"Ryancrest service!"
Sandra clutched the ball in her hand as she stared at her opponent. She was currently training with her rival Regent Williams in a singles match. She threw the ball into the air and then hit it with her racket. It was hit almost immediately by Regent and they tossed the ball back and forth.
Sandra was unprepared for the smash serve that Regent was mostly known for. He hit the ball hard with his racket and it went full speed at Sandra. She jumped into the air but missed the ball and it fell onto the ground behind her.
"Game won by Williams" her coach announced.
Sandra's face fell in disappointment and she could feel the glare of her best friend Yvonne in the bleachers. Yvonne must have placed another bet and lost because of Sandra. Sometimes Sandra wondered why Yvonne placed bets anyway. It wasn't like either of them or their families had money to throw around.
"Practice will be held again next week. Be on time!" the captain of the tennis club, Thomas said.
Sandra wiped the sweat off her brow with a towel and then drank her entire bottle of hot water.
"Hey Ryancrest!"
Sandra looked up and saw Regent waving at her. He began heading towards her and she sat down on the bench and began returning her rackets into the bag.
"It was a great match. You really kept me on my toes" Regent said casually with his hand in her pocket.
"Yeah. You weren't that bad either. I wasn't prepared for your last shot" Sandra.
"Say, can you do me a favor?"
"What kind of favor?" Sandra asked her eyes narrowing.
"I have a friend in Amoris High who played a tennis match with me. I heard around school that you do deliveries for five dollars right?"
"Yeah I do for some extra cash. What do you need delivered?" Sandra asked.
"He left his tennis rackets here last week and he asked for them back. He'll pay you when you give them to him. His name's Andrew Michaels" Regent replied.
"Sure I can do that" Sandra said.
He handed her the rackets and she stood up. She looked around at the bleachers and then noticed Yvonne had left.
'She's probably mad at me because she lost her bet' Sandra thought as she walked into the showers.
She changed into jeans and a shirt with a bulky jacket. She ignored the other tennis players' giggles as she pulled on her worn converse and then walked out of the locker. The other girls always pointed out how Sandra never went to the salon to cut her hair or never even dressed in the latest fashions.
'If I had the money to then maybe I would be able to do all the things you could do. I don't need money to make me happy' Sandra thought stubbornly as she cycled out of the school.
She took a quick left and then spotted the large Amoris High up ahead. It was the most famous school in this city of Sweet Amoris. It was built by the owner of the Amoris Group which had to be the biggest conglomerate in the world. Amoris was the most successful company in the entire world and it always sponsored a lot of sporting events. One of their branches of business was schools. Amoris Kindergarten was the most sought after school in this city and it was said that if you got into Kindergarten on a scholarship, the school would pay for your tuition until university.
Sandra stopped right at the gate and a security guard came to her.
"Name and identification please" He said.
"Sandra Ryancrest from Rotary High School" Sandra said.
"Purpose of visit?" He asked scanning her from top to bottom.
"I'm returning the rackets of Andrew Michaels" Sandra replied.
The security guard nodded and opened the gate for her. She thanked him and rode on. She stopped short and gaped at all the buildings. How would she be able to find Andrew in all these buildings? She glanced down at the students and saw they were heading to a building with large glass windows.
She got off her bike, parked it and locked it. Then she grabbed Andrew's rackets and went inside the building. All the students of Amoris High wore school uniforms consisting of white shirts, blue blazers, ties and black slacks for the boys. The girls wore the same except they wore skirts instead of pants.
Sandra gaped at all the expensive designer jewelry the girls were wearing and the fancy belts the boys were wearing. More importantly, she could see five star cuisines being served for lunch along with glasses of expensive red wine. Her stomach growled and she licked her lips at the sight of the food.
"Hey! Michaels is on the roof right now!" One boy shouted as he pushed Sandra out of the way.
Sandra quickly steadied herself and then glared at the boy who pushed her. However, he was busy being interrogated by the rest of the students.
"I knew he would even last for a week" Another student said.
"Let's go see! I can't wait for Andrew Michaels to be punished for what he did to our F4!" one girl said and the rest of her friend agreed.
They began rushing out the door just as Sandra realized who they were talking about.
"Andrew Michaels? I have to give him his rackets!"
Sandra hurried out and then began running after the students who led her to the courtyard. There a large crowd of students had already gathered with their cellphones out. Sandra looked up at the top of the main building and gaped at the boy who was standing right at the edge.
Up on the roof, Andrew Michaels wiped the blood from his broken nose and steadied himself on his shaking legs. His blond hair was dyed brown from the blood flowing from his head injuries and he clutched at his right hand which had several fractures. He had had enough of the everyday beatings and torture. It was time to end his suffering.
"This is what you guys wanted right?" He asked to nobody in particular.
"WAIT!"
He turned around and saw a short girl with short black hair and large dark eyes. She was panting and slung over her shoulder was a tennis racket bag.
"Andrew Michaels. I finally found you. Here are your rackets. It will be five dollars for delivery!" Sandra said holding out the rackets.
The small crowd of students who had situated themselves on the roof laughed at her. Even Andrew himself cracked a smile.
"You can send that to my home. My parents will pay you after my death" Andrew said.
"Ah, come on! I rode all the way here...wait, death? Are you going to die right now? Why?" Sandra asked in confusion.
"Why should I live?" Andrew asked wryly.
"You go to such a great school" Sandra replied staring at the enormous courtyard. She could see the large and spacious tennis courts from here.
"This isn't a school. This is hell" Andrew said.
"Real hell is outside. I can't participate in matches because the spaces are always given to Amoris High" Sandra complained.
"Have you heard of F4?"
"F-what? What is that?"
"Not what. It's who are they. They rule this school. If you get a red card from them, you're bait for the entire school" Andrew said.
"Then all this blood and injuries is because of this F4? What the hell? If they did something like that to me I would grab this racket and hit them over the head with it! It isn't fair!"
Andrew laughed at how passionate Sandra was.
"Your friends are lucky" Andrew commented.
"What?"
"They have a friend like you" Andrew explained.
Sandra smiled and then her eyes widened. Andrew bent his knees and jumped.
"NO!"
Sandra ran forward and grabbed Andrew by the back of his gym sweatshirt. She steadied herself and then pulled him over the roof railing and back to safety. She could hear the students camera phones clicked away as they took picture.
"What are you idiots doing? Call 911!" she screamed and Andrew lost consciousness.