Confrontation || Provoking the Bullies

The red team continued their comeback. Xavier's teammates began passing him the ball deliberately, and he scored every time. The crowd's cheers grew louder, some students even starting to chant Xavier's name. The score reached 37-30, then 37-33.

The instructor watched in astonishment, his eyes flicking between the court and his device. He pulled up Xavier's student profile, checking for any cybernetic enhancements or modifications. But the records showed none - just Xavier's congenital condition.

'Even if he's talented, this is impossible,' the instructor thought. 'No one scores every shot without missing. Unless…'

He muttered to himself, "If this is real, then he's a prodigy among prodigies."

Then he shook his head. "What a shame he's caught Lucas Blackhood's attention."

The final minutes ticked down. The red team's momentum was unstoppable now. Xavier scored again and again, his shots perfect arcs through the air. The score reached 37-36, then 37-39.

The crowd was on their feet, screaming. Lucas's face was a mask of fury as he tried desperately to score, but the red team's defense was impenetrable now.

When the final buzzer sounded, the scoreboard showed 142-41 in favor of the red team. The gymnasium erupted in cheers. Students rushed the court, lifting Xavier onto their shoulders. The victory was unprecedented - a landslide win against the previously undefeated yellow team.

Videos of the match spread across the academy's hub like wildfire. Within minutes, it was the top trending topic. Students who had missed the game watched the highlights in awe. Xavier's name was on everyone's lips again, just like after his orientation day speech.

As he walked through the halls, students he didn't know clapped him on the back. Some even asked for selfies with the "basketball prodigy." For the first time since arriving at the academy, Xavier felt like he belonged.

But as the cheers faded and the crowds dispersed, Xavier couldn't shake the feeling that this victory had only delayed the inevitable confrontation with Lucas. The real battle was still to come.

The academy's central courtyard buzzed with excitement as students gathered around the various scoreboards displaying today's sports results. Each holographic display showed different activities, with clusters of students analyzing the rankings and performances.

Xavier moved through the crowd with purpose, his eyes scanning for any sign of Lucas and his cronies. Normally, they would be the ones hunting him down, but today the roles were reversed. He needed to find them before they found him.

'Where would they be?' Xavier thought, weaving between groups of chattering students. 'The scoreboards. That's where they'd want to see their names.'

He made his way toward the basketball section, passing by the sprinting results first. There, he spotted Kael standing alone, his face stormy as he stared at the rankings.

Xavier hesitated, noticing Kael's obvious distress. His gaze followed Kael's to the scoreboard, and he immediately understood why.

In the sprint results:

1st Place: Maximilian Hart

2nd Place: Joel Tram

3rd Place: Ethan Sterling

Kael's name was conspicuously absent from the main rankings. Instead, Xavier found it in a smaller section at the bottom labeled "Disqualified Participants."

'Of course,' Xavier thought bitterly. 'They couldn't let a normal human beat their precious enhanced students.'

He continued toward the basketball scoreboard, half-expecting to find his own name erased or the results altered. But to his surprise, the numbers remained unchanged:

Red Team: 142

Yellow Team: 41

Xavier frowned, considering why they hadn't tampered with these results. Then it hit him - this wasn't an individual sport where they could quietly remove one name. This was a team effort, visible to dozens of witnesses. Changing these scores would cause an uproar among the students who had watched the match.

But there was another reason Xavier didn't know yet. His performance had gone viral across the academy's networks. Students had recorded the entire game from multiple angles. There was no foul play to edit out, no rules broken that could justify disqualification. The evidence of his incredible feat was too widespread to suppress.

As Xavier stood there, a group of students approached him, their faces alight with excitement.

"Xavier! That was amazing!" one exclaimed.

"Did you see the way you kept scoring those three-pointers?" another added.

Xavier managed a small smile, but his mind was elsewhere. He needed to find Lucas before the confrontation they both knew was coming.

The crowd around the basketball board was particularly thick. As Xavier pushed through, he finally spotted Lucas standing with Leonardo and Ethan, their faces dark with fury as they stared at the unaltered results.

Lucas's fists were clenched at his sides, his cybernetic fingers flexing with barely contained rage. When he noticed Xavier approaching, his eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Enjoy your little victory while it lasts, village rat," Lucas spat. "This isn't over."

Xavier met his gaze steadily. "I know," he said simply.

The tension between them was obvious, the air practically crackling with hostility. Around them, students watched the exchange with bated breath, sensing the storm about to break.

Lucas's face twisted with rage. He wasn't just angry - he was furious that Xavier was finally standing up for himself. The power dynamic that had always favored Lucas was shifting, and he hated it.

Ethan stepped forward, his cybernetic eyes glinting in the academy's artificial light. "You must love stealing what belongs to others, village rat," he sneered.

Xavier met his gaze without flinching. "I didn't steal anything," he said, his voice steady and strong. "I earned it. I deserve it. It's not my fault you're all just bad at things." He paused, letting his words sink in. "If you want to score top marks, maybe you should try harder instead of relying on your cybernetics."

Lucas's face darkened. In one swift motion, he grabbed Xavier by the collar and yanked him close. "You're getting cocky because you got a little popular," he hissed. "Just because you got some fame in the academy doesn't mean anyone will step in to save you when we beat you to a pulp."

Xavier didn't even flinch. He scoffed, his voice dripping with newfound confidence. "I don't need anyone to help me. Maybe you're just so weak you need cybernetics to even compare with normal humans." His eyes gleamed with defiance as he continued, "And even with all your enhancements, you still can't win against someone who's stock human."

The words hung in the air, heavy with implication. Then Xavier did something no one expected - he cursed. The first curse words of his life spilled from his lips with surprising venom.

"You're all a bunch of pathetic, cyber-enhanced motherfuckers," he spat. "Can't even win a fair game without your damn cheat codes. What's the matter? Can't handle losing to someone who's actually earned their skills?"

The courtyard fell silent. Students gasped, their eyes wide with shock. No one had ever spoken to Lucas and his gang like this before.

—

A/N- Never in my life had I expected to hear the word "Stock human," yet, here I am.