A Tale of Three By J.C. Vascardi
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Legal Disclaimer: This story is fictional, as are the characters featured herein, which are solely the product of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, either living or dead, is entirely coincidental. If you are under the age of eighteen, offended by male/male material, or if such material cannot be legally viewed where you live, then you should be leaving now. Otherwise, please enjoy the story.
Character Profiles: http://jayson.worldofslash.com/a-tale-of-three/profiles/index.htm Yahoo Group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/storiesbyjayson Writing Journal: http://jaycolin.livejournal.com
This story is ©2004-2010, 2011 by J.C. Vascardi. This story is the sole property of its author and may not be copied, in whole or in part, posted on any other website, or included in any form of book or media, without the explicit written permission of the author.
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Chapter Twelve, Part One Nick's Perspective Wednesday, January 19, 2005
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To say that I wasn't a bit worried when Aaron didn't show up for lunch would be an understatement. I wasn't alone, either, as Brian was also rather worried. Jayden and Tony said he had probably decided not to eat today and go outside to the courtyard, which was a perk of being a senior, but Brian and I doubted that. Knowing Aaron as long as I have, I happened to know that the cafeteria was serving one of his favorite meals that day, and the idea that he just wouldn't show up was totally out of character. There were times when he had chosen to go out to the courtyard during lunch hour, but never without telling me at least. I did my best to put it out of my mind, however, as I was sure everything would turn out okay.
Brian was soon drawn into a conversation with Tony. Jayden, in a streak of mischievousness, decided to take my mind off of Aaron by taking off one of his shoes and gently rubbing his foot against my crotch. Thankfully, nobody could see what he was doing, because it probably wouldn't have been a pleasant situation if anyone had. I would have completely enjoyed it if it wasn't for the fact that Jayden had decided to start doing it while I was drinking, and I was so startled that I ended up having some milk come out of my nose. There was also the fact that he was giving me a major hard-on, which was not something I particularly wanted, since I was wearing an old pair of jeans that day which would make hiding it impossible if it hadn't gone down yet by the time lunch was over.
It was Brian who came to my rescue. He must have seen the look on my face and glanced under the table, because after about two or three minutes of Jayden rubbing my cock, Brian reached over, pushed Jayden's leg down, and gave him a look that said quite clearly, "Not here, Jayden." A small part of me wanted to kill Brian for stopping the contact, but a larger part was extremely thankful because much more of that and I would have creamed my jeans, and I was sure that the resulting wet spot wouldn't have dried before the end of lunch. Once Jayden had stopped teasing me, I tried a few things to get my cock to go down, without much success.
Finally, as the end of lunch approached, I was getting a bit desperate, so I figured it was time to take drastic measures, and I in turn thought about my French teacher, Mrs. Varden, naked. I may be bisexual, but that certainly doesn't mean that I'm attracted to every single member of the sexes; I was certainly not attracted to Mrs. Varden because she was in her late fifties and I'm really not the type who goes for people who are old enough to by my parent.
After lunch, I said my goodbyes to Jayden and then accompanied Brian and Tony up to the second floor for French class. The three of us have been taking French together since our freshman year, and we had even gone on the week-long trip to France that Mrs. Varden had arranged last year. Every time I walk into French class with Tony, I can't help but remember how some people reacted during our freshman year when he showed up in French class. Being of Hispanic descent, a lot of the students found it strange that he had decided to take French instead of Spanish. He tried to explain to them that he had been fluent in Spanish since he was five, but many of them still thought he should have taken it, if only for the easy A.
Anyway, we all took our seats, Mrs. Varden took attendance, and then she gave us the usual quiz that she gave every Wednesday, followed by something similar to what I remembered from elementary school as daily oral language. Mrs. Varden always wrote two sentences, in English, on the blackboard, and it was our job to translate them into French. She gave us ten minutes to do that before she would call a student up to the board to make the translations in front of the whole class, without the aid of their papers or books.
