Alpha's orb is seen again going through more memories of Mac's past as one particular memory catches his attention back to the time when Mac first met Luis….
"Ah Luis, always on the lookout for young Mac….can't believe he played the old man card making everyone think that you didn't know who Mac or his friends were.", said Alpha.
"Luckily, only myself, Luis, Crispin and Samantha were the only ones aware that Luis was always watching over you.", said Alpha as it's revealed that Luis was always protecting Mac ever since he was born, mainly because he carried Alpha inside of him.
Alpha recalls the day he first met Crispin and Samantha all those years ago along with Luis as he makes another mental note about reminding them to tell Mac the truth one of these days, but again that's up to him whenever he is ready.
Monday had finally arrived and it was time to head back to school for Mac so he made sure to get up on time to get ready for the day but wanted to surprise both Lucky and JR even though JR was probably aware that he was coming back to school already.
Mac had just left his apartment and was making his way to school but then he was able to spot Lucky and JR in the distance, they hadn't noticed him yet so he slowly starts to creep up on them….which Alpha notices and wonders what is going on with Mac.
"Uh Mac, may I ask what you are doing?", asked Alpha as he was curious about how the way Mac was moving around as if he were trying to sneak up on an enemy.
"I'm going to surprise Lucky and maybe JR but he might already know that I'll be coming into school today.", said Mac which didn't compute with Alpha.
"So is this something you do on a daily basis?", asked Alpha.
"No but since I haven't seen them in a while, I thought it be funny to scare them….alright just watch and you'll see what I'm talking about.", said Mac, so Alpha just watched along to whatever Mac was doing seeing as his confusion only grew more.
Mac slowly continued to walk up behind them but still fast enough to close the gap, but just before he could make his move JR stopped to tie his shoelace which had come undone which made Lucky stop as well and turn towards Mac's direction.
Luckily Mac had a very quick reaction time and managed to hide in a small alleyway just before he was seen by Lucky, then shortly after JR had finished tying up his shoe and they continued on to school which allowed Mac out of hiding.
"This must be important to you if you're going through this much trouble just to scare them.", said Alpha sarcastically but Mac wasn't liking his tone.
"Shut up Alpha.", said Mac as he was slightly irritated by his comment.
Mac had finally caught up to Lucky and JR but without letting them know that he was there, so first he lightly taps JR on the shoulder to get his attention and motions him to be quiet, which JR knew what Mac was up to.
Then just before Lucky could figure out that JR was no longer walking with her, Mac took the chance and lunged at her and yelled her name….
"LUCKY!!!", yelled Mac which made her jump in her skin, in a manner of speaking, while screaming out her lungs in fear.
"WHAT THE F-", Lucky began to say but before she could finish that last word, Mac covered her mouth with his hand as he continued to laugh at how scared she was….then Lucky notices who it was that scared her and calmed down, then turned around and gave Mac a big hug.
"Mac thank god you're back; I've been so worried about you.", said Lucky as she continued to hug Mac.
"I wanted to go and check up on you but JR said not to worry too much since he kept me in the loop about your condition.", said Lucky which kind of worried Mac as to what JR was telling her what he was going through, then he remembers back to the day he was on the way back to his apartment with Mark.
Mac remembered how Mark asked him about having the flu which now made complete sense because he knew that JR would come up with some sort of clever story, then Mac looks over towards JR and gives him a thumbs up while Lucky was still occupied with her hug.
"It's all good, JR had the right idea and plus I didn't want to pass on any of the flu to you.", said Mac just to reassure Lucky that he was doing okay, then Lucky's attitude switched instantly as she now was pissed at him for scaring her so she proceeded to punch Mac in the stomach….but he saw it coming a mile away and decided to dodge it.
"Now, now Lucky….no need to get violent, I was just wanting to have some fun since we haven't seen each other in two weeks.", said Mac as he continued to chuckle and dodge her punches.
"Stop moving and let me punch you!", exclaimed Lucky as her attempts at landing a hit on Mac continued to fail, then Mac became distracted by Alpha….
"Mac, is she a threat to you?", asked Alpha, then he remembered the rules that they agreed to but it was too late since Mac had stopped moving and Lucky finally connected with one of her punches.
"Oh….sorry.", said Alpha even though Mac couldn't acknowledge him but Mac's response was in a manner of a heavy sigh.
"Yes I finally got you.", said Lucky as she was really happy with herself.
"Lucky, you realize that he let you hit him….right?", said JR but Lucky wasn't amused by his comment as she gave JR a very deathly stare.
