The Alphas Fallen Angel

"Maple High School", the front gate was bustling with students as the final bell rang. Nora Smith, the language teacher in charge of seniors five and six, spotted something alarming. One of her students seemed to be in the clutches of a formidable figure. The man, dressed in a floral shirt, sunglasses, and with a dragon tattoo peeking from under his sleeve, leaned against a motorcycle, a cigarette dangling from his lips.

Without a second thought, