章 29: Weird Consequences
(A.N: I don't know if you will get mad, but I made Professor McAllister and Principal Harris shittier than they originally were. Don't hate me plz. Also, long chapter ahead.)
Erik left the room soon after, while Professor McAllister and Principal Harris stayed behind to talk.
"What's the problem, professor?" Principal Harris asked.
"Can I talk freely?" the teacher asked.
"Yes."
"I think the young man should be punished at least," the teacher said while looking at the old man.
"Why do you think so?" Principal Harris asked with a calm tone while looking out the window.
"He fought against three kids, knocking two unconscious and going as far as to make one bleed. He must learn that actions have consequences."
Principal Harris then went to the desk and took a cigar from the drawer. He lit it up and then said, "Tell me, Professor. If we punish the kid, what should we do with the ones in the infirmary? Not only did they set the second floor's bathroom on fire, to which we closed an eye, but apparently, they also bullied him."
"There is no proof they really did that…" Professor McAllister said. Principal Harris looked at him, a little disappointed.
"Really, Sean? You are disappointing me. I get you lied in front of the young man, but you can't in front of me. YOU KNEW the kid was being bullied. Even I received words of it, it's impossible you, as his teacher, didn't."
"Then why did you do nothing if you knew?" Professor McAllister asked.
"For your same reason, Sean, it was simply not worth it." He paused, "But after today's events, the situation changed."
"It changed because he awakened, right?"
Principal Harris took a deep and long puff from the cigar. "That is exactly the reason."
"I get it, but it is still very hypocritical. Still, what I said still stands; we should punish the kid. We can punish the others, too, if that serves to appease Mr. Romano, but we need to enforce discipline. If such a kid grows powerful, he could bare his fangs against the nation."
"That would complicate things..."Principal Harris said.
"Because of the Military?"
"Exactly," the principal replied. "If the kid gets arrested, he would have to spend some time in jail. But you know very well that mandatory recruitment starts soon. Do you think the higher-ups will be pleased if we send an awakener to jail when he could have joined the Military?"
"But, Sir, he used his power to injure a student. If he doesn't learn that his actions have consequences, he..."
"Enough. This is just a minor setback compared to what will happen if we don't send the kid to the Military."
Professor McAllister didn't reply, but he looked at the older man with concern.
"You can go now, Professor. We already talked too much…" Principal Harris said, and the man left the room.
***
Erik was still outside the room, waiting for his teacher to tell him he was free to go. He was currently looking at the principal's office door.
It was made of brown wood and had two glass windows, allowing light from the hallway into the room. The boy saw Professor McAllister and the Principal discussing but could not hear what they were saying, but the conversation looked severe.
As the minutes passed by without any sign of the teacher leaving the office, the boy began to become impatient, but it was at that moment that Professor McAllister came out while looking at the young man.
"What do you usually do before classes end?" the teacher asked Erik.
"I go to work, sir," he replied.
Professor McAllister sighed, "You can go to work, but you must come here by 18:00 and come to the Gym. Your training starts today."
"All right, Sir. Can I go now?" Erik asked.
"Yes, you can, but don't be late. I don't like it."
With that warning, Erik turned around and left.
While leaving the building, he saw the students looking at him as if he was a kind of monster. It was a different kind of stare from the usual, but he kind of liked it, as it wasn't scornful anymore.
However, today's stunt's effects weren't clear, and he had to wait to see if they had the intended effect.
The kids whispered among themselves while he passed, probably talking about what happened to the cafeteria, but the young man could only infer what they were really saying.
However, jealousy was mixed among the words. Awakening was a big deal, and all the Awakeners usually became filthy rich since the government gave them special attention.
"Why couldn't I have awakened another power?" That was what most of the students said.
Many people knew Erik wasn't bound to be the school trash from that day onward. Having two brain crystal power meant he could get double the neural links.
Even if his new power was trash, he had the potential to become twice as powerful as the strongest of the soldiers, and he was certainly bound to become so for people of the same rank.
Erik didn't know, but during his stay at high school, he became a sort of stress relief for the other students. In that society, the competition was high. Knowing that there was someone beneath them comforted most of the bottom-tier students, which were also the ones who bullied him the most.
This behavior, though, was frequent at school, and many kids suffered because of it. However, it was also true that he was the one who was having it worse due to his peculiar situation, and besides, being alone proved to be a great burden to his psyche.
Erik ignored all the students; his new problem now was to go to Mister Fox's farm and tell him that from that day onward, he would have to return to school at 18:00.
That situation didn't affect him that much since he went to train whenever he returned from work. Doing it at his house or the Gym was actually indifferent. But, of course, the young man knew the benefits of being privately tutored by someone.
After a small journey toward the train station, he boarded one, but the events made him think a lot.
He didn't want to spend the rest of the time he had to pass at school bullied by Logan or made fun of by other people, and he really hoped what he did would work.
Then he thought about what he would do in the following days; in September, he would be forced to attend military school.
He couldn't be weak when he went there because he would risk people bullying him there too. Erik knew that if the competition were already so bad here at high school, it would be worse for the military school, with the difference that there, people learned to fight and to kill.
However, with what he did today, maybe people would leave him alone since he was officially considered an Awakener now.
Though, there was a limit to what that could do. Since, If he stepped on the wrong person's feet, retribution was bound to be ruthless. In the end, everything came down to improving his strength, and training with Professor McAllister would give him the opportunity.
This also meant he didn't have to miss a daily quest, and he had to find a way to get experience.
While in deep thought, he finally arrived at the northern district and took the usual route toward Mister Fox's farm.
As he arrived, Erik saw Mister Fox sitting near his house window, watching the fields and probably waiting for the young man to arrive.
He wore only a pair of shorts and nothing else, and his body was lean and fit despite his age. However, his arm was still missing, replaced by a mechanical one he used with great agility.
Erik approached the older man, who looked at him with a glare. "You are late, boy," Mister Fox said.
"I'm sorry, sir, I had a problem at school."
"It looks like you are getting in trouble a lot lately."
"Sorry for that," Erik said. He then looked at his employer with anxiousness, and after having pondered what to say for a bit, he started addressing the issue at hand, "Mister Fox, there is something I must tell you."
"What?" the old man asked.
"The school asked me to return there at 18:00 from today onward. I can't work till late as usual."
"What the hell, Erik?" the old man shouted. This meant he had to do much more work alone.
"I'm sorry, sir!"
"Fuck, this means I must collect all the products alone!"
"I'm really sorry, sir," and he was. Erik couldn't afford to lose his job, as his financial situation was already complicated. Moreover, that was the only place where he truly felt at peace with himself, and no one judged him for his power.
Tending to the crops was something that gave him peace; it allowed him to be self-sufficient and also to make money. Besides, the farm was one of the few places where he felt safe; even though Mister Fox wasn't the most pleasant person in the world, he treated him like a human. Like a shitty one, but still one nonetheless.
The old man looked at Erik; he knew the young man had no choice. So, he sighed and said to Erik, "All right, you can go back, but I will lower your pay."
Erik looked at Mister Fox with mixed emotions, but in the end, he said, "Sir, thank you; thank you very much! Don't worry about the pay."
<Yeah, don't worry, old fucker. I will simply take everything from the ATMs!> he inwardly thought.
"Just let's get to work now..."Mister Fox said, sighing.
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