"Would you rather that I punch you instead?", said Lucky in a very scary and maniacally tone of voice which sent chills down JR's spine but seemed to just make Mac laugh even more.
"What are you laughing at….you're still not out of the woods yourself.", said Lucky as her focus returned to Mac but he wasn't fazed by it at all.
"Is that so, I'd like to see you try something else.", stated Mac as he challenged Lucky with a dare.
"JR's right though, I did let you hit me so don't get mad at him.", said Mac just so he could get Lucky out of the foul mood she was in, even though she was just being playful herself.
"I wasn't really mad, just annoyed….still it's good to have you back Mac.", said Lucky with a big smile across her face which made Mac happy to see her like that.
With that being said, the trio realized what time it was as they were slightly running late so they began to hurry towards school to start their next week as Mac wonders how the school will react with his return.
The trio finally arrives at their first class of the day just as the bell rang and the homeroom teacher was walking in….
"Ah Mr. McCullen, welcome back….I hope that you've recovered from the flu?", asked Mr. Parker which made sense for him to know since he was a teacher and JR had to probably tell him.
"Uh, yeah….I'm doing alright, thanks.", said Mac but what disturbed him was how all the girls in his class were looking at him as it seems they were ready to pounce at him, so as the trio got to their desks Mac looked at JR….
"Bro, you didn't tell the whole school that I was out with the flu?", asked Mac as he can already see how his first week back will turn out to be.
"Uh no, I only told Lucky and your teachers so it might've slipped from one of them.", said JR.
"But you were gone for two weeks so people could of just figured it out.", said Lucky which made sense to Mac but now he's going to have to continue dealing with the fangirls again, or so he thought.
So just like before, when Mac's class was about to end he would ask for permission to leave early for his next class which he was allowed to do but he first wanted to check on a hunch that he had.
Instead of going to hide from the stampede of fangirls, Mac went straight to his next class but waited just outside to see if the girls would start to chase after him.
"Alpha, don't be alarmed with what you're about to see next.", said Mac just to warn Alpha of the fangirls that are about to be released, then the bell rang and Mac prepared himself for a quick retreat.
Alpha wondered what Mac was talking about so he waited in anticipation, then he sees something in the distance and tries to figure what it is that he is seeing.
"Uh Mac, what is that coming in our direction?", questioned Alpha.
"The stampede.", said Mac which Alpha then notices a bunch of girls just running down the hallway in Mac's direction, so he begins to slowly panic because Mac hasn't moved out of the way just yet.
"Mac….tell me that you're going to move, like right now.", said Alpha as he was becoming more and more worried about what was going to happen, then Mac simply stepped halfway into his next class while still looking at the oncoming stampede and just like he thought, they stopped running….
"Just what I thought, they've been put on a leash of some kind….but by who.", said Mac, then he senses how worried Alpha was about facing a possible stampede.
"Calm yourself Alpha, I'll explain it to you later.", whispered Mac as he fully enters his next class and takes his seat with the teacher also welcoming him back to school.
The remaining morning classes for Mac went about the same with the stampede of fangirls happening less and less up until it was lunchtime, so Mac went to wait outside of JR's and Lucky's class since it was the one class the three of them weren't all in then the bell rang and Mac was stunned….
JR and Lucky had just walked out and noticed that Mac was waiting outside so they approached him….
"Hey Mac, what are doing here and not waiting for us on the roof?", asked Lucky but Mac was slightly distracted to even notice that Lucky and JR were standing next to him, then JR hits him on the shoulder.
"Hmm, oh hey guys….what's up?", said Mac.
"Dude what's going on with you, are you doing okay?", asked JR, but then he took a look around and noticed what was going on which he figured out why Mac was distracted.
"Hold on, are we just standing here in the middle of the hallway and not one girl is chasing you?", questioned JR which Lucky then made the realization herself and looked around as well.
"Well this is new.", said Lucky, then she remembers about a note that she found in her locker about a week ago that could explain what was going on so she digs through her bag and pulls out the note and hands it to Mac.
"Hey Mac, this might help explain with what's going on.", said Lucky as she hands the note over to Mac.
"Is this a notice to the school?", asked Mac as he opens the note and begins to read it….
To all female students of Santera Private High School,
As you know, Chandler McCullen has been out with the flu for some time now so I would like to take this time and set some ground rules that have been made by the members of the student council.
1. Any and all activity that involves chasing our star student around the school will cease once he returns.
2. If you are caught chasing him after his return, then you will be given a warning which will lead to detention if caught on multiple occasions.
