When the rest of the class watched Max stand up, walk down the tiered rows, and effortlessly hoist the unconscious Jono over his shoulder, a wave of conflicting emotions washed over the room. For a brief, fleeting moment, some of them genuinely thought he was just a good person, a selfless individual stepping up to help a peer in desperate need. It was a heroic act they all secretly wished they had the courage to perform themselves, yet they had remained frozen in their seats. However, as the initial shock wore off and the reality of the situation set in, another thought quickly took its place.
This man was a lunatic.
In their minds, no sane person, after witnessing the sheer brutality Sylan was capable of, would dare to walk up and intervene while the senior was still standing right there. It wasn’t just bravery; it felt like a total disconnect from reality. Whispers and anxious murmurs began to ripple through the rows. The fear in the room shifted from concern for Jono to a frantic, selfish worry for their own safety. If this new student, Max, was acting out and defying the seniors so brazenly, did that mean they would all be collectively punished for his stupidity? In a matter of seconds, the class’s empathy for their fallen representative was swallowed by a desperate need for self-preservation.
"Wait a second... if it’s really him, then this all makes sense, right?" Steve mumbled to himself, his voice trembling with a mix of awe and terror.
Beside him, Talia and Yovan overheard the remark. Talia’s eyes were wide, her gaze fixed on Max’s departing back, while Yovan’s expression remained one of deep skepticism.
"Right, right," Steve continued, as if trying to convince himself. "The legendary high schooler who united all the delinquents in the city and even managed to take down a real-world gang. If that’s truly who he is, then he wouldn’t be scared of some soccer player. It would make perfect sense for him to be this brave."
Steve felt a small glimmer of hope. He genuinely wanted to help Jono; in high school, Steve had been the quiet kid who blended into the walls, and he had come to the university desperate to reinvent himself. But change is a difficult, heavy thing to achieve just by switching environments. It was Jono who had reached out first, making the transition so much easier for him. Seeing Jono broken on the floor felt like seeing his own safety net being shredded.
"Are you an idiot? Do you honestly still believe those stories, even after seeing this?" Yovan snapped, her voice hushed but sharp. "This isn’t a fairy tale, Steve. People don’t just swoop in and save the day because we’re in a bad situation. This is the real world."
She gestured toward the podium where the blood was still fresh. "Right now, the smartest thing to do is to keep our heads down and avoid drawing any more attention. Jono has already been hurt. All we had to do was agree to turn up to the event, and everything would have been fine. In real life, playing the hero like this is just going to get everyone else caught in the crossfire."
Hearing Yovan’s cold, logical assessment, Steve’s brief spark of hope died out. He realized how foolish his fantasies sounded in the face of such raw violence. His head sunk deep into his chest, his eyes returning to the floor.
The irony of the situation was that Sylan was so genuinely stunned by the sheer audacity of Max’s movement that he had been rendered speechless. He stood by the podium, his mouth slightly agape, watching as if in slow motion while the redhead completely ignored his presence. Before Sylan could even find his voice to shout a command, Max had already carried Jono out of the lecture hall and into the corridor.
"What the heck?" Sylan finally barked, his face turning a dark, insulted shade of purple. "Did I just see things? Did that brat really just ignore me and walk out? We get some right idiots every year, but this is a whole new level of disrespect."
He turned back to the trembling class, his eyes flashing with a promise of future retribution. "All of you stay inside. Don’t even think about moving an inch."
With that, Sylan stormed out of the room, his heavy footsteps echoing as he went after Max. The room fell into a deathly silence. No one spoke; they just stared at the dark red stains on the podium and the floor where Jono’s head had been slammed.
"Is he going to be okay?" someone finally whispered. "I mean, we saw what Sylan did to Jono. He could end up killing a student if he’s pushed further."
"Well, it’s not our problem anymore, is it?" Yovan declared loudly, her voice echoing in the silence. "Everything he’s doing now is his own choice. He brought this on himself by acting like a martyr."
"Man, Yovan, you’re a good friend, but sometimes you can be a real bitch," Talia said suddenly. She stood up, grabbed her bag, and began to descend the stairs toward the door.
"That idiot," Yovan muttered, watching Talia leave. "She’s too kind for her own good. If she gets involved in this mess, what outcome is she honestly expecting? It’s just going to end badly for everyone involved."
Out in the hallway, Sylan’s voice boomed as he caught sight of Max’s back. Max was walking at a steady pace, Jono’s weight seemingly having no effect on his stride.
"Hey, you! I remember you now!" Sylan shouted, closing the distance. "You’re the one who gave me that look earlier, aren’t you? I knew I should have punched your face in back in the hallway. Do you have any idea who the hell you’re messing with?"
Max let out a long, weary sigh as the shouting reached his ears. He wasn’t close enough to the campus nursing room yet, but he spotted an empty, dimly lit classroom to his right. He didn’t want to get caught in a brawl in the middle of a busy hallway where more witnesses could gather. He kicked the door open and stepped inside, looking for a place to set Jono down.
"Sorry about this," Max murmured to the unconscious Jono. "It’s a little difficult to fight properly while holding someone. Although, to be honest, I don’t think I would lose to a guy like this even while carrying you."
Sylan burst into the room a second later, his face contorted with rage. He looked around the empty space, a predatory grin forming on his lips.
"Oh, perfect," Sylan said, cracking his knuckles as the door swung shut behind him. "So it looks like you’ve been kind enough to choose exactly where your deathbed is going to be."