NOTE: In this story, the events of Scorpia Rising happened slightly differently: There was a CIA agent undercover in Razim's complex, who tipped Jack off and told her to roll away from the car. Unfortunately, a piece of debris broke Jack's ankle. He looked after her and hid her until the CIA came, and Alex went with her on a helicopter to hospital. Jack got a cast and they returned to England safely. Alex is now going back to school.
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Alex Rider- That would be Anthony Horowitz.
Alex was awake long before his alarm clock went off. It was 6:20 am, and Alex wouldn't normally get up until 7:00. 40 minutes to go. Alex eyed his uniform, neatly folded on the chair in his room. Adrenalin raced through him- despite his many encounters with dangerous criminals, school seemed a lot, lot bleaker; the suspicion, the names, people calling him a druggie. Alex tossed and turned, but couldn't get back to sleep. He shut his eyes for what seemed like hours, but when he opened them again, the red numbers 6:28 glared back at him. He just couldn't sleep; from a mixture of his nervous approach at returning to school, but also the dream-well, nightmare- he'd just woken up from:
He had been back at Razim's. He had been watching Jack 'die' on the TV screen. Over and over again, in slow motion, in black and white, in HD, even infrared! Sweaty and panting, he'd woken up, about to scream, but remembered it was okay... Jack was alive! But her ankle... She had broken it severely when the car's debris had rained around her as she had rolled out of it after turning on the ignition. The doctors said she might never be able to walk as well as she might have once- the break was that severe. On top of that, she had been burned all down his back... And Alex definitely knew how much that hurt. He sighed. He was just lucky that there had been an inside man...
6:40. Alex had had been lost in thought for 12 minutes. He thought of the time drawing ever closer to 7:00, when he would have to get up and face the world; see Jack's ankle still in its cast as she hobbled round in crutches, to face his peers again.
To hell with it! Alex needed something to do. He leapt out of bed and into the shower. The hot water pounding down his back always made him feel calmer- eased his muscles up, let his mind take a rest... Alex stepped out of the shower, water dripping off his hair and down his back. He quickly dried himself off. Somewhere in the back of his head nagged the thought that he didn't know where the hairdryer was, but he shrugged it off and got dressed.
7:00. The alarm clock made Alex jump as it screamed out a loud 'bringgg!' Alex sighed. He had butterflies in his stomach. He put a happy face on and headed downstairs.
As always, Jack was down there before him. Alex guessed she probably woke up at about 6:15, and he couldn't understand how that was possible- to wake up so early. He knew this thought was only a miserable attempt of distracting himself...
Because, as always, no matter how hard he tried, his cheerful expression faded when he saw Jack's right ankle.
"Jack... I'm so, so sorry..." He breathed, just like every morning. And, as always, Jack reassured him, then changed the subject.
"Alex, It's not your fault, and you know it," she said firmly, pushing a bowl of Cornflakes in his direction as he sat down. "So"... She continued, School today!" Now that totally put Alex off his cereal.
"Yeah, I guess," he replied, almost stammering, as he tried to force his breakfast down his throat.
"Alex," Jack suddenly announced. Her voice had a serious edge. "I know you're worried about school and that you don't want to go."
"No-"Began Alex, but Jack cut him off.
"I'm not stupid, Alex! I've heard what they do to you at school, calling you a druggie and all that..." She eyed Alex's 99% full bowl of Cornflakes. "You don't have to eat your breakfast if you don't want to, but take some chocolate in case you get hungry," she offered, waving a Cadbury's Fruit & Nut in front of Alex's face. Alex accepted it, although he doubted he'd have the slightest speck of appetite, even for chocolate.
He got up and headed for the door, wheeling his bike out with him. As Alex was about to open the door, he shrugged and called,
"Bye, Jack."
"You too! Love you!" Her voice echoed from the kitchen.
"Love you too," Whispered Alex, and opened the door.
When Alex got to school, his heart was thumping harder than it ever had before. Wheeling his bike through the gates, he tried to look casual, when inside adrenalin was racing through him. The whispers and glances had started even before he'd walked in. It was only when he had just finished chaining up his bike when he heard a shout,
"Alex!" It was Tom Harris, Alex's best friend. The one Alex had told all about MI6. Alex managed a half-smile as his friend came bounding over. "Hey Alex!" He said, excited, and then lowered his voice, "What happened?" Alex thought about Jack and how he thought she'd died, and her ankle... And then came the most horrible thought of all, the one Alex had been fighting all morning: Killing Julius Grief. A hand was shaking Alex's shoulder and he came back to Earth. He realised he'd been staring into space. "Well?" Alex shook his head.
"I-I don't think I'm ready to tell you," he said softly, biting his lip. "I'm just not ready to tell anyone right now." Tom looked puzzled, then sympathetic.
"Dude, something real bad must've happened out there... Where'd you go, again?"
"Egypt." Tom just nodded, then they walked together in silence for a few minutes, until Tom started filling Alex in on what he'd missed. All the time, Alex just nodded politely. Tom started to get worried. What could've shaken his friend up so badly?"
