Chapter 15：Don't Mess with the Outcast

For the whole time, Winter only remains as chilled as the ice cream that she is eating in silence.

Though their petty squabble is wasting her precious minutes, she keeps her cool and watches from the side with an indifferent expression. She does not know why and how their spat started, and she could not care less about figuring it out. All she wanted was for them to wrap it up already so she could pass through.

She did try to ask to cross to the other side earlier, but she was not able to pique any of their attention. Because of that, she had to wait there along with the other students.

"What a bunch of nobodies! Causing troubles is all you're good at!" Courtney exclaimed furiously - for some reason Winter was aware of but could not get a grasp on.

"Whaddya say, you punk?! Want me to kick your butt?!" Maxine retaliated with the same level of fierceness - for another reason she could not really get her head around.

With how dramatic this whole shouting match is getting, she is starting to want to know what exactly their problem is.

Teenagers these days often tend to make matters worse even though they are not as bad as they think at first. None of these people is even saying anything about the main issue here. They only keep exchanging abusive remarks and intensifying their mockery - as if that is the main purpose of all of this.

It is ridiculous indeed.

"Seems like they're going to the guidance office again," Xander commented while he continued to watch the scene all the way from their classroom.

"This is getting bad. We all know how Maxine is when she loses her temper - she be breathing out fire like some dragon," Ace said from beside him, concern laced in his voice.

"Courtney can be feral too, though. She is quite the tigress, you know."

"Shouldn't we go there and stop them? The image of our class is going to get worse at this rate."

"Nah~ Don't wanna get caught up in girls' fights like that. Besides, it's fun to watch shows like this."

"You're one warped dude, you know that?"

"Say what you want~"

Eventually, what started out as a mere heated exchange of verbal insults had turned into an all-out war. As everyone involved finally lost their cool and patience, they began to go physical. It was the cheerleading team who initiated the first blow while the group of delinquents responded by making them pay back twofold.

Fists are thrown and slaps are reciprocated before a full-blown hair-pulling contest broke out - this kind of scene is exactly why Marie Claire High School has quite the notorious reputation.

"And there they go," Winter deadpanned while licking her ice cream, still straight-faced.

"Blew your top off already? I always thought that you're an insufferable Mary Sue, annoying blondie!" Maxine mocked with a peeved smirk as she gripped her adversary by the collar.

"I don't want to hear that from a good-for-nothing troublemaker like you, ugly redhead!" Courtney shouted back while pinching her cheeks so hard that they were going to swell.

As they carry on with pouring scorn on each other, Winter stays quiet and apathetic. But with them moving all around the place, things are bound to get messy for the audience too. That is especially the case for those at the front line such as her. It was too late when she noticed that the leaders of both groups were getting closer and closer to her.

And before Winter knew it, Courtney already bumped into her after being pushed by Maxine, causing her to lose a hold of her ice cream cone.

Time seems to still for her as she watches it fall to the ground and turn into a splatter of goo - her expression paling for a moment in utter shock before darkening all of the sudden.

"Ha! Pushover!" Maxine sneered at how her opponent tried to regain her balance and stand upright again.

"How dare you...?!" Courtney bolted out exasperatedly before stomping towards her once more.

"You'll pay for that, you psycho-"

"What about my ice cream? Who'll pay for that?"

Then, they paused.

At someone's sudden interjection, both of them look at the side to find a certain classmate of theirs. But before they can take in the foreboding damper on her mood as well as the menacing tone she has used, they notice the molten ice cream on the ground beneath her. Perplexed, they then look back up to her again.

"Do you know what you just did...?" Winter continued with a thicker and more vehement tone, nonplussing the two of them.

"Are you ready to pay for that?"

"Uhhh... Like with money?" Courtney snorted, crossing her arms complacently.

"It's just ice cream. What are you getting all worked up for?" Maxine coolly remarked with her hands on her hips.

While Courtney begins to feel chills and shivers, Maxine twitches a little in discomfort.

"Not only did you waste my time, but you also wasted my food. Are you satisfied now?" Winter then taunted with a deep scowl, making them shudder out of nowhere.