009 THE BASTARD STOLE MY FOOD
Damen's stomach twisted when he heard the teacher call him.
"What the hell should I do now?" he thought, forcing himself to stay calm.
The room seemed to shrink around him, every gaze a weight pressing down. One wrong move, one suspiciously high reading… and everything could unravel.
Damen shuffled toward the machine, deliberately slow, each step calculated.
"Hurry up, you… tra—!" Miss Poney's voice cracked with anger, almost breaking into words no teacher should speak.
"Trash!!!"
Her fury wasn't just at Damen's slow pace—it was at his grades. Damen's poor performance dragged down the class average, tarnishing her record. Her career prospect depended on her class's average score.
She wanted Damen gone.
If he proved worthless in the Mock exam, she could push for his expulsion and restore her class's prestige.
"Hmmmm hemmmm"
The machine hummed, ready to scan every inch of Damen's body and squeeze out all his secrets.
Damen's chest tightened.
"Damn it…there is no escape today", he thought, swallowing hard. "Come on… bring me a savior," he prayed.
"A savior…"
A voice cut through the chaos all of a sudden. The savior was here.
"Damen, you bastard!"
The scanners froze. In the crowd, Beck Dark stormed forward. Damen seized the moment and darted from the booth.
"Who dares interrupt my test?!" Miss Poney shrieked furiously.
Beck's glare cut through the hall. "Damen Dark, do you know my father is sick in the hospital? How dare you come to school and leave him there unattended!"
Damen's face twisted in feigned shock. "My uncle… he is in the hospital? What happened?"
"Damen Dark! Back to the test booth this instant!" Miss Poney bellowed.
Damen clutched his head, feigning anguish. "No, ma'am. My uncle is in the hospital. I can't concentrate… I can't take the test in this state."
"This will only take a few seconds! Get back on the booth now!" she screamed. All her plans to rid Damen would go to waste if he wasn't tested today and failed miserably.
Inside, Damen's mind raced.
His uncle's hospitalization was a perfect excuse to skip the Mock test, but he was already at the booth. One step inside, and it would be over. His secret would be revealed.
On the other hand, Miss Poney wouldn't relent… Damen's refusal now to take the test could risk expulsion.
He had to tread carefully.
"Damen Dark, get on the booth now, or you'll be expelled," Miss Poney warned, her voice sharp as a whip.
"Damn it… there really is no escape," Damen thought, tension coiling in his chest.
Then his savior spoke again.
"I knew you wouldn't let him go… How dare you disrespect the heir of the city's heroes!" Beck yelled at Miss Poney, holding up two gleaming medals.
Damen's eyes widened.
He recognized them instantly. "Huh, I was wondering where that bastard Ralph kept these."
These were the posthumous awards given to his parents, long ago taken by Ralph and Melody and the medals were purposefully hidden from him.
Heroes' Medals were highly valued status symbols for ordinary citizens. They could demand favors from the authorities- including the school.
Ralph was afraid Damen would use these medals to gain favors from people who recognized them like his parent's friends maybe… and with their help break from their grasp and control.
They would lose the city's allowance that Damen was entitled to and also the salary from his work in the Aur mine. So, they kept the medals hidden from him.
Who would have thought Beck would wield them now, just to get him excused from taking care of his own father in hospital?
"Genius…the medals!! Beck, you thought of this?" Damen's mind raced with admiration.
"Heroes… or not, Damen Dark must take the mock test today!" Miss Poney screamed.
The testing hall door swung open, and a commanding figure entered. It was Principal Dean.
"What's the commotion here?" he asked, surveying the crowd.
"This student refuses the mock test," Miss Poney snapped, pointing at Damen.
"Is that so? And why?" Principal Dean's gaze shifted to Damen.
Damen dropped to his knees, tears welling in his eyes. "My uncle is in the hospital! I can't take a test in this state! I must go see him!"
"He's the heir of the city's heroes! You can't stop him from visiting his uncle!" Beck shouted, stepping forward holding the medals.
Principal Dean's eyes fell on the medals. He walked to Beck, lifted them, and inspected the engravings. "Indeed… these are Heroes Medals from the city."
Damen sprang forward and snatched the medals. "These are mine!" he said firmly, giving Beck a nod of sincere gratitude.
Then he turned to the principal. "Seeing my uncle on his deathbed is more important than any mock test."
The principal considered this briefly, then shrugged at Miss Poney. "It's just a mock test. Why make such a fuss over whether the student takes it or not?"
"But…", Miss Poney tried to protest. She couldn't tell the principal her true intentions.
Turning to Damen, he said, "I wasn't aware the heir of heroes attended this school. Go see your uncle now. And come to me anytime if there's a problem."
Joy surged through Damen.
The principal's simple words shattered his predicament. Miss Poney could no longer override him, no matter her fury.
He wouldn't be expelled from school.
He bolted from the hall, Beck following close behind, both of them grinning as they left chaos and tension in their wake.
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Damen strode out of the school, glancing back at Beck, who was panting as he ran to catch up.
"Bye-bye," Damen called, waving his parents' Heroes Medals with a grin.
"Hey, you bastard! Why didn't you go home last night? … (panting) Now go to the hospital and care for my father!" Beck shouted, breathlessly.
"You care for him yourself. You are his bastard, not me," Damen shot back coolly.
Damen understood now the reason Beck came to save him. His mother probably made him stay in the hospital to care for his father while she went out for her usual card games.
Beck didn't want the chore and tried to make Damen do it.
"How dare you?!" Beck screeched, his eyes wide.
He froze, stunned by Damen's sudden boldness. The usually pliant boy, so obedient and cautious, was suddenly defiant.
Damen ignored the outburst. "Whose idea was it to bring these medals here?" he asked instead.
Beck's grin widened. "Ain't I a genius? I knew the school wouldn't let you leave on the day of your Mock test, so I brought the medals just in case. They had no choice but to let you go once they saw them."
"You really are a genius," Damen said before adding, "Your mother probably doesn't know you took the medals?"
"Of course they don't know, I took them from their hidden compartments", he replied.
"Great… what would you do just to get off a chore… you really are my savior", Damen said, then nodding once before turning and vanishing into the streets.
Beck tried to chase him, but Damen was gone in an instant.
The chubby boy stopped, panting, his eyes wide opened. "How did he run so fast?" Then realization hit him. "That bastard… he must've stolen my share of food from the house!"
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