Johnny headed out of the Principal's office. He knew he had to apologise to Maddie.

Once he was out of the office, he whipped his head to his right and saw the auburn-haired girl who was probably going back to class. She was walking anyway; away from him. She wasn't waiting. Too bad. He leapt forward, and was about to yell after Maddie when his legs collided with something hard and firm. He fell, headlong, to the floor, making a grimace and managing a soft, low "Aww."

Why on earth did the Principal ask for a pavement in this place? Things like this were meant to be outside. Johnny raised his head from the floor, his face, still contorting with pain. However, he chose to act strong when he saw Maddie looking back at him. She had actually stopped to see if he was all right. She actually cared, after all. He was going to say, I am alright, but kept himself from speaking when he was lifted from the floor.

Johnny didn't quite remember asking anyone to lift him, so why in Springview High had he been lifted from... His eyes glistened with panic when someone raised his head; Dylan. Oh right, there was no pavement that stood in Johnny's way earlier. It was only Dylan's thick leg which he had purposefully kept on Johnny's path. Before Johnny could say a word, Dylan clasped his jaw with his beefy right.

"You little thing think you can make fun of me before the Principal, eh?" Dylan asked, tightening his grip on Johnny's flesh.

"Dylan, let go of him." Maddie made a plea. That was nothing close to a command. Her voice was weak and fragile.

"Watch your back!" Dylan hissed, "I am coming for you."

He let go of Johnny and gave him a slight push. Being weightless, or to be a lot more polite: lacking stamina, nerdy Johnny went crashing to the floor again. Dylan grinned at him and began walking away. Maddie was already trudging towards Johnny, but as soon as she and Dylan got close enough, the quarterback shoved her aside. She fell with less grace than Johnny did. Dylan didn't care at all. He kept stomping his way through the hallway until he was out of their sight.

Johnny and Maddie would have been quick with getting back to their feet, but they remained on the floor, silently. Johnny didn't think about any other thing except the reason behind his dogged refusal to work out. Surely, none of these would be happening if he actually worked out.

The Principal's door flung open. Johny and Maddie who were still sitting on the floor directed their gazes to the door. Mr. Javier stepped out of the Principal's office and fixed the two nerds with an askance look.

"I-I tripped a-an... and fell," Johnny said with a stammer.

"What about Maddie?" Mr. Javier asked, still disbelieving.

"She also fell," Johnny replied as he got to his feet.

"Whatever," Mr. Javier blurted, "Johnny, follow me. Maddie, vuelve a clase."

Mr. Javier didn't spare another while, he turned around and began walking away. Johnny watched Maddie get back to her feet. He had wanted to smile at her, but refrained from that when he noticed her blues. She was still unhappy. She didn't even as much as raise her gaze to meet Johnny's. She just turned and left.

~~••~~••~~

A part of her was pleading that she run back to Johnny and give him the most passionate hug any male can receive from a female, and maybe a confession would follow, and then maybe some clothing would be gone.

Stop it! She warned her accursed mind. I don't love him.

She tugged at the sleeves of her jacket and continued walking back to class. She readied her mind for the stares and whispers that she would be welcomed with when she would get back to class. She recalled that very embarrassing moment she told everyone what Dylan had actually done. Only now did she realise that she had given nerd-haters a reason to be glad.

She pushed the door open and allowed her gaze to remain lowered for a while. She raised her head a minute later and fixed her eyes on her table beside which her brother sat. She didn't for once take her eyes off her table as she walked. What could she say? The kind of terrible things you experienced in Springview High because you were a nerd.

"Maddie," Jerome called with concern, placing his hand on hers when she sat. "Why did you go to Johnny's table?"

Maddie withdrew her hand from his touch and fixed him with a murderous stare. How could he possibly not even care about what had actually happened to her? She was putting all the efforts her slender form could muster not to yell at him.

"And that's the most important thing to you?" She asked, not doing entirely well with concealing the anger that was roaring through her voice.

"Well, what do you expect me to ask? You are getting too close to him," Jerome said, coldly. In a truer sense, even colder than he was before, but definitely not the worst he has ever been. Maddie was not only his sister, but also his mate ever since childhood. He never truly had friends and didn't quite like the idea of caring about others. In Maddie's opinion, that would have to stop. He couldn't go about acting as if he didn't have a heart.

"You know you are being a jerk right now!" Maddie snapped without minding how loud she sounded.

Jerome ignored her and returned to his reading. He wouldn't have her complaining about his temperament. If she would go about it, then she had better anticipated to earn no response from him.

"How disappointed mom and dad will be to know that big brother isn't looking out for me. Even if am only ten minutes younger, you are still the elder. You can't just go about ignoring your responsibilities!" Maddie had lost it. Her booming voice hushed the wagging tongues that had refused to stay put ever since she walked into the class. All lips went shut, but eyes didn't; and not even when Maddie had begun sobbing.

"Maddie, I..." Jerome wanted to place his hand on hers again, but she wouldn't let him.

