Alex walked on stage and patted the microphone, checking it was on. Hello, he said. First of all.
I'm dismayed by what happened here and I would like to offer an apology to those girls who are hurt. Last night I promised those girls that Felicity would apologize to them in public. So, Felicity, would you please come up here? The students gasped in shock.
Did Mr. Ambrose really think that Felicity would apologize? They began to whisper to each other. From the city is not going to apologize. Is he crazy? Is he met Felicity? There's no way she'll do it.
Gossiped a group of girls amongst themselves. Why is the principal going along with this? He must know it's not going to happen. Even he wouldn't be able to make Felicity apologize, Elder boy.
Several students and teachers laughed. Convinced that Alex was making a fool of himself. The principal nervously rubbed the back of his neck. He hoped Alex could pull this off. But he was not really convinced. As usual. The students in Class 6 began to stir up trouble. Hey Felicity, where's your apology?
We're waiting, one of them yelled, bursting into laughter. Come on, Felicity, another joined in. Tell him to get lost and let's see him resign. The students of Class 6 knew Felicity well. And they didn't think for one moment that Felicity would do as she was told. After all.
They wouldn't have obeyed either. Felicity had always been stubborn. And she had never been forced into anything she didn't want to do. And everyone knew that. Billy grinned as he stared at Alex.
Got you this time, you thought. But then Felicity stood up. Class 6 stopped laughing. And Billy's smile slipped as he became aware of the change in atmosphere. Felicity, are you really going to do it?
Someone called. Felicity, what are you doing? Eric asked, grabbing her sleeve and trying to get her to sit back down. Felicity shook him off and walked confidently to the stage, her head held high.
When she reached Lance, she stopped for a moment. Lance, you'd better be careful, she said. Mr. Ambrose is no ordinary teacher. And your usual tricks won't work on him. With that, she walked to the stage and went to stand at the rostrum.
All the teachers and students muttered to each other. Unable to believe what they were seeing. Felicity apologizing was as likely as the sun deciding to rise in the West. And yet. Here she was. Billy's jaw dropped. No way, he said. No, that's not possible.
Felicity never apologizes. So why would she agree now? Shit, he thought. If she goes through with this, Alex will be a nightmare to deal with. Billy looked at the paper in Felicity's hand and realized it was really happening.
Felicity glanced down at her speech. And then she looked back at the students. Dear students, she said. I'm really sorry for what I've done. She continued to speak for a while, recounting all her bad behavior, leaving nothing out. She displayed remorse and appeared to be sincere as she apologized for all the trouble she had caused. Finally, she said.
I want to thank Mr. Ambrose for helping me to see the error of my ways and giving me hope that I can start over. Thank you, Mr. Ambrose. I promise to do better from now on. Felicity turned and left the stage. The whole of room was silent, and the students in Class 6 stared at Felicity, their mouths hanging open.
Billy was stunned, and he couldn't understand what had just happened. He shook his head, trying to clear it. But it didn't help. I can't believe she did that, one girl said. Felicity. Lance asked. Did Mr. Ambrose solve your problem? Unlike the others. Lance knew about Felicity's mother.
And he had kept her secret for a long time. Felicity simply nodded. Damn it, Lance said. We can't let him defeat us. We have to do something about him. He clenched his fists and looked at Eric, who was still in shock. One of the teachers approached Alex.
Mr. Ambrose, you dealt with that so well, she said. And I'm sure you've turned that girl's life around. You're a dark horse, said another teacher. When you arrived, I was sure you'd fail, but I was wrong. You really know what you're doing. One by one, the teachers came forward to heap praise on Alex.
Only Billy and Leonard stay back, glaring at him. Well, teaching director. Alex taunted him, raising an eyebrow. Don't let it go to your head, Billy said, walking away. Alex was in a great mood. This teaching job wasn't so hard after all. Before long. Class six started acting up again.
Lance picked a fight with his substitute teacher in his English class, and he beat the teach.er severely. The teacher left and everyone acted as though nothing had happened. Nobody wanted to deal with the matter. Alex tracked down Lance. Why did you attack that teacher? He asked. What teacher? Lance asked, shrugging. You know perfectly well when I'm talking about, Alex said. Well, how did you do it?
Lance looked right at him. "Now you know who's really in charge of Class 6, and it's not you."
Lance shrugged arrogantly at Alex. "You clearly have some weird abilities. But that doesn't mean you have power."
"I've been with Class 6 since the beginning. You think you can just walk in here and take control? Even the principal knows who really has the power here. What do you think you can do?"
"Ah," Alex smiled. "Sounds like somebody has family in politics."
Lance frowned at him. "Yeah? So what? My dad is important. I've known the meaning of real power since I was little. You wouldn't understand."
"Right. And would he agree with you if I brought him here to talk with him myself? If you said all that again with him standing next to you, would he agree?"
A strange flurry of emotions crossed Lance's face quickly before he got control of himself again. "Good luck trying to get him here! I know better than to waste his time. What makes you think you can just summon him? Besides, even if you wanted to talk to him, you'd have to get through his secretary and all his office staff. He's a busy man. It's not so easy as just phoning him up," Lance said with a proud smile.
Alex shrugged. "Maybe. But as your teacher, I do have his contact information."
"Don't bother. Everyone in our class is the kid of someone important, and they're not going to answer dumb calls from dumb teachers. Some of my classmates may be following your rules now, but as soon as they change their minds they'll go back to their old ways." Lance crossed his arms. "You've got some wild ideas about the amount of respect teachers deserve. But we all understand the reality. You get paid a crap wage and have to spend all your time chasing around a bunch of kids who will always be more powerful than you. The second we graduate and step out of here, the hierarchy will be back in order, and you'll answer to us, same as everybody else."