Chapter 5 - Friend?

Silence descended upon the classroom suddenly following the sudden exclamation.

From outside the room, a gang of boys poured in, forcefully pushing away the fan girls and surrounding the transfer student in the next few seconds.

Alex was subjected to menacing, cold stares, jeers, and taunting looks, but, despite that, he remained nonchalant, more absorbed with the book in front of him, rather than the rabble swarming towards him.

His attitude instantly earned the ire of his newly emerged spectators. One boy, a short black-haired, brawny boy couldn't stand it any more.

"The f*ck?! What is wrong with you, brat? Can't you understand the language or something?!" He hollered with an annoyed tone, spewing saliva and threats in equal measure.

Still, besides the slightly displeased frown, the transfer student completely ignored the grunt, raising the anger of the boy at a steady steep pace.

"What the…" The boy exclaimed, his anger surpassing his shock in the next instant. Raising his hand, he violently hit the desk. A loud clap rang inside the room, causing another wave of shock to spread among the students.

"What is going on?"

"Are they trying to bully the new guy? Why?"

Murmurs began to spread among the rest of the class. A variety of emotions were felt amidst them. Shock, surprise, fear, sadness, and even some hints of mockery were all present.

Sidney and Zoe, who have remained in their front-row desks, were the only ones that weren't too deeply affected by what was happening. For Zoe, she showed interest, she was grinning widely. Only a bag of popcorn was missing from her hands, she was looking at the scene as if it was a show presented just for them.

Sidney on the other hand had a mixed, complex look in her eyes. Though she was annoyed by the new guy's clearly bad boy vibe and was loud when it came to dismissing his actions, she didn't want him to be subjected to such cruelty.

She knew very well how it felt to be bullied. She herself has experienced it all throughout her life. Her father, after having his fun with her mother left them, leaving nothing but grief behind. Her mother became ill under the sadness and the pressure. She became weak and sickly.

Life was hard for both of them. Though her mother still worked as much as she could, she often had to stay in bed. The situation deteriorated to the point that on her 15th birthday, the young Sidney had to go look for part-time jobs so they wouldn't fall deeper down in the pit.

In school she strived for the best possible grades, she was unlike the rest of the girls. She had no desire to dress up, she couldn't afford expensive make-up. Her boring, cheap, and ugly sweaters, her attire gave her the usual outlook of the nerd of the class, the 'teacher's favorite'.

Thus, she quickly became the target of cruel remarks and wanton bullying. The situation was horrible all throughout her early years in primary grades, all the way until she met with the strange girl, that later became her best friend, Zoe.

Zoe was someone that came to their city from somewhere out of state. From what they were told, she came with someone, though her parents never showed up, she was strangely never considered to be an orphan, despite clearly living alone.

Zoe was unlike the others, she wasn't superficial like all the others. Her rebellious look, her nature were a bright contrast to Sidney, but despite that, the two quickly became good friends.

For Sidney, Zoe became her support, her only light amidst the threatening despair she felt encroaching upon her from every direction.

"What is going on?" Sidney asked with a deep frown on her face.

"A great show, Sid… a great show." Zoe responded, grinning wildly, turning her gaze on the boy that finally reacted to the violent outburst of the one standing closest to him.

"What, something bothering you, pretty boy?! Want us to rearrange your stupid face, outsider?" Seeing the annoyed look in the still silent transfer boy's midnight blue eyes, the short black-haired boy reached his boiling point.

"You… annoying… little…" His face twisted into an ugly, angered look, he raised his hand once more. In the next moment, all his strength was about to be unleashed, hoping to at the very least cave in and destroy that stupidly handsome face of this newcomer and teach him proper respect, when suddenly a clear tone resounded from behind them.

"Stop! What are you doing Tommy?" Following the voice, a tall, lean figure stepped through the crowd. He turned his gaze on the boy that was about to blow up and attack the silent and strangely calm unknown figure. "Why are you threatening our newest friend?" He asked, his sweet-sounding tone, carrying a strange glimmer, causing the student, Tommy to instantly lower his arm, and shiver under the wide, friendly smile of this new man.

"I… I made a m-m-mistake, P-p-prince… Please… f-forgive me!" He stuttered, falling on his knees in the next second.

Meanwhile, without saying a single word or even honoring the scene with a sliver of his attention, Alex continued reading his study book and was instead immersed with its contents.

"It's not me you should be apologizing for, Tommy." The boy, that was referred to as the 'Prince' said, shaking his head. He pointed at the reading, transfer student with his head instead. "You offended our new friend, shouldn't you be saying this to him, instead?"

"T-this…" Tommy stuttered again, hesitating for a moment as he glanced at the Prince with a wryful look. Seeing no reaction at all besides the same, sweet-looking smile, he acquiesced after a few seconds and turned to face Alex instead.

Still, on his knees, he bowed, basically kowtowing on the ground as he spoke with a slightly disdainful tone.

"F-forgive my harshness, Alex. I… I acted out of line." He spoke, stealing glances at him as he did.

Yet, he could only frown, and click his tongue despite him humiliating him in such a manner on the first day of the school year… after wasting so much effort… He was still being ignored.

Still, he didn't voice his growing annoyance, and simply took his queue and stepped away as he stood up from the floor, leaving only the transfer student and the so-called 'prince' to speak.

As the situation resolved, the smiling boy, fixed her platinum blonde, slicked-back hair, donned his brightest, friendliest smile, and stepped closer to Alex's desk. He raised his hand, offering it to a handshake, as he gave his greeting.

"Hello there, Alex Gray! My name is Christopher William Martin Evans. You seem to be the topic of the day, and I just couldn't hold my curiosity… I had to come and greet you in person! What do you say, can we be friends?"