As Alex and Tom walked towards their class, they were intercepted.
"Hey, druggie!" Mocked a muscular boy, while two of his friends snickered from behind.
"Yeah?" Said Alex coolly, shrugging.
"What've you been doing while you were off?" He jeered, "Selling Cocaine?" A small crowd had gathered now, and Alex gestured, with a tilt of his head, for Tom to get out of the situation. Reluctantly, Tom backed away. "Well?" Said the bigger boy.
"I was ill."
"You were ill, My-Damn-Arse," he spat, poking Alex in the chest with every word. Alex stayed cool, and perfectly still, much to the annoyance of the other boy, who had been planning to make him fall over.
"I was."
"Yeah, right," he said, aiming a punch at Alex's arm, which was dodged by a quick backwards step. This made the boy furious. "Come here, Rider!" Alex caught the fist heading towards his face easily, then let it drop. By now a crowd was urging on a fight, and there was nothing Alex-or Tom- could do.
The boy continued to throw punches and kicks, and Alex continued to skilfully dodge them, as the boy got more and more worked up. Alex had a faint smile creeping onto his face; it was all he could do to stop him bursting out in laughter at his idiotic opponent. Even when the boy tried to rugby tackle Alex to the floor, Alex quickly ducked out from under the boy, who went flying onto the ground.
"Just what is going on?" Shouted a male voice, and then the Headteacher, Mr Bray, appeared. Alex, who had just been standing in the ring of pupils, calmly turned around. The other boy dropped his fists and went red. Alex almost smirked, but stopped himself.
"It was Rider, sir!" Shouted a voice from the crowd, and, inevitably, others joined in. Alex kept his calm, collected expression and waited for the shouts to subside.
"Come on, you know it wasn't me. And I would also like to say that I am not on drugs, a drug grocer, or involved in drugs of any sort," inside, Alex wanted to scream with anger, at how horrible the other kids could be, but kept himself together. "I just have a weak immune system."
"Yeah, sure you do," jeered the other boy before he could stop himself, and immediately flushed, seeing Bray giving him a stern look.
"You're coming to my office, Ryan Karpfish." Alex had to stop him self from giggling like a girl at the surname. Karpfish! Well, he smelled as bad as his surname. "Off to class, the rest of you," said Bray, getting the students moving with a wave of his hand. "Oh, and, welcome back Rider." Alex nodded.
"Thanks." Then he rejoined Tom in the sea of students.
First day back at school, and Alex already had a problem. A major problem. Alex and Tom had just been messing around in the form room when the teacher had made her announcement:
"Right, everyone, we are starting a new unit in P.E!" She shouted, and waited for the chatter to subside. " Starting from next month exactly, on the 5th of January, you are going to have swimming lessons. I want you all to get your parents to sign this form," she waved some papers in the air, "...And bring them back in at least 2 weeks." Alex felt a knot tighten in his stomach... His bullet wound- He couldn't let the other kids see it, and even if there was a way to conceal it, there would still be the burns on his back from Kenya. Worse still, he really couldn't refuse; he'd just had a swimming unit just before he'd gone on his Eagle Strike mission, and proved himself to be remarkable at the sport.
Tom was grinning.
"Alex, this is gonna be so much fun," he gabbled cheerfully, "I can't wait!" Alex realised that Tom hadn't ever seen his scar, or even known he'd gotten shot.
"Um, actually Tom... I can't go swimming," Alex almost whispered.
"Why not?"
"Er... Well, um... I might tell you later..." Alex stumbled over his words, feeling clumsy and awkward. Why had he never told Tom about this?
"Okay... Sure. Whatever you say, Alex." Tom was visibly put out and confused, but Alex reassured himself that everything would be solved.
Whoah... His first few lessons had been tough! Alex had had Science first, and they had been talking about the Nuclear Bomb. The other boys had been hyped up, happy to be talking about 'cool stuff like weapons', but Alex and Tom had exchanged glances, knowing just how close the very same kids had almost come to experiencing the devastating effects of a Nuclear Bomb, courtesy of General Alexei Sarov. They don't know how lucky they are, thought Alex despairingly.
Afterwards was Geography. And what were they studying? Egypt. It was all Alex could do not to throw himself out of the room at the mention of the country, let alone try to look comfortable. Then, not only were they studying Egypt, but one of the kids had to bring up Cairo College! Alex felt a shudder go down his back. He listened to what the kid- a girl- was saying.
"So, yeah, one of the old guys from Brookland used to go there," and she glanced at Alex, "And he said that he saw Alex Rider there." The whole class turned to stare at Alex, who quickly and desperately tried to look puzzled.
"What?" He asked incredulously. The girl opened her mouth to say more, but was quickly cut off by the teacher. Alex faced the front with relief. The Sphinx didn't seem so scary now.
