Chapter 17
The abrupt interruption startled the class. The hallway crowd scattered, and an unnerving silence fell outside Class F’s door. Instinctively, Erik looked at Aurora. The adrenaline rush had subsided, leaving him feeling disoriented.
Aurora chuckled, then stepped onto the platform, her voice calm and steady. “Open your books. I’m about to—"
The Evermor students cuffed back to their seats. They cracked open their textbooks, grabbed their pens, and sat up straight, attentively awaiting her instruction.
“Alright then, let’s turn to the chapter on analytic geometry,” Aurora announced, wiping the board clean and drawing a perfect ellipse. Her voice, clear and crisp, lacked its usual playful sharpness. “Let’s start with the equation for this ellipse…”
The class listened intently. By the lesson's end, everyone had filled three pages of notes. Even when the dismissal bell rang, no one in Class F stirred. Usually the first out the door, they were now engrossed in organizing their notes. This unusual scene caught the attention of students from other classes.
“Wow, is the sun rising in the west today? It’s dismissal time, and Class F is still sitting there. Since when did they become such bookworms?” someone from another class remarked, surprised by the scene.
“They’re on the chopping block if they don’t shape up. After all the hoops they had to jump through to get in here, no way they’re letting that effort go to waste. First day or not, they gotta at least make it look like they’re serious,” another student said.
“You think that bet between Class F and Class A has already spread around? I’ve never seen someone bite off more than they can chew like this before,” another scoffed.
Aurora walked over and slammed the door shut, silencing the mocking voices. “Alright, that’s it for today. We’ll cover the rest tomorrow.”
“Aw, come on, I was just getting into it. I haven’t been this focused in years. Keep going a bit longer, would ya?” Erik remained seated, unwilling to move. He feared that if he left, he’d revert to his old habits by morning. He wanted to hold onto this feeling.
“You can’t finish a feast in one bite. Take it home and digest it tonight,” Aurora said, wiping the board clean, returning to her desk, and packing her things.
“Alright, alright…” Erik replied.
By the time Aurora left, the school grounds were nearly empty. Rounding a corner, she heard faint voices from inside a classroom building. Peeking in, she saw a small group huddled in the shadows. The central figure, wearing a skirt, looked familiar.
As Aurora approached, she recognized Margaret, a slower-than-average student from her class, surrounded by boys.
At the center stood a hulking, six-foot-tall boy, a cigarette dangling from his lips. He was rifling through Margaret’s backpack, a disdainful look on his face.
“You come from a rich family, and this is all the cash you’ve got? You holding out on me or what?” he shouted harshly. Margaret lunged, snatching back her bag with surprising speed. Her voice trembled with anger. “You jerk! That’s mine!”
The boy hadn’t expected her resistance. Losing his grip, she managed to retrieve her bag. Furious, he lashed out, kicking her hard in the gut and sending her sprawling. He yanked the bag back. “You dumb idiot! You should be grateful I even looked your way, and you’ve got the nerve to hit back?”
His eyes gleamed with a nasty threat. Margaret flinched, fear rising. But then she remembered her father’s words: “If someone bullies you, fight back. Don’t just stand there and take it, or they’ll get worse.”
Biting back the pain, she stood, ready to reclaim her bag. He’d just dumped its contents when he saw her coming. Sneering, he spat on the ground. “You stupid idiot, what are you, made of steel? Don’t know when to quit?”
His lackeys chimed in. “If you don’t back off, we’ll strip you down. We’ll even snap a pic to post online.”
Margaret clutched herself tighter. Scared, she stubbornly raised her chin. “You’re all so mean. I’m going to tell the teacher.”
“Who’s gonna believe a dumbass like you?” one of the boys replied.
They burst into laughter, clearly not taking her seriously. The leader, however, seemed to consider her threat. “The teacher might not believe her, but I’ve heard her family’s pretty protective. There’s no telling if they’d buy her story.”
“So what do we do then?” one of his lackeys asked.
The leader’s eyes moved shamelessly over Margaret as he said, “We do what you said—strip her down and take some pictures.” He yanked her hair. “Listen up, you little bitch. You’d better hand over your pocket money to me every day, or these photos will be front-page news.”
Two boys moved to pull off her clothes; two others readied their phones.
Margaret was frozen in terror. Dad never said what to do when so many people gang up on you, she thought.
Just as a boy reached for her clothes, he found his hand immobilized. He turned, startled, to see someone gripping his wrist.
Aurora’s voice was ice-cold. “In broad daylight, and you think you can get away with this? You’ve got a death wish.”
The boy, used to getting his way, started cursing. “I can do whatever the hell I want. If you don’t wanna die, get lost—”
He stopped when he recognized Aurora. His attitude shifted to cocky. “Well, well, look who it is. Martin, we’ve got another fat fish on the line.”
Martin Grayson, the ringleader, took his cigarette from his mouth, flicked it aside, and ground it into the dirt. With his other hand, he shoved Margaret away and blew a smoke ring towards Aurora.
“So I hear the Crawford family just took you back. Bet they’re treating you real nice, huh? You don’t want this dumbass’s fate, do you? Be smart and hand over your cash,” he said.
Aurora’s lack of reaction surprised them. She remained motionless, showing no fear.
The boys paused, confused. Why isn’t she scared? People are usually terrified, they thought.
Suddenly, Margaret lunged. “You’re bad! I’ll bite you to death!”
Distracted by Aurora, Martin didn’t see her until her teeth sank into his arm. “You idiot! Get off me!” he yelled, shoving her hard. His lackey stepped in, kicking her before prying her loose. “Dumbass! You trying to get yourself killed, huh?”