Yes. Thanks to unexpected aid from the VRC.

John let out a spluttering cough as he regained consciousness. His body felt heavy, and his mind was clouded. His memory came back to him in small flashes, and as his senses tried to reboot, he recognised that he was still, in fact, in Frank’s meaty hold.

“What is going on here?!” John vaguely registered an outraged cry from somewhere outside of his vision.

John strained to find the source of the voice, and his eyes fell on the hazy figure of a girl, arms crossed and impatiently waiting for an explanation. Beside her stood two others, their features just as indistinguishable.

Frank’s tone was low and harsh “Don’t interrupt. This is a conversation between me and the faggot.”

“Whatever conversation you two were having looks long over,” the same girl replied, gesturing to John’s sorry state.

“I’m not done with him yet,” Frank shrugged, lining up another punch.

“Let him go, Frank,” a second voice spoke up with a cold edge.

‘Sam?’ John recognised the voice from yesterday. That would make the other girl was Chelsea. Of all the students that might have come to his aid, those two were highly unexpected.

“Shut up, bitch!” Frank barked. “I don’t take orders from anyone!”

To the astonishment of many, it was Vanessa who walked up and smacked her boyfriend in the back of her head. “Ugh, I don’t have time for this. Just drop him.”

Frank let out a disgruntled huff, but he relinquished his hold on John. Dazed, John attempted to stand upright with an awkward stagger, but Frank decided that a none-too-gentle shove would be appropriate. Unable to balance himself in his stupor, John fell into the hallway lockers and sagged onto the hard floor once again.

Immediately, Sam moved to John’s side to check on his condition and ordered one of the onlooking students to call the school nurse. “Y’know, for a guy who takes orders from no one, you sure snapped to attention quick when your cow of a girlfriend said so,” she said, unable to resist poking the bear.

“Dammit, Sam,” Chelsea let out an exasperated sigh, massaging the bridge of her nose.

Frank’s face, meanwhile, had taken on a deep shade of purple. With heaving steps he marched towards Sam. “What did you say you-”

“Frank!” Vanessa snapped, having none of it.

The bully glowered at Sam for a long moment, who, to her credit, didn’t even shrink back an inch. Finally, Frank conceded before his girlfriend could snap the whip again.

Once Frank had returned to her heel, Vanessa turned to face the Student Council. “I’m sorry, what’s your name again?” the blonde cheerleader asked.

“Chelsea.”

“I’m sorry for this one’s behaviour, Miss Hawthorne,” one of the boys beside Chelsea interrupted. “She’s new and hasn’t acclimatised to how things work-”

“Shut up,” Vanessa snapped. “The Student Council’s presence here is unnecessary. As you can see, this little weasel...” Vanessa glared at John, “attacked Frank. Fortunately, Frank is quite capable of defending himself.”

Vanessa didn’t even bother trying to make it sound believable. She didn’t have to. Nobody in the crowd of spectators dared say otherwise.

“I expect that the Student Council will come up with an appropriate punishment for one who attacks the Academy’s star quarterback,” Vanessa cast an eye over the council before turning to Chelsea. “You should consider how much you value your position, before you interrupt my affairs again.”

With that, Vanessa ended the conversation. She signalled to Frank that it was time to go, and the bully began to follow. But not before giving John one last kiss on the cheek with the tip of his boot.

- 26 HP

The crowd watched them walk away with silent gazes.

“Sam, that was not helpful,” Chelsea scolded when the Bitch Queen and her mutt had disappeared around the corner.

Sam could only respond with a sheepish grin, before both girls turned their attention to John, who had lapsed back into unconsciousness.

John next woke up to a pounding headache and a sharp pain all across his face. He lay in a bed this time, and it quickly became apparent that he was in the Nurse’s clinic. The curtains were drawn, and behind them, John could hear people arguing. Eavesdropping, he recognised the voices of Sam and Chelsea, as well as that boy on the student council. Judging by how Sam’s voice was on the verge of yelling, it was getting pretty heated

“Are you stupid?! Why do you think they asked for that specifically?”

“I know why, but there’s nothing I can do. I’m sorry!” the boy replied testily.

“She is right, Josh; this is utter shit,” Chelsea agreed. “I can’t abide by it.”

Chelsea had always been so well-spoken, so it was a surprise for John to hear her curse in such a manner.

“You can do something! You’re the mother fucking Student President!” Sam countered.

“You know they have Conroy. And Wentworth’s on their side as well!” Josh said defensively. “I’ve gotta think about my future here, Sam! If I lose my Presidency, I’ll lose my Scholarship to Chicago.”

