Ch 404 - Making an Entrance

Eric saw things clearly. As the son of an important figure in Baltimore politics, he had been nurtured and groomed for navigating the city's politics. He was a quick learner and an independent thinker. Great things were expected of him.

Lance sneered. He understood that Billy's information could be useful, but his underhanded scheming was revolting. In Lance's mind, wealth and success should be inherited or earned cleanly. Besides, a sharp mind without scruples could be a threat.

"Who cares what Billy wants," another student interrupted. "Tell us more about the new teacher. What kind of teacher is he?"

"It seems that he's a PE teacher," Eric said and scoffed. "Disgraceful."

"It was bound to happen," Lance said. "After you put old Mr. Goldberg in the hospital, they were bound to get someone strong and fit."

Eric shot him an irritated look. "That old geezer needed a beating," he said. "So, what if I fell asleep in class? He disrespected me, and he paid for it!"

The other students averted their eyes. Eric and Mr. Goldberg had had an especially unfriendly relationship. The class was used to driving teachers away by being troublesome and playing pranks, but Mr. Goldberg had been different. Hiring thugs to assault him had been a step too far, and everyone but Eric seemed to understand that.

"All right, we get it," one of the girls exclaimed. "You're really tough, Eric. Now, what should we do about this new guy?"

"I'm not sure," Eric said with a smile. "But I think we should give him a nice, warm welcome."

The other students leaned in and listened with glee. While they all thought Eric had gone too far with Mr. Goldberg, torturing teachers was still their favorite thing to do.

Eric kept scrolling through Billy's messages and suddenly stiffened with excitement. "Wow," he exclaimed. "I guess Billy must have won the lottery or something."

All of the other students leaned further in and tried to glance at his phone. "Why?" one of them asked. "What's the matter?"

"He says that whoever manages to drive away the new guy gets fifteen thousand dollars. In cash," Eric answered.

The students couldn't believe what they were hearing, and they grew giddy with excitement. Few of them needed the money, but the thought of the teaching director paying them to get rid of a teacher was immensely intriguing. And besides, it would be money they earned on their own. For most of them, that would be a first.

"That settles it," one student exclaimed. "We drive the teacher away as quickly as possible, and then we split the money." The others nodded.

Lance turned to Eric. "Our teaching director certainly knows how to motivate," he said. "Tell him that we'll give Mr. Ambrose our warmest welcome, and then we'll refuse to do any work. He'll be gone before the end of the day."

Eric tapped a message on his phone and pressed send. "All right," he said. "Now, does anyone have a suggestion for how to surprise our dear new teacher?" Nobody answered. "Well then, think of something."

The group started murmuring among themselves about what they should do. The room was buzzing with excitement. Eric stood in the middle, like a general inspecting his troops before a battle. Then he saw something in the corner of his eye. He turned and saw Heidi sitting in a corner. She was reading.

"Still reading, Heidi?" he asked. It was very strange to him, especially considering what they were planning.

Heidi didn't answer. While she was also very interested in hearing about Master Alex and wondered about the new teacher as much as the rest of them, she wouldn't let it distract from her reading. Her family history wouldn't let her. Her father was a top biotechnology researcher, and she had grown up around books and knowledge.

It often made her feel alone in class. She was the only one who liked to study and learn. She would probably be completely isolated if it wasn't for the fact that boys paid attention to her. They doted on her and wanted to talk to her only because of the way she looked, but she didn't care. Mostly, she found it annoying.

She looked up from her book. Eric had come a little closer, and he was still staring at her. "Leave me alone," she said. "Can't you see that I'm reading?"

Eric raised his hands and backed away. "All right, fine," he replied obediently. As cocky as he was, he didn't want to offend her.

Right then, the school bell rang. The self-study session was ending, and the new teacher would arrive soon.

**

In the teacher's lounge, a group of teachers were sitting around a table. They were talking about the situation with the Class 6 seniors.

"Do you think Alex will make it through his first class?" one teacher asked curiously.

"Who knows," another answered and took off his reading glasses. "Some of their previous teachers have made it through, but most of them have crawled out."

"He's just a child himself," Leonard said as he came over to the table with a cup of tea and a smirk on his face. "He couldn't possibly hope to control them."

Just then, Billy entered the room. He said nothing to the teachers, but simply went over to a chair on the other side of the room and sat down. As he lost himself in thought, a huge grin appeared on his face.

"You've made your last mistake, Alex", he thought. "You should have stayed away from me. I took your girlfriend once, and this time I'll take even more. Those kids will eat you alive."

**

Meanwhile, Alex was approaching the classroom. His students were sitting inside waiting for him, each one at their proper place behind their desks. They were no longer gossiping or playing games. Instead, they sat like model students waiting for their new teacher. Their textbooks were laid out in front of them, and all were turned to the correct page.

Alex walked up the door to the classroom. It was slightly open already, and the complete silence on the other side gave him pause. If he had been any other teacher, there would have been nothing unusual about it. But Alex wasn't like any other teacher. His instincts were telling him that something was off.

"There is something above the door", he thought. "Maybe a bucket of water". He looked down. "And there's something on the floor. Oil, maybe. And something on top of the oil. Like tiny metal balls."

On the other side, the students had heard him approach. They were waiting eagerly for their trap to be sprung. It was an intricate design, and they had used it before to great effect.

As soon as the door opened, whoever came in would be drenched with cold water and the bucket would fall onto their head. The reaction of the victim would be to run, at which point they would slip on the steel marbles and fall into the pool of sticky oil. The setup was planned for maximum humiliation, which would hurt even more than the physical pain.

Alex paused outside the door. He couldn't say for sure what was waiting for him on the other side, but the danger was palpable. He smiled scornfully and took a step back. Then he raised his right leg and kicked the door so violently that it flew off its hinges onto the classroom floor.

The water bucket came crashing down, missing him completely. Instead, it fell with a splash and a loud clang onto the door, which now safely covered the little balls and the oil. Alex stepped in through the doorframe and stood triumphantly on top of the mess below him. The students all gaped at him in stunned silence.