Chapter 3 THEY WILL DO NO SUCH THING

Mr. Mark s attention was drawn to the whispers of Ben and his friends. He cleared his throat, irritated by their inattentive act,

" Ben, Fred and Patrick; what's going on over there? Why are you distracting my class?", his voice roared like a wounded lion, echoing through the whole class.

"Kindly excuse us since you are not ready for my class "

" But sir...", Ben swiftly interrupted but was immediately cut off by Mr. Mark.

"No buts, Mr. Ben Hansel. Walk out of my class now; I mean all of you", he shouted, showing them the door.

Ben and his friends glanced at each other and back at their tutor with outer dismay and indifference.

" Let's get out of here, guys", said Fred; tapping Ben and Patrick on their shoulders.

They nodded with a furious glare at Laura whose gaze was among the numerous eyes fixed on them and trod out; knocking off Lupita's textbook to the floor which made her flinch.

Lupita Daniels was one of the victims of Ben and his friends' bully. She once witnessed them bullying one of their mates, Ivy and stepped in to help only to become their target since then. She always trembled and flinched at the sight of them ever since.

Lupita gasped and took a deep breath before retrieving back her book from the floor. Mr Mark sighed, worried.

"Are you okay, Miss Lupita? ", he asked.

She nodded, forcing a smile" Yes, sir....I'm good".

" Alright; now everyone, let's get back to our lessons. Sorry for what just happened ", he said and turned back to the lesson.

Alixes on witnessing what just transpired and those deadly glare thrown at Laura by Ben and his friends became nervous and distracted. She took a glance at Laura who seem not concerned and immersed in her book, worried.

Alixes sighed; shaking her head, " Are you human at all?", she cried undertone.

Laura looked up at her, surprised at her words

" Why? What is it, Alixes? What have I done?", she queried.

" Do you even get frightened or scared for once? Don't tell me you didn't see those deadly glares Ben and his friends threw at you before walking out of class", she flinches.

" Hell, its one horrifying glare; it can easily send one into his or her grave", she added.

Laura scoffed and ignored her; flipping through her book, acting unaware of what she was talking about,

" What glares are you talking about, Alixes?",she asked.

Alixes gasped, bemused by the words that just escaped Laura's lips," God!,I now believe you're not human; tell me you really didn't see those glares", she soft whispered.

" Enough !!, Alixes, stop talking already. All you are ranting now is irrelevant. Look here; i'm not ready to be walked out like those guys all because of your nosy attitude, please", said Laura, jotting down something into her notepad.

Alixes sighed, helpless; not knowing want to do to make her understand her fears.

" You're so unbelievable, Laura. You seem not to care about anything concerning your safety unless academics. I guess you know how deadly those boys", she kept whining.

Laura felt irritated by her continuous nag and dropped her pen, staring up at Alixes with the look that says "I'll kill you if you kept nagging".

Alixes flinched, " Fine, I give up, Laura Roberts. Suit yourself but don't say I didn't warn you", she mumbled; jotting down the notes on the board.

Laura stared at her for a brief moment and shook her head," She's such a parrot", she murmured and returned back to her work.

Ben, Fred and Patrick got to the corridor in front of their class. They stood and stared back into their class, burning with rage.

"Damn it !! ", Ben shouted, smacking his hands into the rails.

Fred and Patrick strolled to his side and held his shoulders to calm him down.

"Come on, Ben; you got to calm down so we can think of what to do next ", said Patrick.

He ruffled his hands through his hairs in devastation," Can't believe we were disgraced and sent out of class like fowls because of that bastard, Laura".

" Come on, buddy, let's bring her gracious reign to an end; you're in?", Fred exclaimed with a smirk, leaning back on the rails.

Ben stood there lost in thoughts, plotting his next step of action against Laura.

Patrick and Fred stood next to Ben who wore a calculative expression for the past 20minutes expectantly.

Fred leaned closer to Patrick befuddled," Hey, what's up with him? what do you think he's planning; looking all blank", he queried with a raised eye brow and a quizzical look.

Patrick immediately shoved him off, frustrated by the whole situation," How would I know? does it look like I possess some kind of mind reading or controlling power?", answered Patrick in a sarcastic manner.

Fred glared at him and ignored his provocative attitude, nudging Ben to reality.

" Hey, what's up with you? any plan or idea? You can't just be spacing out; leaving us stranded in this mess without any solution yet",he exclaimed.

Ben, suddenly, with a composed look and a smug leaned on the rails, relaxed.

" Got a perfect plan for our mission, guys. All is sorted now ".

