Disclaimer: Once again, I own no rights to the Thief Lord.
A/N: Thanks to MysteryALASKA for the review…it gives me incentive to keep writing this story.
Love Is Found In the Most Unlikely Places
Chapter 3: Prosper vs. Mario
The children went down to the main office building to get their schedules after dropping off Bo at his classroom, and upon receiving them, they noticed that they all had the same classes. Laughing heartily, they four friends made their way to their first class, which was science.
They all walked into the room and chuckled after looking at their teacher, an stocky young man who looked like he worked out a bit. Prosper and Hornet sat next to each other at the front row of the classroom while Riccio and Mosca sat directly behind them. The teacher cleared his throat and looked around, his eyes finally landing on the four close friends.
"You're the four new students right?" he asked. Prosper nodded for the group as they all stood up and introduced themselves to the rest of the class. Once they sat back in their seats, the teacher, whom I will call Signor Bussorino, rapped the board with his palm and told everyone to pull out their textbooks, "I want all of you to read chapter 14 and answer the questions at the end review. And try not to talk too loud, as I will allow you to work in groups of four."
Naturally, Prosper and his gang grouped together and started working immediately. The whole class passed without much incident, except for that prank when someone in the back chucked a piece of sodium from the mineral closet into a bucket of water near the teacher. The large chunk of metal promptly exploded like a cannon and went straight through the roof, shocking Signor Bussorino and putting a large TV-sized hole above his head.
Prosper led the four out of the room as they headed to the gym for PE class. As they entered the gym, poor Prosper and Hornet got knocked over by a tiny blur, "Prop, Hornet! You're here!" the blur, now identified as Bo, exclaimed, wrapping his tiny arms around their waists. Prosper smiled and wrapped his own arms around his little brother and girlfriend, "Hey Bo. How you holding up, little guy?" Prosper asked. Bo grinned up at Prosper and let the two lovebirds off the floor, "It's great, Prop. I already made some friends and now I have PE with you and the others!"
A second later, the coach came out and blew his whistle, drawing everyone over, "Alright, kids, let's get ready to play a bit of basketball," he yelled, pulling out some balls before heading into his office to finish some paperwork
"Well, well, well. Look what the rats dragged in," a stern voice said behind Prosper. He and the others turned around, spotting the last person they wanted to see: Mario Venaterri. The good thing was that his buddies weren't with him, although even on his own, he could cause a problem. Prosper immediately stepped in front of Hornet and Bo, glaring at Mario like he was dirt. If looks could kill, Mario would have been dead a million times over and still dying by now. He smirked and walked up to Prosper and looked him dead in the eye, "Your name's Prosper, right?" he asked. Prosper nodded slowly while Hornet clutched Bo in her arms and backed away a bit.
"Good, I always make a note of learning the names of people I'm about to maul," he said, grinning like the Cheshire Cat. Mario suddenly lunged at Prosper and bowled him over, making a dash for Hornet, who tried to back away but couldn't make it in time: Mario had already groped her chest and was now trying to grab her rear, knocking Bo onto his butt in the process. Prosper snarled in rage at the older boy's actions and dived into him, slamming his back into the wall before giving him the hardest left hook he could throw. Mario literally flew two feet into the air and fell onto the ground on his back.
Growling like a mad and hunger tiger, Mario staggered to his feet and tried to get his bearings straight. Unfortunately for him, he had managed to piss Prosper off so much, it was like invoking the Wrath of God. This was only proven further with Bo screaming "Get him, Prop!" at the top of his lungs while Prosper made another mad dash for his opponent, drawing his fist back and slugging Mario square in the jaw. Riccio, Hornet, and even Mosca cringed as they heard the older boy's jaw snap under the pressure of Prosper's punch.
By now the coach had ran out and was trying to hold Mario up to get him to the nurse while Prosper's friends were trying to hold him back, although they were having a lot of trouble. The coach looked around and yelled out in anger, "What in the name of Saint Marco happened here?" At once, the entire class pointed at Mario and recalled to the coach how he had sexually harassed Hornet and attacked both Bo and Prosper. They also told how Prosper retaliated and took Mario down, trying to protect Hornet from him. After listening to the story, the coach sneered at Mario and dragged him to the office to get fixed up by the nurse.
Soon, Prosper was called to the office where he told the principal what had happened. Before the hour was done, Mario was expelled from the school and Prosper was congratulated by the school staff for his actions in protecting a girl from sexual harassment. When he rejoined the class, everyone clapped for him as if he was some sort of god. Soon, the other students told him how they were all afraid of Mario Venaterri and his goons but now, thanks to Prosper, they were free of him for good.
Prosper looked up and smiled as Hornet walked up and gave him a soft kiss on the lips. The other kids laughed and made catcalls at the pair, although they were obviously ignoring them, considering they were lip-locked with their eyes closed. Riccio even commented on seeing some tongue pass between the couple. This prompted more catcalls from the crowd but the bell rang a minute later and Prosper pulled back, smiling shyly at his girlfriend. Hornet clasped his hand in hers and they walked home together, Bo at their side with Riccio and Mosca bringing up the rear.