Taking her seat, Ace smiled and greeted the cheerful boy who had eagerly awaited her arrival.
"Hey, Ace!" Allian grinned and playfully poked the female's shoulder.
"Allian, keep your hands to yourself." Raiden smirked as he took his seat across from the female. "You don't want to be invading her personal space, do you?"
The blonde boy pouted. "But I just poked her!"
The female shook her head before grabbing a binder from out of her backpack.
"Good morning, students. You should have taken notes at home yesterday as your homework." Their teacher spoke. "Today, you'll be working on a practice set. Please take advantage of this time and ask me and your classmates for help if needed. The whole point of the 'flipped classroom' is for you to ask me for help when you need it."
Mr. Stewart then proceeded to hand out the worksheets, making the girl grimace when she looked at the more difficult problems at the bottom of the page. God, I hate Riemann sums..
She picked up her pencil and a piece of scratch paper, easily solving the first few problems before staring at the more difficult problems blankly.
"Do you need help?" The onyx-eyed male asked, giving her a curious glance. The blonde sitting beside her also halted his work to look questioningly at the girl.
"Yeah." Ace frowned. "Did you do number six?"
Both the males looked at the question, nodding at her question.
Raiden got out of his seat and walked beside the female so he wouldn't have to look at her work upside down. "Alright, so for this one, it's asking you to use five subdivisions of trapezoidal sums."
"Do you know the formula for trapezoids?" Allian quickly cut in, much to the annoyance of his friend.
The female frowned. "It would seem that I've forgotten."
The blonde quickly wrote down the formula on the side of her paper. "So the formula is height a plus height b over 2, multiplied by the base of each subdivision."
"For these problems, the numbers to find the base are provided for you here." The charming male circled bracketed numbers with his pencil. "To find delta x, or the base, you do b minus a, divided by how much subdivisions the equation is asking you to find."
The female nodded, quickly finding the base of the subdivisions, unaware of the glares that the males sent at each other.
"Okay, so it's really helpful if we sketch out a graph of the function." Allian quickly stated before his friend, sketching out a graph of the function on her paper.
"Then we look at the integrals of which the function is asking us to find. In this case, find the area under the curve from x equals 2 to x equals 9." Raiden added, pointing his pencil to the integral sign.
"So now we want to figure out how to separate the curve into five equal parts. We'll start at 2, then add the base to figure out the first subdivision. Then you add the base to find the second subdivision, and so on." Allian explained.
Ace nodded and did as she was told, figuring out all five subdivisions of the curve. "Ah! I get it now!"
The boys narrowed their eyes at each other. "Then, you apply the trapezoidal formula to each subdivision." Raiden said immediately after the girl finished figuring out the subdivisions.
Doing as the male had told her, she solved for the area of each trapezoid.
"After that, you have to add all the areas together." Allian smirked as his friend scowled. "It's a bit time-consuming typing all that into the calculator, so factor out ½ out of the function. You could multiply it by ½ later after you get your answer from adding all of those areas together."
"Gotcha." Ace furrowed her brow as she typed in the excessive amount of numbers into the calculator. After she got her answer, she smiled brightly at the boys when her answer matched the answer provided on the worksheet. "Thank you so much!"
"You're welcome." Allian and Raiden spoke at the same time, glowering at each other.
The black-haired male took his seat in front of the female, watching as the girl moved on to the next question, a frown etched onto her face as she struggled to recall all the steps she'd just been guided through.
"Need help?" Allian chirped as the girl sighed.
"No, I'll try to do this one- holy moly, the function has a sin x in it?" Ace nearly face-desked as she grunted in defeat.
The blonde giggled at her reaction, but before he could say anything, Raiden was at her side, explaining the problem to her.
Allian scowled at the male. So you want to play it that way, huh?
Raiden rose an eyebrow in a challenging way, as if saying, Bring it on.
~
When the bell had rung, Ace had her head planted on the table's surface, internally groaning at the rapid pace the boys had gone at while she had struggled to keep up with their every word.
"Are you okay, Ace?" Mr. Stewart walked by, stopping beside her and watching with a bit of amusement in his eyes.
"My brain hurts." She groaned.
Her teacher laughed. "That's good! It means you're learning! And it looks like you got yourself two peers that are excellent at tutoring you." He rose an eyebrow at the males who were scowling at each other.
"It seems that I do." The girl heaved a sigh, packing away all her materials and slinging her backpack over her shoulder.
"Have a nice day, Ace." Mr. Stewart smiled as he walked back to his desk.
"You too, Mr. Stewart." She nodded.
Directing her eyes onto the fuming boys, she just noticed the boys' rivalry. "Hey, uh, guys?"
The males snapped their attention back onto the female.
"Just wanted to say, thank you for helping me-"
"Ace. You're coming over to our house for tutoring." Raiden cut her off, stating his claim confidently as if she'd already agreed to it.
"This Saturday, nine o'clock in the morning." Allian added.
"Wait- what?" She exclaimed, dumbfounded.
"Gotta go, bye!" The males scurried out of the room, leaving the stupefied girl alone.
"Hey, wait!" She cried out, chasing after the boys after her confusion had subsided. She sighed as the males disappeared down the stairs, giving up the chase. I guess I'm going to tutoring then?
She walked down the stairs and exited the building, walking to and settling herself down underneath the old familiar tree. Seeing that she was the only one there so far, she placed her backpack down and laid down, staring up at the cloudy sky. The weather says it's supposed to rain either tomorrow or on Friday. She recalled.
She was brought out of her thoughts as she heard shuffling beside her. "Hey, thanks for leaving me earlier-" She remarked sarcastically, only to open her eyes and realize it wasn't who she thought it was.
A white-haired girl tilted her head in confusion, her long ponytail falling by her shoulders. "O-kay?"
"Did you want something?" Ace asked curiously, trying to hide her confusion on who she was.
"My name is Illesha. I am the vice-president of the student council." She bowed. The way that she carried herself screamed prestigious and confidence.
"Uh.. Nice to meet you?" Ace awkwardly answered. "Is something wrong? Am I in trouble?"
The girl's face fell a bit serious. "No. I just noticed that you've been spending a lot of time with those five guys." She pursed her lips. "Now, I don't really care about you nor your friends, but as vice president of the student council, I have to ensure the safety of the students at school."
The female furrowed her brows in confusion. "What are you getting at?"
Illesha pointed her index finger at the girl. "I'm saying, I also have to be hyper-aware of student behavior. There's something.. Off about those students. They are usually very un-open to other students- secluded. To suddenly see them befriend you- someone who has just transferred in, is a bit concerning. Their change of behavior is suspicious. It could just be me over analyzing things, but if I were you, I would be more mindful of this when interacting with those students."
Ace nodded slowly, unsure if she should really take the girl's words seriously.
"I thought many of them were popular in this school. I've experienced many students swarming over them."
"Yes, your observation is accurate. However, have you ever seen them spending time with other students besides themselves?" Illesha tsked. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked that question to a student that hasn't seen much of them. I, however, have been observing many students of this school and that particular group of boys' behavior has caught my interest."
Ace furrowed her eyebrow. "I see?"
"I have been watching student behavior all of my time as the vice-president. I have had hundreds of successes on past students. Let's just say I have a hunch that there is something wrong about these students."
After a moment of consideration, she replied, "Alright. I trust you on behalf of your responsibilities. After all, you say most of your speculations on past students have been correct so far."
Illesha flipped her ponytail, fixing a few stray locks of hair that fell from her face. "Thanks for noticing my expertise. I'll leave you to your lonesome. Please be careful and contact me if you notice something wrong."
The female watched as the vice president walked off, her eyes trailing after her questioningly. That was weird.
A minute later, Faith and Akia set their things down beside the female, taking a seat beside her. "Was that Miss B*tch I just saw?" Faith inquired.
"Miss what?"
"Miss B*tch."
"I guess so? If that's what you call her." Ace nodded unsurely, still confused by Illesha's actions.
"What did she want?" Akia questioned curiously.
The female contemplated the question for a long moment. "Honestly, I'm not sure. She just said something about the group of guy's behaviors and that I should be mindful of it." She waved her hand dismissively.
"Okay?" Faith frowned. "Shouldn't be that big of a deal."
Ace shrugged. "All the guys seem pretty nice. I don't know why she would tell me to beware of them."
Akia pressed her palms to her cheeks before dramatically gasping. "Maybe she just wanted to separate you from your potential boyfriend! Making you beware of them, suggesting you stay away from them, severing your relationships with them!"
The female gave her friend a mock scowl, playfully smacking her arm.
"Oweeee!!" Akia cried out jokingly. "Make her acts of violence stop! Faith! Do something about it!"
The blonde-haired girl just scoffed, laughing. "Nah, I think I'm good."
"Wow!" Akia gaped. "Not even gonna help a poor girl being abused!"
"Oh, stop." Ace giggled.
Akia smirked. "Okay!" She laid back on her backpack, gazing up at the clouds.
Ace then realized she still had her cupcake sitting inside her container. Reaching into her backpack, she pulled out a smaller container that she had replaced her last cupcake into and removed it from the plastic box.
"You guys wanna share? I still have some cupcakes at home." The female offered, holding out the single cupcake.
Her friends shook their heads. "Nah, it's yours. You haven't eaten one of your own cupcakes today yet." Faith said.
"Alright, then." The girl pulled off the cupcake wrap, thoughtfully munching on the cupcake as her thoughts began to drift away.
