Episode 2 - A Brand New Face (4)

Everyone returned to the classroom and we could finally continue regular classes.

-Alright everyone, as you can see, we have a new student with us. Tyler, would you please come to the front and introduce yourself to the class?-

Everyone turned around to look at him and I could hear some of them whisper in typical highschool fashion. Tyler got up from his desk and, with his hands placed firmly inside his pockets, walked over to the front of the classroom.

-I'm Tyler.-

He turned his head toward me, most likely expecting confirmation that that was enough.

-An introduction here usually implies telling us a little about your self and why you were sent here.-

I could see it on his face, he was very dissatisfied with this.

-Let's see, I really hate Ben over there and I got sent here for beating up a homeless dude. That about covers it.-

Upon finishing his statement, he promptly returned to his desk and sat back down.

-Well, that was an introduction. I expect each and every one of you to welcome Tyler and to help him get accommodated, much like others have done for some of you.-

With the introduction done, classes could finally continue normally. I decided to spend my breaks in the classroom just to keep an eye on everything and make sure Tyler didn't do anything that would get him expelled from here.

Phillip and Thomas were the first who tried getting friendly with Tyler, inviting him to play some games with them but were turned down. Mike, who was perhaps the most direct out of the students in my class, went up to him and told him to become his make-up model.

It was a relief in a way to see that Tyler was too confused by his proposal to be mad about it and decided to just start sleeping in the hopes that people would leave him alone. After seeing this, Alice and Theodore both looked at each other with looks of approval as if to show respect for Tyler. They really are an interesting bunch.

***

The day went on and classes slowly came to an end. I had a policy where, once the final bell of the day had rung, the students were free to go. Martin especially always thought of it as stupid, but he was proven wrong when, after a while, more students started choosing to stay the extra minute or two to hear what I had to say till the end.

I finished my lecture and everyone began packing and exiting the classroom. As they were going out, I began moving some desks and chairs to make a circular sitting space that would be at least a little more comfortable than the standard classroom setup.

-Well, will you give me a hand?-

I looked over at Tyler who was staring at me dumbfounded.

-Just help me move some of the chairs and desks, it's not that difficult.-

He begrudgingly agreed and helped me set everything up. We were seated across from each other with enough space between us not to intrude in each other's personal space.

-Before we start, I have one question for you. Do you realise why you are here?-

-Yeah, I'm here to stop being an asshole and get my shit together.-

He wasn't exactly wrong about what he said, but not really right either.

-Look, you're here because you've obviously got some form of trouble in your life that's led you to do the things you did. What I want is for you to tell me what that trouble is and find a way for you to resolve it.-

-Look, I'm good, I just like beating the shit out of people who are useless.-

Well, I tried. Time for plan B.

-What are you doing?-

I pulled a desk between the two of us and placed my right hand on it while my left remained behind my back.

-Come on, let's go.-

Tyler's frown turned into a wide grind as I issued the challenge and he grabbed my hand. His grip was firm and resolute, like that of a man with everything on the line.

-No need to hold back Tyler.-

-Heh heh heh, don't worry, I never do.-

Our arm-wrestling match began and it was obvious from the start that Tyler overwhelmed me in sheer strength.

-I take it you enjoy competition?-

-How could you tell?-

Tyler's grip tightened and my arm began being pushed downward.

-You've got a pretty strong grip for someone your age, do you do some kind of sports?-

-Some kind of sports? Who asks a question like that?-

-Who answers every question with another question?-

Tyler might have been stronger, but I had years of experience watching Shaun scam people by challenging them to arm-wrestling matches like this. My hand twisted his which made it significantly easier to turn the match back in my favour.

-Boxing, I used to do boxing.-

Well, that was one thing I knew already, but it was good hearing it from him.

-Why'd you stop?-

I tried pushing his arm downward some more when a burst of force began coming from it and I suddenly found my arm nearing the table again.

-Things happened.-

-Anything in particular?-

I tightened my grip some more and began pushing back.

-Didn't feel like it anymore.-

-Alright, how about your parents. What do they do?-

After hearing my question Tyler almost began foaming at the mouth and it took me everything I had to keep my arm from touching the table. I quickly move my left towards the side and made a loud snap which made him lose focus for a second, giving me the opportunity to even the odds again.

-Hey, that's cheating!-

-I don't remember setting any rules that say you can't do that.-

-No one has to set the rules, everyone knows how arm-wrestling works. You can't just change the rules to fit your needs.-

This time it was me who lost focus, something Tyler very much used to push my arm down to the very verge of touching the table.

-And it doesn't matter how you change the rules to suit your self since I'm still stronger in the end.-

It was true, he was stronger, but brute force isn't the only thing that matters. I reached into my pocket and handed Tyler a tissue I had.

-Here, if you want to wipe your sweat.-

-Pff, as if that matters. No thanks.-

Unfortunately for Tyler, he had taken several heavy hits recently and strain like this still caused him some amount of pain.

-Look Tyler, you are stronger than me.-

My arm slowly began pushing his back towards the middle.

-But you're exhausted and probably still in pain from the other day.-

-Wait, how do you know that?-

-We're given the reports of what our students did to get them landed here.-

This combined with the fact that he had been going at me with full force this whole time meant that it was now a perfect moment for me to show him that brute force wasn't the best solution.

-If you've read my report you should know about my parents. A dead mother and a good for nothing father, just as you'd expect a delinquent like me to have, right?-

I tried to hide my shock as best I could.

-I know, but the moment you became part of my class, you also became part of our family.-

Tyler's eyes were set ablaze by my remark and our arms entered the middle with neither of us willing to back down.

-I've had someone tell me that before, but it turned out to all be a pile of lies.-

The picture was starting to form in my head of who this kid in front of me was.

-Was it Benjamin?-

*SLAM*

Barely after I finished asking the question my arm was on the desk with Tyler's pressing down on it with full force.

-Well, seems like you really are stronger than me. That will be all for today. If you'd like, you can go and take care of what you needed.-

I stood up from the chair and began packing my things. As I sorted out everything I saw Tyler still sitting at the desk, with his arm stretched out on top of it. As soon as he noticed I was looking at him, he packed up his things and began heading towards the door.

-Tyler!-

-Yes?-

He was a lot calmer than during our match. Maybe it helped him clear his head a little.

-I'd like to have a rematch sometime soon, I don't think I gave it my all today.-

Tyler stared at me for a few seconds before bursting out into laughter.

-Yeah, that's a good one. Sure, we can go at it again some time, just think of better excuses until then, teach.-

Guess sometimes sorting things out with your fists does work better than sorting them out with words.

-Take care Tyler. Oh, one more thing!-

-Yeah?-

-Try to be a bit friendlier to the others, if you do, you'll find that you might have quite a lot in common with them.-

He turned around and gave me a thumbs-up as he was leaving. I contained my laughter, but he really was trying too hard to act cool.

CHAPTER END