Miss nobody strikes back

Saviour

Chapter Twenty-Two

Dominic

School was buzzing as usual. I walked through the hallway, and as expected, people stopped whatever they were doing to stare at me. Their eyes followed my every move as I headed to the teacher's office. Inside, Miss Gemma was seated, going through some books.

"You called?" I said as I walked in. Her eyes moved from the book to me, and she smiled warmly. Miss Gemma was our science teacher, in her mid-twenties, kind, and very, very smart. She could be quite friendly, but when she got angry, she wasn’t someone you wanted to cross. Despite being the youngest staff member, she had a reputation for setting firm boundaries.

"Dom, hi. Yes, I called. I just wanted to check in on how your tutoring sessions with Hanna went yesterday," she said, looking up at me with a smile.

"They went well. She's a fast learner," I replied, keeping it brief.

"Good to hear. I just wanted to say thank you for agreeing to tutor her. You’ve not only helped Hanna but also taken some work off my plate," she added appreciatively. I nodded. She was always kind to me—probably because I was her favorite student.

"Are you holding another session today?" she asked.

I nodded again. "Yes, I am."

"That’s great. And remember, Hanna is a very bright and motivated student. She learns quickly and follows instructions well. But please be patient with her; she’s been going through a lot, which has been distracting her from her studies and wearing her down. I can see she’s gaining more courage now, but just be mindful," Miss Gemma advised gently.

"I will," I said before heading out of the office and walking to my locker.

As I reached my locker, I heard a little commotion in the hallway. Claire was at it again—bullying other students. I turned to see what was happening.

"Ew, your hair is so not pretty!" Claire sneered.

A girl had accidentally stepped on Claire’s shoes. "Oh my God! What the hell? Do you know what you just did?" Claire screamed. The girl dropped to her knees and began frantically wiping Claire's shoes with a napkin. "I’m so, so sorry!" she pleaded.

Just then, a boy grabbed the girl by her collar, roughly pulling her to her feet. "Are you blind or just stupid? And what’s the use of those glasses if you still can’t see?" Claire spat, walking toward the girl and yanking off her glasses. She threw them on the floor and stomped on them.

"Please, I can't see without my glasses!" the girl begged, flinching as she moved her head around, unable to see clearly. Claire pushed her, making her fall onto her backside. "Next time, watch where you're going," Claire said.

She was about to walk away when a voice called out, "Next time, why don’t you pick on someone your own size?" Everyone turned to see Hanna standing there, with Jenny by her side.

They both stood beside the girl. Claire sneered, "Well, well, if it isn’t Hanna the dork. You might think you’re hot stuff now because of your makeover, but let me tell you—you’ll always be the ugly duckling you’ve been your whole life."

"A. I don’t need your opinion. B. At least I’m not the one trying to fit into a world I can never belong to," Hanna shot back confidently. The crowd gasped in surprise. This wasn’t the timid Hanna everyone was used to.

Claire’s face twisted in anger. "Don’t talk to her like that!" Shane, Claire’s boyfriend, stepped forward from behind her.

"Oh, look, it’s Prince Charming here to save his princess," Jenny chimed in. "Why don’t you let her handle this on her own for once?"

"You’re really getting ahead of yourself, Jenny," Shane snapped. "Don’t think that just because you’re my sister, you can talk to me like that."

"Oh really? You’re only stepping in because you know Claire’s weak and can’t handle her own problems," Jenny retorted, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "You always have to clean up her messes."

Claire turned red with fury. "I’m going to end you!" she shouted and charged at Jenny, ready to tackle her. But Jenny sidestepped her at the last second, and Claire lost her balance. She crashed into the janitor's cart, sending tools flying everywhere, and a bucket of water tipped over onto her.

The entire hallway erupted in laughter, except for me, of course.

"That’s a win for Jenny!" Jenny said with a smirk, walking over to Hanna. But before she could get close, Shane grabbed her by the arm and slammed her hard against the lockers, pinning her in place.

"I told you to stay the hell away from me!" Shane growled angrily.

"Hey, let her go!" Hanna demanded, but Shane’s friends stepped in, blocking her from doing anything.

Shane raised his fist, ready to hit Jenny, when Kai appeared at the end of the hallway. His voice boomed across the corridor, "Let her go!"

Shane smirked. "Or what? You’ll call your little friend Dominic to help you?" he taunted.

Kai didn’t back down. "I’m not joking, Shane. Let her go," Kai warned, his voice low and dangerous.

Shane sneered, pulling Jenny by her hair and making her wince in pain. "She’s been a bad little sister, and I’m going to teach her a lesson—"

Before he could finish, Kai landed a punch right to Shane’s nose. The force of the blow sent Shane staggering backward, and he let go of Jenny. Blood poured from his nose.

"I told you, I wasn’t joking," Kai said, his fist still clenched. Shane looked like he wanted to retaliate but decided against it, retreating to tend to his bleeding nose.

Kai knelt down beside Jenny. "Are you okay?" he asked softly.

Jenny nodded, still a little shaken. "Thank you," she whispered.

Kai helped her up, then turned and walked over to me. "Did you see that? I saved Jenny!" he said with a proud grin.

I sighed. "Good job."

"So, how was your first tutoring session with Hanna? Did you guys have fun?" Kai asked with a teasing wink.

"If by fun, you mean studying advanced calculus, then yes," I said dryly.

Kai groaned. "Gosh, you two are made for each other—two book freaks."

I ignored him as we both walked back to class. It was just another typical morning at Lincoln High—full of drama and chaos. But that’s what this school is all about.