Taming the ruthless Hybrid

A small whimper was at the end of a chain of lockers in the hallway. Three boys stood over a cowering redhead. "Please, just let me be," she begged. One of the boys smirked and kneed her in the gut. She clutched her stomach in severe pain. A slap landed on her face, making her cheek turn red with the outline of her attacker's hand etched to her cheek.

"What are you going to do, little Ariana?" Stanley said, mocking her and making crying faces. The other students in the hallway laughed.

"You see, Ariana? You can't run away from us and nobody will dare to come to your rescue," Richie said as he laughed heartily. Seeing her writhe in pain gave them joy.

"All of you fuckers are just twisted," a new voice said from behind them. The three boys turned to see the intruder. An unfamiliar blonde boy stood there glaring at them.

"And who are you?" Stanley asked him with a loud hiss. Who was he to interrupt their entertainment?

"None of your business," the boy replied and punched his face real hard. The girl moved away just in time to avoid having Stanley fall on her.

Richie cracked his knuckles. "Larry, I think we should teach this guy a lesson and show him who is boss around here," he said. Before he could lift a fist and land a blow on this newcomer, the intruder had already sent a series of punches flying to his face. With two of his comrades down, Larry scurried away, seeing no reason to take on such a formidable opponent because of a piece of trash like Ariana.

The girl gazed at the boy in admiration. Nobody had ever stood up for her in the past. For a whole minute, she was lost in the beauty of his handsomeness. Her savior was a tall blonde boy who had the most beautiful sapphire eyes she had ever seen. He glared at her. Disgusted by her presence in general, he turned his back on her and walked away.

"Um, you forgot your bag," her tiny voice croaked.

Without sparing her a glance, he said, "Bring it here for me."

Ariana's face fell. At first, she was reluctant but then she remembered that he was her saving grace that morning. Without him, she would be on her way to the girls' toilet to cry her heart out. With this thought in mind, she took up the bag and took it to him. He wrenched it out of her hand and went away.

The redhead scurried away from the hallway, trying to shield her face from the mean looks of her classmates. Her first class was Biology. Ariana increased her pace when she remembered that she would start her day with her favorite subject. Maybe this was going to be a good day after all.

The classroom was fuller than usual when she got there. "Strange," she whispered to herself but was fast to find a seat at the back of the class, where she could try to cover her red face. Luckily, Emily joined her soon.

"How come you're in here today?" she asked as her friend took a seat beside her. "You don't even take Biology."

Her brunette friend waved her off. "Who said I don't take this boring as hell subject? I just didn't have the energy for it at first but now, I think I am suddenly engrossed in what happens in the sea," Emily replied with an odd grin.

Ariana stared at her with an expression which said the excuse was the worst she had ever heard in her entire life. "Bitch, you are an arts student. You do not take Biology because of the department you are in," she replied. "Can you just tell me what you're here for already? I hope you aren't here to pity me." The redhead pressed a crumpled piece of paper to the cheek where she was slapped.

That was when Emily took a closer look at her and sighed. "You really need to stop letting those boys walk all over you, you know," she said. "You can do better than this. Why let them treat you like trash?" Her friend was really worried about her. Ariana had been bullied from the moment she stepped foot into that school and not once had she done anything about it. Instead, she welcomed the bullying and the unnecessary beatings those animals gave her.

Ariana smiled. "Don't worry, Emily. I will be fine in the end. Now, why are you in my Biology class? Don't you have Languages now?" she asked, calmly changing the topic. Her friend got the hint and dropped the matter for the time being.

Emily bit her lower lip. "Well, there is this excruciatingly hot guy that started school today," she began. Ariana rolled her eyes. She could already see where this story was headed. "They said he was seen coming in the direction of this classroom. So I said, why don't I get a glimpse of this guy while I see my best friend in the world?" Ariana laughed lightly when she saw the sheepish grin her friend gave her.

"So basically, you came here to shoot your shot," Ariana said, summarizing everything Emily said.

The other girl grinned again.

"Maybe," she said.

The redhead paused for a bit to look around the classroom. Indeed, there was a full audience waiting to meet this new boy. For some reason, her mind already had a glimpse of who they were waiting for and she'd be damned if it was actually him.

Mr Edwards came in and just like her, was startled to see that his class was almost full to the brim with students he had never seen there before. He shook his head with a smile on his face. They were likely there to see the exchange student. Teenagers.

