"Hey man, come here," Derek demanded. He shoved a sparring helmet toward Jerome's chest. "Put it on. We need a body for drills."
Jerome calmly replied that he was working. Derek scoffed, reminding Jerome that his father paid his wages.
The room fell silent as Derek tried to force the issue, stepping dangerously close. Unfazed, Jerome simply turned his back and resumed his duties. Infuriated by the dismissal, Derek hurled a kicking pad down the hall, striking Jerome's mop bucket with a loud crack. Jerome calmly picked it up and continued cleaning, leaving Derek fuming.
Derek’s wounded pride demanded an audience. He began filming Jerome during his shifts, mockingly narrating the janitor’s duties as if evaluating a martial arts technique.
"Ladies and gentlemen, meet the dojo mascot," Derek laughed to his phone camera as Jerome scrubbed the floor. "Look at that elite technique. Someone get this man a mop belt!"
He posted the videos online, gathering hundreds of likes from sycophantic peers. Jerome saw the videos while eating dinner in his small, lonely apartment. He stared at the screen, a flicker of ancient discipline keeping his emotions in check, before calmly setting the phone aside. He would not be broken by the mockery of a boy.
When digital bullying failed to elicit a reaction, Derek escalated to physical sabotage. Jerome arrived at his supply closet one evening to find it completely empty. His mop, buckets, and carefully organized cleaning supplies were gone.
After searching the premises, Jerome found his equipment thrown into the dumpster behind the building. His mop heads were soaked in rancid protein shakes, and his rubber gloves were slashed to ribbons. A note attached to a trash bag read, "Where your stuff belongs."
Jerome quietly retrieved what he could and spent fourteen dollars—money he desperately needed for groceries—to replace the ruined items. He didn't complain to management. The dojo’s owner, Walter Griffin, had been away for months, and Derek effectively ruled the space. Jerome absorbed the insult and returned to work.