Then, he had had Maths. Tom wasn't in his set; he found Maths particularly difficult, especially without his parents having a spare minute to help him. Jerry, according to Tom, was 'too cool to teach a little squirt Maths when there are hot dates available', so Alex was on his own. And who decided to sit right behind him and throw bits of paper at his head? Ryan Karpfish. To make matters worse, it was a double lesson. So Alex had to try to concentrate on catching up on Pythagoras' Theorem, and also try to stop himself snapping at the idiot behind him. He was glad when the lunch bell finally came.
Tom was waiting for him in the corridor.
"Hey, Alex!" Shouted Tom, then grabbing Alex and lowering his voice said, "C'mon, let's go to the Cafeteria before there's a massive queue." Alex stopped his friend.
"Hold on Tom, there's something I need to tell you first," he paused, "And it's likely to put you off your lunch."
"Sure, sure..."
"Look, come with me to the Boy's changing rooms."
Alex and Tom trudged across the school grounds in silence and entered the changing rooms. Alex quickly peered around and checked that there was no-one there, then rushed in and locked the door.
"Wha-?"
"Look, Tom, let's get this over with. I can't go swimming because..."
"Because?" Alex sighed. So he just blurted it out as quickly as he could,
"I got shot."
"What? Dude, why didn't you tell me?" Tom was stunned; Alex had kept a secret from him. From him. He felt betrayed.
"Look, I haven't even told Sabina."
"Well, obviously, she might go off you then," Tom snorted, trying not to laugh. Alex really smiled for the first time all day.
"Yeah, whatever... Anyway..." Alex quickly lifted up his shirt to show Tom his scar. Tom gasped.
"Jesus, man, I can see why you didn't want to tell me. That must've hurt a freaking lot." Alex nodded.
"Yeah. Let's just get outta here." As they walked out, Tom asked the question Alex had been wondering about all day long,
"What're you gonna say? You know... About not going swimming?" Alex sighed for maybe the hundredth time that day.
"I just don't know."
The next lesson Alex had was a lot, lot easier. But extremely hard in its own way. They were doing a 5K cross-country run, (well, not really cross country, they just ran 5 times around the local 1K track) and Alex knew he was gonna totally slam the course right in the face. Ryan was boasting that he was 'totally going to win this thing', and Tom gave Alex a sly look. Alex almost laughed. Then they were off, running along. Alex noticed he was dramatically gaining distance.
The run couldn't have been easier. He practically sprinted the whole distance, and finished an age before the rest of his class, and walked around panting so that his muscles wouldn't tighten up. Then Alex noticed the teacher staring at him.
"Rider...?"
"Yes, Sir?"
"Where on Earth did you learn to run like that! Your classmates are still only on their 3rd laps at best!" Alex shrugged.
"Luck, I guess." The teacher continued to stare, then eventually turned back to watch the other runners.
Finally, sweaty and panting, the rest arrived. They were amazed, and all refused to believe that Alex had finished so early.
"He can't have done that, Sir!"
"He cheated, Sir!"
"Make him go again, Sir!"
Alex got extremely cross listening to all these accusations, and finally snapped.
"Fine!" He shouted, "I'll do it again!"
"Oh yeah?" Jeered Ryan, "You won't even cover one lap!"
"Yes I will!" And with that, Alex started running. As before, it was a breeze. The simplest thing he'd ever done.
"Told you so," he retorted to his classmates, and he didn't care how childish he sounded. They were all just standing there, stunned, shocked, in awe. Alex quietly made his way back to Tom, who was clearly desperately trying not to laugh at Karpfish's face. Alex couldn't resist giving Ryan a sickly smile and a girly wave. This caused Tom to snort with laughter.
"Tom Harris! Shut up!" Growled the Sports teacher.
"It's okay, Sir. It's my fault. I made him laugh," Alex apologised, standing up for his friend.
"Alright," barked the teacher, struggling to be heard over Tom's occasional bursts of laughter, "Back to the coach!"
As soon as the other kids started talking loudly enough, Tom stopped biting his tongue and burst into hysterics. After staring at his friend for a while, Alex decided to join in. What do we look like? He wondered, a pair of 2 kids who've gone totally and utterly crazy? By the time they got to the coach, Alex Rider was certainly in a better mood. But that wouldn't last long.
The next day, after lunch, Alex had P.E. That was when and how it happened. A man walked up to his teacher in the middle of the lesson. He was dressed in dark suit and glasses and had jet black hair. He moved like oil and looked strangely like... Yassen Gregorovich? But Yassen was dead! And he had had fair hair!
"Alex Rider! This man wants to talk to you!" Cautiously, Alex approached in jog, and kept himself loose, in a fighting stance. Then the man pulled out a gun.
Some of Alex's classmates saw this and screamed, sprinting in any direction they could to get away, but the man acted as though they weren't there.
"Alex Rider. Your time has come," he snapped, pointing the gun at Alex's neck from about a metre away. Alex reacted instantly. Before the man had a chance to even work out what was happening, Alex had kicked the gun out of his hand. The whole class was staring in silence. Taking advantage of the man's sudden shock, Alex brought him to the ground with a palm strike and ankle kick, then gripped the man's neck and kneed him in the stomach.
