"I can't believe you pushed a girl off a staircase, Henry. Why would you even do that?" The headmistress asked. It was Monday morning, and he had been called to DC with both boys' and girls' prefect. Esther had gone to report them after Amanda had been sent to the hospital, and it seems she was severely hurt than Ellen. She could barely talk. The whole school had heard of how the famous player/prefect had punished Amanda, but had no idea why, except Ellen, Abigail, and Kelly. Ellen could not believe Henry had punished Amanda because of her. "I can't believe this. Madam, did they say that?" Henry asked, perplexed. This was the first time the two main prefects had been sent to the Disciplinary Committee. They were a bit fearful because it could go on their records. "Actually, it was Esther here who told us about it. Amanda is in the hospital, and we will speak to her later. Now it has come to my attention that all this is about Eleanora Wilson. Is that true?" The Headmistress asked. "Madam, as well as you know me, I'm sure you know I am a kindhearted guy, even though everyone thinks of me as just a player. I never pushed Amanda as I'm being accused of, and she can attest to that. Esther, did you see me push her?" Henry defended. "No, I was busy begging Clara to say something," Esther replied timidly. "That means you have no vivid idea what happened up there, like my friends over here, and I'll tell you, I didn't push her. She slipped. If you don't believe me, ask her yourself. Madam, Esther, and Amanda have been troubling Ellen and her friends a lot, using her prefectship as an excuse, and their housemistress can attest to that." Henry said to their surprise. "Yes, madam, I even petitioned for her demotion, and Miss Alex is in support of it. We interviewed the juniors, and they were in motion of her getting demoted." Clara backed Henry. "I'll think about that and investigate this matter further. Till then, all of you go back to class, and you three should hope you are innocent as you claim, especially you, Henry. I wouldn't want this to go on my record as prefects. Now out." Miss Theodore ordered. They all filed out, and Esther went to class before them. Eric was extremely upset, but they both knew Henry was more than upset. "Where are you going?" Clara asked Henry who changed course to a different direction. "I'm not in the mood for class now," Henry replied. "Henry, you do remember we have exams in two weeks, right? Ignore all this and let's go to class. Even I am not upset, how much more you." Clara tried to reason with him. "Clara, you can go if you want to, okay. I'm not going to fail if I miss class for these last two weeks, let alone today." Henry replied and left without waiting for what she had to say. Eric just walked on as he was too upset to speak. Ever since he went to senior high school, he has never been to DC before. Everyone knew it was rare to find trouble with him, just like Clara, and he was popularly known as the perfect gentleman. That was why they won the elections by default. He was Henry's right-hand man and very popular among the ladies after Henry, but he never got into trouble. Esther reporting all of them made him extremely angry, but he's keeping his cool. They are going to strike at the right time. Clara just sighed and went to class.
…..
It was break time for the juniors, and the whole campus was filled with noise. Henry was busy mixing chemicals in the chemistry lab when "Henry?" he heard his name being mentioned. "Hi. I didn't expect to see you here." He greeted the three girls who had just entered. "Good morning, senior." Abigail and Kelly greeted. "Good morning. I hope you are all doing well, and please call me Henry." He responded with a smile. "What are you doing here? Don't you have a class, or did you stay behind after chemistry class?" Ellen queried. She looked beautiful even with the cast on her leg and the crotch supporting her. Looking at her, Henry smiled unconsciously, and the girls giggled. "Um, do you girls have chemistry after break?" Henry asked awkwardly. "Yes. This is where we sit during class, so we came to place our books down. I sit on the left, and Abby sits on the right. You are sitting at Elle's place." Kelly explained, and Ellen blushed. "Oh," Henry said and shifted to the right, indicating Ellen to sit. "Um, we should go for breakfast. Elle, you stay here. We'll bring you your breakfast. I'm sure you are in good hands, I hope." Abby said, and they laughed. "How can you be sure and hope at the same time? I know you two have a lot of reservations about me, but I honestly thought we had passed that since Elle hasn't been avoiding me to signal your disapproval. You guys have nothing to worry about, trust me." Henry defended, and they giggled. "We sure hope we can. Bye." Kelly replied with a smile, and they left. "How are you?" Henry asked. "I'm okay. How about you? I heard you had a busy day yesterday." Ellen replied. "Ha-ha, the whole school knows about that huh? I'm good. Those two had it coming. I did warn them to stay away, and they didn't." Henry answered. "Did you really hurt them because of me?" She asked and blushed for the nth time when he nodded. "Well, nobody messes with my girl except me. I didn't push Amanda; she slipped on her own. I just guided her to it, and I'm yet to get that house prefect of yours." Henry said viciously. "Isn't getting her demoted enough? I mean, what do you intend to do? Your reputation is at stake here, and you're a prefect, Henry. Don't you think your testimonial is important?" Ellen reasoned, "Eleanora, you have no idea who I am, do you? I don't need any testimonial or whatever to take over my properties. I am an heir to an empire and also, I am an asset to this school. They can only dream of destroying my testimonial because it will reach nowhere." He replied with pride, and Ellen was astonished. She was about to give a comment when the students began to enter the class, which meant it was break-over and time for Henry to leave. "Good morning, senior," They greeted one after another as they entered. Before an eye could blink in the lab, Henry gave Ellen a peck on her cheek and left with a smile. "Oh My God, am I seeing things or did the senior just kiss her?" One boy asked in a daze. "You sneaky daredevil! You have been aiming for the prefect all along. Is that why you rejected every guy that came your way?" A girl spoke with spite. "So, Ellen is like every other girl after all. Even you, like senior Henry, and here I thought such things weren't part of your life. Tsk, Tsk, Tsk." Another guy commented, and Ellen was still shocked at what had just happened. "What do you mean you thought such things weren't part of her life? Is she not human? Doesn't she have feelings, too? You all just leave her alone and mind your own business." Kelly came to the rescue when they heard what the guy said. They were also surprised to witness what Henry did, and the blush on Ellen's shocked face didn't go unnoticed by them. The class came to order when the teacher entered, and the incident was soon forgotten.
