Once they entered the office, Mrs. Baker forced Alex to sit in the waiting room. Alex watches as she shuts the door to the principal's office. Left alone, Alex could feel his wrist pulsing from the pain of her grip, leaning back on the chair and sighing.
"Something tells me it'll be detention or expelling for me," Alex says to himself.
His voice was steady despite the uncertainty, a testament to his bravery in adversity. Just as Alex thought his day couldn't get any worse, Vitoria arrived. He must have realized the bell had gone off. She looked sincere and worried about him as she sat beside him on one of the other chairs.
"Are you okay?" Victoria asks. "I'm asking since you look worried about something in Mrs. Baker's class."
Alex shakes his head, "No, I don't know what is happening to me."
Victoria puts her hand on Alex's shoulder, trying to comfort him. They continue to wait for the principal to summon him to his office.
Five minutes later, the door opened. Alex knows it's for him. He gets up from his seat and waves goodbye to Victoria for now. Once he enters the office, Alex sees the principal sitting at his desk. Next to him on either side are Mrs. Baker and the school nurse.
In the center of the office, what most students call The Chair is right in front of the principal's desk. Alex is surprised that no lights are shining down on him as you would see in an interrogation room for the police.
While Alex sits down, nervously waiting to see what will happen next, he glances at the nameplate that reads Principal Stevens. He feels sweaty from anxiety as he sees all three of them staring at him, their gazes piercing like daggers.
"Someone, please break the ice and say something!" Alex shouts in his mind.
"You're a puzzle, Mr. Griffin; yes, a puzzle indeed," Principal Stevens says, finally breaking the ice.
"Initially, you helped Ms. McConnor by retrieving her epi-pen during lunch. However, you accessed her locker to get it, and now, in English class, you've caused a water balloon to burst all over Mrs. Maker," Principal Stevens states.
Alex hesitates and worries about whether he will say anything until now. It's best to wait to see if they want to ask him directly.
"What do you have to say for yourself?" Principal Stevens asks.
This might be Alex's chance, but clearing his name could be difficult since he cannot prove that demons exist. (If it just happened, is it even real?)
"I don't know if this is still something, but I never intended to pop the..."
"YOU HAD ALL THE RIGHT INTENTION ON POPPING IT!" Mrs. Baker shouts in anger.
"Nonsense! Why would Mr. Griffin do something like this when he saved a student's life?" the school nurse interjects.
The nurse's voice provides welcome support for Alex, offering relief and hope in the tense situation. However, as he hears the teacher and the nurse arguing about Alex, Principal Stevens rubs his temple in frustration.
"This can't be good," Alex says to himself.
"Enough!" Principal Stevens shouts, slamming his fist on the desk.
The room went silent. Alex was shocked to see how angry the principal was when he hit his desk. He imagined that if he were in one of those manga, a drop would appear on his head, and he would nervously back up.
"Madam Nurse, Mrs. Baker, please leave my office immediately," Principal Steven commands.
Just like that, they left the office, leaving only Alex and the principal inside.
Alex can take a breather for a moment of silence; however, he knows that the tension he felt is still there, but this time it is with the school principal.
Principal Stevens began the conversation by saying, "First, thank you for saving a student from her allergic reaction."
"You're welcome, Sir," Alex replies.
Alex will know a "But" coming for the water balloon situation.
"But..."
"Call it!" Alex shouts in his head.
"You were near Mrs. Baker, and a water balloon popped on top of her," Principal Stevens adds.
Alex sees him getting up from his chair and heading to one of the filing shelves. Alex's mind races out of control with anxiety. What is going to happen to him? Is he getting expelled or, worse, put in prison?
The principal returns to his desk and looks at Alex, who trembles in his chair and sweats like a leaky fountain.
"By popping the water balloon at the teacher, you would receive a weeklong expulsion," Principal Stevens says.
"Weeklong expulsion!" Alex says in his head, full of worry.
"However, given that you saved a student, I've decided that you'll be serving detention this Saturday," Principal Stevens adds.
Hearing the principal's tone, firm but not unkind, Alex felt a little relief that it was detention and that he wasn't getting expelled. He watched him write stuff on paper before handing it to Alex.
"You are scheduled for detention this Saturday. This is your only warning," Principal Stevens informs him as he hands over the detention slip.
"Yes, Sir," Alex says, taking the slip.
Saturday has arrived. Alex feels wired returning to school on a weekend to serve detention. He walks inside and locates the classroom he's supposed to be in. Just as Alex finds the room in the main building, he sees other students serving their detention when he opens the door to go inside. Noticing their unique styles, some resembling punk and others appearing more goth, Alex observes that some act wild, as if they are enjoying detention.
At the front deck, Alex sees the teacher, who goes by Edmond Viper. Mr. Viper supervises some students and is very strict about expelling those he believes must be sent to the military program to shape them up. Alex quietly and quickly went to the nearest empty deck and sat down. Since Alex realizes he didn't say a word about what to do, he grabs this homework to work on for Monday's submission.
