"I see that some of you still don't want to admit your mistakes," Nelly said as she glanced at Darryl and Myriam. She smiled and continued, "It seems that there are culprits here who refuse to admit that they were wrong. However, I don't think we need to be here anymore. We're going to leave, and we won't be responsible for what happens to you once we've gone. Alex, let's go."
Nelly pulled Alex and Phillipa toward the exit, preparing to leave.
Behind them, there was a cry from the crowd.
"Alex, don't go," someone shouted.
"Girls, why don't you stay?" asked someone else.
"Give us a chance to make it up to you," the first man called.
Nelly smiled at Alex and Phillipa. She turned back to the crowd with a bitter look on her face and said, "Look, those two are refusing to kneel down. How can we really believe that you all feel repentant?"
Everyone looked at Myriam and Darryl, and several people whispered urgently at them.
"please kneel ," said one man.
"Come on, kneel," said another.
Another pleaded, "It's not good for any of us if you refuse to kneel."
Darryl was deep in thought. Although Myriam was also afraid, she felt sure that he would protect her. There was no way that she could bear to kneel down to Alex and Phillipa.
She stood up and exclaimed stridently, "You're asking me to kneel for this loser. It's impossible. I will never respect them."
Suddenly, Darryl stood up and slapped her across the face. He had been hesitant to kneel down himself, but he didn't want her to infuriate Alex further with her words. He was worried that if Alex could now influence the president himself, he could choose to ruin his business and his reputation in D.C.
There wasn't time to think. He was desperate to shut Myriam. All he could think to do was slap her across the face.
Myriam clutched her cheek, glaring at Darryl in disbelief. "Darryl?"
He didn't reply, but just sighed deeply and kneeled on the ground. He lowered his head to hide his face, which was red and hot with shame.
That left Myriam as the only person who wasn't kneeling. No one had confronted her before because they were afraid of Darryl. Now that he was also kneeling, they all started yelling at her.
"Myriam, get down on your knees," shouted one girl.
"Kneel down, girl," yelled a man.
"Do you want us all to suffer?" asked another angrily.
A boy kneeling beside Myriam stealthily shoved the backs of her knees. She wobbled and fell to her knees on the ground.
"Well, that's better," Nelly said with a smile.
Alex and Phillipa looked at each other with wry smiles. They were both impressed with Nelly's boldness and amused at her love of trouble.
"Let's go to the front," Nelly said as she led Alex and Phillipa to the front, where they sat down on chairs.
Nelly said to Alex, "Well, I've sorted them all out for you. Remember how they insulted all of us before. Now it's up to you how you want to deal with them."
Alex looked at Phillipa. She didn't look angry. She clearly felt that the volunteers had been punished enough.
He looked at Nelly with a small smile and said in a low voice, "The most important thing for people is their dignity. You made them kneel down to us. For them, that's much more hurtful than being beaten up. I think that's punishment enough."
Nelly had been waiting eagerly to hear what inventive kind of punishment Alex had in mind. When she heard that he wanted to let them go, she rolled her eyes at him and said, "Really? That's all? That's so disappointing."
She crossed her arms huffily.
Shaking his head, Alex walked up to Myriam and said, "Myriam, that diary was precious to me, and you destroyed it. Then you and Darryl provoked these people to attack us and drive us out. And you're one of my old classmates. You're a really horrible person."
Myriam looked at Alex coldly, but she didn't dare say anything. She was afraid that if she screamed at him again, Darryl wouldn't support her.
Alex said, "If you insult my friends again, I won't let it go."
Then he went to Darryl who lowered his head. He only hoped that Alex would punish him quickly.
Before he knew what was happening, his nose was throbbing, and he realized that Alex had punched him in the face. He fell to the ground and lay there on his back.
Darryl was out cold for a few seconds. When he woke up, there were two streams of bright red blood flowing out of his nose.
Alex went back to Nelly.
She clapped her hands and said with a smile, "Good! You stood up for yourself. Good job, loser! "
He replied with a smile, "We're done here, let's go."
He picked up Phillipa's bag and they all walked out together. The people kneeling in the hall quickly made way for them to walk through. Nelly said goodbye to Alex and Phillipa and went to the food truck. They took a cab back to the campus where Alex walked with Phillipa to the girls' dormitory.
Phillipa was very grateful to Alex for everything that had happened at the opening ceremony. She said, "Thank you for everything tonight. If you hadn't been there, I don't know what would have happened."
Alex replied with a smile, "It's Nelly we should both be thanking. Besides, you and I were classmates for many years, you shouldn't feel the need to thank me. You really still consider me an outsider, don't you?"
Phillipa blushed slightly and lowered her head. She said softly, "I don't think of you as an outsider."
She blushed even more, quickly said goodbye, and ran into the dormitory.
Alex watched her go, shook his head, and turned back toward his dormitory.
