"Public humiliation. Going to make her beg for my attention in front of everyone." Derek's eyes gleamed. "She thinks she's too good for me. Wait till she sees what happens to girls who don't show proper respect." "Dude, you're going to get in trouble," said Connor, the tall, lanky one.

"For what? Flirting? My dad's on the school board, remember? Besides, it'll just look like playful banter to anyone watching." Derek cracked his knuckles.

"Time to break this filly in." His friends exchanged glances, but said nothing. They'd seen Derek's playful banter before. Derek spotted Maya at her locker and straightened his shoulders. "Showtime!"

"There's my girl," Derek announced loudly, striding up with his usual entourage. "Miss me over the weekend?" "I'm not your girl," Maya said without turning around. "Come on, don't be shy. Everyone knows we've got something special."

Derek moved closer, his voice carrying across the hallway. "Been telling everyone how exotic you are. How different." Maya slammed her locker shut and faced him. "Stop calling me exotic."

"Why? It's a compliment. You're not like the basic girls here. You've got that wild, untamed thing going on." Derek's friends laughed, and Maya noticed more students gathering to watch.

"Like a beautiful animal that needs to be broken in." The hallway went quiet. Maya felt every eye on her, waiting to see how she'd respond to being compared to an animal that needed breaking. "You want to know what's wild and untamed?" Maya's voice was steady, but her hands were shaking with rage.

"Your breath. When's the last time you brushed your teeth or showered? You smell like a locker room that's been closed up all summer." Derek's smile faltered. "Hey now."

"And speaking of basic, let's talk about your personality. You've got the depth of a puddle and the intelligence of a brick. The only reason girls talk to you is because daddy's money buys you fake friends and a fake reputation." Derek's face was turning red. His friends shifted uncomfortably.

"Your idea of flirting is calling girls exotic animals and talking about the old days like you're some plantation owner. News flash, those days are over and they're not coming back. You're just a scared little boy who can't handle being told no." Maya stepped closer, her voice rising. "You think you're intimidating?"

"You think you're special? You're nothing. You're a walking cliche with a trust fund and daddy issues. The most interesting thing about you is your car, and that's only because someone else designed it." The crowd had grown larger, phones coming out to record.

Derek's face was now crimson. "And one more thing," Maya said, her voice cutting through the silence. "I wouldn't date you if you were the last boy on Earth. I have standards and you don't even register on the scale." Derek stood there for a moment, his mouth opening and closing like a fish.

The laughter from earlier had died completely. Students were looking at him with expressions ranging from shock to barely concealed amusement. Derek felt the humiliation burning through his chest like acid. This wasn't how it was supposed to go. She was supposed to break, not fight back.

His friends were staring at him, waiting to see what he'd do. "You think you're funny?" Derek forced a laugh that sounded more like a bark. "You think this is over? You just made the biggest mistake of your life." Maya turned to walk away, but Derek's voice followed her.

"Nobody talks to me like that. Nobody." The rest of the day, Derek seethed. Every whisper in the hallway felt like mockery. Every glance felt like judgment.

By lunch, the video of Maya's verbal destruction had spread through the school like wildfire. "She got you good, man," Tyler said, trying to lighten the mood. "But hey, at least—" "Shut up," Derek snapped. "Just shut up."

Derek barely heard his afternoon classes. All he could think about was Maya's voice cutting through him like a blade. The way students had looked at him afterward, the way some had actually smiled. By the time school ended, Derek's humiliation had curdled into rage. "We're going to fix this," he told his friends as they headed to the parking lot.

"All of us. She wants to play tough. Let's see how tough she really is." Maya was walking to her car when they caught up with her. "Going somewhere?" Derek asked.

"We're not done talking." "Yes, we are." Maya kept walking toward her car. "No, we're not." Derek grabbed her arm and spun her around.

"You embarrassed me in front of the whole school. Made me look like a fool." "You didn't need my help with that." Derek's grip tightened. "You think you're so smart, so tough?"

"Let me show you what happens to girls who don't know their place." Maya looked down at his hand on her arm, then back up at his face. "Let go of me." "Or what?" "Let go of me now."

Derek laughed, but there was no humor in it. "You're going to learn some respect." His hand shot out and slapped her rear hard enough that the sound echoed across the parking lot. His friends burst into laughter, and Derek grinned, feeling like he'd finally regained control. "There we go. Much better."