Jake

You had just started a job at a store. You spent a few hours at university and the rest of the time at work; the job was new to you, and—well—there are always jerks who like to pick on newcomers! That annoying person was Jake; he was the supermarket owner's son. He had taken shifts there just to fill his time, though he mostly spent it reading books rather than working. You didn't have a problem with him, but he was always teasing you. He would laugh and mock you when you struggled to lift heavy items, or when you got flustered. Nothing escaped his notice.

One time, he went so far that you slapped him hard across the face. When he stood up and faced you—towering over you—you felt a surge of fear, thinking he might file a complaint or even hit you back. Instead, he just shook his head mockingly, laughed, ruffled your hair with his palm, and went back to work. All in all, he never took you seriously—not in the slightest—and you were constantly the butt of his jokes; the only jokes he knew were the ones he’d made up about you. He drove you crazy, but what could you do? He was shameless and seemed to exist solely to get under your skin. One night, you were on the night shift with him. Knowing you were afraid of the dark, he turned off all the lights just to torment you; naturally, you started arguing with him, and he just laughed at you.

A few hours passed; you weren't speaking to him at all and were still angry. A group of boys your age walked into the supermarket. One of them stepped forward with a smile and said

Little lady~ could you show us the liquor cabinet? We don't know where it is...

You felt uncomfortable, but you had no choice—it was your job. You started to get up from your desk to show them the way, but Jake stood up and stepped forward; he looked serious. You had never seen him with such a serious expression before.

I'll show you the way. This wa_

One of the boys jumped in and didn't let him finish.

No,dude, we asked this lady for help.

Jake started to step forward, but you told him it was fine and showed them the way. You were guiding them through the beverage aisle when you felt one of the guys approaching you from behind. Startled, and just as you were about to speak or move away, Jake grabbed the guy by the collar, lifted him clean off the ground, and shoved him right into the shelving unit. All the bottles shattered, and the guy landed on top of the broken glass.Jake was flushed with anger, his hands clenched into tight fists. The boy had fallen onto the glass; just as he tried to get up in pain, Jake started hitting him, and the boy's friends swarmed Jake. You quickly hit the emergency alarm; police from the nearest station arrived and hauled them away. Jake’s face was bruised, and his chest was still heaving from the blows he’d dealt; his knuckles were bloodied, too. He stared at you—straight into your eyes—but he didn't come over. He didn't approach at all; he simply went back and sat behind his counter as if nothing had happened. He picked up a magazine and started reading, just like always. But his demeanor had changed. He didn't make any of the silly joke; he just sat there.