i dont own any rights to the Alex Rider stories or this story, it belongs to TheUlmuri
Part III: Crisis
The students and faculty of Brookland Comprehensive slowly returned to a normal routine in the days following the attack on the school and leading up to the end of term. The auditorium had been repaired and the bloodstains removed, leaving no evidence of the violence that had taken place there, and classes continued as if they had never been interrupted. The greatest difference was that after years of fading into the background, having become the standard fall back fodder for the rumor mill, Alex was once again in the spotlight of his peers. The whispers that constantly surrounded him were fueled with a new fervor as he suddenly became both the most admired and the most feared person at school. Plenty of students wisely kept their distance, watching with awe from afar, too intimidated to approach him. Alex found the quiet admiration and hero worship irritating, but it was still preferable to the reaction of the majority of the student body.
Alex had gone from being the school pariah to its most sought after friend overnight. He could no longer walk through the halls without being accosted by other students- especially those who were considered to be at the top of the social hierarchy- who were desperate to be friends with him since he was now, by default, the most popular person in school. He had coldly rebuffed nearly all of the offers and invitations that were extended to him, knowing that they were in no way genuine and that those trying the hardest to buy his friendship were the ones that had been the most involved with the vicious rumors that had surrounded him. It was evident that all they wanted were the bragging rights and instant popularity that came with being his "friend."
While he continued to ignore the majority of the student body, Alex returned to amiable terms with a select few of his peers who he knew had refrained from the rumor mill and whose offers of friendship were genuine. They were either people who had been close friends with before MI6 and had drifted apart from them due to the huge number of secrets he had to keep, or those who had been to wary of coming into a situation that was clearly not their business to extend their offers of friendship before his secrets had come out. But even though he had cordially accepted their offers of friendship, Alex remained relatively distanced to those who he had accepted back. The truth was that after so many years with only Tom by his side he didn't really need the friendship of others and he continued to keep them at arms length through force of habit.
Among those who he had begun to allow back into his life were his co-captain on the football team, Brent Ames and his girlfriend Katie Windsor. Both were intelligent individuals that had refused to put stock into the many rumors that had circulated throughout the school due to a lingering sense of loyalty. Both of them had been close friends before Alex's secrets had pushed them away. Alex had been taking karate classes with Katie since they were six years old and had been playing soccer with Brent for just as long.
Despite his obvious avoidance of the popularity that had been thrust upon him, many students continued to attempt to buy his friendship with blatant flattery and invitations to parties and other social functions. Alex found that their efforts were grating on his nerves more and more every day.
Three weeks after the incident, Alex sat with Tom in their usual secluded corner of the crowded lunchroom. He was reveling in the prospect of some time alone, away from his irritating and over-curious classmates, when a lunch tray was dropped onto the table with a resounding clatter and Tyler Proft squeezed himself into the non-existent seat between Alex and Tom.
"Alex, my man!" he exclaimed as if the two of them were the best of friends, slapping Alex on the back and causing the teen spy to grit his teeth in irritation and acute restraint. Tyler began talking without giving either Alex of Tom the chance to get a word in edgewise, ignoring the annoyance that was building quickly in both boys.
