"Three million dollars!", Billy thought with his eyes widened.
Billy wasn't prepared for this revelation. Paying a couple hundred thousand dollars would have been a piece of cake, but three million dollars was a large sum of money.
Could he take it back? Billy had a rare feeling of regret. Three million dollars was the amount of money you put toward an investment, not given away as a free gift.
"It's your turn now," Alex challenged.
"What's wrong, Mr. Wilde? Do you want to take it back?" Lance mocked.
Billy had been stupid. He had been sure that Alex had no money, so he had challenged him. The situation had completely changed after learning the truth.
Three million dollars. He could ultimately afford the meals, but it would mean spending more than half of his assets. He thought about his real estate, and the gold and silver jewelry that could be sold for cash so he could have the money, and immediately regretted his actions.
"Idiot," he huffed under his breath. He needed to hurry now before it was too late and he would be expected to pay for the food.
"Do you think I'm stupid enough to throw away three million?" He blushed as the entire canteen began to buzz, straining to hear and see what was going to happen next. Alex watched him in silence.
Lance jumped onto one of the tables, pointed at Billy, and cursed. "Mr. Wilde, what the hell are you doing? You're such a jerk! You called for everyone's attention just so we would have to watch you play tricks?"
Billy's face, which had been red with embarrassment, was now as white as a sheet. After all, he was an adult and a teacher. He should have known better. He especially didn't want to look bad in front of these students.
"Yeah, Mr. Wilde," Eric joined in. "My father told me that a real man keeps his word. You challenged Mr. Alex in front of everyone. Now he has held up his end of the deal. What about you? Are you a man?" He may not have sworn at Billy, but his words were still just as harsh.
"Yeah, if you don't keep your word, what kind of man are you?" A student in another class was also disgusted.
"You should be ashamed of yourself. You have just been talking nonsense." A boy in Class 6, whose family had a net worth of two billion dollars, angrily scolded him.
"Give the money back to Mr. Alex, and teach the director a lesson. Other teachers might not do anything, but if I were Mr. Alex, I would knock you out!" The students in Class 6 were growing excited.
They didn't care about the food anymore. They wanted a fight. All they needed and were waiting for was for someone to cause public outrage. They had been given their opportunity. The entire second floor hummed in anticipation.
That was when Leonard decided he couldn't stand on the sidelines anymore. He ran up to the counter and spoke for Billy, who was losing his control and power over the room. "Be quiet!" Leonard yelled. "Be quiet! That is not how you talk to teachers. Now, Mr. Wilde," he lowered his voice slightly, "there's something urgent I need to speak to you about. Please follow me."
Alex laughed, but he didn't stop them.
But the students wouldn't let them escape so easily. Before anyone could stop him, Lance picked up a chair and threw it directly at Leonard and Billy's backs.
The chair fell with a bang just behind them, nearly hitting some of the other students on their heads and knocking Leonard on the backs of his legs.
"Oh!" Leonard fell over on his hands and knees, and Billy turned his head and screamed, "Who did that? Stand up!"
Class 6 had gotten their fight. Billy stood with his fists curled, his eyes glaring at all the students. He was so consumed by his rage that he didn't notice a tray full of food being thrown at him, spilling soup and water all over his clothes.
Next came some dinner rolls, slimy pasta, and sauce, burgers and hotdogs, eggs, tomatoes, cucumbers—all the food in the canteen went flying after them as Billy and Leonard scurried away, their tails between their legs like cowardly dogs.
"What a liar", screamed a student.
"What a disgrace to our school. How could we have a director like that? He's evil", yelled some other students.
"We're more trustworthy than he is, and we're younger", said another while throwing a hotdog.
All kinds of scolding bounced through the canteen, and the news spread all over the campus in an instant.
"Mr. Alex, that was really disgusting." Lance was angry, but his expression changed after thinking for a moment. "Mr. Alex," he started, worried, "Do you also regret spending your money?"
"Do I seem like that kind of person?" Alex grinned, picking up a fruit tray from a table and eating a few pieces.
"You can eat here on the second floor, three free meals a day for three months. But in the future, you should pay attention and try to save your money so you can afford your own lunch."
With that, Alex put the fruit plate down and left the canteen, followed by a small group of students from Class 6.
"Lance, what should we do?" Eric asked anxiously. If Alex won over more students, they would never be able to get rid of him.
"I don't know." Lance sighed. "It wouldn't look good to go against him now."
"We should do what I suggested earlier. I'll just call the boss and get him to beat Mr. Alex up. Then everything will be solved." Eric said, taking out his mobile phone.
"Well, do as you like," Lance replied, unconvinced. The situation had grown complicated now, and he wasn't sure about their plan anymore.
**
On the other side of the campus, Billy's mind was reeling. He couldn't stay at Oak Ridge after this.
"Alex has ruined everything!" he yelled at the air, clenching his jaw tightly while Leonard groaned and rubbed his sore legs.
Students pointed at them as they walked past, and although they couldn't hear what was being said, the disdain in their eyes was clear to see.
"Damn it! I can't take this." Billy kicked the garbage can on its side, scaring the passing students.
"He's crazy!" they whispered amongst themselves, giving Billy a bewildered look.
He still heard them though. He was so angry that he rushed forward to try and fight them, but Leonard yanked him away.
In just two days, Billy and Leonard had become the jokes of Oak Ridge High School. And it was all Alex's fault.
"Director Wilde, Alex is gaining popularity and more responsibility in the school," Leonard turned to Billy, acting as a military advisor. He had a serious look on his face, but his eyes were wild and frantic. "If we can't ruin his reputation publicly, then we'll have to take him down secretly. We'll have to hit him in his weak spot, and that spot is Class 6. If he loses the trust of his students and their parents, he'll be removed as their head teacher."
"Go on," Billy said gloomily.
"There is a Felicity Wright in Class 6, she's one of the older students," Leonard continued, smiling sinisterly. "She goes to the girls' dormitory every day to harass the other students for 'protection fees'. What if we were to catch her in the act? Class 6 is for students with problems, so they need extra attention and care. If anything happens with her and Alex isn't there to reprimand her, it'll be his fault."