Back in the present, James was still on the stage with the other qualifiers. He had just narrated the incident, and the others could see his body shaking. He looked like a volcano about to erupt.
"That's why this b*stard can't join!" James shouted. "He's no less than Bucky!"
Although the other students weren't listening when James was narrating his story, they heard the part where he mentioned Bucky.
"Did you hear what he said?"
"Loud and clear!"
"He's talking about Bucky! I thought he was new, as well as the other guy?"
"It better not be! It's best to kick him out!"
Jeremy, too, listened to every word that came from James but didn't bother mentioning anything. Well, that was until he heard the other students ramble.
"James! What the f*ck? Guys, I'm no Bucky!!" Jeremy said nervously.
Of course, he didn't know who Bucky was, but he knew Bucky was definitely not someone the students liked.
"Hey hey, calm down here! He's not Bucky. Bucky is long gone. This boy here is Jeremy Flintwood. We've reviewed his background, and we know he's from a noble family," Eric intervened before the matter got out of hand.
"Thank you kind sir," Jeremy said.
"You can't fool anyone, Jeremy! Ever since that incident, I get beat up, stoned, heck! Students threw eggs and tomatoes at me," James said with his fist twitching slightly.
It was true. The witnesses didn't say Jeremy was the bone of contention, and without doubt, they testified James as the one who broke the senior's leg.
James's mother struggled more than ever that semester as she was forced to pay the medical bills of the senior and still pay other bills.
Serena was indebted. But luckily, she was saved by an unknown person.
...
"James, I truly am sorry for the trouble Jeremy must have caused you. But, I don't think we really have a choice. There's only one person left to fill the group and only one person unpaired, which is Jeremy here," Kelvin said.
James turned around to look at the other person that joined their group.
To his surprise, it was an angel in the form of a human.
The girl had jet black hair that went all the way down to her waist. She had long legs that showed her tanned skin in the gorgeous black gown she wore. Her face could only be called nothing less than the perfect ratio.
Even her body features were of the right proportion. Not too big, not too small.
If she wasn't wearing a tag now, James would have said she was an angel.
"Quit the stares!" Kelvin teased.
Priscilla was also annoyed James was staring at this new girl. Priscilla didn't know why; all she knew was she was not pleased with what James did.
"She's Tolly Dalton from 10F. The same class as Jeremy. She's also very intelligent—the best in her class."
"Not anymore," Eric chimed in. "Jeremy scored the highest in the evaluation in their class. I shouldn't be telling you this, but you should be proud Jeremy is in your group. I think your group is even unfair," Eric giggled at the end.
Tolly's and Kelvin's eyes widened as they heard this.
'But Tolly and I are like equals. If Jeremy scored higher than her, it means James wasn't lying about Jeremy being his rival, and even James beat Jeremy in most subjects. Am I even in these guys' league?' Kelvin thought to himself.
"We don't really have a choice, do we?" Priscilla asked with an annoyed tone. It was crystal clear she didn't like Jeremy.
With that said, Jeremy Flintwood and Tolly Dalton were added to the group.
James grunted and left the hall as Jeremy was accepted into the group. He really didn't have a choice.
Now, all they had to do was wait till Friday, the day of the event.
...
James got home late that day and was welcomed by his mother. He just ran past, fuming like a dragon, and slammed the door to his room.
The next day, his head seemed to have cooled down, so he told his mother about everything that happened in school yesterday before he left for school.
Of course, Serena wasn't pleased Jeremy was admitted into Braxton, but she just hoped what happened in Middleton won't repeat itself.
Two days had passed, and it was now Friday.
The fifty qualified students, including James and his teammates, had been gathered in the assembly hall again.
This time, they were given all the equipment and were informed of the rules of the event.
Later on, the students boarded the school bus so as to travel to the event venue.
The event wasn't set to take place in the school. No, it was set to take place in the woods, far from the town.