Chapter 7

It took a long while before Gary finally calmed down. "Icarus, if you'd taken a better attitude, I would've considered putting in a good word on your behalf," Gary said grimly. "However, you've disappointed me with this attitude of yours, so you can handle the repercussions yourself!" Icarus said nothing. A few minutes later, the sound of hurried footsteps could be heard outside the department office. A burly, bald man with a full-sleeve tattoo came storming in. "Who's Icarus Frye?" he demanded loudly. "Excuse me, are you one of Leon's family members?" Gary stood up and asked. He felt a little intimidated. "I'm Benny Deckard. I work for Walter, Leon's father. He's checking on Leon at the nurse's office, but he told me to come here and haul that punk Icarus over to the hospital!" Benny replied. Gary instinctively glanced at Icarus. "You're the punk?" Gary approached Icarus with a menacing scowl. "T-This is a school, Mr. Deckard. I hope you don't engage in any form of illegal behavior here on the premises…" Gary said as he broke out in a cold sweat. "This punk here beat up Walter's son! How can I possibly answer to Walter if I don't break his arms and legs first?" Benny retorted with a sneer before reaching out with his left hand to grab Icarus by the throat. However, Icarus turned around and grabbed Benny's left arm. "You think you can fight back?" Benny had a devilish smirk as he exerted more force with his left hand—but to his shock, he couldn't even move it. "Huh?" Benny's expression hardened. Clenching his jaw, he channeled all of his strength into his left arm until his muscles and veins popped. But even so, he couldn't move an inch. How could this be? Icarus looked like a puny high schooler who couldn't take a beating. How could he possess such enormous strength? "If you don't want to end up injured like Leon, you'd better stop now," Icarus remarked. Benny had been involved in the criminal underworld for over a decade now, and he'd never been threatened like this before, especially not by a high schooler! He was outraged. Eyes red with fury, he snarled, "Who the hell do you think you are?" Benny threw a punch with his right fist, but Icarus didn't bother to dodge it. He easily deflected Benny's punch with his left hand before saying nonchalantly, "I'm someone who can take you down." Once he finished speaking, he kicked Benny in the abdomen. He went flying through the open doorway before landing in the hallway outside. He couldn't even get back on his feet anymore. Gary and Hank were both dumbstruck. Their eyes went wide, and they stared at Icarus as if he were a monster. "I'm sure you saw that he tried to attack me first. I only acted in self-defense. This was the same thing that happened with Leon," Icarus said to Gary. "This… What…" Gary's mouth was gaping, but he couldn't form a coherent sentence. Glancing at Benny, Icarus inwardly let out a sigh. Either way, after what happened thus far, he couldn't stay in this school anymore. Just then, Gary's phone started ringing. He snapped out of his daze and picked it up from his desk. "Hello, Mr. Hoffman… Yes, he's here with me now… Huh? But what about Leon's family… Okay, I understand." Two minutes later, Gary put his phone back down before eyeing Icarus with an unreadable expression. "Icarus, you can head back to class now. The school administration will be handling this matter on your behalf." Icarus didn't even react to the new development yet, but Hank's expression stiffened. He asked, "Mr. Parker, what—" Ignoring Hank, Gary continued, "Icarus, we were merely following the school's regulations earlier. I hope you can understand our situation…" "It's fine. I'm leaving," Icarus said before walking out of the office. Once he was gone, Hank asked once more, "Mr. Parker, what on earth is going on?" "That was the principal, Mr. Hoffman, on the phone just now. He said someone has stepped in to protect Icarus," Gary explained after taking a deep breath. "Who was it?" Hank queried. Icarus had no family and came from an impoverished background. He barely had any friends in school either. It seemed unlikely that anyone would help him. Moreover, he'd injured Leon of all people! Walter was famous for his notoriety in Hindale! "The school's board of trustees—specifically, the Talbots," Gary replied. "The Talbots…? Does that mean Icarus actually has something going on with the Talbots' daughter?" Hank exclaimed in