Chapter 42

It was the beginning of a new week, and Alex and Kaiba had just entered their classroom at Domino High. As they passed by Yugi and the others, Alex waved hi while Kaiba nodded in acknowledgment. Yugi smiled at them and said,

"Welcome back, you two. How was Greece?"

Alex replied, "It was great. We got a lot of work done, and we got to see the sights as well. I'm glad to be back, though."

Joey grinned at Alex and said, "We sure missed ya. It definitely wasn't the same."

Alex smiled softly and replied, "I missed you guys, too."

She smiled at the group of friends. However, when her eyes met Max's, she immediately avoided his gaze, turning towards Kaiba. Max looked sad and turned his eyes downward. This didn't escape the others' notice, and Joey asked,

"What's going on?"

Immediately, Kaiba replied, "Drop it, Wheeler."

At the same time, Yugi replied, "Don't, Joey."

Surprised that Kaiba and Yugi seemed to be in agreement about whatever was going on, Joey replied,

"Ok, now I know something's going on, and I'm not going to stop until I find out what it is."

Alex sighed and replied, "Joey, I understand you're concerned, but I think it's best to drop it. It isn't worth getting worked up over."

Joey was about to reply when Tea said,

"Alex, I'm just going to say it, but you've been avoiding Max, even before you and Kaiba left. It's pretty rude of you, isn't it?"

Alex looked sad that Tea seemed to be attacking her, and Kaiba replied,

"Gardner, you have no idea what you're talking about. Alex is the victim here."

Tea looked angry and replied, "What do you mean, Kaiba?"

Alex looked at Kaiba, shaking her head, as though silently asking him to drop the matter. However, Kaiba looked back at Alex and said,

"I'm sorry, but he can't get away with what he did to you."

He then looked back at Tea and said, "If you must know, your friend Max assaulted Alex."

Alex widened her eyes and replied, "That is a bit of an exaggeration, and it wasn't that bad."

As the conversation was getting heated, other students couldn't help overhearing. Some of the female students immediately replied with,

"Max would never do such a thing."

"That bitch probably had it coming."

Alex didn't like the attacks directed towards her although she did her best to look strong. Kaiba immediately glared at the rest of the students and doing his best to hold back his temper, he replied,

"You people really are idiots."

Joey was about to reply when Yugi stepped in and said, "I know everyone wants to believe otherwise, but I was there. Max pushed Alex and hurt her shoulder."

Joey looked shocked and turning his attention towards Alex, he asked,

"Alex, is that true?"

Alex nodded and replied, "I wish it wasn't, but that is what happened. That's why I left early that day. I wasn't going to say anything, but…"

She looked at Kaiba and sighed sadly. Kaiba replied, "Everyone should know what this guy is really like."

Tea looked at Max and sadly said, "Please tell us this isn't true. It must be a misunderstanding."

Max was about to reply when the homeroom teacher entered the classroom. He had overheard the latter part of the heated argument, and he said,

"Ok, everyone. Settle down."

The other students quieted down. Then the teacher looked at Alex, Kaiba, Yugi, and Max and said,

"You four. Come with me now."

Alex and the other three followed the teacher as they left the classroom and headed towards the principal's office. Along the way, the teacher said,

"I don't know the exact details about what happened, but I heard enough that mediation is needed."

The others didn't say anything as the group walked towards the principal's office. Once they reached the door, the teacher knocked on the door. After getting an acknowledgment, the group entered. The principal was surprised to see who had entered his office, but after the teacher briefly explained what happened, the principal nodded and then the teacher left to return to the classroom.

After taking a deep breath, the principal said,

"I've got the basic idea about what happened. Ms. Lawrence, I take it that you were the victim?"

Alex replied, "That is a little bit exaggerated, but-"

Kaiba interrupted, "Don't downplay it. You are the victim, and this asshole had no right to attack you."

He glared at Max, and Max could only look back angrily at Kaiba. The principal replied,

"Ok, let's not get worked up here. Ms. Lawrence, would you please tell me what happened that led to this?"

Alex nodded and then she told the principal about what happened on that Saturday although she left out the details about Max wanting to help her. While Max was listening, he was surprised that Alex left out such details although he couldn't help wondering why. Once Alex was finished, the principal nodded and replied,

"Thank you, Ms. Lawrence."

He then turned to Yugi and asked, "Did you witness what happened, Mr. Muto?"

Yugi nodded and replied, "Yeah. I didn't hear what was going on, but I saw Max push Alex against a wall. I hurried to help, and Max ran away. Alex's shoulder was injured."

Kaiba added, "It was bruised pretty badly, but she insists it wasn't that bad."