Fred and Patrick immediately gazed at each other and back at Ben, anxious and cheerful.

"Cool, we've waited so long for this, gist us now",they chorused just then, the bell rang for lunch.

Ben smiled and tapped their shoulders," Let's talk at a more private place; walls got ears", he said with a chuckle and trod off towards the Canteen.

Fred and Patrick stared at his back with a mischievous grin and giggled, pacing after him.

" Hey, wait for us ", they shouted.

Mr. Mark turned towards the class and dropped the marker on the table, "This ends our lesson for today. Work on "Plot" for your assignments. See you tomorrow ", he announced.

"Okay, sir. Thank you", the class chorused. He took their previous assignment and strolled out.

Everyone packed back their books into their bags and trod out in pairs and groups. Laura dropped the last book on her desk into the bag and sighed, turning to Alixes who was busily unwrapping a chocolate.

" Huh, want some?", Alixes queried with a cheerful, teasing smile on noticing Laura's attention on her.

She pushed away her hand,giggling "No, you can have that for now but will get a compensation for it later ", said Laura.

Alixes nodded and they both chuckled.

" Hey, ain't you going to the canteen today?", a voice queried from behind, joining in.

Laura and Alixes immediately turned towards the voice.

"Oh, Naomi, you're already here", they both cried with a smile. She nodded her approval and hugged them.

Naomi Jacobs, Alixes and Laura had been friends from childhood but studied different course from Laura and Alixes when they got admission to college. Her father and Laura's dad had been friends and since share a strong bond in their business partnership. Laura and Alixes studied Theatre Act and Literature while Naomi studied Food science. This brought their separation in classes.

" Shall we go now. I'm famished ", Naomi cried.

Laura and Alixes smiled.

" Yeah, why not. We were actually waiting for you. Come on, let's go before you blame us for murdering you with hunger",Laura teased and pulled her along as she trod off; taking the lead.

Alixes chuckled and followed them.

" Naomi, you can't believe what happened in class today", she called.

"Come on, girlfriend; my ears are itching for it".

Laura chuckled at her two gossiping friends as they exit the class.

" The so called school rulers, Ben and his friends were sent out of class today and you should have seen their faces; gosh! so funny and scary", Alixes exclaimed.

" Really, oh my God, I wish had witnessed that myself", Naomi bursted. They all laughed as their voices faded away.

CANTEEN

The canteen was fully packed with students having their meals and others already done with theirs but chatting and laughing.

Ivy and Lupita got to the entrance and peeped through the door, making sure Ben and his friends were not around.

" Let's get in, Ivy; those bullies are not here. Let's hurry before they come ", said Lupita, leading the way.

Ivy nodded and followed suit with her lunch. They got to an empty table in the middle of the canteen and settled in to have their lunch.

Just when they were about to dig in, they saw a foot next to them.

" This table belongs to my friends and I. Get off now or get ready for what you least expect", a cold voice followed drawing the attention of the rest of the students to them.

Ivy and Lupita flinched and quickly picked up their trays to leave.

" Sorry, Ben, we didn't know", Lupita pleaded with a shaky and nervous tone.

Ben, Fred and Patrick smiled satisfactorily, glancing at each other with a mischievous look. All along, Laura and her friends, Naomi and Alixes stood at the entrance gazing at them. Laura was filled with rage that she felt like squeezing the living hell out of them.

" Gosh, I feel like killing them now. Why can't they leave those girls alone", she exclaimed about to approach them but Naomi and Alixes quickly held her back.

" Hey, girlfriend, calm down. Let's wait for awhile, okay ", Alixes pleaded.

Ben glanced at Fred and Patrick and whispered something to them. They nodded with a chuckle.

" Stop right there", Fred called at Ivy and Lupita who had moved some few steps away from them. They paused in their steps without turning back.

" Get back here and clean our feet with your hairs", Patrick exclaimed.

The whole hall was suddenly filled with whispers and murmuring among the students. Laura stared at them puzzled.

Ivy and Lupita stood in their steps, shocked.

" I mean now!!!! ", Ben roared, sending shivers to Lupita and Ivy who involuntary dropped their trays on the floor.

They strolled back to where Ben and his friends stood about to kneel down.

" They'll do no such thing, Ben Hansel ", a voice shouted from the entrance.

Everyone's attention immediately turned to the door. Ben gave a mischievous smile," who dared interrupt ?", he shouted, turning to the direction of the voice.

Alixes and Naomi stared at Laura, shocked.

"Oh, no, Laura..... ", they exclaimed.