Alex smiled at Lynne. It was clear to him that she was the bravest of all of them. No matter how much some of them might dislike Billy, they were clearly afraid that involving Alex might backfire. They had all chosen to avoid the issue. All of them, except her.
But Lynne had other reasons for talking to him. She was sincerely worried that he was unprepared for dealing with his students. And she wanted him to succeed. She needed him to. She was sick of dealing with them herself. But if Alex wasn't up to the task, he was in danger of getting hurt.
She sighed and gave him a worried look. Then, without saying anything more, she walked past him out of the conference room.
**
Outside, by the front entrance to the school, Leonard stood talking to Billy.
"So, Mr. Wilde," Leonard said. "What are we going to do about this Alex kid?"
Billy had lit a cigarette and puffed at it furiously to calm himself. Both of them were still teeming with anger at Alex's behavior in the conference room.
"We send what we know about him to his new students," Billy said with a grim smile. "They'll take care of the rest. The way those kids are, he won't make it through his first lesson."
He flung his cigarette onto the asphalt in front of him and stomped on it. Then, they went back inside.
**
Meanwhile, the seniors of Class 6 were sitting in their classroom. Since all the teachers had been called away to Alex's introduction, they had been told to study on their own. Few of them were doing so. Many of them were playing games on their phones, while others were sitting in a circle, gossiping among themselves.
"Lance, tell us more about this Alex," one of the students in the circle said.
Lance Cartwright was the son of an important family, and he was one of the most popular students at Oak Ridge. When he spoke, the other students listened, and right now he was the center of attention.
"Well, I can tell you he's extremely powerful," Lance answered. "The Blood Brothers were after him, and they had rigged an entire building with bombs. Everyone thought that Alex was done for. But guess what?"
He paused dramatically. The other students in the circle moved closer, and others gathered around them. They were all deeply curious.
"I'll tell you," Lance continued. "Right before the bombs went off, Alex jumped from the fifteenth floor with Jessop Clifton on his back, and without any protective gear. It was the strangest thing I've ever seen as if he was floating through the air."
"You saw it?" one of the other students asked. "From the fifteenth floor, and carrying an old man? That's impossible. He would have died."
"Shut up," Lance snapped. "You don't know Alex. Of course, I saw it. It was incredible. When he jumped out the window, fire shot out from every window of the building. But he didn't get hurt at all, and he landed safely on the ground."
Lance's eyes shone with excitement. It was as if he had placed himself in the scene.
"It was like an action movie," he continued. "But in real life. It was so cool that I forgot to take any pictures of it."
"And what happened then?" someone asked. The students were fascinated by the mysterious 'Alex', and they were full of imagination.
"After that? Not much, I think. The danger was over. But Alex is still out there. And he can do anything. Even if you don't see him, there's still a hero in our midst."
"How old is he?" a student asked curiously.
"I don't know," Lance said. "But he's young."
Heidi was sitting at the other end of the classroom, and she had heard everything that Lance had said. With everything that had happened to her, she had her own reasons to be interested in Alex. She had heard Rufus mention Alex's name when he attacked the gang at the stables. They must have suffered because they had crossed him.
"I wonder if he has a girlfriend?" a girl said with raised eyebrows.
"What's it to you?" a boy cried out with laughter. He was pale and slightly overweight, with an earring in his right ear and messy hair. "Do you think he can't get any girl he wants? You wouldn't have a chance."
"Stop arguing," another girl cried. "We wanna hear more."
Whether it was hero worship or pining for a Prince Charming, Alex was on every one of their minds. Lance has asked his father for a signed picture of him many times. Unfortunately, he hadn't been able to get one.
"Let's talk about how he beat back all the big martial arts masters at the lake," Lance continued. He spoke with pride as if Alex was his personal friend. "How he managed to beat Lee Harshaw and save martial arts."
"At that time, the whole lake was filled with blood. Lee had beaten all the famous martial arts schools in the country, and nobody could do anything about it. Only Master Alex—"
"What's his full name?" someone asked.
"I don't know. I don't think anyone knows. People like him often have hidden names, and no one dares to snoop around. Jessop Clifton protects and respects Master Alex, and he rules the city."
The students were taken aback. Many of them knew Jessop's name, and they knew what it meant if Alex had his respect.
Lance had been talking so much about Alex that it was all the class ever thought of. Even though they didn't even know his real name, they all worshipped him as 'Master Alex' and fantasized about who he was.
They were not alone. Word of Alex's actions had spread across the city, especially among the rich and powerful. What most people did not suspect, however, was that Master Alex was just a quiet little security guard.
"Wait," someone said as a faint buzzing noise sounded in the classroom. "Whose phone is that?"
Eric, who had been sitting just outside the circle of listeners, reached into his pocket. He had received several WhatsApp messages. They were from Billy. He scrolled through them and laughed to himself. They contained all that Billy knew about the new teacher that was coming today.
"Well," Eric said with a smile. "Apparently, our new teacher used to be poor and living on the street. His name is Alex Ambrose."
Lance walked over and read the messages. "How do you get all this information about all our teachers?" he asked with a frown.
"From Billy," Eric answered.
"So, the new teacher is coming today," Lance said. "Let's play a little game with him."
"Hang on," one of the other students interjected. "You said his name was Alex. Could he be Master Alex?"
"Dream on!" Lance cried and slapped his classmate on the side of the head to wake him up. "As if Oak Ridge could get Master Alex to come and work for them. My dad couldn't even get a meeting with him. Nobody can. What do you think?"
The students laughed sheepishly. They also knew that it was impossible. Master Alex was a hero with unparalleled martial arts skills. To imagine that he would become their teacher was a hopeless dream.
One of the students turned to Eric with a confused look on his face. "Hey, Eric," he said. "What's the deal with Billy? He's sent you information on the last three teachers we've had. Why?"
"I'm not sure," Eric answered. "I think Billy has an uncle or something who's an important person. I think he's trying to do us a solid so that, someday, we'll help out his uncle. But whatever. The important thing is that we don't need to study. If we get just get rid of all our teachers, Billy will help us graduate with top grades. We'll be set for life."