3. Lastly, if you do end up in detention just know that this will reflect on your record which could affect you when applying to college.
Thank you for reading this notice.
-S.C
Mac wondered who this "S.C" person was but then he notices that there was more written below the main notice although it looked like this was written by hand….
To Lucille Garcia,
You'll be the only one to see this but please let Chandler know to report to the student council office on the day he returns.
Thanks
"Yeah that's not going to happen.", said Mac, then he hands the notice back to Lucky.
"I figured that you weren't going to bother with the student council.", said Lucky.
"Well one thing's for sure, now we know how everyone knew about how I had the flu.", said Mac which relieves JR as he learned that it wasn't his fault.
"So someone from the student council found out about your flu and told the rest of the school, but I wonder who.", said JR as he thought about all the current members in the student council to figure out who could have been responsible.
"Anyways, since it looks like I'll be safe from any further stampedes, let's go have lunch in the café.", said Mac which surprised Lucky and JR but they didn't object so the trio headed for the café to eat some lunch.
The school's café was nothing to joke about, but of course it was a lot bigger and fancier than any normal café from any other school because this café inside Santera Private High School had a wide variety of food selections and a huge sitting area that could fit the entire student body and then some.
The trio finds an open booth after getting their food and sit down to begin eating when Mac notices all the stares that he's getting from the girls in his school….
"Jeez….they sure are desperate to chase after me, aren't they?", said Mac as he sat down in the booth with his tray of food.
"Guess you can say that you're glad the student council took action while you were gone.", said JR who sat next to Mac while Lucky sat across from them.
"I guess so but I'm not sure if that was a good idea.", said Mac even though he doesn't like how the student council is handling this situation.
"Yeah I can agree, giving detention to someone just for chasing after you is a little too much in my opinion.", said Lucky although all the staring that is going on could just stop because it was beginning to annoy her, which Mac notices.
"Uh….you okay Lucky?", asked Mac.
"Hmm, yeah I'm good….why do you ask?", said Lucky as she stops worrying about what's going on around them.
"No reason, just looked like you were annoyed by something.", said Mac, but before he could get a response from Lucky his attention is diverted to some commotion happening near the café entrance, which Lucky and JR then take a look as well.
"What the hell is going on over there?", asked Mac, then he notices a very pretty girl breaking through the crowd and heading in his direction.
"Wait….isn't that….", JR began to say as he recognizes the girl that was approaching their booth, then he looks at Mac who had lost interest so quick that he was now just eating his food.
"Well that was fast.", said JR just before the girl he was looking at arrived at their booth, then JR turned back around and was startled by how quick she arrived.
"Jeez….a little warning next time.", said JR.
"Chandler McCullen….I'm Stephanie Connors, the student council president….", she began to say, but before she could say anything else Mac interrupts her….
"Don't care, please leave us alone….also I got your message and my answer is "No".", said Mac with a very irritated tone of voice as this entire commotion she started has now garnered unwanted attention.
"Hmm, okay….well you think that this is a request but it's not.", said Stephanie who was displeased by Mac's tone and had become annoyed herself.
"Chandler, you are required to report to the student council room after your last class of the day.", demanded Stephanie in an extremely strict tone which doesn't faze Mac at all.
"Or what?", asked Mac sarcastically which doesn't go unnoticed by Stephanie.
"Or you'll get detention, just like anyone else and I know that you don't want that on your record.", said Stephanie who gives a slight smirk as she knows that Mac is someone who wants to keep his record clean.
"Let's get one thing clear….I don't care how famous you are, you will follow the rules just like every other student in this school, so I'll be seeing you later today.", said Stephanie as she nails her point across to Mac and his friends, then she walks away and exits the café.
"Fuck….", said Mac as his annoyance just grew even more although he knew that Stephanie was right so he had no choice but to show up in the student council room.
The rest of their lunch goes by very quickly and quietly as every student in the café was now just gossiping about the trio and how the student council president made a huge scene for them.
Mac had enough of all the unwanted attention thanks to Stephanie Connors, so he got up from his seat and left the café in a very nasty mood and just decided to walk around for a bit before heading to his next class.
Stephanie Connors….the current student council president of her graduating year which includes the trio, but not much else is known about her with the exception that she was stalking Mac during the summer break.
As Mac walked around, he thought to himself that this meeting with the student council might answer some questions about Stephanie as to why she has been following him around.
It doesn't go unnoticed that there's a lot on Mac's mind about what just happened, so Alpha tries to ease his nerves….
