Chapter 30.1

 "Allé, you bien?" Michelle asked as Alina, after refreshing herself, left the washroom. Despite washing her face and emitting a bright look with rosy cheeks, Alina still had a pale complexion. As they started walking down the halls of the school, Asami caught up with the two.

"Hey, what's up? What happened?" Asami asked bubbly and Michelle glared at her. Her attempts to lighten the mood wasn't helping, it was only annoying Michelle.

"Nothing, just thinking of something," Alina said, refusing to elaborate further with a shake of her head. Right now, she wasn't in the mood to talk. She wanted to punch something, especially if it was a tanned smirking face that was covered in a messy stubble.

"Oh. Okay," Asami said, quieting down quickly velour looking around. "Hey, I'm gonna go look for Emily. What about you two?"

"We'll go to la Dome," Michelle responded. Alina said nothing but sent a grateful look to the former.

"Good idea. Always eat when you're upset, it does wonders for your thighs. Well, I'm going! Pwah!"

Asami blow kissed towards the two before running off.

"Elle t'aime vraiment beaucoup," Michelle muttered under her breath while smiling at Alina.

"Ungh, please don't say that … I'm getting goosebumps," Alina shuddered and replied before the two looked at each other and laughed. Alina had already figured it out without Michelle telling her, it was pretty obvious that Asami was crushing on Alina. Unfortunately, she only viewed Asami as a friend.

"Feeling meilleur?" Michelle asked and Alina nodded.

"A bit better, yeah," Alina looked at Michelle and smiled. "Thanks."

"Aucun problème," Michelle said. "Now, shall we?"

Alina nodded and the two left for the Dome, which they reached with little to no problems. The two lined up to buy their meals when they heard a commotion in front of them. Pushing through the crowd, they came across Markus, who was stepping on a student while others watched. Most looked on in amusement while others were too afraid to interfere. Alina narrowed her eyes when she saw Markus shaking that student for money.

"Hey, Michelle …" Alina cracked her knuckles and was about to continue when Michelle interrupted her.

"Je connais," Michelle said while shrugging. "I won't stop you."

Markus had taken the student's money and was grinning when Alina approached him from behind. Kicking the back of his knee, she forced him to kneel.

" - The fuc-!?" Markus cried out as he struggled.

Alina sent a current flowing through his body, stunning his muscles into spasms while she grabbed his head by the hair and pulled it down, forcing him to look up at her.

"Hey there, Marky," Alina said with an evil grin. "Sup? Think you could help me? I'm a bit low in cash."

"Screw you, you bitc-!" Markus tried swearing at Alina who narrowed her eyes when she saw his angry face.

Without waiting for him to finish, she slammed his head sideways into the glass display that was showcasing the large variety of lunch meals. Stars lit Markus's sight as the low ringing enveloped his hearing.

"What was that, Marky?" Alina asked in a low voice.

"Here! Take what you want, just leave me alone!" Markus cried as he handed her the money he took from the student.

"Atta boy, Marky!" Alina said while mockingly tapping his cheek in a rewarding manner as she would to her dog. She then shoved him aside roughly while clicking her tongue. "Now, get."

Markus, who scrambled up, swore under his breath and was about to run off when he noticed that he landed next to a pair of elegant shoes. Flaring up at first, he suddenly realized that only teachers would be dressed in those shoes and formal pants. He looked up and saw Jason looking down at him with a frown. In his arms was Alice, who seemed to be drifting off on his shoulder.

"Really, kid? Really? Bullying?" Jason said while turning to gaze at Alina. His voice was mired with exasperation and disappointment, the onlookers were certain that he didn't approve of what Alina did, no matter her reasoning.

Alina herself wasn't interested in what Jason had to say as she was still fuming at him. She wanted to have a "friendly chat" with Jason about Alice. She stood with her arms crossed defiantly, tapping her fingers on her arm while glaring at him with a tilt of her head.

"What did I say about bullying?" Jason asked in lecture mode. Alina didn't respond so Jason continued. "I taught you better! You don't leave evidence of your bullying behind! I mean, look at him! Look at that bump you left on his head!"

The onlookers almost collapsed from his words, each and every one of them glancing at Jason incredulously. If they were watching him from a distance, they would assume he was teaching her not to bully.

"I've told you before, if you're gonna beat someone up, make sure you don't leave evidence behind. Couldn't you have just aimed a kick at his balls? He'd be down and no one'd know if you kicked fast enough. Better yet, you don't even need to kick 'em physically, just tase 'em," Jason said while gesturing to Markus.

A chill passed through the crotch of every male student that heard him, and they all subconsciously leaned forward as their hands crawled downwards in an effort to protect themselves. Markus was between tears as well; wasn't this just pushing him off the ledge?! He would rather die than get his crown jewels electrocuted.

"All right, show's over people. Get a move on, c'mon, let's go! Go!" Jason ushered the crowd away before moving to Alina and Michelle.

Alina ignored Jason and walked past him to the student that Markus bullied. He was still on the ground with his head lowered, refusing to look at anyone.

"Here you go, bud," Alina said as she handed the money she took from Markus back to him. The boy slapped her hand away and glared at her accusingly.

"Did that make you feel better?" He asked with spite. "Needed a boost to fill your ego? Couldn't help but deign us with your heroics, Queen of Electricity?"

"Uh … you're welcome?" Alina answered sarcastically. She was slightly offended that she was receiving this behaviour after helping the bullied victim get justice.

"I didn't ask for help! Especially from an egoistic sixer like you!" The student spoke with venom, surprising Alina before he dashed off.

"Let him go, kid," Jason said when he saw Alina raising her hand to call after the boy.

He sighed inwardly when he thought of what the student said. From a perspective, Jason understood where the boy was coming from. Alina's aid wouldn't be helping him, instead, it gained Markus's ire who would no doubt increase his bullying, focusing his rage on the boy instead of Alina whom he couldn't beat. And Alina wouldn't be there to intervene every time.

What also didn't help was Alina's position in school: her level and the fact that the strongest teacher was her brother made her more pompous and arrogant to others, especially the lower levelled students; she was like those second-generation nouveau rich baddies from a webnovel. That wasn't all though, he could feel the tension simmering between the lower and higher-level Espers, not only in school but also in the city itself. The cracks in the system were spreading and he was sure that it wouldn't end well.

Shrugging his thoughts aside, Jason put Alice down and looked around for a moment. "Where's Emily and Asami?"

Just as he finished, he quickly moved to a side as a small fist breezed past his face. Wind flowed past the clenched fist and ruffled his hair. Jason felt some cold sweat drip down his forehead when he realized how much strength was in that punch.