CHAPTER 12:DECISION

Vincent has finished dressing up and he wore a white shirt and black jeans. He was also glad to find another set of glasses near his study table, because he has destroyed 14 glasses in just a month. Jameson was sitting on Vincent’s sofa.

“Let's go?” asked Vincent.

Jameson nodded and stood and both of them left Vincent’s room and he locked it. They arrived at the King’s building and they saw dozens of reporters outside the Academy from afar. They climbed up the stairs until they reached the third floor. And as they turned left, they immediately saw the lines of parents along with them are the students that Vincent had beaten. Their looks and glances are nothing but full of hatred and disgust. The students still have their bandages wrapped around their injuries and some are on a wheelchair. Vincent didn’t know that the injuries he gave them was this bad, since he only intended to knock them out of conscious. But the thing is, Vincent remembers that he only slammed 2 students on a wall and the others were just punched and kicked by him, but how can they sustain this much injuries? But Vincent didn’t want to answer it since he has a lot of explaining to do later. They were about to take a step forward when somebody cleared its throat behind them. The father and son looked back and saw 3 blond haired people. Vincent looked down and saw Emanuel on a wheelchair with bandages around his body including his head. Emanuel gave Vincent an angry stare and it seems like any moment now, Emanuel will get up and punch Vincent in the face. The other blonds was a handsome man wearing a business attire like Jameson, and the other is a woman who wears a luxurious white dress and some shining accessories. And Vincent already figured who these people are, it’s the Gold family.

The handsome blond man cleared his throat. “So, Vincent Miles. A disgrace to his own Household and continues to taint his family name, finally shows up. You truly are a disgusting person.” Insulted the man.

They were about to laugh when Jameson went in front of Vincent and spread his arms like he is covering him from harm.

“Watch your tongue, Tony. It’s my son who you are insulting, shut your trap.” Angrily said by Jameson.

The blond man grinned at Jameson.

“Don’t worry, he’ll be kicked out of this school anyway. Come my beloved.” Says Tony then they passed through Vincent and Jameson and spoke to the parents that are lined up.

Vincent never knew that the head of Gold Household was that kind of a person. And now he knows where did Emanuel got his arrogance. Jameson then tapped the shoulder of Vincent trying to make sure he’s okay and Vincent nodded. They both stood there and waited.

Finally, after 20 minutes of waiting, the door of the Headmaster’s office opened and a woman wearing a business attire and glasses went outside with a checklist on her hand.

“The meeting about the fighting incident shall commence. Please follow me. ” says the woman then all of them followed her inside.

The inside of the Headmaster’s office was big and there’s a round table at the middle with seats placed around it, enough to accommodate the parents and students who attended. Vincent and Jameson sat at the right side just right next to the headmaster’s seat with the Gold Household on the other side of the table, facing them. They waited for 10 more minutes when the door on the left flung open and a man wearing a brown formal attire went out of that door and sat on the headmaster’s seat. In front of him was a name plate that says:

“JONATHAN REED

  “THE BEAST”

CENTRAL HERO ACADEMY – HEADMASTER” 

And this where Vincent finally understood why the pressure inside the room suddenly got heavy. This headmaster is not just an ordinary headmaster, as far as Vincent knows, this man is a member of the high-ranking heroes. But he got no time to worry about that. The headmaster stood up. 

“Good morning, everyone. My name is Jonathan Reed, the headmaster of this school. Let us now discuss the fighting incident that has happened last week.” He cheerfully says then sat down on his chair.

He then clapped his hands and a holographic monitor suddenly appeared at the middle of the table and it showed pictures of the 10^th floor that has been devastated because of the fight. And when the pictures changed and it showed the bodies of students laying on the ground all unconscious, Vincent can hear the gritting of teeth of the parents and students. He can feel their anger towards him but Vincent just paid close attention to the pictures. At the last picture, it shows Vincent stepping on a beat-up boy with his right foot, and that boy was Emanuel. The headmaster clapped his hands again and the monitor disappeared.

“So, you all have seen the pictures and evidences. There’s not much to say about it other that it was a massacre that is performed by Mr. Vincent, right here.” Says the headmaster then looked at Vincent.

The parents started to shout, cursing and insulting Vincent. They are all saying the same thing.

“Kick this monster out of this Academy!”

Jameson stood up to defend his son but Vincent just sat there and endured all that curses being thrown at him. And then, the headmaster raised his hand and cleared his throat.

“The thing about the massacre has been answered. But let me ask another question. Who started the fight?” says the headmaster then all of them silenced.

Who started the fight? Even Vincent doesn’t know who started it because it all happened so fast that Vincent couldn’t remember who really is the one who fired the first attack. If Vincent attacked first, then this case is already closed and he will be kicked out immediately since the headmaster will consider the actions of the others as self-defense. But if the first-class has started it, Vincent has a chance to not get kicked out

Tony Gold then stood up. “The answer is still the same. That Vincent Miles started it and what out children did was all self-defense, right my fellow parents?” says Tony then the parents started to yell at Vincent again blaming him for everything.

