Ch 394 - Alternative Offers

Heidi was the only one who didn't make a call. She was determined to solve her problems by herself.

She was still very angry with Alex, who continued to stand on the sidelines refusing to help. She had built up a fantasy version of him in her head based on his performance in the fight on TV. She was finding the real version of him to be a huge disappointment. Even disgusting gang members like Micky were too much for him.

The students huddled together like helpless hostages, trying to think of ways to raise money. It was clear their parents weren't going to be much help.

Debbie turned to Alex and gave him an anxious, earnest look.

Alex smiled back at her. He still wasn't in a hurry to help. He didn't like the way Heidi had tried to use him, or how the students had assumed he was there to provide a service for nothing. He also wanted to make sure they all learned a valuable lesson before he stepped in.

"Time's up!" Sunny announced.

Micky sprang up from his chair. "Those phone calls didn't sound too promising! It kind of sounds to me like money can't solve everything after all. I guess we'll just have to find another way to make you pay!"

The fighters surrounding the students drew their knives menacingly. But before anyone could move, a voice called out, "Okay, wait a moment!"

The students craned their necks, trying to see who had called out on their behalf. Soon they realized that the person was Alex.

He looked calm and indifferent in the face of the gang and their weapons. He stepped forward as if nothing was wrong.

"What?" Ted was shocked by Alex's calm temperament. There was something about him that was even more impressive than Heidi's fire and strong spirit. Alex seemed to have a complete sense of peace about him despite the threats of violence he was facing.

"It's okay," Alex said to him. "I'm going to talk to these people and sort something out."

"Are you kidding me?" Heidi demanded. She had lost hope of Alex doing much, but now that he had volunteered to do something, she assumed he would be offering to fight. Instead, he was just saying he was going to talk.

Micky leaned forward on his crutches. "What was that?"

The students all watched Alex doubtfully. They still felt that he was a coward for not helping them before. Even the girls who had tried to speak up in his defence didn't think he would be able to do much to help them.

Davey spoke up and called to Alex, "Hey, no need to get yourself hurt, okay? We're trying to solve this the adult way. You don't have to come out now and pretend to be a big tough guy."

"Yeah, who do you think you are all of a sudden?" Ted asked. He was too scared to argue with Micky's gang. But he thought Alex was weak, so he had no problem arguing with him. 

A couple of other students began to laugh amongst themselves.

"I mean, seriously! What does he think he's going to do now?"

"He wasn't willing to fight when we were all working together! Now he thinks he can do something on his own? This is a joke!"

Debbie's beautiful face took on an angry expression as she listened to them belittle Alex. She regretted asking Alex to help them.

Ted shook his head. "Okay, you've had your moment in the spotlight. Now we need to do the real work and figure out how to take care of this money."

But Heidi ignored him. She kept her gaze fixed on Alex and said, "Okay. So now you want to help? Then help. Speak up."

Alex gave Heidi a small, dignified nod. He turned to Debbie and gave her his phone, asking her quietly to send a message to him. Then he turned back to the gang and gazed at Micky without speaking.

Micky was thrown off by Alex's sudden change of heart. He found the calm way Alex stared at him unnerving. But he tried to bluster through the moment.

"Nice of you to start paying attention, I guess!" he shouted. "So are you going to chip into the fund or what?"

A few of the students shivered. The more they thought about it, the more they understood they were not going to be able to come up with the money. It was unbearable to them to argue drawn out so long. 

Even the richest ones knew it would be very difficult to produce that much money in cash upfront. Getting the money could require selling cars, property, and even business shares. They knew Micky would probably not be satisfied with excuses like that.

Davey decided to try reasoning with him. "That's a lot of money to produce upfront. What about an instalment plan? We could start with a few million, and then keep paying it off—"

Micky cut him off with a slap across the face. "An instalment plan? Are you kidding me? You're not in a position to negotiate!"

Davey clutched his cheek. Micky had left a bright handprint across his entire face. 

In the background, Alex sighed and stepped back again. Davey had disrupted his attempt to help. He would have to wait for another opportunity to step in.

"I'm just trying to tell you the facts," Davey said desperately. "Getting you a billion dollars right this second is impossible! You have to know that!"

He looked at the other students, thinking that someone else would step up to support him. But the students turned away, too ashamed to look at him. They appreciated Davey for taking the initiative to speak up, but none of them felt bold enough to join him.

"Fine! Forget the money then. We'll find other ways for you to pay. We can start with fingers and toes," Micky said. Then he glanced at some of the girls and leered. "And for a lucky few, we can get a little more creative."

After saying this, he reached out and grabbed Heidi's arm.

Looking over the crowd, he spotted Debbie standing off to the side, and his smile grew wider. "I think I might prefer this payment plan after all."

With this insult, finally, Alex felt it was time to get involved.

Micky barely noticed that he had finally inspired Alex to action. He was too focused on Heidi, who was now trying to pull away from him.

Although she was a very strong fighter, she was still a young girl and quite sheltered. Most of the people in her life spoke to her very respectfully. She had never had to deal with a man being so disgusting and rude to her. She was so flustered she was having a hard time focusing on fighting him off. Her young face was red with anger and humiliation.

Micky thought she looked prettier than ever when she looked angry. "Hey, don't be shy! We're going to have a good time, you and me!"

The gang members all laughed as Heidi continued to struggle.