"Who are you? Who do you work for?"
"Little Alex, trust me." The Russian accent was clear now. Alex gasped.
"Yassen Gregorovich?" He blurted, loosening his grip for a fraction of a second. "But you're dead!" Yassen shook his head and his black wig fell off to reveal his fair hair. He tossed his glasses away with a shake of his head.
" No, I am very much alive, Alex. There was some shrapnel buried in my chest when I was shot. It seems the bullet ricocheted off the piece of metal, missing my heart and lungs."
"Wow..." Then Alex came back to Earth. "What are you doing in my school?" Shouted Alex, enraged, "Why did you try to kill me? You're so, so-"
"Alex! I was trying to protect you! The gun is filled with sedative. I was pretending to work for Scorpia, and I was going to drug you and take you somewhere safe. They will kill us both now!" Alex was surprised to see Yassen lose it. He let Yassen up.
"Scorpia are after me? Why don't they just give the hell up? And what about..." Alex trailed off.
" I tipped MI6 off. They are looking after Jack... "Yassen suddenly stopped mid-sentence.
"Yassen?" There was no reply. Then Alex saw the red hole on Yassen's left temple.
"Yassen!" yelled Alex, "Yassen! No!" But Yassen's body began to fall. And, this time, Alex knew, he was dead for real.
Alex whipped his head around madly, looking for a sniper. He was hyperventilating. How could this have happened? As he shifted into fighting stance, Alex saw his teacher usher the other students into the school and make his way towards Alex. The other students looked like they were going into shock- even Tom looked wrecked. Then the teacher was by his side.
"Alex! You've got to get inside! You're in danger!" Gabbled the frantic teacher. At the same time, Alex saw a man make his way down the fire escape of a restaurant across the road.
"Sir! Look! That's the guy who killed Yassen!" Alex cried pointing. The teacher froze.
"Alex, you've got to get inside now!"
"But.." Alex's voice saddened. "But Yassen..." He said, looking at the once great assassin who now lay still on the ground.
"Look, look, you can tell me all about it inside!" Alex turned round to face the man. He could see true fear in his teacher's eyes, and he sighed.
"Okay," he murmured reluctantly, and walked back towards the Comprehensive.
It was 35 minutes after Yassen's death, and Alex Rider was sitting in his school hall, watching the Heads of MI6 take their place on the stage. Blunt moved to the front, and was sitting on a chair slightly behind him, to Alex's right, so that she could still be seen. Blunt cleared his throat,
"I am sure you are all aware of the gun attack that took place this afternoon," he paused, surveying everyone in the school, "Which, unfortunately," –Alex knew that, for Blunt, the death was far from unfortunate; Yassen was MI6's most wanted assassin!- "Killed a man called. Yassen. Gregorovich, he finished. " I am also sure that you are aware that this man had a gun, and was going to shoot... Alex Rider. You may think... That if this man was prepared to kill, then of course he deserved to die." Blunt shook his head. "No. That was not the case. Yassen was Alex's long-lost brother." Alex almost gasped at the incredible lie. Many people, including teachers, actually did, and started shooting him worried or sympathetic glances. Yassen... His brother? Blunt continued. "Yassen was involved with some very dangerous people. These people wanted revenge, and so they were going to kill Alex. The gun was filled with sedative, so that Yassen could drug Alex and take him somewhere safe. But how do we know this? We know this because I am the head of MI6. And Yassen..." Alex thought he saw Blunt fight back a wince, "... Was one of our best agents."
The whole hall was silent, the pupils staring at the stage, some of them still glancing at Alex, this time in shock. Tom nudged Alex in wry amusement. Alex half-shrugged as way of reply. He felt angry that Tom was acting this way, but then again, Alex had never told Tom that he'd kind of... Liked Yassen.
Blunt and Jones switched places, and then Mrs. Jones made an announcement which caused Alex's blood to run cold.
"It is likely that the assassins will come back on a revenge mission," said Jones, then added, casually, almost as an afterthought, "therefore you will all go to Brecon Beacons- in Wales- for some standard SAS training."
Everyone in the hall murmured and buzzed excitedly, while Alex gaped. I probably look like a brain-dead fish right now, he thought somewhat Mrs. Jones put up a hand for silence.
"Do not get too excited. It will not be easy. In fact, it will probably be the most harsh, wrecking two weeks of your life." Two weeks! Raged Alex silently, two Goddamn weeks! Then he tuned back in to the Deputy Head of MI6. "...your form tutor will be handing out slips at the end of the day. Bring them home to your parents and get them signed."
With that, she walked off the centre of the stage, and followed Alan Blunt as he made his way out. Whoah, and to think I was worried about swimming lessons, Alex reflected.
Unfortunately, the lie about Yassen only made Alex's social situation worse. As Alex shoved past the glaring streams of children to get to his locker, again Ryan was determined to make Alex's life hell.
"Hey Rider!" Ryan yelled. Alex stopped and turned round to face the boy.