“Oh, grow a goddamn backbone, you twat,” Sam spat. “You’re putting a fellow student’s life on the line just so you can keep your scholarship?!”

That didn’t didn’t exactly bode well for John. Thinking it was about time he be clued in on exactly what he’d been sentenced to, John coughed loudly enough for the three to hear.

Sam pulled back the curtain to check on him and, seeing him conscious, broke into a weary smile. “Oh, hey. Look who’s awake. Face feel like shit?”

John winced at the pain speaking caused. “Yeah. That about sums up the feeling,” he agreed, supposing the light banter was Sam’s attempt at cheering him up.

“John Newman,” the boy named Josh greeted without meeting his eyes. “We haven’t met personally before; my name is Joshua Keane, President of the Student Council. I felt it was my duty to personally inform you that the incident this morning with Frank has been reviewed by the Council. Normally, acts of **** result in an immediate suspension, but we’ve decided that, in this case, such a punishment is unjust,” Josh adjusted his collar nervously, “thus, we’ve decided that you will be on cleanup duty this Saturday morning.”

Sam visibly struggled with the urge to slap the Council President. “Don’t make it sound like you’ve done him a favour.”

Josh shifted uncomfortably from side to side. “Vanessa knows that they can’t get away with anything serious.”

“Does Frank?” Sam countered.

“Vanessa can control Frank,” Josh insisted.

Josh briefly met John’s gaze but couldn’t hold it for longer than a second before turning and briskly scurrying away. With the Pres gone, an uncomfortable silence seized the sick bay. Nobody really knew what to say, until John realised he hadn’t even thanked the girls for their help.

“Um… thank you for, you know… saving my ass,” John said sheepishly.

“It was our pleasure as the VRC to get involved!” Sam said enthusiastically.

“Vanessa Resistance Club,” Chelsea explained when she noticed the question on John’s face.

Chelsea looked over his bruised face. “Not many people are stupid enough to take on Frank and Vanessa.”

“Which is why our numbers are pretty small…”

“It’s just the two of us,” Chelsea added. “It goes without saying that we aren’t a Council approved club.”

John cast Observe on the two of them, to find his relationship had drastically improved with both. Chelsea was sitting at just under zero, and Sam was now at 20!

“Damn, you both must really hate Vanessa, huh?”

Sam burst into a small fit of laughter. “You realise you just lit a firecracker, right?”

John was about to ask what she meant, but Chelsea started speaking before he could.

“Vanessa is a blight on this school,” the First Year Rep seethed. “The Student Council was once invested in the interests of students. Ever since Vanessa sunk her claws in, it has been reduced to nothing but a sick joke, only serving her interests. I’ll fight to change that, even if I risk losing my position.”

“As you should,” Sam agreed, lightly punching her friend in the arm. “Unlike the twat.”

Chelsea rolled her eyes, before turning back to John and bowing her head slightly. “As a member of the Student Council, I’m appalled at how this situation has been mistreated. What Joshua failed to explain was that Vanessa specifically asked for your punishment to be cleanup. In all likelihood, they plan to finish your… ‘conversation’ then.”

“I see,” John said thoughtfully. “Saturday morning, right?”

Chelsea nodded her head in reply. Despite his current circumstances, John’s face split into a smile. As much as it stung to lose to Frank earlier, John could just get stronger before Saturday. It was Wednesday, which gave him plenty of time to train.

“I think Frank knocked something loose in there,” Sam frowned, gently tapping on his forehead. “Frank’s gonna jump you on Saturday. Probably not alone either.”

John shrugged. “Well there’s no point in running from it. If I’ve learned anything about Frank, he’s as stubborn as an ox.”

“Rest assured, I will do everything I can to see Frank punished and reprimanded,” Chelsea promised.

The conviction in the girl’s eyes told John it was only a matter of time. “I appreciate that,” he smiled, finding that his long buried crush was clawing its way out of the grave.

“Don’t get me wrong, Newman,” Chelsea replied. “I firmly believe you should be suspended for your actions, but I am appalled that the Council would instead place you at great risk.”

“Aww, don’t be like that, Elsie!” Sam bemoaned. “Just admit it, you want to see Frank knocked flat just like I do!”

Chelsea didn’t grace that with a reply, but it was written on her face. “I must go now, but I wish you a safe recovery.”

“Yeah, I probably need to stop avoiding class too,” her raven-haired friend sighed. “Ciao, Mr. Martian.”