"I can forgive you if I could hit you three times ... on the schoolyard," Charles blurted. "It's only fair."
Crazy! Three times?? Altair's eyes went round in anger.
This was not fair at all, especially since he was innocent.
"Ugh.. Once," the teenager said hurriedly. "I can accept one hit to settle this issue. But not more!"
"What?" Nicolae turned to Altair with a baffled expression. He didn't expect Altair would be willing to take one hit to get rid of this problem. Jeez ...
"I can't take three. They will leave marks. Father would be suspicious," Altair whispered to Nicolae and explained his decision. "One punch is fine. I can hide the bruise."
Only then did Nicolae understand what Altair meant. The boy did not want to continue his problem with Charles, but he also did not want to take more hit since they would leave marks and make his father would become suspicious.
"You ... will you be okay with that?" Nicolae asked, holding Altair's hand, trying to make sure his son was okay.
"Ah ... Dad, it's okay. It's normal for a man to only get hit once or twice. As long as it doesn't leave marks on my handsome face," Altair answered casually.
"You!" Charles was very annoyed to hear that. He felt Altair looked down on him by acting so laidback. "You're so arrogant!"
"Hey .. I only give you one chance. It's up to you whether you take it or not," said Altair.
Charles turned to his father. "Dad.. please just call the police."
With a snort, Ron Gilbert immediately took out his cellphone to call the police station. Altair let out a long sigh, and his face seemed very irritated.
"Ugh! Fine. TWICE. That is all. Don't you dare test my patience by asking for more. If you continue this problem, you will be the one to regret it." Altair immediately raised his hand and gave a sign that he was willing to negotiate.
Charles seemed to weigh his options. Actually, as long as he could hit Altair on the schoolyard, in front of many people, he was satisfied. His reputation would recover because his friends could see that he got his revenge. They had been insulting him for losing a fight from his junior since yesterday.
If Altair was sent to jail, his friends might consider him a coward for relying on his father's influence to punish Altair.
Besides ... he could still put this brat in jail anytime. He could do it later. The important thing was now he would get satisfaction by hitting Altair. Ha. Twice was fine too. He would hit with all his might.
"All right. I agree," Charles rubbed his nose and snorted again. He then turned to his father. "Father ... we will give them a chance to redeem himself. If he did make another trouble, we could send him to jail."
"There will be NO next time," blurted Altair. "Starting today, if you see me, you have to act like we don't know each other. If something happens like yesterday, YOU will regret it."
Altair told the truth. If Charles bothered him again, he would not stay still, and inevitably, Elios would know. If that happened ... then we could be sure the Gilbert family would understand what regret means.
"You sure talk a lot. Let's go to the yard now," Charles said impatiently.
"Ouch ... violence is not the solution, kids. Why can't you just talk and make peace with each other?" asked Miss Haney nervously.
Nicolae smiled thinly and tried to calm her down. "It's okay, Miss. This is a problem between two boys, let them solve it in their own way. The important thing is, Altair has made sure that the problem is settled here. I hope Charles will respect their agreement today."
Finally, the homeroom teacher could not do anything. Altair excused himself and immediately walked out of the principal's room, followed by Charles and his father. Nicolae walked with Miss Haney to follow them to the schoolyard, in front of the library building.
There were many students hanging out in the schoolyard. Some were getting ready to go home, others were just hanging out to chat with their friends. As soon as they saw Altair and Charles, they all started making noise.
Everyone wondered, was this a sign that there will be another fight like yesterday? Wow, that must be so exciting.
Yesterday, the fight was actually unequal because Altair was far stronger than Charles, and he managed to beat up Charles mercilessly. Now the young man's face was full of bruises, and his lips were still swollen.
Yikes... there was a teacher here too? And there were some adults? Were these men their parents?