Disclaimer: I don't own Alex Rider. Credits to StolenBook for the idea! I actually didn't think about a one-shot including Alex's classmates until you asked me for this (LOL).

Classified: Brookland Edition

"The soldiers that didn't come back were the heroes. It's a roll of the dice. If a bullet has your name on it, you're a hero. If you hear a bullet go by, you're a survivor."

Bob Feller

Alex was back at Brookland Comprehensive. Everywhere he walked, he could hear the whispers of the students following him.

"That's him," one boy was telling a student that Alex had never seen before, "He always disappears for months at a time. When he comes back, he's always beat up. That's why we think he's in a gang-"

"Don't be stupid!" Another guy barged into the conversation, "He's obviously into drugs."

"The point is," Alex saw the look the boy sent him, "stay away from him. Alex Rider is trouble."

He was right.

Alex smirked, cocking his head sideways. He stared directly at the group. The first boy caught his glance and paled dramatically, scrambling away from the group. The other two stared at the first boy, perplexed. Alex gave another vicious smirk before turning and heading down the hallway.

Alex glanced down, putting his hand into his pockets. He withdrew his phone, checking his messages.

One unread message.

Alex raised his eyebrows at the phone. Besides Tom's and the Royal and General Bank's number, he didn't have anyone saved under his contacts.

From: Unknown

Beware.

Alex felt a tingle go up his spine. He quickly dialed the number to the Bank.

"Royal and General Bank, how may I help you?"

"Put Mrs. Jones on. This is Rider." Alex glanced around the hallway. Thankfully, school hadn't started yet, and there was no one near him.

"Alex?" Mrs. Jones' voice rang through the line, sounding faintly worried.

Alex's voice dropped a couple of degrees, "I just got a text from a blocked number. It said 'beware'. Does that mean anything to you?"

He could hear the clicking of keys from the other end, "Sorry, Alex, but no. We both know you've made more than a fair share of enemies. I'll send a few agents to keep an eye on you."

"What about my partner?" Alex asked, his gut tightening in anxiety.

Mrs. Jones paused, "We'll get someone to Agent Daniels too. He should be fine, seeing as he just entered the building."

Relief flooded Alex, "Thanks."

"Be careful," Mrs. Jones warned, before hanging up.

Alex stared at his phone for a moment. The ringing of the bell shook him out of his thoughts. He pocketed his phone and headed to his form room.

"Al!"

He turned, smiling as he recognized the cheerful call, "Tom."

"You're back!" Tom was red-faced, puffing. He must have been running late, "What was it this time?"

Alex smirked, making sure not to rub his left shoulder, where a bullet had pierced him, "Oh, nothing too bad. Just had another bout of the flu."

"Bad luck, mate," Tom slapped his shoulder. Alex hissed when it landed too close to his wound for his liking, "Gotta dash! I'm late!"

Alex laughed as Tom shot off. He turned the corner and made his way to the first classroom.

The room hushed as soon as Alex entered. The students and his teacher stared at him, shocked. Alex Rider was back.

Alex met their eyes evenly, then turned away. He walked nimbly to his seat and sat, sighing. Eventually, the students turned away and began to whisper amongst themselves about a certain Alex Rider.

The form teacher stood, calling for their attention, "As some of you may know, Mr. Bray has invited a guest speaker to speak with us today."

"What's it about?" A girl, Alex dimly remembered that her name was Kathryn, asked loudly, stifling laughter.

The teacher gave her a disapproving look, "As you already know, Miss Lawson, this assembly is about drugs, the effects of drugs, and the possibility of over dosing."

The class snickered faintly under their breaths, shooting looks at Alex.

Once upon a time, Alex might have wanted to snarl an insult back, but he was content with knowing that they were wrong. He was not on drugs, nor would he ever be. He couldn't say the same about the "gang" theory. He had gone undercover in the Russian Mafia once – an experience he would not like to repeat.

The bell rang again and the teacher ushered them to the assembly hall, where Mr. Bray stood at the podium. He cast them annoyed looks, his eyes meeting Alex's for a brief second. Alex found he couldn't keep the coldness out of his stare.

Mr. Bray looked away.

Alex took an aisle seat, ready to bolt if he needed to. The students around him cringed away from him, like he had some infectious disease.

Five minutes later, when everyone had taken a seat, Mr. Bray began to speak, "As all of you know, today we have a very special guest speaker."