"Yeah?"
"You are just plain... sick!" Spat Ryan. Beside Alex, Tom tensed, but Alex gave an almost imperceptible shake of the head to stop his friend springing on top of the muscular boy. Ryan kept ranting, "I mean, your brother is out there, working for MI6, trying to save you, while you go against the law and slowly kill yourself with drugs!" Alex shrugged.
"I don't take drugs, thanks," he replied, arching an eyebrow, a useful skill he had just learnt. Especially when he wanted to annoy Blunt by copying him. Ryan growled.
"Don't lie to me, twerp."
"I'm not." And then Alex was off, walking towards his locker to collect his books for the last period: Spanish. Thankfully, this was an easy lesson, which would allow Alex to be able to easily take part, while consoling himself over Yassen.
Then he looked up at his locker. The lock had been pulled off it, and all the contents were in a mangled heap inside. Alex's heart raced. He has put a photo of his parents in there! The only photo of his parents he'd ever had- just for the first week, while he was calming down over Scorpia. No.. No.. It couldn't be true... Lying on top of his books, ripped in two, lay Alex's only photo of John and Helen Rider. He picked it up. No... This was all he had...
"Oh God..." Tom breathed beside him. Alex looked round to face his friend, who saw true hurt in Alex's eyes. " I'm- I'm- I'm sorry, Al.." Tom continued, desperately trying to calm his best friend down. But Alex could feel the anger rising up inside him, until he finally exploded,
"Who did this?" He roared, waving the two halves of the photo in the air. Ryan stepped forward,
"I did." Without thinking, without being able to channel his fury, Alex shoved the remnants of the photo back into his destroyed locker and punched Ryan in the stomach. Ryan doubled up gasping,
"You!-" Alex stopped him short.
"That was the only photo I ever had of my Mum and Dad!" He raged, loud enough for students the floor above to hear. "I always knew you were an idiot, but I never thought you'd be such a messed-up moron!"
"Al..." Tom was panicking.
"No, Tom, I will not calm down!" Shouted Alex ,totally losing it.
"Day after day after day, it's always the same! I have to pretend that nothing bothers me, that I don't care! But I do care! Whatever you may think, I'm not a..." Alex had to stop himself from using the F word, "darn druggie! I'm not in a gang! I'm not a convict! I'm just me! I'm just! Alex! Rider!" With that, Alex yanked his Spanish books out of his locker, and slammed it shut as best as he could, leaving Ryan still doubled up on the floor and made his way to Spanish.
"Hello, Alex," greeted the teacher in Spanish. Alex just glared at her so hard she flinched, and stomped off to the back of the class. The teacher was astonished 'this isn't like Alex at all', she mused, as the first students began to file in.
When the lesson had started, Alex and Tom had the back row all to themselves. No one dared make even a whispered comment, or a tiny hint about Alex Rider. They were all stunned by his outburst; Ryan had had to go home he'd been hurt so badly. Then the inevitable call came.
"Alex Rider? You are wanted in the office?" Alex grumbled.
"Yes, yes, I'll just go now." Alex practically stormed out of the classroom, even though he was specifically trying to be calm. When he had left the room, the teacher asked,
"What's wrong with Alex Rider?"
As soon as Alex left the classroom, he felt all his pent-up rage escape him, to be replaced with sadness. What was he going to do? He'd severely hurt Ryan, however much of a dolt he may have been, and Jack would be there, in the office, waiting for him. Without a doubt. She'd be so disappointed in him. Alex sighed. What was the use? After all the times he'd tried to prove himself to Mr. Bray, to persuade the man to keep him at the school... It had all been for nothing. One outburst and it was all gone. Goodbye Brooklands, Alex thought mournfully. He sighed and set out for the office.
Then he passed his locker. He stopped and turned back. Alex picked up the photo of his parents. Even though it brought a spidery crack through his father's face and his Mother's upper body when he tried to piece it together, it would still help him through this. Who knew a Sepia- tinted photograph would have given him so much strength? Alex pulled himself together. He ended his fascination with the floor and began a brisk walk towards the office, a sense of anger and injustice welling up inside him yet again. If he was going to be expelled, it was not going to be without a fight. He wouldn't be dragged out by the collar like some helpless druggie loner! He was Alex Rider! He'd saved the world! And sure as hell was he gonna save his reputation!
Now he was here he didn't feel like an invincible Superspy. Alex's hand hovered over the oak-panelled door which led into his Headteacher's office before he brought it down and knocked on the door. And stood back. And waited. It seemed like a decade before the door opened, but it had in fact been only five seconds. Mr. Bray appeared in the doorway, and Alex shifted uncomfortably, fiddling with the two halves of the photo. His Headmaster looked down at him for a second, with a look of regret fleeting across his face, so fast that only Alex could have noticed it. He finally spoke.
