The bloom

"Hew, that was intense. I'm not even hungry anymore." Max threw himself into a chair and looked at Tristin. "What were you thinking? Are you trying to get us killed on your first day?" he gasped for air.

Lerato frowned at Tristin. "Do you have any idea how much trouble you've caused? Do you think Thomas will let you go after what you did?"

The students looked at Tristin with pity.

"It's a shame. Such a cute guy without a sense of danger. He won't last long here," whispers echoed across the cafeteria.

Tristin raised his eyebrows and narrowed his eyes slightly. "What did I do?" he asked innocently, looking at Lerato.

Seeing Tristin acting cute, Lerato shook her head. "You are hopeless. Thomas is not an easy guy to mess with. He's not as strong as I am, but he's smart and has a strong team behind him."

"You'll protect me, right? Since you're so strong?" Tristin asked with pleading eyes.

Lerato rolled her eyes. "I'm not your bodyguard, and even if I were, I wouldn't dare protect such a reckless person."

"Well, you just saved my neck, so thank you. But can you teach me how to protect myself?" Tristin asked.

"Teach me too, Lerato. After training so hard, I only managed to open one qi channel. Maybe if you teach me the Ngobeni secret technique, I might get stronger," Max jumped in.

"So the Ngobeni family does have a secret technique, but from the punch Thomas threw, he's at Du level, just a level higher than Max, who is at Ren level. Lerato is probably the most talented I've seen, or maybe she's just a workaholic," Tristin thought as he waited for Lerato's response.

"You guys are dreaming. Do you think learning martial arts for one day would be enough to stop Thomas? That's delusion speaking," she said as she grabbed a chair and continued with her meal.

Tristin chuckled as he grabbed a chair. "Yeah, you're probably right," he said, continuing his meal. "It all went according to my plan." he thought.

Seeing Tristin and Lerato eating like nothing happened, Max fumed. "You are way too young and too naïve. How can you eat right now? Do you think Thomas is sitting like you or planning his next move?" he said, looking at Tristin.

Tristin chuckled. "Relax, dude, take a chill pill. When the time comes, I'll just counter the soldiers with the general and cover water with the soil," he said, pushing a can of soda to Max.

Lerato raised her left eyebrow and thought; "How can he be so relaxed? What is he planning? I won't butt in next time. I want to see what makes him so relaxed."

Max took the soda with both hands and drank it like a child. "You will get us killed," he murmured.

Max was right though. Thomas wasn't sitting on his butt.

In the school parking lot, Thomas leaned against his VW Golf 7, holding Mbali close and surrounded by three guys. One of them asked, "Boss T, are you really going to let that Tristin guy go that easy?"

Thomas snorted coldly. "Like hell I would. After what he did, I'll teach him a lesson he won't forget." With that, he took out his phone and called someone.

The phone rang twice before it was answered. "Young master Thomas, how can I be of help?"

"Butler Mabena, there's a kid named Tristin de'Kayra who just transferred to our school. Find out his background for me. I want to teach him a lesson."

"That will be simple, young master Thomas. I'll send the info to your phone as soon as I can. Is there anything else you need?"

"That will be all, Butler Mabena." Thomas hung up the phone.

With the resources of the strongest family in the west of Bongsburg, it didn't take long for Butler Mabena to gather all he could about Tristin.

Soon, Thomas received a text containing Tristin's information from Butler Mabena. Without wasting any time, Thomas read the text. The more he read, the angrier he became. He quickly called Butler Mabena, and the call connected almost immediately.

"Butler Mabena, are you sure this info is correct?" Thomas inquired.

"Young master, all the info is correct. It comes from a reliable source. I've checked it twice."

"Are you telling me the bastard who just insulted me comes from a third-tier family in Sunville and he just lost his parents?" Thomas asked with a cold voice.

"Yes, young master. Even here, his grandma is just a retired nurse who lost her husband 30 years ago," Butler Mabena said.

Thomas was puzzled about something, so he asked again, "What about the Ferrari? How did he get it if he's just a poor hanger-on?"

"It's a really interesting story, young master. That bastard is surely lucky. He once saved the daughter of a big man from a car accident back in Sunville, and that man rewarded him with a Ferrari from his car collection."

"Damn, that bastard is so lucky," Thomas cursed, jealous.

"So that big man is the one who helped him transfer to St. Ntuli High School during a semester after he lost his parents?" Thomas asked.

St. Ntuli High is one of many private schools owned by the Ntuli Group in Goli. Students must register six months prior to the semester; not anyone can get in, since it's also a business. Hence, most students are from rich families.

"Yes, young master. That was his last favor to him, since Tristin wanted to live with his last living relative, his grandma, here in Bongsburg," Butler Mabena explained.

"Are you sure he doesn't have other relatives?" Thomas asked for reassurance.

"His parents died in a car crash a month ago. He was the only one who survived. That's why I said he is truly lucky," Butler Mabena said.

"Thanks for your hard work, Butler Mabena. Now I can act without restraint," Thomas said, clenching his fist.

"You are too kind, young master," Butler Mabena said. Since Thomas is the next head of the Ngobeni family, Butler Mabena would do anything to please him.

After Thomas ended his call, Mbali asked, "Dear, how will you handle that Tristin?" Since she was close to Thomas, she got all the info about Tristin. She didn't have interest in a poor guy like him, even if he was more handsome than Thomas.

Thomas sighed and looked up. "That bug is so insignificant; I don't even have the thrill to squash him anymore."

"Boss T, you can't let him go after what he did," Sipho, who was humiliated and now wanted revenge, reminded Thomas.

"Who said anything about letting him go? I'll just reveal his information on the school page tomorrow morning, and everyone will know how poor he is," Thomas said.

"But... but tomorrow is too far. Let's beat him up today," Sipho said, frustrated.

"Go ahead, take the guys and go beat him up if you feel like tomorrow is too far. But I'll warn you, Lerato won't go easy on you just because you hang out with me. If she says no one will touch Tristin today, no one would dare think twice," Thomas reminded.

Sipho wanted to say something but couldn't find the words.

Hearing this and seeing Sipho defeated, Mbali stepped in. "But dear, that won't be enough to teach him a lesson. How about you challenge him tomorrow in a duel and take his car when you win?"

Thomas's eyes sparkled as he held Mbali closer and kissed her on the cheek. "You are brilliant, babe. That's why I like you." The thought of driving a Ferrari stimulated him, so he continued, "Leave with me after school."

"Yes, dear," Mbali said sweetly, thinking, Tristin might be poor, but he has a nice car. If Thomas can get it, I'll have everything I want: a strong man from a big family with a nice car. Her body felt warm as she thought.

Thomas looked at Sipho. "You will arrange everything for me tomorrow, and I'll also get a few hits in for you. Also, don't forget to post his info on the school page tomorrow morning. Let's make his day a living hell."

"Leave it to me, Boss T. I'll post his info anonymously on the school page first thing tomorrow morning," Sipho said confidently.

Ever since his father tasked him with befriending Thomas to gain benefits from the Ngobeni Group, he had become Thomas's most dependable subject.

The Ngobeni Group had given his family three projects in the past year, elevating his status within his family.

"Alright then, I'll leave it to you. Let's go back to class; lunch is almost over."