Chapter 32: Announcement

"I arrived too early," grumbled Draven.

He sat in the chair that had been assigned to him. It was in the farther back corner, near the window. Despite the confusing and shocking events of the day before, he decided to attend the class because he had no choice since the college exam was near.

"What could be the reason why they suddenly became violent towards me?" Draven wondered.

He remembered his classmate's hatred directed at him. It was extreme and deep, as though he had killed something precious to him. Furthermore, Draven had the impression that his classmate's attack was intended to kill him rather than intimidate him. He could not help but feel astonished at what could have driven his classmate to become a crazy person.

"Kraig, that man. I don't remember offending him, much less his friend. They are not that close with Elliot either, much less Aiden. What could make him act that way, then?" Draven continued to amuse himself for over an hour.

Before long, a person walked inside his classroom while grabbing hold of the doorknob. As he surveyed the classroom, he was stunned to see Draven waving his hand at him. He was stupefied and had no idea what to do.

'Should I ignore him from now on to avoid trouble? However, why does he appear to be unaware of the situation he was in? Should I enlighten him about it? But what if I got caught interacting with him? My life will be ruined from that moment on!

'No! He was the only person I interacted with! If I ignore him from now on, it's akin to forgetting our relationship just because I'm afraid of losing my reputation! No, No! I should let him realize the circumstances he was in then! And be truthful with my words afterward. I'm sure Draven will understand me!'

After thorough and careful consideration, he finally arrived at a conclusion. Draven sensed his seatmate's hesitation and knew a bit of the reason. However, he was not offended. On the contrary, he was delighted to realize his seatmate's willingness not to ignore him.

"Hey, Joseph! Why are you trying to ignore me, huh? Have you forgotten our bond?" asked Draven.

He snickered as he thought of how easy this guy was. Although, at first, he did not mind having someone to talk to, and the fact Joseph was scorned and always bullied by his classmate made him think Joseph was a great person to interact with.

Although he anticipated he would be implicated in the bullying. He did not expect he was ignored.

"I-It's not what you think, Draven. A-are you really not aware of the situation you are in?" Joseph asked.

He placed his bag on his seat, and he sat while facing Draven with a concerned expression. He could not be blamed for worrying for Draven though since Draven's situation was even worse than his. The bruise concealed by his uniform, his uneven ugly face caused by the constant beating, and how he acted to other people except for Draven.

Draven had been the only person who was with him when he was mocked, beaten, and got contempt from other girls. Draven would always listen to his problem, while the former was only silent and did not try to comfort him with words. Joseph was fine that way though since he does not need the comfort of anyone.

Draven does not know how to comfort him though, especially with words. He sucked at that, and since he spend most of his time in the library. It was clear he had a good assessment of intelligence, but he had no wisdom to be aware of others' needs.

"Care to explain?" Draven asked.

"I-I…" Joseph got panicked, but a moment later he resigned with a sigh. "The whole school was aware of the rumor already. Even the teachers could not hide their disgust toward you.

Did you remember that you left before even the teacher got inside? Once he heard you have been here but left, he was not angered about your AWOL, but scolded us for not stopping you so that he could talk to you personally about the rumor."

"I doubt it was only a personal peaceful talk. Beating me to his fulfillment might have happened if I did not leave early," said Drave shaking his head.

Joseph gulped as he nodded in a fearful manner. Beads of sweat rolled down his forehead while thinking of the scene Draven got beaten up brutally by their teacher.

"Stop thinking unnecessary things. Tell me the content of the rumor and what it is all about."

Draven's face turned serious as he placed his elbow on his desk while gently laying his cheek on his hand. His ears faced Joseph, ready to listen for something Joseph had to say.

"It's about this. T-They said, Y-You sexually harassed Isabella," stuttered Joseph.

How could he not stuttered and hesitated to explain something that might have been hard to say? It was as though he was trying to explain to a priest that he was caught in a controversy about having a hidden relationship with the other's wife.

"What the actual fuck did you mean? Did I even interact with her? How could such a ridiculous rumor pop out and become the headline news in the school? Are they even aware of what they were trying to spread? Such a rumor could potentially destroy someone's reputation!"

"I-I I don't know! How could I know about it? All I heard was that you committed something that gained the wrath of the boys, so it was not surprising that Kraig attacked you!"

Draven was lost for words as a stunned expression painted on his face. He sexually harassed Isabella, the idol of the boys in school? Why should he not commit suicide right now, then? After all, even though he did not commit such an immoral act, the power of rumor could still be enough to gain the wrath of the masses of people.

After Joseph finally completed the first phase of his decision, he was about to suggest if he could stop their interaction until the rumor was cleared. However, he hesitated and the words stuck in his throat. He could not bring himself to betray his only friend, and thus the dead silence permeated the whole classroom.

"This is ridiculous! I need to make a move to stop this rumor. However, who would listen to me? I could only approach a person who holds power to stop and clear the baseless rumor, but who could it be?" Draven contemplated.

Just when Draven was about to find out the best person to stop the baseless rumor. A startling, jarring noise echoed throughout the whole classroom or precisely the whole building. All the people at the building stopped what they were doing and perked their ears, for they knew what would happen next.

"Calling the attention of Draven to please go into the Principal office. Thank you."

The speaker placed at every corner ceiling of the building echoed and announced the same thing over and over again. It repeated five times before it stopped with a clank.

Draven's eyes lit up with his ecstasy smile as he suddenly jumped out of his seat. Joseph was startled as he saw and heard Draven exclaim in an enthusiastic tone.

"That's it!"