He turned the corner into a near empty hall, when a voice snarled behind him.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

Max shuddered.

It was Seth.

“Where you going Maxie-pad? Your locker is the other way.”

The other students in the hall quickly gathered their stuff. They knew just as much as Max did: Seth was trouble.

He had been suspended more times than anyone else in the history of the school and the only reason he wasn’t expelled was because his dad worked for the mayor’s office.

Even still, some of the nearby students hesitated. They didn’t want to pick a fight with Seth, but it was clear on their faces that they thought bullying a kid in a wheelchair was perhaps a step too far.

“Don’t worry about me,” said Max, mustering a smile for the nearby students. “You can leave. It’s all fine here.”

They weren’t going to be able to help him, Max figured, so he’d rather them walk away scot-free than let them get a target on their back like he had.

The students nodded and hurried away.

Max still hadn’t even turned around to face Seth.

Maybe if I ignore him, he’ll leave me alone, Max thought.

He pushed himself forward down the hall.

Two shadows emerged. Two of Seth’s goons stepped into the hall at the other end.

“What? You thought you could just ignore me, Max? Run away? Oh that’s right—you can’t, can you?”

Seth’s goons snickered at the dumb joke.

Max looked around the hall. There wasn’t a teacher in sight. Even if there was—they’d be no help to him. They’d ignore them, not wanting to get in trouble with a powerful man like Seth’s father.

Max took a second to assess the situation. He knew the best form of self-defense for a wheelchair user was to get the heck out of there. To not fight at all.

Escape was no longer an option though.

He’d try negotiation.

Max spun around on his wheelchair to face Seth.

The tall boy stood with his arms crossed and a patronizing smirk stretched across his face.

“What do you want?” said Max, keeping his voice calm.

“What do I want?” snickered Seth, taking a step towards him. “What—are you some kind of hostage negotiator now, Max?”

The boy took another step towards him, the clap of his shoes echoing across the hall.

“You know exactly what I want,” snarled the boy. “I want to see you cry and whimper on the ground like the little bitch that you are.”

“Tell him, Seth,” said the goons behind Max.

He could tell by their voices that they were coming towards him now as well.

Negotiation was out the window then.

With all his strength, he angled and swerved his wheelchair to maneuver around Seth, but the boy just jumped in front of him.