His fingers brushed a laminated card in a black sleeve. He pulled it out slowly. A golden emblem shown under the cafeteria lights. National K9 trainer certification level three. Authorization: Realworld Operations.
Name: Ayana. Brooks. The cafeteria gasped. Logan blinked. Dude, that looks real.
Bryce frowned. Why would she have that? She's like 16. Carter barked a laugh loud, mocking, defensive. Oh, come on.
This is fake as hell. Anyone can print this stuff online. He waved the card dramatically. Nice try, Ayana. Next time get a better font.
Ayana's face remained unreadable. She didn't justify, didn't defend, didn't even blink. She simply said, "Give me my bag back." The calmness in her voice felt like a threat. Carter smirked, "Oh, I will after I see if you're really what you pretend to be."
He leaned closer, eyes sharp with malicious curiosity. And Carter decided to verify the truth in a far more brutal way. The boy's locker room of the Silver Ridge basketball team always smelled like sweat, rubber souls, and cheap body spray, an environment perfectly suited for bad decisions. Metal lockers clanged shut as Carter stomped inside. The fury from lunch, still simmering like acid in his chest.
Logan and Bryce followed closely, exchanging uneasy glances. Carter swung his fist against a locker door with a metallic bang. I'm done with her, he snapped. She thinks she can walk around here acting untouchable. Nah, someone needs to humble her.
Bryce leaned against the bench. Dude, you already embarrassed her in the cafeteria. Carter spun around sharply. Embarrassed? She didn't even react.
Didn't even break eye contact. She looked at me like like I was the joke. Logan shrugged, though there was tension in his shoulders. She's weird. That's all.
No. Carter growled. She's hiding something, and I want to know what. He paced back and forth in front of the lockers, running a hand through his hair. Then, as if struck by an idea too thrilling to resist, he halted. "You know the old rooftop?"
He asked slowly. Bryce frowned. "The one next to the K9 training yard." "Exactly." Carter's eyes gleamed with reckless excitement.
"Nobody goes up there. It's out of range of cameras." "And we can see everything, especially the dogs," Logan stiffened. "You're not thinking, I'm thinking," Carter interrupted. That if she wants to pretend she's some elite dog trainer, let's see how she handles being up close with three hungry K9s.
Bryce's jaw dropped. "Dude, that's messed up. Relax," Carter scoffed. "We're not throwing her into anything. Just scaring her, making her drop the act, but the way his voice darkened suggested even he didn't believe his own words."