During the lunch break, Keith and Natallie encountered Guleno shouting in the middle of the crowd, attracting attention.
"What guts…"
"A freshman wanting to be tutored by Miss Flora? Pfft-! He dreams big!"
"We should put a stop to this."
A man came forward from the forming crowd and attempted to stop Guleno's farce.
"Freshman, can you please stop bothering the SSC President?"
Even though they said bother, Flora and some 'high-class' girls were minding their own business on the higher platform within the premium cafeteria. Guleno was only embarrassing himself by shouting while it was apparent the person couldn't hear him.
"Huh? And, who are you?"
But this didn't stop him from doing so. Guleno looked down on a sophomore, evident from his red collar.
From the class orientation, they learned that green collars are for freshmen, red for sophomores, and blue for seniors. Either Guleno wasn't listening, or he doesn't care.
Feeling insulted by a freshman looking down on him, the sophomore glared.
"Who I am doesn't matter. You should know your place, trash."
"Hey, what did you just call me?"
The situation quickly escalated, with the two of them being aggressive towards each other. Guleno walked forward and attempted to intimidate the sophomore using his bigger stature.
"Oh no, he's pissed. This is bad…!"
"He might get detention."
Guleno's friends became anxious at the scene when Natallie went to them and asked.
"Why are you two not stopping him?"
A natural question for Guleno's friends. If he weren't stopped, he would get his first penalty on his first day, and expulsion wouldn't be far from the behavior he's showing.
"You don't understand. Guleno's a real tough guy. By tough, I mean abnormally tough." one friend vaguely explained.
"Nobody can stop him." the second friend overtook the first one on explaining, "Back in middle school, he ruled the district with his iron fists. Even adults don't mess with him. Furthermore, he knows judo."
Natallie nodded, seeing Guleno in a different light. Instead of some grunt, it seemed like he's the boss-type kind of man.
"You should stop him. He's going to hurt himself." Keith stepped in and said to which the two friends raised their eyebrows.
"Are you not listening, Keith? This Guleno is very tough." Natallie poked Keith's arm.
Thud*
While they were talking, someone fell to the ground. It was the sophomore.
"You asked me if I want to fight. This is my answer, heh! It's fine as long as it's consensual, right!?"
Guleno laughed as he cracked his fists.
"What was that throw?"
"I don't think that's a fluke…."
Mutters could be heard from all over the place. Everyone was surprised, yet, the sophomores' and freshmen's reasons are different., but between the sophomores and the freshmen,
"So, you know a bit of martial arts, huh…."
The sophomore simply sat up and combed his long hair as if he wasn't affected at all. This was odd since everyone heard the thud when he hit the ground. Guleno didn't hold back on throwing him down on that one. Anyone could've broken a bone there.
On the contrary, the sophomore stood up and dusted himself off.
"You caught me off guard. It seemed that you're not all talk. My name's Bauduin. What's yours, freshman?"
Guleno was one of the people who were stunned as well. He's clearly aware of how hard he threw this sophomore down. He scoffed and answered, "Guleno, the fuck are you introducing yourself? I thought who you are doesn't matter?"
"You earned it." Bauduin just shrugged his shoulders.
"What? Do you think you're some famous dude? Get the fuck out of here!" Guleno walked forward and grabbed Bauduin's collars, about to raise him when the latter placed his hand on the former's arm.
Guleno suddenly felt like he was trying to lift a boulder. He thought he was imagining things at first, so he fought against Bauduin's press, but his arm couldn't budge.
'With his weight, I should be able to lift him. This doesn't make any sense!'
"Let me show you how it's done." Bauduin said before grabbing Guleno's collars. Their height difference is slight, however, Guleno's shoulders are broader and his figure bigger. He should weigh more than this sophomore, but at the next moment, he felt weightless.
"H-huh?"
From Guleno's point of view, he suddenly got taller. Of course, this wasn't the case. He then looked down on this man, who easily raised him with one arm. Confusion enshrouded him.
At the next moment, the world shifted as Guleno was thrown into the grown. This time, much harder.
"Gah-!"
Guleno grunted, and even with his tough body, he was almost crushed by his own weight.
There was silence for a while before Bauduin said, "Finish the first semester of your school year first. If by then, you still think you deserve to be tutored by Miss Flora, then you're free to do what you want."
He then turned his back to Guleno while the other sophomores went on their way as if nothing had happened.
Meanwhile, the freshmen have an entirely different reaction. Was that even physically possible?
Guleno's pair of friends were the first to snap out of it. They came rushing to Guleno.
"Are you fine, dude!?"
"How is that possible?"
"I'm fine, don't worry too much, worrywarts!" Guleno sat up with a bitter frown. He soon stood up and shouted.
"Baldwin! Once I get my Wager Contract, come fight me!"
Bauduin stopped in his tracks. A nerve popped out of his forehead. But then, a hand patted his shoulder.
"Don't let your anger issues get to you, again, Bauduin."
"Hrm?" Bauduin looked at this man, and upon seeing who it was, his expression suddenly got milder, "Oh, yes, sorry, Sir Byron. I'm not going to do anything further than that."
"Good," another sophomore, Byron Marco, nodded with a smile, "And, also, I want to ask a favor from you. Being the first one to meddle with the freshmen's affairs, it wouldn't be eye-catching if you were to act on them again."
"Huh? I wouldn't say I meddled with the whole freshmen, Sir Byron…" Bauduin then shut up when he saw Byron's eyes on him.
"Let's say you did meddle and now, you're going to further meddle. You see that man with his face covered over there?" Byron casually pointed to Keith between the crowds.
"Yes?"
"I want you to mess with him a bit, alright? Let's say, your reason is that hmm… he's Guleno's friend? What you say?"
"I… don't know about that… that random guy doesn't have to do with anything…" Bauduin scratched his head as his eyes looked away.
"Don't be like that. I'm not asking you for free. It's a favor, remember? I might praise and mention you when I'm talking to the President."
"R-really!?" Bauduin suddenly got excited but soon, disheartened, "I don't think that's worth it though. Miss Flora will surely just forget about me the next second."
"Then, how about some pictures of the President?"
"The legendary picture of her showering after gym class…!?"
"No, you creep."
"Oh, I knew it was just an urban legend… but alright, you bought me, Sir Byron." Bauduin finally agreed and shook hands with Byron.
"Good…"
Meanwhile, Keith followed Natallie who went after Guleno and his friends to the infirmary.
'A picture of her showering after gym class? I wonder what's so important about it for him to be so moved…' Keith's interest was piqued.