Rise of Alpha (The Prodian Journey #1) (28 page)

“Just who do you think you are, barging in here? This area is off limits to weirdos.”
 

“Oh yeah? Then what are you doing here, you piece of crap?”
 

At my words, Kevin barreled in my direction. Luck made my feet catch a piece of equipment on the floor, and I stumbled backward, avoiding what would’ve been a hard blow.
 

Kevin managed to brace his fall by landing on top of me, and that was when all hell broke loose. We grappled together on the ground, rolling, kicking, and exchanging punches.
 

“For the last time, keep your hands off her!” I socked him in the face real good, and blood squirted from his nose.

“Stop it, Stop it!” Shannon’s voice echoed in my ears, but there was no stopping me. I was nowhere even close to easing up. Rage and adrenaline kept me going, landing punches and kicks without pause. I’d had enough of Kevin trying to take advantage of her.

“You son of a bitch!” Kevin howled and swung at me, catching me across the jaw.

All of a sudden, a familiar stink drifted around us and we were yanked to our feet.

“What’s going on here?” Mr. Ax grunted under the force of my resistance.
 

“You broke my nose, you dipshit.” Kevin spat out some blood.
 

An excruciating pain radiated from my chest, but pride kept me from crying out while I tried to catch my breath. “I’m not done yet, you bastard,” I said through gritted teeth.
 

“You’re going to get expelled, you piece of scum,” Kevin roared. His face was a mask of rage as he took a step in my direction.
   

Mr. Ax yanked him back, and then tossed him to the ground. “He’s not going to get expelled. You are.”

Sputtering with anger, Kevin jumped to his feet. “But . . . you told me to—”

“Enough!” Mr. Ax cut him off. “You’re in big enough trouble as it is.” Then he turned to me. Behind those dark glasses, I sensed the dagger glare he threw my way. “I’m watching you, Morrison.”

Shannon rushed over and wrapped her arms around me. “Mr. Ax, thank God you came. It was Kevin’s fault. He was going to attack me. Brian came in time to help me.”

“If that is the case, then you should come with us to the Principal’s office.” Mr. Ax turned on his heel and found Kevin smirking at me. “You’re not going to like what’s going to happen next. If I were you, I’d cut my losses now and shut up.”
 

Once more, we found ourselves being hustled to the principal’s office.
 

After several hours of intense interrogation, I walked out of Mr. Delson’s office with a final warning. Engage in another fight, whether it was my fault or not, and I’d get booted out. Shannon testified against Kevin, and Mr. Ax confirmed her statement. The whole process gave me some time to study the new teacher, and more than ever, I believed there was more to the man than met the eye. And I would make sure I found my answers soon.

The whole event left me baffled. It left so many questions that needed answers. What was Kevin trying to say before Mr. Ax cut him off? And what was the photography teacher doing near the locker room?
 

In the end, I was just relieved that Shannon had escaped without a scratch.

Grounded

Shannon and I left the principal’s office in a hurry, trying to avoid crossing paths with Kevin again. Now that he’d been expelled, the situation was bound to get worse. We hurried to my car, and once we got inside, Shannon started fussing at me.

“Brian, you can’t keep fighting like this.” She touched my jaw, and I fought hard not to react under her watchful eye.
I won’t kiss her. I won’t kiss her,
I chanted in my head.

“In case you hadn’t noticed, I was trying to protect your virtue.” I pulled away, afraid I wouldn’t be able to control my physical reaction to her proximity.
 

“I can defend myself. Besides, you’re going to be expelled if you get in another fight.”

Shannon glanced ahead, and we saw Kevin walking out when we passed the school. His expression said it all. He wanted payback.
 

For the first few minutes, nothing much was said as we headed home. I had so many things running through my mind, but focusing on them would only provoke my tics. There was no point in worrying about anything other than Shannon’s safety.
 

“Did you smell that stink back there? Or was it only me?” she asked.

At least it wasn’t just me. “It came with Mr. Ax, I swear.”

“What’s up with him? He scares me.” She shuddered.

I reached for her hand and held it. “Don’t worry. I’m going to be watching him from now on.”

Shannon shot me a glare. “Of course I’ll worry. He looks really pissed at you.” She shook her head. “What I’m trying to figure out is what Kevin was trying to say. You heard it, right?

I nodded, knowing full well we had another puzzle to solve. “From now on, avoid Ax at all times. If he comes near you, run away.”

Shannon laughed. “He’s our teacher. I can’t avoid him.”

“I’m trying to look after you,” I whispered.

“Why? Is there something I should know?”

It wasn’t something I could discuss with her, but before I could stop myself, I blurted out a different sort of secret. “I . . . think I’m falling for you . . . ”

I let go of her hand and looked away, expecting a rebuff. Shannon didn’t say anything, and an uncomfortable silence followed. When I couldn’t take it anymore, I shot a furtive glance at her.
 

Her expression confused me. I’d expected her to laugh or tell me that I’d overstepped a boundary. Instead, she was smiling.

“That wasn’t so hard, was it?” Shannon tugged at my arm. “And don’t let go of my hand.”

She wasn’t upset. I had been stressing for no reason at all.
 

“I’ll call later.” I kissed her hand as soon as we’d parked in my driveway.

Shannon smiled. “Sure. I’ll be waiting.”
 

