Part-261

  "Sorry?" The boy scoffed, his lips curling into a sneer. "You think 'sorry' fixes everything?" He took a step closer, his eyes narrowing. "Nah, man. You’ll have to pay for that."

  James felt a sudden tension build, his instincts sharpening as he read the situation. Toya stood nearby, watg the unfolding frontation with cool eyes, but he could see the subtle shift in her posture—she was ready for whatever came .

  James shook his head slightly, hoping to defuse the situation before it spiraled. "Look, I don’t want any trouble. I said sorry."

  The boy’s hand suddenly shot out, grabbing James’ shoulder with an aggressive grip. "A sorry doesn’t fix everything. You’ll have to pay for it with your body."

  The words hung in the air, the tension thiiweehe boy’s fist ched, ready to throunch. But before he could even swing, James’ body reacted on instinct.

  In one smooth, fluid motion, James twisted his body, gripping the boy’s arm iurn. With practiced precision, he executed a perfect judo throw—a teique he’d honed over the past few weeks at the dojo of the school. The boy’s body left the ground for a split sed before crashing hard onto the cold tile floor. The impact sent a resounding thud through the mall corridor, and for a moment, everything seemed to freeze.

  The boy’s gang stood dumbfounded, eyes wide as they processed what had just happehey hadn’t expected James to fight back, let aloake their leader down so effortlessly. But that moment of shock quickly morphed inte.

  "You’ll pay for that!" one of them shouted, charging toward James with his fists raised.

  James braced himself, his mind switg into bat mode. One of the boys lu Toya, clearly thinking she’d be an easy target. But before he could get close, James intercepted him, using a crab-arm defeo block the attack. With a swift motion, James spun around, delivering a thunderous sp that echoed through the hallway. The guy stumbled back, clutg his cheek in disbelief, his bravado evaporating in an instant.

  Atacker came at James from the side, throwing a wild punch aimed at his head. James ducked uhe blow, then tered with a devastating uppercut, his fist eg with the underside of the boy’s jaw. The force of the punch, one he liked to call the "Kangaroo Cut," sent the boy sprawling to the flasping for air.

  Toya watched, arms crossed, a smirk tugging at the er of her lips. She had seen James fight before, but it never ceased to amaze her how fast and effit he was. He moved like water, flowing through each attad ter with an ease that made it seem almost chraphed.

  The remaining members of the gaated, their fidence wavering as they took in the sight of their rades sprawled on the floor. But the boy with the braids—their leader—had scrambled back to his feet, his face twisted with fury and embarrassment. He wiped at the blood trig from his lip and growled.