"Hey Mac, are you doing okay?", asked Alpha, Mac looks around for a moment before answering just so that no one will see him talking to himself….the coast was clear for now.
"I'm managing it, can't help it when I'm put in the spotlight like that.", said Mac as he stopped walking and looked out a window.
"This spotlight….is something you avoid because of your parents, right?", asked Alpha since he's still trying to understand human emotions.
"Not just my parents, but the company they run as well….this school is owned by my parents and their company so students think that I get special privilege because of that.", said Mac as he watched on and stared into the open blue sky trying not to think about what just happened.
"Of course it's not true because I don't need any special treatment from anyone but I don't care about others opinion, to each their own I guess.", said Mac, shortly after the school bell rang and Mac headed to his next class.
The rest of the day goes by just as Mac predicted….nothing but nonstop gossip about him and the commotion that Stephanie created during lunch as this happened in every class, but Mac tried his best to ignore it all.
Then the final school bell rang and school was done for the day but of course not for Mac since he now had to deal with Stephanie and the student council, but just before he headed for the student council room Mac met up with JR and Lucky in the hallway….
"You want us to stick around until you're done with the student council?", asked Lucky as she was worried about what may happen between Mac and the student council.
"Nah I'll be fine, y'all can just head home….don't worry about me, I can handle it.", said Mac as he reassured Lucky so that she didn't need to worry about anything, so with that JR and Lucky started to head out of school.
Just before they left, Mac tapped on JR's shoulder and had him hang back for a moment….
"Hey we need to talk later about "you know who" so I'll text you when I'm heading back home, okay.", said Mac as he was referring about Alpha to JR since he knew about him, which JR knew what he meant so he just nodded his head in acknowledgement.
"Hey JR, you coming?!", yelled Lucky who noticed that JR stayed behind and noticed that he was talking with Mac.
"Yeah, here I come.", said JR as he gave Mac a thumbs up while walking backwards, then he turned around and ran towards Lucky as she was waiting for him so that they could leave together.
Shortly after JR and Lucky had left, Mac started to head towards the student council room so that he could get this meeting over with as soon as possible, but while on the way he wanted to pass some info on to Alpha….
"Hey Alpha, I want you to keep an eye on this meeting because this is the girl that was following me from before that you asked me about.", said Mac as he continues walking down the hallway towards the student council room.
"Okay, but for what? I thought you said that she was someone not to worry about?", asked Alpha who became confused by what Mac was requesting.
"Yeah I know but I'm referring to my hunch about her having a crush on me, not the whole "she could be a spy for The Order" thing….I don't think she has any ill intent towards me, I hope.", said Mac just as he arrives outside the student council room but takes a moment before entering.
"Alright we're here, remember to just listen and watch how she acts even though I might catch on myself.", said Mac, but Alpha stops him before he could enter….
"Hang on Mac, but what are you trying to accomplish here?", asked Alpha.
"Hmm….I'm not too sure yet, so I'll just see how it goes and play it close to the chest.", said Mac which Alpha understood what he meant, so then Mac enters the student council room.
Alpha kept quiet as Mac walked into the room and was surprised to see what Mac was seeing too….Stephanie Connors was inside waiting for him, alone.
Mac takes a moment and looks around the room while figuring out what was going on, then he steps out of the room to quickly to check the rooms sign to confirm that he was in the right place and then steps right back in.
"So….I thought I was meeting with the entire student council, but it's just you here….why?", stated Mac as his confusion grew and was wondering what she was planning.
"No, it's just me because what we need to talk about is a private matter.", said Stephanie, which annoyed Mac since she caused a huge commotion over nothing.
"Really?! Then what was with making a scene today if it wasn't important?", asked Mac as he slowly became irritable about the situation.
"Because Mac….yes I'm aware of your nickname….I had a feeling that the message I left Lucille to pass on to you wouldn't work.", said Stephanie who notices how irritated Mac is becoming but doesn't faze her one bit.
"I can tell that you're becoming irritable so please calm down….what I did wasn't a big deal, I did it to keep up appearance with the student council and the school.", said Stephanie, but Mac wasn't amused by her excuse but instead of going off on her….he actually calmed down because he wasn't in the mood to argue.
"Right….so what is it that you wanted to talk about anyways?", asked Mac as his curiosity slowly started to build.
"Well first things first, you collected all of your schoolwork that you've missed from the last two weeks?", asked Stephanie.
"Uh yeah I did, what's it to you?", asked Mac as he wondered why she wanted to know that.
