jason smirked.
“Of course I did,” he said casually.
“Man, that must have been awkward,” another friend said. “Breaking up with her like that.”
Jason shrugged.
“Not really,” he replied. “I mean, it had to happen eventually.”
A girl sitting nearby raised an eyebrow.
“Why?” she asked. “Amara seemed nice.”
Jason rolled his eyes.
“Nice isn’t the problem,” he said. “The problem is she’s… you know.”
He gestured vaguely with his hand.
“Big?”
A few of his friends laughed.
Jason didn’t correct them.
Instead, he leaned back confidently.
“Look, I tried,” he said. “But my friends kept asking me why I was dating someone like her. It was getting embarrassing.”
His friend Marcus shook his head.
“You broke up with her just because of that?”
Jason smirked again.
“Why not? I deserve better.”
The group laughed again, but not everyone looked comfortable.
A few students nearby had heard the conversation and exchanged uneasy glances.
Across the courtyard, Ethan Blake sat alone at a table.
He wasn’t paying attention to his lunch.
His eyes were locked on Jason.
Every word Jason spoke made Ethan’s jaw tighten.
He had always disliked Jason’s arrogance, but hearing him brag about humiliating Amara made something inside Ethan burn.
How can someone be that cruel? he thought.
Jason took another sip of his soda.
“You should have seen her face,” he continued. “She looked like she was about to cry.”
One of the girls nearby frowned.
“That’s not funny.”
Jason shrugged.
“It’s not my fault she can’t handle the truth.”
Ethan’s fingers curled tightly around his fork.
For a moment, he considered standing up.
Walking over.
Telling Jason exactly what he thought of him.
But he stopped himself.
Starting a fight wouldn’t help Amara.
It would only make things worse for her.
Instead, Ethan forced himself to look away.
Jason wasn’t worth the trouble.
Not yet.
Meanwhile, near the entrance of the courtyard, Amara and Lily stepped outside with their lunch trays.
Amara hesitated when she noticed the crowd.
Her eyes scanned the area nervously.
Then she saw him.
Jason.
Sitting comfortably with his friends like nothing had happened.
Like yesterday had meant nothing at all.
Her stomach twisted.
Lily noticed immediately.
“Oh no,” she muttered.
“What?” Amara asked quietly.
Lily followed her gaze.
Then she groaned.
“Seriously? He’s already acting like a celebrity.”
Amara swallowed hard.
“I don’t want to go over there,” she said.
“You don’t have to,” Lily replied firmly. “We’ll sit somewhere else.”
But just as they turned to leave, Jason looked up.
Their eyes met.
For a moment, the entire courtyard seemed to freeze.
Jason raised an eyebrow.
Then he gave a slow, mocking smile.
And just like that, the humiliation from yesterday came rushing back.
Amara looked away quickly.
“Come on,” Lily said gently, guiding her toward another table.
But from across the courtyard, Ethan had seen everything.
And the anger inside him only grew stronger.
Jason Reed might think this was a joke.
But Ethan knew something Jason didn’t.
Amara Collins was stronger than she looked.
And one day, Jason would realize exactly what he had thrown away.
- Writer