He gestured to a man to the side of the stage. The man grinned, waving a hand and taking a couple steps forward.

"He is here to talk about the risks of taking drugs." Here, half the eyes of the auditorium flickered to Alex, "Without further ado, please welcome Mr. Ryan Scott."

Alex wanted to laugh when the students gave unenthusiastic applause.

Alex tuned the man out as he began to talk about the different types of drugs. He was fairly certain that he would never touch sort of drug, despite popular belief.

Halfway through the assembly, Alex heard the auditorium doors open. It wasn't loud, but it still diverted his attention from counting how many times the man said the phrase 'drugs are bad'. He turned to see two men in suits and stereotypical dark shades slip in. They raised a hand to him, signaling that they were MI6 agents.

Alex smiled, reassured.

That, of course, was when the bomb exploded.

Alex was knocked out of his seat and onto the ground. His ears rang loudly for a minute, but he was faintly aware of the screams all around him. Terrified screams. Pained screams.

Alex got to his feet unsteadily, whirling around to try to find the source of the bomb. He didn't have to look too hard. Right where the two MI6 agents had stood was a splotch of red. More blood was sprayed across the wall. Alex felt sick.

He looked away, reaching into his pocket and drawing out his phone. He dialed the number to the bank, snapping at the receptionist, "Rider. Get Jones."

"Alex! We're working on it," Mrs. Jones was on the line the next second, "Keep your eyes open. They might try to abduct you in the confusion."

"Get medics here, now!" Alex took in the panicking students and the crying teachers.

"Do you have your gun?" Mrs. Jones urged.

Alex resisted the urge to roll his eyes, "Yes."

"Don't let go of it." She ordered before hanging up.

"Yes ma'am," Alex said dryly at the phone. He slipped it back into his pocket.

He looked around, trying to figure out what to do. Mr. Bray was still on stage, huddled in a corner with the guest speaker and a body guard. Teachers were trying to calm the students down. People were screaming. Sobbing.

Somewhere afar, another bomb exploded.

More screams.

"Alex!" Someone shouted. Tom.

Alex pushed his way through the throng of confused people to reach him.

"What do we do?" Tom yelled into Alex's ear. Alex merely shrugged, his hands sliding to where his gun was cleverly concealed.

Tom's eyes widened when he saw the odd bump on Alex's waistline, "You can't!"

"I'm protecting the innocent," Alex grinned at how patriotic that sounded. He slipped away from Tom, heading for the doors.

A teacher appeared in front of him, "It's okay, Rider. I've already called the police. There's no reason for you to go wandering around."

Alex heard the stress in his voice. He shook his head and darted past the man, ignoring the panicked, "Come back!"

He was out the school in the matter of seconds. Alex noted the smoke was drifting from the science wing. He winced. Terrorist organizations really did not like science.

Alex's mind was working overtime. He scanned his surroundings, looking for something that was out of place. Nothing.

Something moved just past Alex's peripheral vision. He turned just in time to feel a searing pain on the side of his face.

He landed on his side, the pavement scraping and tearing at his uniform. Gosh. Not another one.

Alex looked up to see two muscular men making their way to him. They were scowling fiercely, cracking their knuckles. Alex's gaze slid past them, where he saw both Tom and the teacher watching him with horrified expressions. The teacher mouthed something and began to head towards him, but Tom restrained him, muttering something.

"What do you want?" Alex spat, getting up to his feet.

The men didn't respond. They just grinned, showing their fists. Alex's eyes drifted down. On their skin in black ink was a small symbol. A Greek letter. Pi.

Alex suddenly knew why they hadn't responded. They couldn't. The members of this particular organizations usually cut out their tongues as an act of total commitment to Pi.

One man made a move forward. Alex leapt backwards, grabbing his gun. He fired twice, hitting each man squarely on the forehead.

As Alex stared down at the two, he couldn't help looking back at their tattoos. Pi… pie. He grinned at the absurd thought.

When he looked up, he was still smiling. Tom and the teacher gazed back at him, completely shocked.

He was suddenly aware of how he must have looked: psychopathic.

Well that was just peachy.

A/N: HYDRIODIC ACID! (Do you geddit? HEHEHE) I was supposed to be studying, but I got distracted. I don't know... what do you think? I think I sort of went into a trance when I was writing this...

Anyway... Review please? (If you say "nitrogen oxide", it's all good. HAHAHA SO FUNNY. I crack myself up. Nerdy chemistry jokes)

-Alice xxx