"Well even though I know that you're our top student, are you going to need any help catching up?", asked Stephanie, hoping that she doesn't overstep with her plan that she has in mind.
"Thanks but I'll be good, I can manage on my own.", said Mac, even though he knew that Stephanie had some sort of crush on him, he didn't want to become a cruel person so he didn't pry more into why she wanted to help.
"Oh, okay then….", said Stephanie while trying really hard to hide her disappointment but Mac does notice it, though he ignores it.
"Anyways, on to the actual matter at hand….I'm guessing you've read the notice that I passed out to all of our female students?", asked Stephanie, then Mac remembers back to earlier in the day when Lucky showed him the notice.
"Oh yeah….so I'm guessing that you're "S.C.", right?", asked Mac.
"Yep that's me, so from now on you'll be able to go from class to class without having to look over your shoulder and have girls chasing after you.", said Stephanie, which relieves Mac to hear but doesn't show it.
"Well thanks, I'm glad to be free from that inconvenience.", said Mac, then he starts to head towards the door of the student council room but just before he left….
"Is that all?", asked Mac.
"Yes, that's all for now. Please let me know if you need any help with catching up on your schoolwork.", said Stephanie, but then Mac walks out of the room without saying anything except for giving a simple wave.
Stephanie sat down shortly after Mac left and gave a heavy sigh of relief….
"That was tough, but it went better than expected.", said Stephanie who looks down at her hands and notices how they're shaking in nervousness.
"Keeping this act up around Mac is going to be hard, but it's necessary because I don't want him knowing that I have a crush on him.", said Stephanie while she sat there for some time to calm her nerves.
Outside the room, Mac is seen standing right next to the door although making sure that he's not seen by Stephanie….but then he quietly starts walking away while giving a quiet sigh as his suspicions were confirmed.
"I guess I was right.", said Mac to himself as he momentarily forgot that Alpha was in his head listening to him.
"Uh, yeah I guess you were.", said Alpha which slightly startled Mac.
"Fuck….I forgot that you were there Alpha.", said Mac, then he gave a slight chuckle.
Mac then started heading home while thinking to himself about the meeting he just had on top of all the schoolwork that he still had to do, which didn't excite him for one bit.
"Damn, this week is going to be really busy for me.", said Mac as he continues making his way back to his apartment, then he hears footsteps quickly approaching him from behind.
"Mac, someone is coming up behind you!", alerted Alpha, which made Mac turn around quickly and get into a defensive fighting stance only to see that it was Stephanie Connors once again.
She became slightly startled at the reaction that Mac took which caught her curiosity but after seeing who it was, he relaxed and took a breath….
"Don't sneak up on me like that….I thought I was about to be jumped from behind.", said Mac who was relieved because he was about ready to attack, but he kept that part to himself.
"Anyways, you wanted something?", asked Mac.
"Uh yeah but first, was that stance….Wing Chun?", asked Stephanie, which caught Mac completely off guard as to the fact that she knew the defensive stance that he took, but then it hit him….
"Let me guess, you've seen the Ip Man movies, right?", asked an extremely disappointed Mac as he can't believe he thought that someone would actually know what Wing Chun is without seeing those movies.
"Well yes, who hasn't….but I'm also somewhat of a martial arts fan and have been reading up on different styles, although it would be a dream come true if I could find someone to teach me.", said Stephanie, which Mac notices excitement in her voice.
"Huh, you don't say.", said Mac as to not make it look like he may or may not tell her about Luis and his studio, regardless though he was now more intrigued about who she really is.
"Oh right sorry, the reason I came looking for you was because I forgot to ask you something.", Stephanie began to say hoping that Mac would be interested in her offer.
"Would you be interested in joining the student council as the vice president?", asked Stephanie, which she then noticed the annoyed expression Mac was giving her as her assumption about the offer probably backfired.
"Thanks, but no thanks….I'm not interested in any school activities plus I'm second to no one.", said Mac with a strict tone in his voice just to make sure that Stephanie understood, which she did even though it didn't faze her one bit.
"Oh well, thought I'd give it a try and ask….I'll be seeing you around Mac.", said Stephanie as she walked by Mac and waved goodbye, then she was gone shortly after.
"Something about her intrigues me.", said Alpha who had been listening to their conversation this entire time.
"Yeah you don't say….I'm actually going to keep my eye on her from now on.", said Mac as his interest in Stephanie has grown a bit more, which was odd even for him.
Shortly after, Mac continued his way back to his apartment with a lot more on his mind.
To Be Continued....