Chapter 12
"Lance!"
"Eh?"
"Lance, get up," said Stacy while shaking me.
"What?"
"You have to get up for school."
"School?"
"Yes, school. Now get up, or you're going to be late!"
"Alright, alright," I groaned. I forced myself up and rubbed my eyes while looking around. Now yawning, I asked, "Where's everyone else?"
"Shannon and AJ left already. I'll drop you off on my way to work. You need to be ready to go in 10 minutes."
I dug around in my luggage for some clean clothes and then dragged myself to the bathroom to change. Next, I went into the kitchen.
"What about some breakfast?" I asked.
"Here's a pop-tart. You don't have time to eat a big breakfast. Do you have money to buy yourself some lunch?"
"Yeah, somewhere around here," I replied in a grumbling tone. "I don't even like pop-tarts."
"Excuse me?"
"Nothing."
"You don't have time to look for it. Here's 10 dollars. Let's get going."
"Okay, thanks."
I tried to catch some more rest during the trip to school. At length, we pulled up to the main entrance. As I exited the car, I thanked her for the ride. My first day of public school since I was in First Grade, I thought. I'm not even sure where I'm supposed to go. I looked around to see if I could find a familiar face. I saw Keith with a couple of his pals. They spotted me, and then started heading in my direction. I was in no mood for any kind of confrontation with him.
"Did I hear that you threatened my girlfriend yesterday?" he challenged while approaching me. "I'm done with telling you to stay away from her," he continued when he was about four feet away.
"And I'm tired of you telling me to stay away from her," I replied with my voice level rising. "You are not her boyfriend no matter how much your deluded, egotistical mind wants to believe it. You're just a rich, spoiled, punk who's used to getting everything he wants, but not this time. I'm going to make Shannon my girlfriend and there's nothing you can say or do to stop me. Now back off and stay out of my face," I warned while pointing a finger at him. I noticed he was now looking past me, so I carefully turned my head and followed his gaze. It was directed at Shannon who along with some other girls was standing a couple of feet away. She stared at me with an incredulous look on her face while slowly shaking her head. A discomforting feeling began to form in the pit of my stomach.
"I've had enough of your big, arrogant mouth, too," Keith continued. "You and I, right here, right now." He handed his book bag to one of his friends. A crowd was rapidly gathering.
"Didn't your instructor teach you to only use your martial arts training for self-defense?" I asked.
"I'm not going to need martial arts to kick your—"
"Won't I get in trouble if I trash you on school property?" I defiantly interjected.
"You most certainly will," remarked a gentleman standing behind Keith.
"Good morning, Mr. Taylor," said Keith while now turning to face him.
"Mr. Mitterhauser," said Mr. Taylor. "I expected better behavior out of you."
"I did, too," I remarked sarcastically.
"And you are…?" asked Mr. Taylor, now focusing his attention on me.
"I'm Mr. Rock. Mr. Lance Rock," I said while extending my hand.
He ignored my handshake offer and said, "I've never seen you before. Are you a new student?"
"I'm an exchange student from Canada."
"Ah, yes, now I remember your name; one of the two exchange students who will be joining us this year."
"Well I'm not sure how long I'm going to be joining you if I keep getting bullied like this. I mean, it's only the first day of school and this student has just threatened to beat me up for no reason." I remarked while pointing a finger at Keith.
Mr. Taylor glared at him disapprovingly.
"Ah, we were only horsing around," said Keith. "No big deal." He leered at me and then turned and left while mumbling something under his breath to his friends.
"Can I assist you?" asked Mr. Taylor, now directing his attention back on me.
"You most certainly can," I replied matter of factually while both giving him a list of what areas I needed help in and glancing around to see if I could spot Shannon.
"Follow me then."
"Are you a teacher?" I asked.
He stopped, stared at me with raised eyebrows, and then replied, "Young man, I am the principal."
Dawn of the Knight: The Lance Rock Chronicles Volume 1. Page 21