Although he didn't know a lot of people in his school, he was well aware of the person sitting behind him.
The girl behind him was called Pravda. An austere girl with a slender build, long raven black hair, and a look so sharp it makes everyone look away in discomfort.
She wasn't the "ice queen" that Slobodan used to see in stories, where she is the most beautiful girl in the school, yet is hard to approach due to her cold personality, breathtaking looks, or her family wealth.
Although one could say that she looks pretty, she is more of a girl that seems serious and angry, rather than "cold". And he had no idea even if her parents are rich or not, nor did he care.
But beside her taciturn and serious look, she also has a habit to meddle in other people fights. If she would see somebody get hurt by another person, she would instantly go to defend them. Most of the time, she would end fights verbally, and sometimes she would even beat people up for the sake of protecting others. The reason how she fights is, far as he know, she is a champion in some martial arts sport or something.
In other words, she is Slobodan's enemy.
It's not that he makes fun of people or bully them, it's just that she goes opposite of what Slobodan stands for, which is being invisible and unnoticed by other people.
'Why does everybody think that they can change the world. Just accept the world the way it is, and you will be happier. I know, since I'm the happiest person in the world.'
It's not that Slobodan doesn't understand the naive girl. He used to be similarly self righteous in his past, always trying to fight against injustices. However, it was futile in the end, due to the other people inability to change or not taking him seriously. So he stopped trying and gave up.
'I guess it's now my time to be "saved" by her.'
The guy, who was pretending to be innocent, asked in a mocking voice:
"That's enough of what exactly?"
Slobodan knew these games already. He had outgrown them to the point he is being sickly bored when he sees people do them. He knows that the guy isn't taking this seriously, and that he is just trying to have some fun. He also knows that, for trying to protect him, they are now going to make fun of her.
'Don't add more fuel to the fire, you dumbass. '
It's the type of situation where everything you say can be used against you. The more serious you get, the worse it gets. There are three ways to escape this situation, either ignore them, get on the joke with them, or beat them up.
And even if he is confident in her ability to end this peacefully, he was pretty sure that somebody is getting beaten up.
Which he didn't like. He liked his peace that he had two minutes ago. If it wasn't for her, he would be finishing the awesome fight in his head.
But now the most important thing is to end this peacefully.
Looking at her, there was no sign of her getting upset or scared, just the look of deadly seriousness.
She said in an even voice:
"For a while, I've been tolerating you and your group making fun of him, constantly approaching him with snide comments and making him uncomfortable. That much I could endure. But today was enough. You passed the line and you need to apologize for throwing that pencil at him.
After Slobodan heard her talk, he knew one thing.
'Yeah, this is gonna end up physical.'