The Accident

“Leonard! Hurry before the bus leaves!” Mrs Tanner shouted as she stood at the doorway of their small house, staring at the bus that was just some distance away from the house.

With how hard their life was, she knew that if her son missed the bus, he was going to spend the next two hours walking to school.

“I’m out already, Mom,” Leonard said, pulling her in for a quick hug. After that, he rushed out, meeting with the bus just in time.

He looked out the window, watching his mother’s frail figure as she kept on waving at him. As soon as she was out of sight, he sighed, leaning his head back on the seat.

Despite having woken up very early and gotten ready for school, Leonard had deliberately stayed till the last moment so that his mother wouldn’t realize that he had left the last meal she had made for him.

At the age of seventeen, he has come to see his mom as the most important person to him and with the country’s economy falling, surviving for people like them also got a lot more difficult, and so the ride to the city where his school was, Leonard’s mind was full of several thoughts on how he could make more money for their small family.

Very quickly, the bus came to a stop at the city’s bus stop, and Leonard got down. His school was about fifteen minutes walk from the bus park and if he walked fast enough, he would be in school before the first bell rang.

At this time of the day, the whole street was busy and several people hurried along the street. Leonard greeted some vendors that he was already familiar with from his three years of walking the same path.

“Watch out!” Someone shouted at him, but it was too late as an old man with a cart rammed his cart into Leonard, making him fall over.

“Ouch,” he groaned in pain and struggled to stand up. He looked at his uniform which was a blend of white and blue but was already stained in front because of the cart.

“I’m sure the back is no better off,” he murmured to himself.

“This young boy, forgive me,” the old man with the cart said, walking to Leonard and stretching an arm out to help him stand up.

“I was in a hurry just now and wasn’t looking properly,” he apologized.

Although Leonard was displeased with his ruined uniform, he wasn’t the type to be angry over such a matter. “It’s okay, don’t let this delay you,” he told the man while stepping aside so he could push his cart away.

The old man nodded gratefully and then, without any warning, grabbed his hands and placed a metal bracelet in his palm.

“I’m poor and don’t have much. However, this is a family heirloom. You can pawn it off and use this money as compensation later.”

As soon as he said that, he rolled hurried back to his cart, rolling it away.

Leonard rushed after him, unwilling to take a gift like that, “wait! There’s no need to give me this,” he yelled as he ran after the man.

His shout attracted even more attention, and with the already rowdy street, Leonard lost the man in less than a minute.

He sighed, his eyes shining with pity at how the incident had played out.

“My reaction was a little too slow this time,” he said in a self-scolding manner, and after he had dusted himself a little more, he kept the bracelet in his chest pocket and started jogging to school.

Because of the slight disturbance, the bell for the first period already rang before Leonard got to Darwin College.

Giving a brief greeting to the securities at the gate, he dashed through several hallways to get to his classroom.

Darwin College was one of the top schools in the country. It was an international school and had built its credibility over the years. Also, with their affiliation with other countries, it was extremely difficult to get in there. 

Also, the fees were exorbitant, and someone like Leonard only got the opportunity to be there because of his grades, allowing him to study on a scholarship.

As soon as he entered his class, the entire classroom became quiet and several sniggers rang out from the room.

“If it isn’t our charity case daring to come to school after us,” a voice rang out from behind.

Leonard’s fists clenched tightly as a plump and huge boy stood up from behind and stalked toward him.

“The bell rang three minutes ago, pretty face. Why are you just coming to school?” He barked out, his huge frame standing tall over Leonard’s scrawny frame.

“I had a…” before he could complete his words, the boy kicked his legs out, aiming to kick Leonard away, but someone was faster and came in between them.

“Edgar, you aren’t the time Prefect; why are you giving him a hard time?” A soft and clear voice rang out, making Edgar stop mid-action.

“Susan, don’t interfere in this matter. Our parents work so hard, and their money is used to fund the education of this brat. Yet, he still dares to come to school later than me?”

“He also contributes to the school with his grades. There’s no need to be this way,” the girl continued, but the more she tried to convince Edgar, the more annoyed he was.

Susan was their school’s beauty, and he had liked her for a long time, yet, because of Leonard’s grades, she would usually pay more attention to Leonard.

Thus, her current interference only served to make him even angrier instead of pacifying him.

“Even though I’m not the time Prefect, I’m part of the disciplinary committee, and a scholarship student coming late deserves detention and twelve hours of community service…” Edgar said, his eyes flashing with a cold light.

Susan, on the other hand, sighed with relief for temporarily stopping him from beating Leonard.

“But that doesn’t mean that he cannot get an advance!” With both of their guards down, Edgar threw a sharp kick at Leonard and had him fall to the floor for the second time this morning.

His eyes shone with cruelty, “You have the opportunity to learn with us doesn’t make you become us, and so don’t you dare go around thinking you can eat swan meat with your measly background.”

After saying his piece, Edgar turned and walked back to his seat while Susan crouched down and tried to help Leonard up.

“Thank you, Susan. However, your helping me would only bring more trouble to me. Please don’t worry about me,” he told her in a low voice that only the two of them could hear.

Susan’s face flushed as understanding washed over her.

“I’m sorry, Leonard. Maybe we can meet after school to discuss our project then.” After saying that, she stood up and left.

Leonard stood up, dusted his pants, and walked to his seat.

The classroom seats were arranged in twos, and Leonard’s seatmate, Richard, was also a scholarship student like him. As they were only three in this class, the three of them would usually stick together.

But after attracting the wrath of Edgar, the only son of the Smiths. Inc Group, Richard and Alice had given him a wide gap, making sure that they weren’t dragged into the mess that Leonard was in.

However, today was even worse as Leonard realized that Richard had taken his seat away from him completely.

He winced in self-mockery and then sat down on his seat. Waiting for the first class to start.

The teacher for the first class soon rushed in right after Leonard had sat down.

“Sorry for being late. There was an emergency meeting of all teachers this morning,” Mr Reeves explained as he dropped the folder on the teaching platform.

“Just now, we were informed about the national mathematics competition. The school would be holding a test first to select our top five representatives. Prepare well ahead and don’t disappoint the class,” Mr Reeves announced, and after that, he went ahead to teach them.

As the class’s top student, Leonard was good in all the subjects, and also, since he knew that he had less time to study because of his side work, Leonard listened attentively through the English class.

The English class lasted an hour and some minutes, and the bell for it rang out. Class after class, Leonard sat down like a statue, listening attentively and making notes.

He was completely oblivious to the sinister plot that was happening around the classroom.