"Bugger off, loser!" She whimpered, burying her head into her table as she cried even louder.

~~••~~••~~

"Why did you do it?" Mr. Javier asked, without dropping the newspapers this time. He had asked Johnny the same questions for the past half hour.

"Sir, I should actually be in class now. I have Math in five minutes," Johnny divulged.

Mr. Javier finally dropped the newspapers and fixed Johnny with an earnest stare. He ran a finger along his stubble and said, "Perdóname la pretensión," which was Spanish for "Spare me the pretence."

"How long has he been picking on you?" Mr. Javier asked.

"Who?" Johnny asked, feigning innocence.

"Goddammit!" Mr. Javier cussed. "I equally don't have time for this. So, be honourable enough to cooperate."

Johnny kept staring at him, wordlessly. He wasn't going to budge. He knew that Mr. Javier wouldn't spare anyone that dared bully him.

"All right," Mr. Javier said while taking a deep breath. "I am talking about Dylan for heaven's sake. Now, how long has he been bullying you?"

"He hasn't been bullying me," Johnny lied, he was doing an entirely excellent job with hiding the tiniest twinge of emotion that would suggest he was lying.

"Come on, Johnny. I know you don't want to get him expelled. I won't tell the Principal," Mr. Javier revealed, his dark eyes shone with desperation. He wanted to know what his favourite student had been going through.

Well, if that was the case, and because Mr. Javier was not known to be a fabulist, Johnny thought there was actually no harm in telling the Spanish instructor.

"Ever since he walked through the gates of Springview High," Johnny told him, summoning all the muscles in him to wage war against the tears that were threatening to emerge.

"My my," Mr. Javier said as he chewed angrily on his lower lip.

"You promised you won't say anything about it," Johnny said, sadly. "That can't solve anything. It just keeps infuriating the rest."

"So, tell me what your plan is," the Spanish instructor urged.

"Keep repaying their evils with good, I guess," Johnny said as images of Dylan warning him to watch his back flitted across his mind. He has been too good to all of them bullies, but that had got him nothing. What was actually the point in being good?

"That's how the bastardos of my time tormented my soul. Listen kid, you are not a nerd. You are simply smarter than every other person." Mr Javier smiled a comforting smile at Johnny.

"Thank you, Mr. Javier!" Johnny smiled with an even deeper, wider smile. Not because of the Spanishman's encouraging words, but because he agreed to keep mute about Dylan.

“Dont hate him so much,” Mr. Javier advised, an unhappy smile spreading across his face. Johnny looked at him questioningly.

"I mean, Dylan," Mr. Javier added, catching the look on Johnny's face. "Don't hate him so much. He is just as miserable."

The curiosity on Johnny's face didn't waver for once. He was still unable to grasp a thing. "What do you mean, sir?"

"Do you know Mr. Barnett?"

"Our past principal that went missing some months ago?"

"Yeah, that was Dylan's father," Mr. Javier divulged.

"That can be."

"That's because Mr. Barnett never admitted that Dylan was his son. This should be a secret: Mr. Barnett felt his wife cheated, so he never actually accepted poor Dylan as his son. They live together, but not as father and son."

Mr. Javier sighed and continued, "Dylan turned worse after his hating father disappeared."

"You mean, he died?" Johnny asked.

"You must have heard this tale a million times. He didn't die. He actually disappeared right in that accursed library. This school is cursed, kid. And I have been considering quitting," Mr. Javier stated, grimly as he pulled at his tie.

"Just hang in there till I graduate," Johnny pleaded as they both chuckled.

"Well, I..."

"Sir, I would like to get back to class," Johnny interjected, keeping Mr. Javier shut. Johnny always felt entertained by Mr. Javier's joviality as much as Mr. Javier was entertained by his braininess, but he was already late for Math class.

"All right," Mr. Javier beamed, playfully raising his hand in the air like a dame from the past whose wave was a sign of authority. "Run along, nerdy Johnny!"

Johnny who was already on his feet, stood still for a moment, wide-eyed and open-mouthed.

"What?" Mr. Javier asked, feigning ignorance.

"What did you just call me, sir?" Johnny asked, glaring at the Spanish instructod.

"You have Math class to attend," Mr. Javier reminded the brown-haired nerd as he continued waving his hand. "Go please."

Math class would be the very last thing Johnny would skip. Not even if the President would be visiting Springview High, or the pleasantries of a funny Spanish instructor who was his very best teacher in the school would keep him back. He turned around, and smilingly headed for the door, leaping like a young frog.

~~••~~••~~

Howdy mates!

I sincerely apologize for the few Spanish lines in this chapter. I only thought it wouldn't be right for Mr Javier to claim to be Spanish and still refuse to say a few lines in Spanish.

Please, turn a blind eye on that. What do you think about this chapter? Can one really cry because elders were forgoing their duties?

Thanks for reading. Please, don't forget to vote!

I love y'all!

GShaquille.