A huge orange banner swung at the entrance of Westgate High as the wind drifted from side to side, announcing that the summer class for the advanced learning program had already begun. The halcyon sky was scenery to behold, even Cade did not let the chance to get lost in its serenity. He glued his eyes upon it from where he was sitting, near the window. There was no disturbance. No movement. It was only him, the sky, and the sound of water from sprinklers in the garden. There was pure stillness before a new student stepped inside the classroom.
"Before we begin our class, a transferee will join us today," Mr. Smith said. The students showed enthrallment as they exchanged some murmurs and giggles.
"Please introduce yourself," Mr. Smith said. His winter-white and disheveled hair was like Albert Einstein's. He also had a mustache he inherited from some famous philosophers.
"Hi. My name is Oliver Thompson. I hope we'll get along."
The students clapped their hands. The girls had wide smiles on their faces. Someone from the back blew a little whistle. Cade examined Oliver from head to foot. He wore branded sneakers. His watch was indeed luxurious. His outfit was neatly ironed. Oliver had silky brown hair. His black eyes looked innocent, but his smile was a killer.
"Where should I sit?" Oliver asked.
Cade pushed the student beside him and signaled him to move. The student had no idea, so Cade whispered, "Get off the fucking chair." The student obeyed him and sat next to Stan.
"Here! The chair beside me is vacant," Cade said while waving his hand.
"Alright. Sit beside Mr. Robertson."
Stan's eyes followed Oliver's direction. Cade seemed to like him. He passed the vibe check. Cade had a radar that detects the rich from the poor. And the poor could never come close to him.
Mr. Smith began his presentation about finding the distance between the coordinate plane. He had prepared one hundred slides for the class.
"Each unit on the map equals 45 kilometers. (1.5,2) is the location of Town A, while (-1.5, -1.5) is the location of Town B. What is the approximate distance between Town A and Town B? Do you have any idea what procedures should fix the problem? Raise your hand," Mr. Smith said.
The students had blank expressions on their faces. Some were spacing out and others were doodling in their notebooks.
'They don't care about what's happening in class. They are only here for their allowance. What a shame. Are they even getting something from this?' Cade thought.
"Anyone?" Mr. Smith repeated.
Cade raised his hand.
"Yes, Mr. Robertson."
Cade stood up and said, "The first method to use is the Pythagorean Theorem. The second is the Distance Formula. Since each map unit equals 45 kilometers, the distance between the towns is 4.6 multiplied by 45 or about 207 kilometers."
Mr. Smith nodded. "Can you write the solution on the board?"
Cade made his way in front and wrote the formula in a few seconds.
"Thank you, Mr. Robertson."
He amazed everyone, though it wasn't new to them.
"Teach me something I don't know," Cade rumbled as he sat back in his seat.
"That was awesome. How did you do that? I bet you studied ahead of time," Oliver said.
"I scanned the book last night."
"And you remembered everything?"
"Not totally. It's pretty basic."
"Cool. I can't digest everything by just reading it. You have a gift."
Cade shrugged. "If I impress you, how much more with Stan?"
"Who's Stan?"
"The guy wearing some earphones."
Oliver glanced at Stan who focused his attention on reading his favorite manga while wearing some earphones.
"What's with him? He's not paying attention in class," Oliver said.
"Well, he doesn't have to. It's all in his head."
The bell rang for the 30 minute break time. The students flooded the canteen for some snacks. They served nutritious food such as burritos, salad, vegan burgers, chicken shawarma, crispy potatoes, and oriental vegetable sushi.
Cade and Stan fetched Theo who was in the other room separated from them.
"How was the class? Anything helpful for MHS (Mchalmmond High School)?" Theo asked.
"Nothing I already know," Cade replied. "By the way, have you seen Oliver?"
"I thought you were with him," Stan said.
"Who's Oliver?"
"A new kid in town."
"Does he interest you? It's so rare for you to gather some new friends."
"A little. I think he's among us."
The three of them walked in the middle of the corridor, occupying the spaces like they owned the school. Cade stood in the middle with his chin up, ignoring everyone that passed by. Theo's hands were in his pockets. He had a stiff posture like a gangster ready to punch anyone, while Stan was scanning his manga.
What seemed to be a royal parade was ruined when Arthur Scott interfered and bumped Cade's shoulder. He had a burger with BBQ pulled pork as stuffing and a fruit shake in his hands. Cade gazed at the tip of his shoulder. His shirt got a few drops of BBQ sauce. He shifted his attention back to Arthur.
"I'm... I'm sorry," Arthur said.
He was obese, weighed 202 pounds, and was 5 feet tall. Cade clenched his teeth.
"What's your name?" he asked.
"I'm Arthur."
"Full name."
"Arthur Scott."
Cade had a haughty expression. "I've never heard of such a dumb name before."
"He's a newbie. We are in the same class," Theo said.
"Oh. That's why he doesn't know who I am, and he has the guts to run over me. So dumb." Cade scrutinized Arthur as he walked around him in circles.
"Did you just call me dumb?"
"Yes. As in D.U.M.B."
The students began to surround them with some popcorns in their hands, anticipating a live-action. Arthur swallowed the whole burger and threw the fruit shake to the floor before pushing Cade against the wall and choking him with his bare hands.
