The principal felt like crying, and he wondered if these students were ever going to stop destroying things.
But then a voice called out, "What's going on here?"
Lance stopped at once and turned around, his face pale, and the rest of Class 6 also ground to a halt, looking stunned.
They all recognized that voice and they hadn't expected to see him again. Now they grew anxious at having been caught acting badly.
"Lance, what's going on?" Alex asked, walking over with Heidi.
"Mr. Ambrose," Lance said, his eyes darting around the playground. "It was, uh, really cold, so we lit a fire to keep everyone warm." It was a lame excuse, and he knew it, but he was too shocked to think quickly.
Lance shook with fear as he looked at Alex.
"Get a fire extinguisher and put out that fire," Alex ordered, and all of Class 6 ran off, rushing to do as they had been told.
One of the students moved too slowly, and Eric yelled at him. "Hurry up! Mr. Ambrose told us to get the fire out."
"Mr. Ambrose, you're here!" one of the teachers said. News of his arrival rippled through the crowd.
"Mr. Ambrose, thank goodness you're here!" cried another teacher. "I don't know what we would have done without you."
The students stared at Alex, whispering excitedly.
"Is that Mr. Ambrose? He's so handsome!"
"Yeah, and he's really cool."
"He's a huge improvement on Mr. Wilde."
"Yeah, totally."
"Look at Class 6! They're doing everything Mr. Ambrose told them."
With all of Class 6 working together, the fire was soon extinguished, and Alex looked over at the students.
"Line up," he said, and then he waited.
Class 6 came to stand in front of him, their heads lowered, and none of them speaking.
Billy looked on, jealous at the way the students hung on Alex's every word. They did everything he told them and never kicked up a fuss. Whenever Billy told them to do anything, they reacted badly and erupted into violence.
Why was Alex so special?
In less than ten minutes, Oak Ridge High School had returned to normal.
"Welcome back, Mr. Ambrose!" Eric called.
The whole of Class 6 burst into applause.
"Mr. Ambrose, let me explain," Lance said, worried that Alex would be angry at him. "We only burned the old chairs. We already have new ones."
"Are you all going to behave yourselves now?" Alex asked, ignoring Lance's ridiculous explanation.
"No, Mr. Ambrose," chanted the students, keeping their heads down.
Alex had seen the school on his way here, and he knew there hadn't been any substantial damage. Class 6 was responsible for the mayhem, but they hadn't done any lasting harm.
No one had expected them to drive all the other students to rebel, and the school board was shocked at how bad things had gotten.
But now that Alex had stopped the ringleaders, the other students fell into line, and their teachers rounded them up with no resistance.
Finally, the school was quiet once more.
All the teachers, including the principal, were relieved. But Billy and Leonard stood there, scowling.
Billy couldn't hold back his jealousy any longer. "Now I know what happened here," he said. "Clearly, Alex encouraged the students to cause trouble, just so he could swoop in and save the day! You just have to play the big man, Alex, don't you?"
"Don't be so stupid!" Eric said, glaring at him. "This had nothing to do with Mr. Ambrose."
"Yeah," another student said. "Nobody made us do anything."
"That doesn't matter," Billy said, refusing to give up. "You caused a riot right after he left, and I doubt that's a coincidence. Care to explain?"
Now that the danger had passed, Billy wanted to reestablish his authority. He was positive Alex was behind this somehow, and he wanted to expose him.
Why does he have such control over this class? Billy wondered. I'm superior to him in every way! I have a better family, education, contacts, money, and status. It's no comparison!
"What explanation would satisfy you?" Alex asked, looking at Billy.
"It doesn't matter," Billy said. "I am the teaching director, and as long as that's the case, you can't come back to work here. You must have been pretty well connected to have gotten a place here. They're normally very selective." He glared at Alex. "And Alex, even if you do come back, I have control over your performance reviews and salary. I'll be your boss."
Alex burst out laughing.
Billy had already exposed his character flaws to the director of the school board, the principal, the teachers, and the students. He was clearly a cowardly, incompetent idiot with little moral character, and now everyone could see it.
"Billy, do you think your family and status are better than mine?" Alex asked. "Is that your problem with me? Is that why you're always trying to put me down?" He laughed again. "You're a joke. You have no idea what you're up against, and you're only making things worse for yourself."
He took a step forward. "You were the first person to cause me trouble," he said. "I was weaker back then, but things have changed, and you won't find it so easy to pick on me now. You're just a clown, and your only purpose in life is to have people laugh at your stupidity." He stared Billy down. "I will come and go as I please, and no one can stop me."Billy gaped at him in shock. Alex had always been so quiet in the past, but now he was downright scary.
Alex's grandfather had disowned him, but even without the support of the Ambrose family, Alex was still a powerful man. He was the lord of the Moon Palace and a famous martial artist.
He wasn't the same person he had been at Preston University. These days, Billy couldn't bully him, and Cathy wouldn't hesitate to be with him. Sadly for her, Alex had already found his true love.