Alex sighed and replied, "It really wasn't."

The principal turned to Max and asked, "Is it true, Mr. Stanton? Did you get into some sort of argument with Ms. Lawrence and injured her?"

Regardless if the others had been present, Max would have told the truth, and he replied,

"Yes, I'm afraid so, but in my defense, it was an accident-"

Kaiba glared at Max and interrupted, "You lost your temper and hurt her. I wouldn't call that an accident."

Alex turned towards Kaiba and gently touching his arm, she replied, "I appreciate you helping me, but it really wasn't that bad. And I do believe it was an accident, a moment lost in anger. Not that I'm saying such things are ok, but…"

Max looked curiously at Alex, finding it a little unusual that she was defending him. Kaiba held back from saying anything although he gritted his teeth in annoyance.

The principal pinched the bridge of his nose and said, "Ok, I think I get the picture now."

He sighed and then continued, "Because this happened away from school grounds, there isn't anything I can do to punish Mr. Stanton. However, I find his behavior inexcusable."

Max nodded and turning his attention towards Alex, he said, "I am sorry for hurting you, Alex. I wanted to tell you before, but I never got the chance. Forgive me?"

Alex looked back at Max and smiling a bit, she replied, "Of course. I know you didn't mean to hurt me, and I can see that you feel bad about it."

The principal looked at Yugi and said,

"You may return to class, Mr. Muto."

Yugi nodded and after giving a brief glance at Alex and Kaiba, he left the principal's office.

Kaiba then looked at the principal and said, "I want him to stay away from Alex."

The principal sighed and replied, "I know you're the CEO of a multi-billion dollar company, Mr. Kaiba, but that doesn't mean you can dictate my decisions."

Kaiba replied, "So you're just going to let him get away with it?"

The principal replied, "What do you want me to do?"

Kaiba replied, "Expel him, of course."

The principal was about to reply when Alex said, "Um, excuse me, sir, but can he and I talk alone for a few minutes? I think I know how to settle this peacefully."

The principal nodded and replied, "Ok. Return when you're ready."

Alex nodded and she gestured to Kaiba to follow her out of the principal's office. Once they were outside and far enough away from the door so that they wouldn't be overheard, Kaiba said,

"Please don't tell me that you want to do nothing."

Alex sighed and replied, "That is preferable, but I can see that you aren't going to drop this."

She looked up at the ceiling, as though searching for an idea, and after a couple of minutes passed, she replied,

"Perhaps we can request that Max no longer be in any groups with us. I mean, you don't like that he's in our chemistry lab group, right? So we can ask that he be moved to another group, and while we're at it, we can request that he not be in any other groups with us. That would keep him away from me without punishing him that much. Max probably won't like that he'll be forced to stay away from me."

Kaiba replied, "It's a start, but I'd rather have him expelled."

Alex shook her head and replied, "That wouldn't be a good idea. It would be difficult to keep track of Max's whereabouts if he were no longer in school. Also, as we've seen, he's pretty popular among the female students, so it would cause quite a backlash if he were suddenly kicked out. I'd probably suffer the consequences."

She looked troubled, and Kaiba replied, "I would protect you, you know. But I see your point."

He paused for a few moments and then continued, "I'll agree to your idea on one condition."

Alex looked curiously at Kaiba and asked, "What is it?"

Kaiba replied, "We take the week off from school. We can spend that time at Kaiba Corp, and Yugi can drop by and bring over homework, since I know that's what you'll be concerned about. I think we need to be away from here for a few more days until things settle down."

Alex nodded and replied, "Ok. I would have liked to have things get back to normal, but I guess Joey sort of ruined that. He kind of instigated all this."

Kaiba replied, "I agree. You see that Wheeler can be a bother."

Alex shrugged and replied, "I'm sure he didn't mean any harm, but yeah. Well, let's go back and tell the principal."

Kaiba nodded, and he and Alex returned to the principal's office. The principal turned his attention to the couple and asked,

"Have you figured out a solution?"

Alex nodded, and she told her idea to the principal. Then Kaiba added a request that he and Alex take the week off from school, provided that they would keep up with their coursework. The principal looked to be deep in thought and finally nodding, he replied,

"Ok, I think this is a good idea."

He turned to Max and added, "You are getting off easy, Mr. Stanton. Ms. Lawrence and Mr. Kaiba are being lenient on you, all things considered."

Max nodded and turning to Alex and Kaiba, he said, "Thanks, and I'm sorry for causing all this trouble."

The principal replied, "You may return to class, Mr. Stanton."

