David walked towards Ryan with the smirk still on his face stopping right in front of him.
"I said, there is something we would like to say..." he said, in a provocative manner as he turned back at the class which was slowly filling up as more students entered.
Then he turned back to face him, the smirk even wider now as he spoke.
"Why are you still here?" David asked.
Ryan's eyes narrowed at the question. "What? What kind of dumb question is that? Why wouldn't I be here?!" He exclaimed, asking a question of his own.
"Really? Are you asking cuz you don't know? I mean a no-name commoner beat the crap out of you yesterday, so we all thought you'd at least maintain some form of dignity and stay away. And yet... to think you still had the guts to show up."
Ryan didn't respond immediately.
He simply stared at David, jaw tight, fingers curling slowly at his side. He could hear the blood rushing in his ears, feel the weight of dozens of gazes digging into his back.
"…You done?" Ryan finally asked flatly.
David laughed, loud and deliberate. "Oh? Look at that. He's trying to be calm." He leaned closer, lowering his voice just enough to sting. "What happened to the big bad heir, huh? You've really fallen far, Ainsworth."
A few chuckles rippled through the room.
Ryan exhaled through his nose. Ignore him.
He took a step back, reaching for his seat.
David stepped forward again, blocking him.
"Oh come on," David continued, his eyes glinting like he just found a new toy to play with.
"Don't walk away now. Yesterday you got humiliated in front of everyone. Today you pretend nothing happened. Is that your strategy? Or are you just hoping people forget how pathetic you looked?"
Ryan's hand clenched into a fist.
[
'I know.'
Ryan thought back, teeth grinding. 'I know—'
"You know..." David added casually, "...if it were me? I would've quit. Crawled back to whatever gutter I came from. But you?" He tilted his head mockingly. "Guess shame doesn't work on trash."
That was the last straw for Ryan.
The chair behind him scraped violently against the floor as he stepped forward, his aura flaring uncontrollably.
The air between them seemed to tense, the tension building as instinct began to take over reason.
[
"Go back to your seat." Ryan spoke, his voice was threateningly low.
David's smirk faltered for half a second—then hardened. He rolled his shoulders, power leaking out in response. "Oh? You wanna go? Fine. A little warning tho, I won't go easy on you like Aaron did."
David said as his aura also flared causing the desks nearby to rattle. A few students backed away instinctively.
[
G.A.I.A screamed, as it tried to calm him down, but at this point, tempers were already flared too high to stop now.
Just as it seemed like both parties were about to throw hands at each other—
"Enough."
A single voice spoke, cutting through the room like a blade.
Both Ryan and David froze.
The earlier tension vanished, smothered by something else. Something heavier.
Slowly, they turned toward the source of the voice that spoke.
Standing at the classroom entrance was a boy with golden-blonde hair and clear blue eyes.
His posture was relaxed, hands in his pockets, yet the authority in his presence felt almost suffocating.
Upon sight of who it was, Ryan felt a small sense of rage bubble within him as he acknowledged their presence.
Aaron Creswell. The first-ranked first year student.