"Stop trying to fight back, Fatty Squashy. You will make things worst," Cade warned while clasping his robust arms.
"Shut up. I won't hold back to a bully like you. I'm stronger than you are," Arthur said in a firm tone.
"Get your hands off me while I'm being nice."
Arthur didn't listen and tightened his grip on his neck.
"Theo, do something," Cade called out.
Theo grabbed Arthur's collar and threw a powerful punch to his face, and strangled his throat with his arms.
"That's enough," Stan said without looking at them. He fixed his eyes on his book. Cade tapped Theo's shoulder and pulled him away. He crouched down and stared at the helpless kid. Arthur had a bruise on his cheek and a cut on his lips.
"I told you to stop acting tough. What are you going to do with my shirt? I can't wear it anymore. Can you pay for this?"
"That's a small thing. How much is it?"
"Two hundred dollars."
"Two... two hundred dollars? Don't try to leech off me."
Arthur's unfaltering tone made him smirk. "It's a designer shirt, idiot."
"I will report you to the teacher for bullying and assault."
Cade burst into laughter as he glimpsed at Theo who also had a grin on his face. "Report? Go on. Tell him I kicked your ass and break your bones. I won't mind any exaggeration. I am looking forward to that."
Arthur sat up and spit on Cade's shoes. "That's 500 dollars."
"I don't care," Arthur replied.
Cade heaved a deep sigh and slapped Arthur's face. "Hey. Do you think I'm kidding? You will pay for this or you will taste my wrath."
"I said that's enough," Stan said as he hit Cade's head with a book.
"Aw." Cade caressed his head and glared at Stan who had a dark aura coming from his body. "What do I hate the most?" Stan asked.
"Disturbing your perusal," Cade and Theo replied in chorus.
"Now, let's go. I'm starving. You've been catfighting for 5 minutes. What a waste of energy."
Theo's mouth parted. "Cat–catfighting?"
The three of them walked past Arthur when they saw Oliver who had witnessed the whole incident. The shock was written all over his face.
"Hey, Oliver. We've been looking for you," Cade said.
"Why did you do that?"
"Do what? Ah. You mean Fatty Squashy? I taught him a lesson."
"You gave him a scar."
"Literally," Theo said.
"Oliver, I can only say one thing. A piece of advice," Cade held Oliver's shoulder, "choose your allies wisely." Cade winked and hurried to the canteen. The students made way for him in no time. They knew who he was. Who they were. And no one dared to touch them.
"I'll have vegetarian nachos," Cade said.
"Spicy tuna sushi, please," Stan said.
"I want some margarita pizza," Theo said.
They chose their usual spot, the center table where everyone could see them. It was Cade's favorite spot. He enjoyed listening to people talk about them. How great they are.
Stan was enjoying his sushi when a girl approached their table and stood beside him.
"Uhm. Stan," Theo called. Stan didn't notice the girl staring at him.
"Huh? You need something?"
Theo scratched his head. "There's a cute girl beside you, dude. Are you blind?"
"A girl?" Stan roamed his eyes and was startled to see the girl with a bright smile.
"Oh, hi. Do I owe you something? Do I have business with you I forgot? Or did I hurt you in any way? I'm sorry, I can't remember faces. Did I offend you?"
"It's okay. Don't worry. By the way, I'm Isabella."
"I'm Stan. Nice to meet you."
"Everybody knows who you are," she said.
"Is that so? How come?"
Theo placed his palm on his face. Stan had his own world and never knew they were popular.
"You are making me nervous right now because no one comes this close to me. I wonder if I did something terribly wrong," Stan said.
"To be honest... you did something terrible." Isabella kept fidgeting with her fingers.
"What? Tell me," Stan said in a worried tone.
"You made my heart beat so fast and it's driving me insane."
Cade bit his lower lip and clapped his hands without a sound.
"Ugh. Isabella, I don't know how to respond to your sudden confession. But I admire your bravery."
Isabella bowed her head and gave him a red box.
"Please accept this," she said and ran off at the speed of light.
Stan looked at his friends with a naïve expression.
"What was that? Do girls do this all the time?" Stan asked.
"You mean to confess to their crush in front of everyone and run away before they get rejected?" Theo said.
"I mean to ruin someone's appetite. I was relishing my food a while ago and now I have to think about why someone likes me."
"At least she grabbed the chance before you leave this place. They must fill Mchalmmond High with pretty and rich girls," Cade said.
After their snack, Cade took himself to the bathroom to take a quick shower. Antoine always reminded him to bring extra outfits to school in case something bad happens. Cade would ignore it because he was confident that nothing would go wrong in school where everyone obeys him. But this time, he was glad Antoine sneaked inside the school and put some clothes in his locker.
Cade was washing his hair when Theo shouted, "Cade! Mr. Smith wants to talk to us!"
"Is this about that loser, Arthur?"
"You guess it right."
"I'll be out in 5 minutes. Let's give that pig what he deserves."
The bell rang, and the classes resumed. Cade and friends bumped into Arthur once again as they approached the faculty room.
"I heard rumors about you. But I am not afraid. Let's see what your popularity can do at this moment," Arthur said.
Cade was about to speak when Stan lifted his hand in between them. "Cut it, Cade. Let's make this fast and not miss class."