"You'd better come, in Rider," Bray said heavily, then turned back into the room. Alex's heart jumped when he saw Jack. She looked so, so angry. How could he have let himself get so worked up about this? It was hardly the most traumatizing incident of the century. Annoyed with himself, Alex took a seat, and shuffling the halves of the photo, stared ahead at the nameplate on Bray's desk, his hair falling in front of his eyes to hide his anger and annoyance. Jack was tensed up next to him. That is angry, he reflected. But it seemed Jack was angry for an entirely different reason.
"How did that happen?" Jack growled. Alex looked up. And gave a scared sigh. If that was even possible.
"L-l- look, Jack. I didn't mean to hit-" But Jack broke him off.
"I'm not talking about that, twerpy," she said, almost jokingly, then her face darkened again. "Who ripped up that photo of your Mum and Dad?" Alex looked away. He didn't want to tell.
"It was Ryan, wasn't it?" The redhead asked softly. Alex said nothing. Then, after a long pause, gave a solitary nod.
"I can see why you punched him. I would've done the same," huffed Jack. Alex grinned slightly, and finally got the courage to look up at his Headteacher. Mr. Bray was not amused. And he certainly had a word or two to say about it.
"Miss Starbright. This is a serious matter. Alex has caused damage to-"
"I don't care who he's caused damage to!" Jack Starbright was on a ranting rampage, and there was no stopping her now, "I think he's hardly touched you precious Ryan. And Karpfish", she spat, "What a surname. It's like you're oblivious to everything that happens in your school! I hardly ever see Alex with his classmates, but I can still twig what's going on! Everyone is being horrible to Alex and making his life a misery!" Alex blushed. That was a bit OTT... Jack glanced at him. "Don't look so ashamed, Alex," she contradicted, only making him redder. "They're all out there, calling Alex a druggie, trying to beat him up... Good thing he's an agile kid and can dodge out of the way without hurting anyone..."
Bray was quick to challenge Jack.
"You mean, without usually hurting anyone." Jack snorted rudely in reply.
"Whatever. All Alex's peers are ganging up on him, and Ryan's the ringleader! Alex doesn't need to be called a druggie. Alex doesn't need getting beaten up. You think he hasn't had enough already? The death of Ian Rider totally devastated him!" Alex flinched a bit at the memory of his dead Uncle, and could tell that both Bray and Jack had registered it. In fact, Bray actually looked quite concerned now.
"... And he's getting sick all the time! He's lying ill in bed, begging me to let him go to school, because he knows that when he gets back his so-called 'friends' are going to hate him even more! And now his long-lost brother's gone..." Jack's voice dropped. "Alex really admired Yassen. He always wanted to be a spy, just like his big brother." Then the American's voice raised again. "And then, on the very same day that his role model dies, some idiot kid who's so full of himself goes and rips up Alex's photo of his parents!" Bray was now clearly unsettled.
"W-w- well... can't he get another one?" Finished the Headmaster lamely.
"Get another one? Get another one?" Cried jack, causing Bray to jump rather violently. "That's the last photo he ever had! Well, of them together..." Bray finally looked very shamefaced.
"Well, I wouldn't blame Alex to much for this, but it's not that simple..." Bray trailed off, an intent expression on his face. There was an awkward silence, then Alex decided to say something for the first time during the whole meeting.
"Why not?"
"Well... If I didn't at least give you a suspension for this, I could get into trouble with the Education Board; they already want you expelled..." Seeing Alex's worried expression, the Headteacher had the sense to change the subject. "B- but I'm sure it won't come to that! On another note, I would like to give Ryan a suspension, maybe even get him expelled- You're the victim in all this! However, other people don't see it that way. They see Ryan as the victim, not you."
Alex pondered for a moment.
"You just need to give him a fright."
"Give him a fright?" Exclaimed Bray, clearly taken aback.
"You know... Maybe ask him to see you at lunch- So it's more like a detention," Alex explained hastily, "...And give him... err...a 'pep talk', you know, and tell him how he's violating the code of conduct, and that his behaviour could be grounds for being expelled."
"Yes...A good idea, Alex." Then Jack cut in.
"But... How do you know that'd work?" She pointed out gently, "I mean, Ryan could stop being mean to Alex, but he could tell everyone about his 'detention talk' and then all the other kids would hate Alex."
"You could pretend I denied it. Or you could say that... The caretaker told you! The caretaker was there when I punched Ryan, and, since the guy's so muscular, no one would dare mess with him."
"Alex, you're a genius!" Cried Jack excitedly, then turning to face Bray, said, "It's the perfect cover, isn't it!" The Headmaster seemed to consider the idea for a few moments, and eventually nodded.
"Yes. Quite perfect. Well done Alex, but I'm afraid I'll have to give you a week's suspension. I could get fired otherwise!" Alex nodded.
"Sure. But could you get some of the teachers to send me some work over the school email system? .uk?
Bray nodded.
"I'll do it."
When Alex stepped out of the Headmaster's office, it was lunchtime. Some of Ryan's cronies filed past, giving him glares which were quickly returned by not him, but Jack. As they scuttled off, shamefaced, Alex noticed Tom standing in the corridor.
"Finally, Al! What's the verdict?"