Once that was done, Mrs. Varden was just about to start class when a loud siren sounded, and I was sure it could be heard throughout the school. Many of my fellow students covered their ears as Mrs. Varden walked over to the classroom door and closed it before pulling her keys from the pocket of her skirt and locking the door. Once the siren died down, Mrs. Varden turned to address the class, "The siren you just heard means that the school is now on lockdown. I hope all of you went to the bathroom before class, because I can't give any of you a hall pass until the all clear is given. If the all clear hasn't been issued by the time class is over, you'll have to stay here, at which point I have some games in the closet you can play to pass the time if you like or you can do your homework for my class or another class. Now, on to today's lesson."
Exchanging a look with Brian and Tony, I could see that they had identical looks on their faces as the look I'm sure was plastered on mine. I don't know why, but I just had a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach that Aaron not showing up for lunch and the school being put on lockdown were somehow related. I prayed that I was wrong, but as I would later find out, my prayers were not answered that day.
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Chapter Twelve, Part Two Karen's Perspective Wednesday, January 19, 2005
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The day thus far had been a good day. It was my day off from the hospital, so I actually got to watch my shows when they came on, rather than on tape as I usually do. I've been an avid fan of The Young and the Restless and Days of Our Lives for years now, but in the last few years, I've also begun to watch General Hospital, which I have on occasion thought should be renamed General Homicide due to all the mob related storylines. Another story that I've begun to watch in the last few years, which I'm not always proud to admit to, is Passions. It is probably the strangest soap opera on television these days, but I've found that it can on occasion be good for a laugh if nothing else. Of course, I'd never admit it, but another reason that I watch all four of the soap operas I mentioned was because there are certain members of the casts that I enjoy looking at. Days of Our Lives had just ended when my phone rang, so pressing the pause button on the DVR, I reached over to the end table and answered it.
"Hello, Forrester residence."
"Could I please speak to Karen Forrester?"
"Speaking."
"Mrs. Forrester, this is Dr. Miranda Webber, the principal at your son's school."
"Oh, hello, Dr. Webber," I said. "What can I do for you?"
"Well, I'm afraid it isn't good news."
"What did Aaron do now?" I asked with a grin, knowing that my son could be a bit of a practical joker when he wanted to be.
"Mr. Forrester didn't do anything, other than be in the wrong place at the wrong time."
"I'm afraid you've lost me, Dr. Webber."
"There was an altercation today in one of the bathrooms," Dr. Webber revealed. "I can't be absolutely positive, but I believe it may have been a gay bashing. One of our teachers, Jake Bradley, and your son were the victims."
"Oh my God, is Aaron okay?"
"I saw both of them before they were taken to the hospital," Dr. Webber said. "Both were unconscious, but all in all, I'd say your son was lucky. He had more injuries than Mr. Bradley, but they were less severe than..." At this point Dr. Webber choked up a bit, before clearing her throat and saying, "Please forgive me for choking up, but Mr. Bradley, Jake, is my nephew."
"What about the people who did this?"
"The four students involved are in police custody now," Dr. Webber said. "I fully intend to expel them before the day is over."
"Thank you for calling, Dr. Webber," I said. "I'll be swinging past the school on my way to the hospital with my ex-husband, Erik Jensen. Could you please have Nickolas Jensen ready for early dismissal? They've always been very close and I know Nick would want to be at Aaron's side during this."
"Of course, Mrs. Forrester," Dr. Webber answered. "I'll make sure Mr. Jensen is ready when you arrive."
"Thank you," I said as I hung up the phone.
By this point, I had tears in my eyes. I was glad that Erik wasn't in court today and had decided to work from home because I had to get to the hospital to see my baby, and I knew I'd be unable to drive in my condition. Looking back on it, I couldn't help but laugh as I imagined the look I know would have graced Aaron's face if he had heard me think of him as my baby, but he'll always be my baby, no matter how old he is. Children hate that, but they usually understand when they have children of their own.
Setting the phone on the hook, I quickly went upstairs and got dressed, since I had been lounging around the house in my bathrobe until that point. I didn't bother with makeup because it would take too much time and I knew my tears would just ruin it anyway. Pulling my hair back into a ponytail, I quickly grabbed my house keys, locked my house, and practically ran across the lawn to Erik's house. After letting myself in, I told Erik what happened and it wasn't long after that the two of us were backing out his driveway in his Jaguar. I was so worried about Aaron that for the first time that I can remember, I wasn't the slightest bit apprehensive about sitting in Erik's car. Of course, I usually am okay with riding in it, it's just driving it that I'm terrified of. This thought did run through my head at the time and I know some people might think that strange considering I had just found out my eldest son had just been beaten up. I knew, however, that I had to keep control of my emotions and not focus too much on my worries and fears, because that would have created stress that wasn't good for my as yet unborn youngest son.