~
"That's her."
Ace opened her eyes, sitting upright. Faith and Akia were also aware that they were being approached by a group of guys. They didn't look very friendly at all.
"The one sitting against the tree trunk?"
"That's right."
"I swear to God, Liam. You too Alex. You got beaten up by this scrawny little girl?"
Ace tilted her head, staring at them. Liam..? I recognize that name.. Isn't he the bully that beat up Akia? So this is..
"Girly, you sure do have a nerve for beating up my mates." The one who talked and was at the front of the group seemed like the leader. He wore torn clothes and had one too many scars. Liam and who she assumed was Alex was standing beside him. There were many more 'mates' standing in the back. It looked like there was ten of them.
Ace stood up, crossing her arms. "So you're the gang, then?" She walked towards them, increasing the distance between her and her two female friends.
Their leader laughed. "Of course, isn't it obvious?" His face stoned. "You're going to seriously regret getting involved and picking on my mates. Now come here like the good little girl you are."
Ace scoffed at his words. A voice in the back of her head was screaming at her to run. You're probably making a huge mistake right here.. Back down.. And maybe you'll save your teeth..!
"Well, I wouldn't have had to get involved if your mates didn't pick on people who are weaker than you." She snarled.
"You son of a b*tch." And then, he swung.
The female's instincts kicked in and she ducked, his fist missing her face by a centimeter. She swung her first low, striking his chest. She took a few steps backward, lengthening their distance.
He staggered back slightly and glared at her. "You're so dead.. b*tch."
Ace's eyes wandered about, observing him. He was nearly twice her size and looked like he had been in fights all his life.
She continued to dodge his attacks, ignoring all the cries and pleads for her and the leader to stop. Crap! I can tell he's using all of his force into his punches.. If I get hit I'm a goner.
She assessed his behavior, digging through her mind for what she remembered her defense instructor had said. It was something like.. If he's using all of his force into his punch, then that means to keep your distance. If he's a larger opponent, then that means he's slower and will tire out more quickly. Look for openings for sweeps and upper kicks.
"What? No offense? All you know is how to dodge!" The leader laughed.
"You may have forgotten.. I landed the first blow." She smiled.
Snarling, he launched another attack with his fist.
Without much thinking, she attempted to grab his upper arm after he missed his punch. It was somewhat successful. There was more force than she had anticipated- her right wrist burned. It felt like her wrist snapped backward. With all her force, she launched a kick at his lower chest before letting go and creating distance between them.
She glanced at her wrist and frowned, shaking it twice before getting back into position.
He took a step backward. It didn't look like he was hurt at all.. More so, it looked like he was angry. Very angry.
Her wrist began to throb. She clutched it with her other hand, grimacing.
He charged forwards, drawing his arm back to land a powerful punch. He suddenly stopped short as arms wrapped around both of his arms, yanking him backward. Ryoma and Allian kept straight faces as they pulled him back despite all of his struggling and curses.
Ace felt arms wrap around her body and pull her back as well.
"Let go of me!" Ace screamed struggling to move her arms as she kicked her legs.
"Ace, calm down! Please!"
"Please don't make this hard for us!"
She recognized Kai and Raiden's voices. Looking to both sides, she saw that Evan, Faith, and Akia were looking at her with shock and panic.
Something within her settled down. She felt her body relax and she stopped struggling. Sighing, the boys let her go once they determined that it was safe.
She hadn't noticed that there was a rather large crowd around, looking with interest.
"Ace, it was a good thing you didn't get hit.." Faith sighed. "What kind of idiotic thinking was that?!"
"Ace! I'm so happy you didn't get hurt!" Akia leapt towards her, bringing her into a hug.
Hesitantly, she returned the hug. When they released, she looked around. Kai, Evan, Raiden, Allian, and Ryoma were looking at her with worry. Even Elene and Erika were there.. Illesha lingered around the back, her face spoke of disapproval.
"I.. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have decided to fight back." She muttered. "I admit I shouldn't have done anything in that situation. It was poor thinking. I apologize for worrying all of you."
"Idiot.." Faith sighed.
"What happened to him and his gang?" She muttered when she noticed the gang wasn't there anymore. She had her fingers wrapped around her bruised wrist.
Raiden spoke up. "The administration was called. The security took them away. Evan and Faith explained to them what had happened, along with the events of bullying that had occurred previously. The principle will be notified shortly and they will discuss with the office what reprimands will be taken into action."
"I understand."
"In the future, I advise you to please stay out of trouble, especially when it concerns bullying. If you see an act of abuse or harassment happening, the best course of action will be to alert any adult. From there, they will take care of the rest."
"..I understand."
"Ace, we were told to take you to the office," Kai said softly, patting her on the shoulder lightly. He gave her a small smile. "Let's go."
"Okay."