**
David Drake was lying in bed, in his villa, looking at Debbie's diary. Reading the diary, he had learned all about her and the loser, Alex. Using this information, he had been able to make rapid progress in his relationship with Leona Marvel.
He had years of experience with women, and he saw himself as an expert. He believed that he had now reached the point where he should cement his relationship with Leona.
He looked back at the diary and read the next scene, which described how Debbie had been bullied by Maddison Robbins and her three friends on campus. That's when she first met Alex.
When he read about the love between Debbie and Alex, he decided that he wanted his own relationship with Leona. He closed the diary, murmuring to himself, "I will propose to you tomorrow. You better not refuse me."
**
The following day, Leona arrived early at the university gate to meet David. He had arranged to take her to visit the beautiful West Lake.
Leona was very happy. For the past two weeks, David had been dressing in cheap clothes to try to understand what life was like for people less fortunate than himself. They had shared many experiences during that time. For example, when Leona was bullied in a restaurant, David defended her with a wine bottle. In the end, the bully had kneeled on the ground and apologized. She also knew that David had donated fifty thousand dollars to the Red Cross although no one else believed it.
Leona had no way of knowing that his behavior was all an act based on what he had read about her in her diary.
She felt that his very presence made the air sweeter.
"Leona, I'm coming," David called when he saw her waiting. Once again, he was dressed in cheap, shabby clothes. His forehead was glistening with sweat.
She said to him, "I know that as the son of a rich family, you feel that it's important to experience different kinds of life, but surely you've had enough now?" She looked at his sweaty head and felt sorry for him. She took out a paper towel and wiped the sweat off his face.
Throughout the last ten days that they had spent time together, Leona had started to feel more comfortable with him.
He looked at her and replied with a smile, "I am tired, but if it means that you will take care of me, it's all worth it."
Leona blushed but continued to wipe his forehead. She felt happy initially, but then was overcome by a burst of melancholy when she remembered that he was her sister's fiance. Most of the time, she managed not to think about it.
David got off his bike and said, "Come on, let's get a cab and go to West Lake."
They took a cab to the beautiful West Lake area. Because of the Olympic Games, there were more tourists there than usual.
They took a leisurely stroll around the lake together. They were so absorbed with the beauty of the lake that they didn't notice the time pass. Suddenly they realized that they were hungry and saw that it was almost midday.
David asked Leona to sit on a bench by the lake while he went to get them some food from the cafe.
However, he didn't go to the cafe, but to a hidden grove.
Colin Patterson had been waiting there for him along with the three girls he had paid to ridicule him previously.
Before, they hadn't known who he was and were committed fully to the performance. Now that they knew he was the wealthy David Drake, they were reluctant to even pretend to bully him.
When the three girls saw David, they immediately began apologizing. "David, we're so sorry. We went way over the top last time! We apologize."
"Don't worry about it, it's fine," David told them as he waved his hand dismissively. Then he looked at Colin and asked, "Have you explained everything to them clearly?"
"It's clear," Colin said respectfully.
"That's good." David looked at the girls and said, "When the time comes, you must do exactly as Colin told you to. Do you understand?"
"Yes, yes." The three girls replied anxiously.
"Good, go now," he told them, and then the three girls walked toward Leona who was still waiting by the lake.
Leona was gazing into the lake when she heard a girl behind her cry, "Leona."
She looked around and saw a girl walking toward her. She recognized her as one of the three who had ridiculed her and David that day on campus. She remembered that they had tried to make him feel small. When he had ignored them, they had become angry instead.
"What are you doing here?" she asked her nervously.
"I saw you with that stupid loser. Have you no shame?" the girl said.
This was a carefully crafted re-enactment of a time Leona—called Debbie then, though she didn't remember this part of her life—had been bullied back at Preston University. On that occasion, three girls had pushed her into the water. Of course, that didn't happen this time.
This time, they mocked her and pretended that they were going to push her into the lake when suddenly, with a roar, David rushed into the water. He kicked the three girls out of the way and saved Leona.
Several minutes later, two cars stopped at the side of the road. A man who looked like a mafia boss stepped out, followed by at least ten younger men. The boss seemed to threaten Leona, but David stood in front of her and refused to let them near her.
The younger men started hitting him, but he held Leona behind him and continued to protect her so that she didn't get hurt.
"No," she screamed. She wanted to protect David, but he was holding her so tightly that she couldn't move at all.
"Don't worry, I won't let them hurt you," he whispered in her ear. Drops of blood from his mouth fell onto her face.
She couldn't bear to see him getting hurt and she cried out to their attackers, "Don't hit him. Please stop."
Just as Leona began to fear it would never end, a helicopter appeared from the sky. Eight figures jumped out and rushed over to David.
"Are you okay, sir?" asked one of the men.
"I'm fine," David answered. Then he tilted his head toward Leona and asked, "Leona, are you okay?" Then he fainted.
She hugged his head and cried out, "David, David." Tears were flowing down her face.