"Good morning class," he started. The majority of them did not even know his name but that was the least of his problems. The Biology teacher just opened his register and began to tick the names of the actual Biology students who were present. He sat down and counted to five. Just at the count of five, the doorknob turned. "This school has gotten more predictable than I thought," he said to himself. He turned to see who he knew was the new student that all these girls were anxiously waiting for.

"Good morning..." the boy started.

"You must be Brandon?" the man said immediately.

"Yes sir," the blonde boy said with a look of surprise on his face.

"Good. Welcome to Monumental High. I have been expecting you," he said with a warm smile. "Please take a seat. I needed you to get here before I start teaching." The boy nodded and found a seat in the middle row of the class.

Just as Mr Edwards anticipated, the whispering and muttering started. He sighed and turned away from the black board. "May I get your attention?" he said in his quiet manner. Ariana's ears perked up. She already had her notebook on her desk and a pen in hand. When the noise did not stop, the middle aged man sighed and moved to the middle of the classroom. "Can you all just shut up?!" he thundered.

For a brief second, there was drop dead silence. He seized the opportunity to speak. "I know what ninety percent of you are here for and I can guarantee you that it is none of my business," he started. "What is my business is you disrupting my class. You came here to see the new boy and I am letting you do that. Just let me have some peace of mind and teach those who actually came to learn some Biology."

One of the female students raised her hand to talk but the stink eye the teacher gave her made her advise herself. "As you can see, I have not and will not turn you kids to the authorities for skipping your various classes but please do not make me regret this," he continued. "Admire the boy you came to see in silence. I honestly don't have the time or energy for any of this. Respect yourselves and everything will be fine."

The class was completely silent as he went back to the board and began to teach the topic of Connecting Tissues. At the end of the class, he gave an assignment to those who were listening. "I want you all to do a study on the xylem and parenchyma. You will write two page notes on each of them and turn them in to me in the next three days which will be our next class," he said and closed his lesson book. "Good day, class."

Ariana closed her notebook and put her writing materials in her bag. She rolled her eyes and nudged the smitten Emily beside her. "Are you not tired of gazing at your Prince Charming?" she asked her playfully.

Emily frowned. "Are you trying to say that you don't find that hottie attractive?" she asked. She peered properly into her friend's face. "I think this morning's round of bullying has taken its toll on your eyes, your brain. In fact, everything." Emily's words made her friend remember her encounter with this boy in the morning. She had mixed feelings towards him but she could not deny that he was as good looking as they said. Even at that, she acted like she saw nothing in him.

"At least it let me know where I should be right now," Ariana said as she got up from her seat. "Emily, I think you have Literature next. Please, I beg of you, do not miss this class because of a boy who you don't even know."

Emily rolled her own eyes at her. "I don't even know the boy's schedule so I would not even be able to tell his next class," she said. "Plus, I have to get to literature class before that elephant kills me."

Ariana hit her arm lightly as they left the Biology classroom. "Don't say that about your teacher. It's rude," she scolded.

Emily wrinkled her nose. "You know that I'm telling the truth. The woman is round like a football and it's not like she's trying to help herself or something," she insisted. "And by the way, she keeps attempting to squash us with her weight."

Ariana facepalmed. "How many times will I tell you that you teacher's weight does not define her? She is who she is whether she is slim or fat," she said.

Emily waved her arms dramatically. "That's easy for you to say my darling. You are the figure that the old hag is looking for!" she said in such a dramatic way that her friend was forced to laugh. They soon got to the juncture where they were meant to go their separate ways.

"I'll see you soon, Emily," Ariana said with a bright smile. Her best friend hugged her tightly.

"Go there and smash Chemistry or just do whatever Ariana does in a Chemistry class," Emily said. "And ignore those animals. I'll see you at lunch time, alright?"

"Sure. I should be fine," Ariana replied.

Ariana was happy when she saw that the class was still empty except for the chemistry teacher, who was already seated as usual. He nodded when she greeted him. "Are your classmates on their way here?" he asked as she took her customary seat at the back.

"Um, I think so. I really don't know, sir," she replied with a nonchalant shrug. Life would be better if they did not show but if wishes were horses, she'd be on her way to the moon by now.

To Ariana's utmost dismay, the classroom gradually started filling out. Soon, they were almost complete. "I hear we have an exchange student this year, where is he?" the teacher asked when he noticed that all the faces he was seeing were ones he saw every day.

A boy raised his hand. "I think he was called to rectify something concerning his registration. He might come a little late," he said.

The teacher looked slightly annoyed. "This school. They couldn't call him after the class?" he muttered. To the rest of the class, he said, "We will wait for him. I don't want to start a new topic and be interrupted midway."