Alex's POV
Trriiingggg!
The bell rang loud, sending everyone into a frenzy, with all of them pushing each other as they ran to the room. The guy followed them, with softer steps, like he was an alpha wolf leading them from behind.
He stopped near the door and glanced over his shoulders, "Whatcha waiting for? Come fast," he said, gesturing his hands towards himself. I had no choice but to follow.
The crowd crammed into a small classroom, all at once. The plastered walls echoed their voices, amplifying them, it was covered in moss and mold, creating green splotches around. There were grilled windows, that cast a defined shadow upon the half-erased blackboard, pieces of chalks thrown about on the floor and some on the table, probably for the teachers.
As I walked around the classroom, one of the kids waved his arms at me, tapping the seat next to himself.
He had a buzz cut, different from the rest of the class. He had those round glasses, resting on his small nose, with full lips and ears poking out. His eyes were round and expressive.
I furrowed my eyebrows.
"This is your seat," he spoke softly, pointing at the desk between him and the alpha guy, at the back of the class.
True oucast style, I guess.
I walked with my shoulders curved inwards, head down to avoid ANY kind of interaction with that guy. I didn't want to be submissive again, it's so disgusting!
As all of the students were settling down and whispering with their neighbours, a person walked into the room.
Everyone, and I mean everyone gasped collectively, I'm not exaggerating.
It was a middle-aged woman, with a plastered frown on her face, wrinkled skin and upturned lips that were enhanced with red lipstick. Her eyes were dart-like, ready to shoot at anyone who comes in her way. Not only that, she had a long, flexible cane in her hand, along with the books and a pile of papers she was carrying, foiled with pink paper at the end.
She sighed heavily as she kept the pile of papers down, along with the stick. As she ruffled through the sheets, that was the only noise in the room.
"So... I had the golden opportunity... to correct your test papers this semester. I must say, I'm surprised... By how daft humans can be," She said in a thick British accent.
"Ah... Must be one of those scenes where the rich guy and his friends are kicked out of the class," I muttered under my breath, grabbing attention from my desk mate. He gestured a sliced neck, all life drained out of his eyes.
"I must say... One person has exceeded once again," she said as she put on her glasses and glanced at the papers.
'That has to be me right?'
"God save us from old age," she said as she pulled the paper towards herself, "Mike Chester, please stand up."
The alpha guy stood up, with a very strange smirk on his face.
'Now we see him getting ridiculed, right?'
"Everyone, please give him an applause," she said, looking up at him with glimmer in her eyes, lips parted slightly into a smile, "he managed to solve an algebra question created by the teachers here, never tested before."
He rubbed the back of his head, smiling wide with an audible giggle.
"What the f*ck? So he's the straight A student?!" I exclaimed, enough to grab her attention.
She went back to her pile, picking out a paper and bringing it right under her nose, "Max, you need to improve, my dear, you have the second least marks in our academy's history!"
She nodded her head sideways, probably in disbelief.
"Except Mike, no one is going home. Everyone stays back for extra classes."
The class groaned collectively.
As for me, I don't know, but for some reason the moment the chalk started screeching against the board, drowsiness began to take over me, like a bear about to go into hibernation.
Rest of the class was all a dream to me, as I was out like a log till sunset. I was only woken up by the frivolous taps on my shoulder.
I raised my head, as light entered my blurred eyes, looking around myself. I stretched my limbs from both the sides, almost falling off my chair as I saw who it was. I rubbed my eyes just to make sure.
The alpha guy or shall I say, Mike and the scrawny guy next to him.
"Slept very soundly, eh? The chalk sounds must be very relaxing," he said, pointing towards the corner of my lips.
I quickly rubbed it off, realising I had a drool stain running down my face. At that point, it would be better to dig and hole and hide myself in it.
But, I had no time as both of them grabbed my hand each and dragged me out of the classroom, the scrawny guy carrying our bags. They led me to the washroom, stopping next to a sink.
It was a tiled washroom, with around three sinks, liminal white light that cast shadows at wrong places, and a noisy exhaust that added to the vibe.
I looked into the mirror above the sink.
Thinking of it, I realised I hadn't really seen Max up close yet. He was what you would call a hidden weapon. This punk had looks. Some stubble near his chin that could easily be cleaned off, eyes with dark circles, prickly lips, hair covering most of his forehead, and tan skin that was greyed.
Yeah, he was bound to be bullied.
As the sounds of water filled the room, I took some into my palms and ran my hair upwards, exposing his forehead, that was beautiful. I pumped the dispenser and got some soap, rubbing it vigorously on my face to get the oil and dirt off it.
Glancing at the water that was pooling in the sink, they rightfully threw judgemental looks at me. It was dark grey, as if he was in some mine before coming to school.
But then again, Max was poor so we can consider he didn't have water.
"So... Max," Mike spoke up, stealing glances from me, "you still remember what happened that day?"
For some reason, hearing that made me hold the sink with my hands, gripping onto it, leaving me unable to move myself.
I turned back at him, this time a glare from Max's side, not subdued but the one that feels like blood pooling in your eyes.
"Forget it."
My tone was cold and bare.