After I got her safely inside, I got back inside my car and headed down the road. I needed to go somewhere I could summon to Matro without witnesses so I could talk to him and not be seen talking to myself again. Mark’s place would be the safest bet, I figured.

My phone buzzed with a text from Shannon as I was pulling up to Mark’s house. I parked and read her message.
 

Hope ur doing ok. Running errands with mom. Don’t worry. Gilbert is with us. See u 2night. Same bat-time, same bat-channel.

Despite myself, I grinned at her attempt to make me laugh and responded, “KK.”
 

No sooner had I hit send than Matro appeared in the passenger seat, startling me.
 

I glared at him. “Don’t you have a warning bell or something?”
 

“Testy. You’ll just have to get used to it, my boy.” He stretched his long legs as best he could in the cramped space. “You got in a fight again.”
 

“Well, duh!” I replied. “Aren’t you supposed to be watching out for us?”
 

The expression on his face stopped me from continuing, however. Matro rubbed his chin and sighed.

“I can’t see you when you’re in school. It’s weird. And Car’s out of pocket. I’ve been calling him, but there’s no answer.”

Matro’s clear distress showed he wasn’t lying. If we didn’t have backup at school, it posed a greater problem for me. Kevin had no grasp of when to stop, even more than usual. Although I didn’t know Kevin well on a personal level, it was clear that he hadn’t been himself. He seemed almost dazed most of the time.

“How is that possible? You see everything.” It was meant as a question but sounded more like an accusation.

“It’s that teacher, right?
 
I’m guessing he must be one of the leaders. He’s blocking my vision. I can’t explain it, but it’s like my radar shuts down. There’s this big
bleep
in the middle.” Matro opened the car door with a rough push.

“So does this mean I’m on my own there?”
 

Matro looked remorseful. “Forgive me. It will never happen again. You’ll never be on your own.”

“Hey, I know what I have to do. No worries, man.”
 

“Regardless, I’m to blame for that. From now on, I’m sticking to you guys like glue. I need some time to find out what’s causing the glitch.” We walked together to Mark’s house, and Matro patted my shoulder. “For now, just sit tight. There’s nothing much they can do while you’re near Shannon.”

When I rang the doorbell, Mark answered right away.
 
He gave me a cursory glance, then looked at Matro, then back to me. “You look like shit.”

“Gee, thanks.
 
I have a habit of rearranging my face every now and then.”
 

We made our way to his room. Once there, Mark and I settled down to play video games, but Matro stayed by the window, staring into space.
 

Nothing more was said until we paused to rest.
 

“I heard what happened,” Mark said, his face scrunched in disgust. “What is wrong with Kevin?”
 

“At least I didn’t get expelled with him.” The scene played out in my mind again. Nothing made sense. What did Kevin want with Shannon? Couldn’t he take no for an answer?

“Well, Mr. Ax sure came through for you.” Mark shook his head and turned to watch the screen. “What’s up with that guy, anyway?”

“Mr. Ax?”
 

“Yeah. What went down? When did he show up?”

I tried to remember. Where had Ax come from? Once I’d spotted Shannon and Kevin, everything else had been a blur.

“He just appeared from out of nowhere. It was like he’d been watching the whole time.”
 

Mark scratched his head, obviously as bewildered as I was.
 

After an hour or so, Matro and I drove back to my house so I could get ready for dinner. He excused himself after receiving an urgent summons from Detherina. Although my curfew wasn’t enforced most of the time, I thought it would be wise to be around when my parents got home. I had a sinking feeling that this latest incident might not sit well with them, especially my dad. Even though they’d let the two prior brawls go without much drama, I suspected that they wouldn’t react the same way this time.
 

When I came down to dinner and my parents saw my busted lips and the bluish discoloration around my cheek, Dad dropped his utensils and glared at me, his nostrils flaring. A sign he was harnessing his temper. Mom was utterly still. To mask my nervousness, I busied myself with scooping a glob of mashed potatoes onto my plate.

“You got into another fight in school?” Dad asked.

“Yeah,” I answered and began cutting through my steak with more force than necessary.

“Care to tell us what happened?”
 

I stopped slicing the meat and looked at my father. Mom still hadn’t moved. “I was at the pep rally this afternoon covering the pictures. I noticed Shannon was missing so I went to look for her. Kevin trapped her in the locker room and was trying to do something to her.”
 

Dad pounded his fist on the table. “You know I don’t condone fighting. I let those two earlier incidents slide, but I’ll be damned if I’m going to ignore this one. Starting tonight, you’re grounded. Home and school, that’s it!”

My mother gasped and stood up, turning her back on us. “Excuse me.” She ran out of the room.
 

I stared at my father in disbelief. “What? I’m not the one who instigated it.”

“Better watch your tone, young man,” Dad said. “Ever since you started hanging out with Shannon, you keep getting into trouble.”

I twitched in response. A spasm rolled from my shoulders, radiating through my neck and arms, and for the next few seconds, I shook like crazy.
 

“Dad, why?” I kept my tone low, even if I wanted to scream. This had to be the worst thing he could do to me, but I didn’t want to take the chance of making it worse still.
 

He observed me, and for a moment, I thought he’d relent. “It’s for your own good. One week. After school, you’re expected to head straight home.”