Unrivaled pt. 1 (Patreon)

This is a big one.  jd07201990 has created a some really spectacular stories worth coming back to and reread. Whenever I read something that really strikes a chord, my mind starts expanding the story, filling in blanks, rewriting parts. One of those stories was the Camp Alpha story, where I wanted to see a bit more and different emotions. When asking jd for permission to post a rewrite we chatted about other stories, one of which centered around rival dance students. After talking a lot about what we like and what jd wanted to achieve, and months of procrastination, this is part one of my rewrite of that story.

Kyle silently entered dance studio #4. He realized that this was the moment he had been looking for. Trevor was all alone, music on loud, lights dimmed, and dancing his heart out in the middle of the room. He was practicing hard on his latest routine, spinning and jumping. Kyle could see Trevor was far into his session, sending small droplets of sweat into the single beam of light from the spot light in the ceiling. Perfect. He would be in the zone by now. Careless. As so often when Trevor was comfortable with a dance routine he danced with his eyes shut, immersing himself in the movements and the loud music.

Kyle had waited for a moment like this almost since the day they first met. Sure, in theory everyone is treated as equals at the Vienoff dance academy, but that is because you basically had to be rich to attend, and the applicants coming in through lottery tended to be irrelevant. How could anyone whose parents couldn’t afford a tutor, movement therapy and genomic curation stand a chance? But there he was, Trevor fucking Head. As good as the best, and unbecomingly arrogant. “Just imagine how good I would be if I too got to cheat my way in here, and not just rely on talent and hard work”, he had said.

He didn’t come from privilege, and made up for it in ego and attitude. Not content with just trying to be best, but constantly trying to get in some 1% jab or “eat the rich”. No target had been bigger than Kyle. Kyle was one of the heirs of the Hamlin family fortune, an excellent dancer, and Trevor’s biggest rival for the number one spot of their class. Trevor would constantly try to one up him, spend hours and hours practicing Kyle’s signature moves so he could do them better.

Kyle knew Trevor’s new dance routine almost as well as he did. As he stood in the dark near the entrance of the dance studio he also knew he wouldn’t get a second shot. If he got discovered it would be suspicious to sneak up a second time. If he was off by just the tiniest fraction of a second it would be too obvious to make another attempt. 8… 6… 4.3.2.1. He stepped in close to Trevor and positioned himself as best he could and braced. Right on queue Trevor’s left foot kicked him in the face, connecting hard with his nose and upper lip, rupturing plenty of fine blood vessels. Before a confused Trevor could turn around and see Kyle on the floor, even before Kyle started to smear the blood, it would look like a horrific murder scene.

- Trevor, I just came from the prosecutor’s office, and it looks like they have a solid criminal case against you for assault aggravated by premeditation and personal gain..

- I didn’t…

The counselor held up his hand, signalling Trevor to wait his turn.

- …and in addition have a good case for further litigation for damages. All taken together they are seeking a category 3 assault, with sentencing between 3-5 years, and $100,000 in damages.

The color drained from Trevor’s face. Five years is almost a third of his life. He’d be throwing away the most important years to get a foothold in the business.

- The good news is that the prosecution talked to the victim’s representation, and they are ready to offer a deal to have this over with as soon as possible. Their proposal is 18 months medical service and 6 months of community service. That’s at most half the prison time of the minimum for assault.

- But I’m innocent.

- Did you kick Kyle in the face?

- Yes, but it w…

- Then why would you want to risk 5 years in prison by going to court? Would any other student testify about animosity between you two? If so, take the 18 months medical service, do as they say, and you are out in 12 months.

It was true that many of the students would be happy to get rid of him. They could truthfully say that he and Kyle often fought, that he had singled out Kyle. He was his main competition after all.

Trevor leaned forward, staring into the table. He could see how the deal came to be. He could imagine Kyle shouting at his father, demanding 10 years in prison, and his father just wanting it all to go away. Even if he could exercise a few hours every day, he would still need a few years to come back to where Kyle would be. And with his fathers money and contacts Kyle could join any dance company he wanted. He was expediently removed as competition, all without any embarrassing court hearing where both sides would tar the other.

- What is medical service?

- You are basically giving up your body to science. One of my clients had to try different kinds of shampoo for 6 months, another one had to eat fat free candy for two months. But it can get serious. Quite a few recently had their kidney replaced with an artificial kidney, grown from their own stem cells. They spent a full year at their medical facility for monitoring. I should warn you that everything is permitted as long as there is no mutilation, disfiguring or introducing conditions. Basically they can’t cut out anything you need, can’t change your appearance in a way no one would pay for and can’t give you cancer to see if the anti-cancer drug works.

The bar for disfiguring is kind of high though, as there is always some moron willing to try anything. One client of my office had tattoo ink tested on him. His arms and legs were completely covered in rings of different colors. But hey, if you don’t fit any study profile it will just be like a normal prison for 12 months. No procedures performed.

- And no damages to pay?

- No damages. Just say you kicked him in the head to get rid of the competition, that you know it was wrong and that you regret it. You take a sabbatical for a year, then teach some kids street dancing for 6 months, and then you are free.

- OK.

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