When it was time to go to school, Jackson prepared his backpack and made sure not to bring anything that would get him into trouble. Nowadays, as always, there was security at the school doors, so anything metallic he carried could be detected.
He also made sure to send a message to Mia, which still hadn't been answered. In the message, he wrote: My days in a new city are peaceful, I hope to get your call soon.
After that, Jackson enjoyed his trip, this time in his Jeep on the way to school. But as soon as he found other students on his way to the school building, his face turned neutral.
The smile on his face faded, his gaze turned cold, and his eyes avoided all contact with the students. His fear was that he would be recognized by someone and that rumors would spread throughout the school.
Although this time he didn't care because he simply had no one close who could be affected, he would appreciate things being much quieter.
To tell the truth, he really didn't want to get into trouble; he was aware of school bullying and knew that if someone tried to bother him, he could easily get rid of the problem.
They didn't know him here, but that didn't stop him from being able to handle his problems. Although it was also true that bullies were selective, and he hoped they wouldn't be stupid enough to pick him.
As he had researched, this was one of the best high schools in the Valley. Despite its innovative study programs that were practically very similar to those of a university from Jackson's perspective, this school was, to him, just a very normal one without anything special to highlight.
Students, teachers, air conditioning, clubs, a field, and hopefully clean bathrooms—they could find all of that there.
Since this was Jackson's first day as a student at this school, he had high hopes that things would be different here compared to the previous one.
No fighting, no fighting, no school fights. Jackson thought as he removed his headphones.
But just when he was thinking that, a tall boy with messy hair wrapped his right arm around Jackson's shoulders.
Jackson's mood worsened when he sensed the intentions of this idiot who smelled like milk.
"Hey, I remember seeing your horrible face that night… I mean… Well, I also tend to play that video game you're playing right now on your cellphone, so it would really help me if you were a miner for my account."
Jackson only sighed in response, which annoyed the tall guy.
"You just accepted it, right? Whatever, I'll give you my phone at lunch. I still need my phone, so I'll see you later."
Disappear from my sight, you damn pig with wings… Jackson wanted to say what he was thinking, but he responded with silence.
The boy who had approached him was named Brucks; if he remembered correctly, yesterday he had gotten beaten along with his friends by a man who was rusty in martial arts.
"Today the transfer students would be entering, and it turns out you're one of them, isn't that a coincidence? You're the only one who seems not to know where he's standing, and anyone around me can see that. Come on, be my miner, you don't have friends anyway."
"It's not like you have any either." Jackson left a biting comment.
"What did you just say…" The tall guy glared at him as he removed his arm from Jackson's shoulder and said: "You're surely as lonely as all the losers, a student doomed to solitude. Now that I think about it, I also need cash, my parents don't give me enough money, so get ready for lunch, and if you don't show up, I hope you're good at taking hits."
After saying that, the tall guy left, leaving Jackson with many truly criminal thoughts.
I guess I have to earn respect street-style… Jackson thought as he focused again on his cellphone.
But before he could continue walking, he saw a girl who was looking at him. She had her hair down and was watching him as she approached.
"Devon, good morning." Jackson approached the girl who had helped him tour the school a week ago.
Devon greeted Jackson with a smile on her face and asked, "Do you already have your schedule?"
"This is it, do we share classes?" Jackson handed his schedule to Devon for her to look at.
"Yes, we have the same classes." Devon returned the schedule to Jackson and walked toward the classroom.
They both talked, but suddenly, Devon asked, "What do you do in your free time?"
"Normally, I tend to do everything, why do you ask?" Jackson, who was captivated by the school's atmosphere, replied naturally.
Devon smiled slightly as if she was about to use Jackson for things he normally wouldn't get involved in and said: "About what we talked about before, would you really not mind being my partner in extracurricular activities?"
"No…" Jackson couldn't respond properly due to the crowd of students.
"Relax, it'll be fun." Devon said; she loved anything that could give her academic or everyday-life advantages.
What she lacked was a partner who was willing to help her with the many projects she was morally required to do with classmates.
She had discovered that Jackson seemed to be very observant, so it would be nice to have him in her group for numerous activities.
People in the hallway kept staring at Jackson, who, to everyone except the guy who had just threatened him, gave off a dangerous vibe.
Many could identify the group Jackson belonged to just by his clothes and the calm on his face when he spoke; these were strong signs that he shouldn't be bothered.
My only chance for them not to bother me is to beat up the idiot students who don't know who they're messing with. Jackson thought, looked around, and found a problem.
"Are you listening to me?" Devon asked as she entered the classroom.
Jackson looked back and nodded slightly: "I don't mind, if you think it's interesting, then I can be your partner in the activities you have."
"Good, so, do you have your phone?" Devon didn't wait for Jackson to respond, and seeing his phone in his hand, she took it from him and added to his screen several sites of different pages.
"Do you practice contact sports?"
Jackson was surprised and asked: "Why do you ask?"
"Your hands, they look like those of someone who has used them a lot." Devon loved action movies, so she recognized the marks on Jackson's knuckles.
"A little, just for fun." Jackson didn't lie, but he didn't admit he was a martial arts practitioner either.
At that moment, the tall guy from before sat in front of his desk.
"A problem…" Jackson was losing patience; there was something he hadn't mentioned before, and it was that when he exploded at someone who bothered him, he was very aggressive, just as things should be.
"Hey, idiot. We share some classes, huh…"
"And who are you?" Jackson seemed ignorant before the disgusting face of this student, walked to the empty corner of the classroom, and sat down.
"Who am I? Did you forget my name? It's me, Brucks, the one who will spend your lunch money later and who you'll level up for in that video game we talked about." Brucks froze when a girl sat next to Jackson.
Jackson smiled slightly, staring at the failure in front of him.
Devon looked up and asked: "Excuse me, are we talking to you? If not, you can go to hell."
"Hey, I'm just talking to him, if this idiot bothers you, don't forget to tell me." Brucks said as he walked away after the teacher entered the classroom.
"Even if someone bothered me, I wouldn't ask anyone for help to solve my problems, you brainless idiot." Devon coldly despised Brucks; her behavior was so direct that even Jackson was surprised.
He didn't expect Devon to act so openly as she did now, which he actually liked.