CHAPTER 3

Buzz-cut started towards Chet, his hand clenched in a fist. He pulled back his hand when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"I would think twice before you tried anything."

Turning towards the voice, Buzz-cut stared at the angry face of Biff Hooper. The boy lowered his hand and stepped back.

Joe was now standing just behind Chet.

"Everything okay, Chet?" Joe asked.

"These goons giving you a hard time?" Frank Hardy, his brown eyes blazing with anger, stared at the other two boys.

The dark-haired boy looked over to his friend. "Hey Aaron, I'm all for a little fun, but there is no way I'm messing with the Hardys."

With that said, the dark-haired boy turned and ran. Aaron, his face turning almost as red as his hair, glared at the Hardys and their two friends. Throwing the fork down back on the tray, Aaron hissed, "I wasn't that hungry anyway."

Chet moved closer to Carolyn, gently guiding her out of the way and towards a table. Biff, Joe and Frank cautiously walked away, following Chet towards their lunch table. Along the way, Chet had grabbed another fork for Caroline.

Aaron watched as the three boys walked away. Once they turned their backs, Aaron grabbed a chair and threw it.

Callie and Vanessa had been looking on with concern, breathing a sigh of relief when the bullies backed down. Then Callie saw Aaron reach for the chair.

"FRANK! JOE! BIFF! WATCH OUT!""

All three boys turned to see a chair come hurtling in the air…then something strange happened. The chair seemed to stop in mid-air and then fell with a clatter to the ground.

The cafeteria became silent, the students stunned by what occurred.

"All right, what's going on here?" Principal Hayden came striding in; he saw the chair lying on its side. He studied all of the students.

"Well, is anyone going to tell me what happened here?"

No one spoke.

*brainchild*brainchild*brainchild*

Carolyn sat quietly in her chair, staring glumly at her food. She was trembling slightly. Chet put his arm around her shoulder, thinking that Carolyn was still frightened by her encounter with the bullies.

'Uncle Tyler is going to be so mad when he finds out. I know I shouldn't have done it, but I couldn't let them get hurt! Not after they were so nice to help me.'

Carolyn raised her head and stared at the chair…stared at the chair that she had stopped from hurting Frank, Joe and Biff.

*brainchild*brainchild*brainchild

Principal Hayden prided himself on knowing the names and faces of all his students. As he scanned the room, he took in all the groups that were there. The good students, the bad and the bullies. He took note of his main troublemaker: he was Aaron Russell, and his two friends, Mike Dawson and Ken Franklin.

"All right, since no one wants to own up, you should all then suffer the same fate. I want each and every one of you to give me a five-hundred-word essay on cafeteria etiquette. I would like it signed by a parent or guardian and in my office tomorrow morning."

A loud groan was heard from all of the students as Principal Hayden left the cafeteria.

*endofchapter3endofchapter3*

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