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Chapter Twelve, Part Three Kyle's Perspective Wednesday, January 19, 2005
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When Aunt Miranda called to say that Jake had been the victim of an apparent gay bashing, I was shocked to say the least. I'm not sure if it was naïveté or simple stupidity on my part to think that a teacher would be safe from falling victim to such things in the school in which they worked. It hadn't been all that long since I graduated from high school, and I didn't want to believe that things had actually changed that much since I was in school that a teacher wasn't safe from being beaten up by the students. Of course, my high school did not have a Gay/Straight Alliance, nor were there any teachers that I ever knew of that were gay, lesbian, or bisexual, so I guess it could have happened in my old high school under different circumstances. Jordan and Matthew were both just as shocked as I was when they heard the news, and they both voiced similar thoughts to my own.
When we arrived at the hospital, we learned that Jake's condition was far more serious than Aunt Miranda had let on over the telephone. We wanted to see him the second we arrived, but we were informed that it was impossible because he was in emergency surgery to relieve the pressure on his brain. Aunt Miranda had said he had been attacked, but she had failed to mention that the back of his head had been slammed into the metal dividing wall between two bathroom stalls, which cracked open his skull and had caused hemorrhaging in the brain. When I heard that, I went kind of numb and Jordan and Matthew led me into the waiting room to wait for updates.
Arriving in the waiting room, I couldn't help but notice that there was a group of teenagers sitting on one side of the room, whom I assumed were students from the school Jake taught at. It was then that I remembered that Aunt Miranda had mentioned Jake had been found lying unconscious on top of an equally unconscious student, who had also been attacked. Feeling the need to talk to the teenagers, I got up from my seat as calmly as I could and walked over to them. One of the adults that was with them looked up when I approached and said, "Yes?"
"Hi, I'm Kyle Bradley," I said. "Am I correct in assuming that you're here because of the attack today at Langley High?"
"Yes," the man said as he stood up and extended his hand for me to shake, which I did. "I'm Scott Foster. My son, Brian, is the boyfriend of the student who was attacked, Aaron Forrester. Bradley? I assume you're related to the teacher? Jake, isn't it?"
"Yeah, Jake is my brother," I said. "I still can't believe it. I don't know if I was just being naïve or stupid or what, but I never would have thought that a teacher would get attacked at school. So, how is Aaron doing?"
"He'll be fine," one of the teenagers, a blond, said as he stood and walked over. "He has some bruises, a broken nose, two black eyes and the doctors think he might have a few bruised ribs, but he'll be okay. I'm Nickolas Jensen, by the way. Mr. Bradley was tutoring me after school."
"Ah, yes, I remember," I said with a smile to the young man. "Don't know if you remember or not, but when my brother e-mailed you to tell you about those tutoring sessions, the e-mail came from a K. Bradley. He used my e-mail address to send the e-mail and, being the nosy little brother that I am, I read it over his shoulder as he typed it. It's nice to put a face with the name."
"Yes, I remember," Nick said with a smile.
"Nick, who are you talking to?" another boy with spiky black hair with blond highlights asked.
"Oh, this is Mr. Bradley's brother, Kyle," Nick said as the other teens stood and walked over. "Kyle, these are my friends, Jayden Travis, Antonio Foster, and Brian Foster."
"A pleasure to meet you," I said with a smile to all of them, "I just wish it was under better circumstances."
At this point I started to tear up a bit and as usual, Jordan and Matthew were across the room in less than two seconds to comfort me. As the two of them wrapped their arms around me, I noticed the look between the teens, whose parents and guardians had stopped paying attention, opting instead to talk with one another. Wiping my eyes and clearing my throat, I said, "Um, this is Jordan Miller and Matthew Lawson, my boyfriends."
"Boyfriends?" Nick asked.