"Okay, patience 80 year o-" Alex was cut off by Tom giving him a serious whack. "What?" He protested, "I mean 'the verdict' -that's old talk! However, I am surprised you know such a big word, little Tommy." Tom just glared at his friend,
"Well? What's gunna happen?" Alex sighed.
"I got a week's suspension."
"What?" Tom was enraged, "Ryan was a real bit-"
"Shut up Tom! Or you'll be given a detention. God, if Mrs. Bedfordshire heard that, you'd be in detention for a year!"
Tom pouted but abruptly shut up. Then he looked at Jack's ankle.
"Jack, wha-" Tom was cut off mid-sentence when he saw the look in his friends eyes; defeated. Ack. What the hell had happened out in Cairo or wherever? "Okay, okay, maybe not quite the right place..." Or the right time, Tom thought worriedly.
There was an awkward silence before Jack leapt into action.
"I'll be okay, Tom!" She said, quite loudly so that eavesdroppers could hear, "It's quite comical actually, though it hurt a dang lot at the time," Alex noticed that she frowned, though not completely theatrically. "Well, I was just walking along to the mall," Jack still calls the Shopping Centre the Mall? Tom wondered thoughtfully, Maybe she's homesick... "Anyway, there was this huge pile of dog poop- It was, like, sooo gross!"
A few students were loitering around and listening to Jack, Alex noted. He felt uneasy with this attention. Jack kept nattering on, "...And, so I quickly dodged round it before I fell in it, but I fell on the pavement-thankfully a patch with no poop on it- and this old man is coming down the street really fast on a mobility scooter... I think you can guess what happened next."
There were lots of 'ooohs' and 'ouches' from the children who had stopped to listen-Sorry, eavesdrop, Alex corrected himself- before they dispersed to tell their friends about Druggie's guardian.
Then... Alex really did have bad luck didn't he? As he and Jack were about to shuffle out the door, Alex felt a hand on his shoulder.
"Cub?" Alex whirled round so fast the man nearly crashed to the ground. He looked at the guy for a second, then whispered,
"Snake?" The medic nodded. "What are you doing here?" Asked Alex maybe a bit too enthusiastically, as a couple of heads turned his way. He felt himself start to flush, but Snake just chuckled wryly.
"Decided I'd had enough of the SAS. Too much death on the field. So, since I've got a nice little degree... From Cambridge University," he boasted, chuckling at Alex's facial expression, "I thought I'd just waltz by here and get myself a nice little job teaching English. To all the top sets."
Alex's jaw dropped to a record low.
"Right, I am so gonna work hard in English... I'm gonna work hard to get put down a set!" Much to his annoyance, Snake grinned.
"Don't be scared, little Cub," he mocked gently, "I'll be teaching you pretty soon. Maybe even tomorrow!" Alex looked glum.
"I won't be here tomorrow." Glancing at Snake's surprised expression, he explained, "I punched this kid 'cuz he ripped up my only photo of my parents." Alex now ignored the ex-SAS man's enquiring eyes, he finished up with, "Oh, and, my name's Alex Rider." Then he turned on his heel and stormed out, flanked by guards, and not hearing Snake's strangled cry,
"Not the Alex Rider?"
Snake was shocked. Completely and utterly shocked. Cub was the famous Alex Rider? It couldn't be true. There had been rumours flying round camp that he'd even gone into space. Everyone knew that Alex Rider was fictional; there was no way a teenager could have done those things. Snake and the rest of K-Unit hadn't even considered that it could have been Cub!
Then Snake was snapped out of his daze.
"Scott Crotchet?"
"Yes, that's me," Snake replied, looking at the man in front of him: Mr. Bray. Donkey, piped up a remote corner of his mind, would be a perfect codename for someone with the surname Bray.
"My name is Henry Bray. I'm the Headteacher. You'd better come into my office." The nervous teacher-to-be followed his employer-to-be into the office. Then the Headteacher started talking again.
"Well, I am aware that you are only new here," said the man, clearly nervous, "but we have a problem; you see, a man who worked for MI6 was shot on the school grounds- happened to be related to one of our students." Bray exhaled heavily. Snake tensed. This is undoubtedly something to do with Cub...
"So...?" He prompted his employer.
"So, MI6 have decided to send the children to an SAS training camp next week, for two weeks. They will be trained by some people called..." Bray looked at a file, "SAS men Eagle, Wolf, Tiger, and an MI6 man who was Fox in the SAS."
"Fox didn't get binned?" Snake couldn't stop himself from blurting it out. He was also thinking about his replacement, and what K-Unit's reaction would be towards Cub, Or Alex Rider. Bray gave him a worried look.
"Anyway, we are still trying to find some teacher willing to accompany the students on this trip." It took Snake every ounce of energy he could muster not to start dancing on the table in uncontrollable glee.
"Yes!" He yelled, "Of course I'll do it ...Man, I can't wait to see the rest of K unit again." Henry Bray gave Snake a perplexed look,
"What are you talking about, Scott?"