Max nodded, and he briefly glanced at Alex before he left. The principal then turned to Alex and Kaiba and said,

"I'll let the teachers know of your request. You may go, but I will expect you both to be back next week."

Alex smiled softly and replied, "Thank you, sir."

Kaiba nodded, and he and Alex left the principal's office. While they walked down the hallway, Kaiba took out his phone to call for his driver. Once that was done, Kaiba looked at Alex and said,

"I should apologize to you, but I just couldn't let that go."

Alex smiled a bit and replied, "I understand, and it was sweet of you to defend me."

She sighed and added, "It's funny. I wanted normal, and I guess I sort of got it? What with the drama and all that."

Kaiba shook his head and replied, "I wouldn't want this, but at least, something good came out of it."

Alex looked curiously at Kaiba, and smirking, Kaiba continued, "We don't have to be around those idiots for another week."

Alex shook her head and laughed softly.

Later that afternoon, Alex was at Kaiba Corp, back to working on the duel disk project. She saw Yugi enter the room and smiling, she waved at him and said,

"Hey, Yugi. It's good to see you."

Yugi smiled back and replied, "Hey, Alex. I'm here to report for work, and I brought the homework and notes you requested."

He reached into his backpack and took out a sheath of papers, handing them to Alex. Alex replied,

"Thanks, Yugi."

Yugi nodded and then looking concerned, he asked, "Are you ok? I was worried when you and Kaiba didn't return to class."

Alex nodded and replied, "I'm fine. Since you're here, you probably want to be updated on what happened, and Seto and I want to know what happened after we left."

Yugi nodded, and Alex took out her phone, calling for Kaiba. After a minute of conversation, Alex hung up and said,

"Ok, Seto's free, so we can go to his office. We can return here afterwards and work."

Yugi nodded, and he and Alex left the room and walked towards the elevator to go to the top floor. Once they reached it, they approached the secretary and told them that Kaiba was expecting them. The secretary nodded and told them to go right on inside, which Alex and Yugi did.

Once they were inside Kaiba's office and the door was closed securely, Yugi said,

"So you two probably want to know what happened after Max returned."

Alex nodded and replied, "Of course."

Yugi nodded and then told Alex and Kaiba how Max was quiet during classes. However, during lunch break, a lot of the female students gathered around Max, wanting to know what happened. Some of them attacked Alex for getting Max into trouble, but Max immediately defended Alex, confessing that he was in the wrong and that they shouldn't attack her. He added as well that if any of them were to even think about hurting Alex, they would have to answer to him. Such threats got the girls to quiet down, and they turned their attention away from Max although Tea continued to stand by his side.

Once Yugi was finished, Alex looked thoughtful and replied, "I am surprised that Max took such a stance. I didn't expect him to defend me openly like that."

Kaiba frowned and replied, "He's obsessed with you, so of course, he'd defend you."

Alex replied, "Maybe Max was trying to make up for what happened before."

Kaiba replied, "Don't defend him. He had no right, and I have no regrets. He got off easy."

Alex sighed, and seeing that Alex and Kaiba seemed to be having some conflict in regards to Max, Yugi said,

"I don't know what Max is thinking. Maybe he is trying to be nice, or maybe he is planning something. We should prepare for both possibilities."

Alex smiled a bit and replied, "You're right, Yugi. I won't let my guard down. I just think it was nice of him."

She turned to Kaiba and added, "But I hope you remember that Max is only a friend. I only love you."

Kaiba blushed a bit and coughing, he replied, "Of course I know."

He turned to Yugi and added, "Alex and I won't return until next week, but you are expected to report here for work."

Yugi looked surprised but before he could say anything, Alex added, "It was Seto's condition for letting Max have a lighter punishment. He wanted to get Max expelled."

Yugi laughed awkwardly and replied, "That doesn't surprise me for some reason, but I understand. I guess I'll have to make sure you two get homework and notes for the week."

Alex replied, "We'd appreciate that. I'll be here at Kaiba Corp every day this week, but you don't need to increase your work hours. Just stick to the schedule that's been agreed on."

Yugi nodded and replied, "Ok, and of course, I'll tell you both if anything happens."

Kaiba nodded in acknowledgment, silently thanking Yugi. Alex then said,

"I guess that's it then. Yugi and I should get back to working on the duel disk project."

Kaiba replied, "Of course, and I'm pleased you two are making good progress with it."

Alex smiled and replied, "Without a doubt. You're going to be impressed with the final results."

Kaiba smirked and replied, "Since I put you in charge, I know I will."

Alex laughed and then she and Yugi left Kaiba's office, heading back to work on the duel disk project.