"Yes, boyfriends," I replied. "The three of us are together."
"Wow, that's different," the boy that Kyle had identified as Antonio said. "I mean, I've heard of threesome relationships before, but I've never actually met anyone who was in one. To be honest, I've never really understood the logistics of it. I've always thought it had to be all about sex."
Despite the sad reason for my being there, I couldn't help but laugh at Antonio's comment, which truth be told was a commonly held belief among many people when they found out the extent of my relationship with Jordan and Matthew. The next commonly held belief among many people was that we were all going to rot in Hell for eternity for being gay, but oh well.
"You'll have to forgive Ky for laughing," Jordan said, "but we get almost that exact comment quite often. People just don't understand the concept of three guys being in a committed, loving relationship."
"Well, it certainly isn't something one encounters every day," the boy with the spiky black hair, whom I now knew to be Brian Foster, said.
"That's true, it's probably not the most conventional of relationships," Matthew said. "It works for us though. We've been the best of friends ever since we met in pre-school and eventually we all realized that we were gay and head over heels in love with one another. That was almost seven years ago."
"Wow, amazing," Nick said as he wrapped his arm around Jayden's waist. "I hope Jayden and I can still be together in seven years."
"We will be if I have anything to say about it," Jayden said as he kissed Nick on the lips.
"Hey y'all," a voice said from the doorway, and I turned to see another teenager with black hair. Judging by the fact that he had a cast on his nose and two black eyes, I guessed that it must be Aaron Forrester, and I soon knew I was correct when Brian ran over to him, hugged him, and exclaimed, "Oh, Aaron!"
Aaron did his best to return the hug for a minute before wincing in pain. Brian must have felt him flinch because he instantly pulled away, at which point Aaron said, "I don't mind being hugged, Bri, but just be gentle about it. I spent several minutes getting kicked in the chest and abdomen by two people, so I'm kind of sore. Doctors say I have three bruised ribs."
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Chapter Twelve, Part Four Aaron's Perspective Wednesday, January 19, 2005
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"I'm sorry, AZ," Brian said as he gently kissed me on the cheek and wrapped an arm lightly around my waist.
I couldn't help but grin, because it seemed that now Brian was going to treat me like a china doll. I wasn't about to stand for that, so pulling Brian's arm around me a bit tighter, I said, "It's okay to be a little less gentle then that, Bri, I'm not a china doll."
"I just don't want to hurt you."
"I know you don't, Brian, and trust me—I'll let you know if you do."
"Hey AZ," Nick said as he walked over. "I hope you're okay."
"Yes, I am. I'm sorer than I can ever remember being in my life, but I'll be okay."
At that moment, Jayden's Uncle Carter and Brian's dad walked over to us.
"I'm sorry about what happened to you, Aaron," Carter said.
"It's not your fault, so no reason to be sorry," I said.
"Well, I'm sorry nonetheless," Carter reiterated as he looked at his watch. "Damn! I'm going to be late. Scott can you make sure Jayden gets home?"
"Sure," Scott Foster answered. "What's wrong?"
"Oh, it's just that I'm running late and I have to get back to Boston," Carter answered. "Dylan is flying in from London with Taylan and Jaylan tomorrow morning, so I have to be there to meet them."
Taylan and Jaylan Northcliffe are Carter's sons with his ex-boyfriend, Dylan Northcliffe. Carter is the biological father and Dylan's sister, Chelsea, is the biological mother, as she'd agreed to donate an egg and act as a surrogate so that Carter and Dylan could have children. After they were born, she surrendered all rights to them and Dylan got a second-parent adoption. Chelsea later died from a brain aneurysm when the twins were two. Four years later, Carter and Dylan broke up and Dylan moved back to his native England, taking Taylan and Jaylan with him, working out a visitation schedule so that Carter could still see his kids.
"Isn't school in session back in London?"
"Yes, it is," Carter responded to my question, "but, there's a teacher's convention tomorrow and Friday, so Dylan agreed to fly over so that I can spend some quality time with Taylan and Jaylan. I wouldn't see them until summer otherwise, since it's Dylan's turn to get them over spring break. They were supposed to be with me this past Christmas, but they both had the flu and couldn't travel."
"Say hello to them for me, Uncle Trey," Jayden said, referring to Carter by his nickname.
"Will do, Jade," Carter said as he hugged his nephew, waved to everyone, said goodbye, and then headed out.
"I hope the jackasses who did this to you have the book thrown at them," Brian said as he came up behind me, wrapped his arms protectively around my waist, and rested his chin on my shoulder.
"I have it on very good authority that they're all being expelled," said a brown-haired man who was standing nearby with two black haired guys, one with blond highlights, hanging onto him.
Noticing the look of confusion that must have been on my face, Antonio said, "Aaron, this is Kyle Bradley," as he indicated the brown-haired man, "and his boyfriends, Matthew Lawson and Jordan Miller. Kyle is Mr. Bradley's younger brother."
"Oh, a pleasure to meet you," I said. "How do you know they're being expelled?"
"The woman you call Dr. Webber, I call Aunt Miranda," Kyle responded.
"Ah, okay," I said with a nod. "I hope that Mr. Bradley is okay. He came in while I was being attacked and tried to get them to stop. I'd hate to think that his trying to help me got him seriously hurt."
"I'm not sure about his condition, to be honest," Kyle said. "Last I heard he was in emergency surgery."
At that moment, my mom came over and said, "Oh, Aaron, I'm glad you're okay. Have the doctors cleared you to go home?"
"Yes, mom."
"All right then. Why don't we go to the chapel and say a prayer for Mr. Bradley and then get home? It's almost dinner time and I'm sure you have homework to do." I groaned and my mom just laughed and said, "Don't think for one minute that this is going to get you out of doing your homework, young man."
"Yes, ma'am," I said as I said goodbye to Kyle, Jordan, and Matthew before following my mom and Nick's Uncle Erik out of the waiting room with Nick following after.
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Chapter Twelve, Part Five Brian's Perspective Thursday, January 20, 2005
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I was still shocked about what had happened to Aaron yesterday, not to mention extremely angry since we'd been dating for the last two weeks. I know it wasn't a very long time, but I've always liked Aaron and even after only two weeks of being more than just friends I was as sure as I'd ever been about anything that Aaron was it for me. Aaron was the one that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with, the one I wanted to raise a family with, and the one I wanted to grow old with.
Most people, guys at least, my age don't think about children, but I've known for quite awhile that I wanted children. I haven't discussed it with Aaron yet, but I hope that he wants children too. Of course, if he doesn't want to have any, I'll be disappointed, but I'll find a way to get over it, because I really, really like Aaron and my desire to be with him is greater than my desire to have children. It would be great to have both, but if I can only have one, than Aaron is the one I want.
I was brought out of my thoughts when the P.A. system kicked in and I assumed it was the student announcers about to start the morning announcements. However, I quickly found out that I was wrong when Dr. Webber's voice came over the speaker.
"Attention all students and faculty. First period will be delayed for an all-school assembly. At this time, I ask that all teachers with a freshman homeroom bring their classes to the auditorium in a prompt and orderly fashion. Thank you."
'Hmm, an all-school assembly?' I thought. 'I wonder if this has anything to do with Aaron. I'm sure that Dr. Webber must be mad about the attack yesterday, especially since Mr. Bradley is her nephew and he was hurt badly enough to require emergency brain surgery.'
After about five minutes, Dr. Webber called for the teachers with sophomore homerooms to bring them to the auditorium. After about another five minutes, she then called for the junior homerooms, and finally, coming on once more, she said, "All teachers with a senior homeroom, please bring your classes to the auditorium at this time. All students already in the auditorium are reminded that upon the entry of the senior class you are required to stand and show them the proper respect."
'I can't say as I've ever heard Dr. Webber say that,' I thought as I stood with the rest of the class and followed my homeroom teacher out of the room and downstairs to the auditorium. Arriving on the first floor, my class was led to one of the two side entrances to the auditorium and, when the doors opened, I could hear the shuffling in the large room as all the students stood. I had to admit that I really liked being a senior and really enjoyed the perks that went along with the title. One of which was the use of the courtyard, which was on the fourth floor because it was located in the center of the building, above the auditorium which took up the first two floors and the library on the third floor. Another perk was moving into the front center block of seats on the ground floor of the auditorium, flanked on both sides by the junior class. The sophomores occupied the first few rows of the balcony, and the freshman were all the way in the back of the balcony in what would be referred to in a sports stadium as the nosebleed section.
