"Fired?" Eric asked, getting to his feet.
Dylan, Felicity, and Lance also stood up.
"Why?" Felicity asked. "What happened?"
"Sit down!" Billy said. "I didn't tell you to stand, so do as you're told."
"We asked you a question," Lance said, frowning at him.
The students were all staring at him, their expressions hostile, and Billy grew a little flustered.
"I'm your head teacher now, so do what I tell you," Billy said. "Mr. Ambrose will not be returning to this school, so you need to get used to that."
Another student stood up. "You'll never be our head teacher," he said. "Why was Mr. Ambrose fired?"
"Yes! We want to know why!" another student called. The rest of the students stood up and joined in, demanding an explanation.
"If you think you can be our head teacher, then you're an even bigger idiot than I thought," Lance said, smirking.
"How dare you speak to me like that!" Billy said, flushing with humiliation and anger. "You accepted Mr. Ambrose as your head teacher, so why not me?"
"Because you're nothing compared to Mr. Ambrose!" Eric said. He picked up the books on his desk and threw them at Billy. Then the other students followed his example, and an assortment of books, pens, and pencil cases rained down on Billy.
"Stop it! Stop it right now!" Billy yelled, trying to avoid the attack, but several of the objects hit him right in the face.
Lance picked up his chair. "You'll never take Mr. Ambrose's place," he said. "Leave now, or you'll regret it."
He threw the chair, and Billy ducked, only just avoiding it. But when he straightened up, he saw that every other student had picked up their own chair.
"Go away!" Lance said, glaring at Billy. "I won't tell you again."
Billy looked at all the students brandishing their chairs and shivered with fright. He didn't dare argue with them, so he turned and fled out the door.
"Help!" he yelled, running down the corridor.
"Idiot!" Lance called after him. He picked up his book and then tossed it aside. "Well, I guess class is canceled." Shrugging, he walked out the door.
The other students followed him out to the playground and began to talk.
"Mr. Ambrose was such a good teacher," one girl said. "Why did he leave us?"
"Someone went to check his room, and everything has been cleared out," Eric said. "He's really gone." He sighed. In all his time at this school, Mr Ambrose had been the only teacher he had liked, and now he was gone.
The others felt the same way.
"Then the headmaster is an idiot too!" Lance said, scowling.
"Well, if we can't have Mr. Ambrose as our head teacher, then we're not having anyone else!" Dylan said, folding his arms.
"I don't understand it," Lance said, looking thoughtfully at Heidi. "Why would they make Mr. Ambrose leave after everything he's done for us? Neither the principal nor Mr. Wilde can do the things he did." He knew Heidi had nearly been abducted, and Mr Ambrose had saved her.
"We can't let this happen," Eric said. "We should continue to make trouble. The more trouble, the better! Then they'll have to ask Mr. Ambrose to come back."
The others shouted their agreement.
"Yes!"
"Yeah, that's a great plan."
"Let's do it!"
**
Alex returned to his job as a security guard at Johns Hopkins University. Everyone assumed he had simply been on holiday, so besides a few polite questions about how his vacation had been, he was able to return to work as if nothing had happened.
He put on his uniform and patrolled the campus. After a while, Debbie came out of a building and walked toward him. She was wearing a red jacket with a fur collar, and she looked really pretty.
Alex had called Debbie to tell her he was coming back, and they were happy to see each other after a week apart.
"Why don't we go for a walk?" Debbie suggested, taking his arm.
Everyone stared at the security guard walking with a beautiful young woman. They seemed to be an odd couple, and many of the onlookers were envious of Alex's good luck.
A few other couples were walking by the frozen lake, lost in their little worlds. Alex felt Debbie leaning into him, and he enjoyed having her so close. Their breath was visible in the chilly air, and everything seemed quiet.
They wandered into the trees and stopped. Alex looked at Debbie, admiring her sparkling eyes and rosy cheeks, and then he tugged her closer. He lowered his head and their lips met. They grew breathless as they kissed, and when Alex hummed in appreciation, he startled some birds, sending them flying off.
**
Alex had been gone from Oak Ridge High School for less than a day, and already the school was experiencing its first crisis.
Every student in Class 6 was causing trouble.
Billy had been happy that Alex had left, but it had rapidly become a nightmare.
After being chased out of Class 6, Billy was sulking in his office when his phone rang.
"Mr. Wilde, something is going on with Class 6," the caller said. "Five students from other classes have been injured, two of them quite seriously, and they'll have to go to the hospital."
Billy hung up and sighed. This was a disaster.
He stood up to leave, but then he stopped when his phone rang again.
"Hello, Mr. Wilde?" the caller said. "The students of Class 6 have just chased Mr. Winters through the school, and he fell down some stairs and seems to have broken his leg. There are also a lot of cars at the school gate. Do you know what's going on?"
Billy was stunned. What on earth was happening?
The next call came from the principal. "Billy, why aren't you with Class 6?" he asked. "Your students are running wild. Why aren't you stopping them? Don't you want to work here anymore?" There was a pause while someone mumbled something to him. "Oh God! They've set fire to the canteen! Go and get them under control!"
Billy frowned at her. "I'm not joking," he said. "Mr. Ambrose has been fired for violating the school rules, and I'll be taking his place. I expect you all to be on your best behavior from now on."