***
Henry had a smitten smile on his handsome face when his friends entered his room after school. He didn't attend class, and they came to check up on him. "Bro, I know you're unbeatable and all, but this is revision week, you've got to be serious about it. You might be shocked to have your crown snatched from you as the best, you know." Eric complained, ignoring the look on his face completely. "This jerk! Why the hell are you smiling like that?" Clara asked, annoyed at his demeanor. "Relax, Clara, isn't it a good thing that he's at least smiling? I mean, he had a killer look this morning after the DC incident, so it's fine." Eric defended. "You two know I get whatever I want, right? (They nod). So, will you believe me if I tell you Ellen is going to be mine? I only met her this semester, and she's been the only thing keeping me in school, not dad's threats. That girl just amuses me with her innocence, brilliance, and kind heart. She is wise as well. Do you know what she told me? She said I should leave Esther alone because demoting her is enough punishment for her. The funny thing is, she feels Amanda's punishment was too harsh. Can you believe that?" Henry spoke for the first time since they entered with a laugh. "Well, that is Ellen for you, Henry. You know, I think she's good for you. She is the only one who can tame the ferocious lion." Clara commented, and the boys roared with hard laughter, which had them holding their stomachs. "Tame who? Me? Clara, have you gone mad? I mean, even you can't tame me, and you are worse than me when given the chance, and you are talking about taming." Henry spoke after he calmed down. Clara took offence to that and glared at him before storming out, and he pursued her. "Hey, wait. Clara, I'm sorry, please. I didn't mean to offend you." Henry pleaded. Saying sorry is one of the many things Henry never does; therefore, he means it when he says it. "Hmm, let me think about it. Go on your knees and repeat your apology. Maybe I'll consider it then." Clara said with her index finger on her chin and smirked. "Excuse me, what?" Henry asked in surprise. "You heard me. Unless you no longer need my forgiveness." Clara said sinisterly. Clara knew she was literally asking for the impossible. No matter who you are, Henry never kneels when asked to do so, but since he said she is worse than him, she will prove that statement to be true. With her arms folded on her chest, she stared keenly at Henry with sharp eyes while Eric stood at the entrance, shocked by what was going on. The boys began to stare at the prefects to find out what was going on, and to their utter dismay, Henry went down on his knees in front of Clara. All eyes were almost gauged out of their sockets, including Clara's eyes. "Bro, what are you doing, man?" Eric rushed to pick him up, but he refused. "I am sorry I offended you, Clara." Henry apologized with clenched fists and bowed head. This was too shocking to be real. Not only did he kneel for the very first time in his life, but he also apologized to a girl. The whole boys' dormitory was in chaos, with everyone trying to see Henry on his knees. Eric gave Clara a hard glare, and she didn't realize when her tears had begun to pour. She rushed to hug him on her knees as well, and this was just too much for everyone to bear. It's not every day you get to see prefects on their knees. "Henry, I'm so sorry (sobs). I didn't mean to humiliate you this way. I was only messing with you, stupid. Please get up, please." Clara apologized amid tears. She was just taunting him, who knew he'd actually do it. "If I go down, you go with me, Clara. See, now you're also kneeling." Henry said with a sinister smile, and Clara chuckled, amidst tears. This guy will always be cold-hearted, but he will always be her best friend as well. They both stood, and Henry wiped her tears with his thumbs before they hugged. For the first time, Eric was jealous of them. Even though they are three best friends, it was first Henry and Clara whose friendship trace way back to when they were born in the same hospital. Their moms are besties, and they automatically became besties too. Clara has always been restricted by her parents, while Henry was a free bird. She always sought his help to leave her house, and they've had their fun in escape adventures. They never dated because they grew up like siblings who had each other's backs no matter what. Henry was always a bully, and Eric became their friend in primary six when he joined their school, because he was a perfect gentleman but a sly bully as well, who stood up to them. Since then, it's been the three of them, best friends in the world. They're all rich, brilliant, and sharp, never leaving each other. "You two sure do know how to stir up some drama. What was the need for you both to do all this? Come on, let's go inside." Eric said and rolled his eyes. The boys were still dumbfounded at what just happened as they went to prepare for prep.