"Oh, um, well, I used to be in the SAS. I was with K unit- Fox, Wolf and Eagle. We thought Fox had got binned... –That's basically being thrown out of the SAS- But he'd actually upgraded to MI6...? Wow..."
"Since you know these men, do you have any idea what activities you'll be doing?" At Bray's query, Snake grinned evilly, throwing the Headmaster off- balance.
"Oh yes..." Chuckled Snake, "I'm pretty sure they'll call them maggots, make them do push ups, maybe go on the obstacle course-Minimum completion time of 20 minutes, paintball- K-Unit vs. Them... Yeah, it'll be great. Though none of them will be as good as Cub..." Snake trailed off.
"Who's Cub?"
"Oh, it was this kid with real rich parents. They wanted him to be able to defend himself- you know, in case of ransoms and stuff," Snake hated lying through his teeth, "but it turned out he was a total legend. He was there for two weeks, yet in that time he even managed to be good as some of our more experienced soldiers..."
"Well, don't compare the children in my school with Cub; some of them can't even do one push-up," Bray warned.
"Seriously?"
"Yes. Now let's get back to business. So... Have you met any of the students yet?"
"Yes. One. C- Alex Rider." Snake noticed Bray looking at him strangely, "It seems he got a suspension?"
"Correct. I was reluctant... The boy has been through a lot... Been absent many times since the death of his Uncle, Ian Rider..."
"And could I see the times of his absence?"
"Of course," Mr. Bray responded, pushing a file towards Snake. Snake flicked through it... And gasped.
"What's wrong?" Snake shook his head. All the absences... They were all at the exact same times as rumour said Rider's missions were. He was going to have to interrogate Cub about that later.
"Nothing," he replied quietly, closing the file and pushing it back over the desk. "But..I was thinking..."
"Yes?"
"Well, I was thinking that the Alex Rider kid- Maybe he could go to SAS camp a week early?" Seeing Bray half-raise an eyebrow, he went into detail, "Well, you know, the kid's on the football team, so, obviously, he likes sport and he's athletic. If he got an extra week imagine how much better he'd be than all his classmates! The kid deserves to come out on top for once!"
When Mr. Bray spoke, it was with faint incredulity, almost like he was surprised his new employee was so smart.
"That is a good idea. I'll call MI6." And with that, he reached for a phone, dialled a number, and waited.
"Hello? Is this MI6?"
...
"Henry Bray, Headmaster of Brooklands. I wish to speak to Alan Blunt.
...
"Hello. It's about one of my students, Alex Rider. He's been suspended for a week, but I think that week would be better spent in the SAS camp."
...
"Thank you. Goodbye." Bray glanced at Snake. "They said yes."
Alex Rider was eating dinner in his home in Chelsea when the phone rang. He reluctantly dragged himself away from his pasta- the sauce, for once, was really nice- and picked up the phone.
"Hello?"
...
"Wha-aaaat?"
...
"No. Way."
...
"Fine. What time?"
...
Alex hung up without saying goodbye. How did they have the right to just make decisions for him? His mood dark, he sat down and resumed eating the pasta. Except this time, he was attacking the pasta, as though it was the sole source of all his problems. The pasta, however, had done nothing, and prepared to die mournfully. Now I won't get to see the Oesophagus, it whinged soundlessly. (1)
Finally Jack had decided that she would be safe from any Laser Glare 10,000s™, and piped up,
"Alex, who was that?"
"MI6." Before Jack managed to start ranting on about them, he continued, "They want to send me to SAS camp early. It might be a plus actually... I mean, I never really liked K-Unit, but-"
"Understatement of the year award goes to Alex Rider. Congratulations," Jack chipped in, very sarcastically. Alex snorted amusedly.
"Well, Okay, I hated them and they made my life miserable, but MI6 said that they'd get the teachers to tell my classmates about my early arrival. You know, because of my suspension. Then when the other kids get there, I could help be in charge of them." Alex grinned very, very evilly. "...And when my classmates wonder how I'm so good at everything, I'll just say it was down to my individual training week." Jack nodded.
"I see... If you're in charge of them, you get to scream at them and tell them all how useless they are at the SAS stuff and finally get some payback!" The redhead laughed hysterically, "That's an awesome idea, Al, it really is!"
"Yeah," smirked Alex, "Except for Tom of course. Even if he's the worst of my group, I'll make him the silver boy." Seeing Jack's baffled expression, he, while going into a 'flexing muscles' pose, elaborated:
"Because, I, of course, will be the SAS Golden Boy."
(1) Sorry, couldn't resist. R.I.P Fred Fusili! Lol
So... this is my first fanfic! I'd love to know what you think. Comments regarding writing skill/punctuation improvement wanted. OOC comments also welcome. So... I'm thinking that, yeah, Alex's class turn up at SAS and they all have to call Alex 'Sir' because he's so good. Maybe also a crisis when Alex goes to MI6 and Alex's file is left unguarded, right in front of him... Can he resist a peek? or does he take it to BB?