The headmaster then raised his hand again and all stopped.

“The thing is, the beating has already been proven and has solid evidence. And Vincent Miles right here will definitely suffer the sue against him which is 21 counts of serious physical injuries and frustrated murder that has been accused on him by the Gold Household and the parents and students. Which will give Mr. Miles the total of 65 years in prison, based on our constitution.” Explained the headmaster.

The parents then yelled at Vincent that he deserves to be publicly executed and that’s when Jameson snapped and argued with the parents. And for the third and last time, the headmaster raised his hand and immense pressure suddenly revolved around the room and seems to be suffocating everyone except for Jameson. The headmaster then smiled and continued his explanation. The headmaster then brought up a certain question again about who actually started it. Because this matter won’t be solved if the one who started it is unknown. And as the parents and the headmaster argue, Vincent stood up and it caught everyone’s attention.

“There’s no point in fighting amongst each other right now. If you want me to be imprisoned, I’ll happily surrender myself. But I will never regret what I did, and I believe that what I did was right and they deserved it.” Says Vincent then parents started to shout loudly again.

The headmaster just face-palmed himself as he had enough of this. He looked at the woman wearing glass and the woman just nodded. She then opened the door and someone entered. It was Margarita and Norman.

“Now, all of you. Please sit down. This is Mr. Vincent’s time to defend himself and justify his actions. This is the evidence we all need to clear it all.” Says the headmaster.

He then nodded at Norman then another holographic monitor appeared at the middle. And this it showed a video. Vincent looked and was surprised; it was a video footage of the fight before it even began. So, that’s when he remembered that he saw a shining thing near the door of a tenth-class classroom, so Vincent thought that this might be the evidence the headmaster is looking for.

The video shows Vincent and Emanuel arguing. And when Vincent said that, won’t the first-class go easy on him since he’s all alone, the video suddenly went into slow motion. And there it showed a dark-skinned boy student fired bullets of rocks towards Vincent which made him dodge and started his attack. And for some reason, that scene sort of cleared it all. They turned off the monitor then looked at the silenced parents and students. The one who started the attack wasn’t Vincent, it was the first-class all along. Vincent suddenly felt relieved even though it’s not done yet since he will still face 21 counts of serious injuries. And that’s when Margarita came in.

“All of you have accused Vincent of 21 counts of serious injuries, right?” the parents nodded.

Margarita then smirked then explained it. It turns out that there were no serious injuries among the students. The parents begged to disagree but Margarita held her hand up.

“I know an injured person when I see one. And those students are just faking it.” She says.

Then all complained and says that she plays favoritism. Margarita just laughed at them again. She then showed the official medical record of the involved students that has been signed by the headmaster himself, and they all shut their mouths. The parents then demanded their children to take off their bandages and it definitely revealed no injuries and it includes Emanuel and they started to scold their children and Emanuel eventually felt ashamed of himself for faking it.

“So, all of it was your fault, Manny?” asked Emanuel’s mother.

Emanuel just nodded since he can no longer deny it. His parents sighed and immediately apologized to Jameson and Vincent. They then asked the headmaster what is the next thing to do, he stood up.

“22 of you, including Vincent. Will only be suffering detention. Vincent will receive a month of detention and the first-class will receive 2 and a half months.” Says the headmaster.

Jameson was about to complain when he realized that his son also needs to be disciplined. But the headmaster then came up with an idea and he explained it to the others. His plan is to give them an extraordinary detention. And it is that they will all serve as substitute interns for hero squads that are around the Central Empire. They will be doing heroic jobs. All of them asked where the punishment is and he answered that the punishment is that the students are required to finish their school works even though they’re out there, they need to submit it and take evening classes. Which simply means, he won’t give them proper rest and show the harsh reality of being a hero. No one seemed to disagree so the punishment has been decided. And with that, the meeting ended pretty quickly than expected. The parents then apologized to Vincent and Jameson for saying those harsh things. And both of them just forgave them and walked their way through the corridor. They met the Gold Family near the stairs and they also offered their apologies especially to Vincent.

“Jameson, just like I promised. Once my son is the one that is at fault, I will be the one to punish him.”  Says Tony then they left.

The father and son went down and was surprised by Sophia’s sudden appearance. She bombarded them with questions and in the end because of Vincent’s annoyance, they ended up bickering. Vincent doesn’t know if he can consider the decision as a punishment, but he just gratefully accepted it since he also deserved to be punished.

Meanwhile, back at the headmaster’s office. Jonathan just sat there and was drinking something.

“Are you sure about the decision, headmaster?” asked the woman.

Jonathan then grinned. “That punishment is much harder than you thought, Michelle. It is a difficult one, and we will also determine if they really are fit to become a hero.” Says Jonathan then drank his wine.

“It is also better to cool things off, especially when that guy is now definitely targeting Vincent.” He added.

After all the nervousness and curses Vincent has heard and felt, as the decision has been made, he felt that a heavy weight has been lifted off of his shoulders. And this time he is looking forward to being an intern and at the same time, he is hoping that Emanuel and his gang will now change their doings and become true aspiring heroes.