Chapter 98 - 98 - Silent Boy

Following the sudden exclamation from the hallway, silence once again descended upon the classroom.

From outside, the hallway, a gang of boys, the delinquent thugs of the undisputed leader of this mass, Luke Prevan's minions have begun to pour in. Forcefully pushing away the crowding fan girls, they surrounded the desk of Jack and Lucien in the next few seconds.

Suddenly, replacing the dreamy, hungering gazes of the vultures, Lucien was now under heavy scrutiny. Menacing, cold stares, jeering taunts were thrown in his way. Yet even so, or maybe despite this fact, the boy seemed to ignore the new crowd and was once again lost in a daze, finding much more interest in the other side of the window instead.

This attitude, this blatant ignorance earned the ire of his newly appeared spectators. One particular boy, a short black-haired, brawny-looking teenager couldn't stand this any longer.

"The f*ck?! What is wrong with you, brat? Can't you understand the language or something?!" He hollered with an annoyed tone, spewing mounds of his saliva and threats in equal measure towards Lucien as if he was the source of a waterfall."

Yet, no matter how much he tried, it was as if the two were in completely different worlds. The aloof-looking student remained ignorant of the barking hound dog and was still lost in his own trance.

"What the…" The boy exclaimed, his anger surpassing his shock in the next instant. Raising his hand, he violently hit the desk. A loud clap rang inside the room, causing another wave of shock to spread among the students"

"What is going on?"

"Are they trying to bully the new guy? Why?"

Murmurs began to spread among the rest of the class. A variety of emotions were felt amidst them: shock, surprise, fear, sadness, and even some hints of mockery were all there, present.

Sidney and Zoe, who have remained in their front-row desks, were the only ones that weren't visually affected by what was going on. For Zoe, she showed some interest, true, she was grinning widely. From the look she gave to the scene, only a bag of popcorn was missing from her hands, she was looking at everything that was playing out in front of them as if it was a live show presented just for her and Sidney's enjoyment.

Sidney on the other hand had a mixed, complex look in her eyes. Though she was annoyed by the new guy's haughty, arrogant attitude and was loud when it came to dismissing his actions, she didn't want him to be subjected to such wanton cruelty.

She knew very well how it felt to be bullied. She herself has experienced it all throughout her life. Her father, after having her fun with her mother left them, leaving nothing but grief behind. Her mother became ill under the sadness and the pressure. She became weak and sickly.

Life was hard for both of them. Though her mother still worked as much as she could, she often had to stay in bed. The situation deteriorated to the point that on her 15th birthday, the young Sidney had to go look for part-time jobs so they wouldn't fall deeper down in the pit.

In school she strived for the best possible grades, she was unlike the rest of the girls. She had no desire to dress up, she couldn't afford expensive make-up. Her boring, cheap, and ugly sweaters, her attire gave her the usual outlook of the nerd of the class, the 'teacher's favorite'.

Thus, she quickly became the target of cruel remarks and wanton bullying. The situation was horrible all throughout her early years in primary grades, all the way until she met with the strange girl, that later became her best friend, Zoe.

Zoe was someone that came to their city from somewhere out of state. From what they were told, she came with someone, though her parents never showed up, she was strangely never considered to be an orphan, despite clearly living alone.

She was unlike the others, she wasn't superficial like all the others. Her rebellious look, her nature were a bright contrast to Sidney, but despite that, the two quickly became good friends.

For Sidney, Zoe became her support, her only light amidst the threatening despair she felt encroaching upon her from every direction.

"What is going on?" Sidney asked with a deep frown on her face."

"A great show, Sid… a great show." Zoe responded, grinning wildly, turning her gaze on the boy that finally reacted to the violent outburst of the one standing closest to him. "It seems this new boy will be the source of many joyous moments in the future! Just look, he did nothing, and is already giving us such a great spectacle!"

Zoe explained, giggling like the naughty girl she really was.

…

"What, something bothering you pretty boy?! Want us to rearrange your stupid face, outsider?" Seeing the annoyed look in the still silent transfer boy's midnight blue eyes, the short black-haired boy reached his boiling point."

"You… annoying… little…" His face twisted into an ugly, hideous look. The teen raised his hand once more. 

In the next moment, all his strength was about to be unleashed, hoping to at the very least cave in and destroy that stupidly handsome face of this newcomer and teach him proper respect, when suddenly a clear tone resounded from behind them.

"Stop! What are you doing, Kevin?" Following the voice, a tall, lean figure stepped through the crowd. He turned his gaze on the boy that was about to blow up and attack the silent and strangely calm unknown figure. "Why are you threatening our newest friend?"  He asked, his sweet-sounding tone, carrying a strange glimmer, causing the student, Kevin to instantly lower his arm, and shiver under the wide, friendly smile of this new man."

"I… I made a m-m-mistake, P-p-prince… Please… f-forgive me!" He stuttered, falling on his knees in the next second."

Still, even this, seemed to not be enough for the group to earn a sliver of the new boy's attention. Him finding more interest in the empty, deserted afternoon school grounds below instead.

"It's not me you should be apologizing to, Kevin." The boy, that was referred to as the 'Prince' said, shaking his head. He pointed at the reading, transfer student with his head instead. "You offended our new friend, shouldn't you be saying this to him, instead?"

"T-this…" Kevin stuttered again, hesitating for a moment as he glanced at the Prince with a woeful look. Unfortunately for him, as he saw no reaction at all besides the same, sweet-looking but at the same time, sinister smile, he shuddered and acquiesced after a few seconds and turned to face Lucien instead."

Down on his knees, Kevin humiliated himself in front of the entire class, and soon the entire school as well, basically kowtowing to a boy that didn't bother saying a single word or even glancing over to the theatrical scene at all.

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