realization. Immediately, he started regretting the unpleasant way in which he'd treated Icarus before. If Icarus bore a grudge against him, he would be in for a lot of trouble. … Everyone in class was stunned when they saw Icarus making his way back to the classroom completely unscathed. How could this be? They'd heard that Walter had already come to the school. Why was it that Icarus was perfectly fine? "Damn it! How did he manage to come back to class so soon?" Emily grumbled as she eyed Icarus in discontent. But moments later, the situation dawned on her when she saw Ruth flashing Icarus a faint smile. Ruth must've helped him! "That bastard! That bitch!" Emily fumed. … Back at the Academic Affairs Department, Walter was sitting in front of Gary's desk, his face pale with fury. "My son was beaten so badly that his right arm was crushed! It's less than five months until college entrance exams. If he doesn't recover by then, he might not even be able to sit for the exams! Even Benny here was seriously injured. How am I supposed to just put up with this?" Walter roared. "Mr. Harlow, based on our investigations, it was indeed your son who attempted to hit Icarus first…" Gary explained, his forehead dotted with sweat droplets. Walter slammed his hand against the desk. "That's bullshit! Don't think I don't know that someone intervened to save that boy Icarus!" Gary took out a handkerchief and wiped his sweat before saying tentatively, "Mr. Harlow, please understand our position…" Walter's expression continued to contort as rage built up inside of him. He was infamous for his notoriety in Hindale. When had he ever suffered such grievances before? Leon's arm had been broken, but the perpetrator walked away unpunished. If word got out about this, he would be a laughingstock! "I'll make that bastard pay for this, or else, I can forget about maintaining my position here in Hindale!" Walter declared through gritted teeth. Gary was so terrified by Walter's menacing air that he dared not say anything. "I can't do anything to him while he's in this school… but once he's outside, you people can't interfere with what happens to him, right?" Walter questioned as he slowly raised his head and eyed Gary with a savage expression. Gary had no choice but to nod and mutter, "Anything that happens outside of the school's premises… would just be an unfortunate accident." "Well, he'll soon be gone then." Walter already had a plan in mind, and he started snorting darkly. … Back inside the classroom, Ruth kept sneaking glances at Icarus. When he couldn't take it anymore, he turned to her and asked, "Are you expecting me to thank you?" Ruth was startled. She'd thought he didn't know about her involvement! "O-Of course you should be thanking me! Otherwise, you would've been expelled for attacking someone!" Ruth retorted, her eyes wide. "Why do you think I had to attack someone?" Icarus asked while looking straight at her. Ruth felt a little shy under his gaze. She'd never had such close contact with a guy before. "H-How should I know?" she fired back while averting her eyes. "If you hadn't transferred over and asked to be my deskmate, the others wouldn't have paid any attention to me. Leon wouldn't have felt jealous of me and picked on me either. I wouldn't have been forced to hit him," Icarus swiftly responded. Ruth was a little dazed by Icarus' rapid response. "Moreover, the harm you caused to me is permanent. Everyone in this class is going to remember me now. Even if I don't get expelled, there's still going to be a ton of trouble coming my way. Therefore, I beseech you to stop being my deskmate. Kindly leave this class. I told you. I hate trouble," Icarus said. Being the daughter of the Talbot family, ever since Ruth was a baby, she'd been pampered like a princess. When had she ever been subjected to such disdain? She felt extremely aggrieved. Why was Icarus scorning her when she'd helped him? Inwardly, she ranted to herself, "If it hadn't been for Grandpa's sake, why would I want to sit with a scoundrel like you?" After taking a deep breath to compose herself, Ruth finally said, "If you want me to leave this class, all you have to do is agree to treat my grandpa. Say the word, and I'll leave right away! I'll even pay you handsomely." Frowning, Icarus eyed Ruth and gave her proposal some careful consideration. To avoid having even more troublesome days ahead of him, he replied, "It's a deal."