After twenty minutes of doing his homework, Alex looks at the clock, seeing that it's not even noon and his detention will end at 4:00 pm. Alex feels stuck since he has finished his homework.
"This is going to be a long detention," Alex sighs.
At 1:30 p.m., Alax was peacefully dozing off, lying his head on his deck. The silence in the classroom lulled him to a light slumber. Suddenly, *BANG*! An explosion shattered the calm, and alarms pierced the silence.
Alex woke up from the explosion and looked out the window a few windows away on the same building level. The fire was coming from the window and the roof as Mr. Viper gathered all the students and evacuated the building.
"What in the world...?" Alex mutters, his mind swirling with confusion and questions about the chaos around him.
As Alex is about to exit the building, he suddenly hears faint laughter. "Hehehehe." Alex recognizes that laugh; it's the sound of that imp. Whirling around, Alex dashes back inside the school, determined to confront the demon once and for all.
Hearing the echoes of that imp reverberating through the hallways, Alex pursues it until he suddenly arrives at the fire. The heat is so intense that it's nearly overwhelming; fortunately, Alex spots a nearby restroom. Rushing inside, he quickly removes his over-and-under shirts, tearing them to make them more manageable and soaking them in the sink.
Before Alex takes any action, he gazes at his reflection in the mirror and sees what he will do once he enters the fire. His eyes are waves of fear and determination, locked with his reflection, and in his mind is a whirlwind of questions and doubts.
"Why am I doing this?" Alex asks himself, hearing the words echo in the restroom.
Suddenly, Alex hears the faint word his mother uses during moments of doubt.
"Remember, it only takes one good deed to overshadow a person's wicked deeds."
Alex's mother's word for comfort reminds him of the values she instilled in him. Gripping his pieces and clenching his teeth, Alex felt his heart pounding in his chest.
"Damn it, why does she always have to be right?" Alex mutters, expressing his defiance and rebellion against his mother's wisdom.
Resoaking his pieces again, Alex wraps them around his mouth and nose to protect himself from the smoke, then puts what's left of his soaked shirt back on. Feeling cold, wet fabric against his bare skin, Alex hopes it's enough to protect him.
Once Alex opened the bathroom door, the heat of the fire got worse. Seeing where the fire was coming from, Alex headed toward the classroom.
Just as Alex walked in, he saw flames everywhere, yet it seemed they weren't consuming everything they touched. Moving closer, Alex extended his hand; as he approached the fire, a sudden, searing heat surged through him, forcing him to withdraw quickly.
"Yep, that's fire, but why isn't everything burning down?" Alex asks himself.
His voice trembled with disbelief and confusion as he struggled to comprehend what he had seen.
"Hehehehe."
Hearing that laughter again, Alex looks up and sees the imp laughing heartily. Suddenly, Alex notices him throwing burning pieces of paper; once they contact the room, the fire bursts more vigorously.
"HEY! You overgrown wasabi paste! Why don't you stop burning this school and go haunt a graveyard instead!" Alex shouts, hoping that will catch the imp's attention.
The imp suddenly looked down and saw Alex again, observing him this way. A creepy expression spread across his face. The imp began to dive-bomb toward Alex; fortunately, with enough time, Alex dodged, causing the imp to collide with the burning wall.
"Yeah, not a chance," Alex says.
The imp pulls himself out of the wall and snaps back to normal. Observing the anger within that imp, Alex sees him turning brown; the imp flies high, preparing to dive-bomb again.
"Alright, let's wrap this up," Alex says, preparing to counterattack.
The imp dive-bombs again, and Alex spins, counterattacking with a kick from his back leg. Alex's eyes glow gold, and golden fire sparkles around his leg. After he strikes the imp's face, he sees the creature spin away. The imp is engulfed in golden flames, and he hears its screams before it bursts into dust.
"What just happened?" Alex asks himself.
Suddenly, firefighters arrived, and Alex felt relieved to see them. They approached him with great care and urgency, prioritizing his safety and ensuring his well-being.
As the firefighters battled the fire within the school, the medical team was in chaos, urgently tending to the teacher and the students.
On the other hand, Alex is sitting on the tail end of one of the medical cars; one of the medics removed his already burned shirt and mask. To their surprise, Alex doesn't have any burn marks or any form of damage on him.
"Wow, you don't appear to have any burn marks from being in the heart of that fire," one of the medics says.
"What?" Alex replies in shock, staring at his body.
Suddenly, a car drove by. Alex sees how fast it's going and heading his way, and he recognizes it as one of the family vehicles. Once it parks, a woman exits the car; Alex gets up and heads for her.
"Ms. Sandy, what's wrong?" Alex asks, his voice filled with shock.
"Oh, Alex," Ms. Sandy responds, her voice shaking with emotion.
"It's your mother," Ms. Sandy says.
Alex's fear suddenly becomes a reality. He and Ms. Sandy hurry back to the car and drive to the hospital. Alex clenches his fist, focusing on the thought that his mother will be okay.
"Please, please, please," Alex whispers, praying for their swiftness.
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