Satisfied with her book, Danielle took it up to the librarian to check it out. Within a minute, she was heading for her first class, History. Since there were only five minutes or so before the bell rang, the hallways were mostly empty, except for the occasional late arrival who hurried to their locker to get their things then dashed off, hoping they wouldn’t be late.


Danielle, however, could really care less if she was late for class. She had her novel out, walking at a very casual pace, as she continued to read about the further exploits of the Star Trek: Generations crew. She was still a nerd who was a huge fan of Science-Fiction shows, but thanks to her size, no one would dare make fun of her for it.

She walked a little farther when she heard a commotion nearby. Danielle put her book away and peered around the corner as she saw a small kid being shoved against the row of lockers, the loud, metallic *SLAM* travelling through the hallway. The kid slumped to the floor, the wind momentarily knocked out of him.

Danielle’s eyes narrowed as she saw who the bully was: Brett Stevenson, starting Defensive End for the football team and the strongest boy at the school. With his wide shoulders, thick chest and massive arms, he looked like a Strongman Competitor in training and could already bench a little over 325 pounds. He was flanked on either side by two other football players, both probably linemen, based on their size. They all stood over the skinny kid, laughing at him.

Suddenly, Brett yanked him to his feet, staring down at him. “What’s the matter?” he said mockingly, as he stood more than a foot taller than his victim. “Can’t your sister Amanda swoop in and save the day again?”

“Oh, my God,” Danielle thought. “Is that Robert?!”

“I’ve been waiting to get some alone time with you for a long time,” Brett continued, his arm cocked back, ready to strike. “This is going to be so much fun.”

The punch landed just as Danielle rounded the corner. Robert groaned in pain, feeling a warm trickle of blood escape from his busted lip, before seeing a large figure approaching. He was momentarily scared, his eyes going wide, before realizing who it was.

Danielle shoved the two other football players away casually with one hand, watching as they flew backwards through the air for 10 feet before hitting the ground. She smiled slightly; she wasn’t even using a fraction of her strength.

She then turned to Brett, seething with anger.

“Hey, if I’d have known he was your boyfriend—“ Brett started, before Danielle shoved him against the row of lockers hard, the metal doors contorting around his large frame. She held him aloft, her arms fully extended, not showing the slightest bit of strain, as it held his nearly 275 pound body.

“Shut up!” Danielle exclaimed, pushing Brett a bit farther into the lockers, the metal groaning. “That was a big mistake you just made, you know that? No, Amanda might not be around to protect him right now, but I’m the next best thing. And you might be the strongest guy in school, but I’m much, MUCH stronger than you. And if I ever see you doing this to another kid again—“

“Hey, why are you picking on me all of a sudden?” he asked, trying to work his way free from Danielle’s iron grip. "I do this type of shit for years and NOW--"

“I…wasn’t…finished,” Danielle said calmly, her anger bubbling just beneath the surface. “Now, as I was saying, if I EVER see you picking on Robert again, you and your idiot friends will regret it for the rest of your lives. GOT IT?!” Her arm tensed slightly, the muscles in her forearm and biceps swelling larger.

Brett swallowed hard, nodding his head slowly. Danielle pulled him out of the tangled mess of lockers and held him over her head, glaring up at him. “Now, when I put you down, you and your little teammates are going to scamper away to your first class and be good boys. Okay?”

“W-Whatever you say, D-Danielle,” Brett squeaked out, his voice shaking. Danielle lowered him to the ground and released him with a little shove, causing him to stumble backwards and almost fall over. Robert stood up, having watched the past few minutes unfold from the floor. He stood next to Danielle as the three jocks walked past them, until they were out of sight.

“Are you all right?” Danielle asked, picking Robert’s books off the floor. “Do you need to see the nurse or something?”

“No, I’m fine,” he replied, dabbing his lip, noticing the wound had already stopped bleeding. “I’m used to this kind of stuff by now.” Just then, the bell rang.

“Shit,” Robert exclaimed, taking his books and hurriedly stuffing them into his backpack. “I’m late for class. Again.” He grunted with effort as he lifted the backpack, just barely able to sling it over his narrow shoulders and slide his skinny arms through the straps, before standing upright again.

“Thanks,” Robert said afterward. “You didn’t have to do that, you know?”

“Yes, I did,” Danielle replied, smiling down at him. She felt her self blushing again and tried to cover it up as best she could as Robert looked up at her. She felt herself blushing again and tried to cover it up as best she could as Robert looked up at her.

"Well, I definitely owe you one," Robert said, as he started to walk away.

"S-See you around," Danielle replied, as she meekly waved her hand at him. Robert waved back, before rounding the corner, walking quickly to his first class, leaving Danielle standing alone in the hallway.

Suddenly a stern voice called out from behind her. "Shouldn't you be in class, Danielle?"

Danielle glanced back, noticing it was the Vice-Principal. "Yes, Ms. Powell. I was just on my way."