Sitting down with the rest of my class, with Jayden on my left and Tony on my right, I could hear the shuffling again as the rest of the classes sat down, now that all the seniors had been seated. Within a minute or so, the auditorium lights dimmed and the curtains opened to reveal Dr. Webber standing on the stage behind a podium, wearing one of her usual black business suits. Looking at her face as a spotlight fixed on her position; I could see that she didn't look the slightest bit happy.
"Mrs. Truman in attendance informs me that today is one of those very rare days when every student enrolled in this school is actually in attendance. Of course, that is not entirely true, since as of yesterday, the senior class has lost four of its members. As those of you who were here yesterday know, the school was put on lockdown shortly after noon. Some of you may already know the reason, but for those of you who do not, I shall now enlighten you.
"There was an attack at this school yesterday which took place in the first floor men's bathroom. This wasn't just any attack, however, as it was a very brutal beating of a member of the senior class and one of the teachers on staff at this school. The victims of this attack were senior Aaron Forrester and Mr. Jake Bradley. The perpetrators of this attack were seniors David Parker, Shawn Walker, Vincent Summers, and Aidan Fisher, who are now in police custody and have been expelled from this school. In case some of you are thinking this was just some random fight, let me assure you that is not the case. All four of the expelled students have admitted that it was due to the fact that Mr. Forrester and Mr. Bradley are bisexual.
"I am deeply angered that anyone in this school would physically harm a student because of their sexual orientation, and I am even further angered by the fact that a student in this school would physically harm a teacher. Of course, what angers me the most is the identity of the teacher who was attacked, because what most of you don't realize is that Mr. Bradley's mother is my sister. I do not, however, want any of you to think that my personal relationship with Mr. Bradley has in anyway affected my judgment on how best to deal with this situation, because I assure you that I would deal with it the same way anytime a student or a teacher was beaten badly enough to lose consciousness and have to be taken to the hospital. Incidentally, in Mr. Bradley's case, upon arriving at the hospital, he had to undergo emergency surgery to relieve pressure on his brain, after his skull had been cracked open when Mr. Fisher decided to slam his head into the dividing wall between two of the bathroom stalls.
"I see that some of you are flinching at that graphic description of what happened. I will not apologize if I have succeeded in grossing any of you out, as I want all of you to understand the full magnitude of what happened yesterday and what it means for the future of this school. Effective immediately, I am instituting a zero-tolerance policy on all violence of any kind in this school or anywhere on school grounds. Anyone who is caught fighting will be immediately suspended for two weeks. I realize, however, that such a light punishment for the people actually caught fighting is not going to discourage people from doing it, especially since anytime a fight breaks out, most of the students who see it rally around and start cheering and watching the fight rather than trying to stop it. That is why I have decided, with the full, unanimous support of both Superintendent Mayfield and the school board, just in case any of you get any ideas about complaining to your parents that I'm being too strict, that any further acts of violence in this school, no matter how minor, will result in the permanent school-wide suspension of all extra-curricular activities, field trips, the spring carnival, all dances, including the prom, and the graduation ceremonies, in addition to the permanent disbandment of all after-school clubs and sports teams! In other words, anything and everything considered to be fun or a reward."
A murmur went through the auditorium as Dr. Webber outlined the new consequences for any further acts of violence. I suppose that there might have been a time when I thought the decision was a bit too strict but, after what happened yesterday, I didn't. What Dr. Webber said was right though, unfortunately. It has been my experience that whenever a fight breaks out between students, the majority of those who see it just stand there and watch, rather than trying to break it up. Some students walk away or go and get a teacher, but unfortunately the students who do the latter are few and far between it seems.
With such harsh penalties, however, I don't think anyone will be just standing there watching fights happen anymore. I also think that all the students will think twice before they start fighting and realize that no matter how angry they might be at the moment, it won't compare to how angry the rest of the school will be with them when they cost the entire school every fun activity.
One can only hope.
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To be continued.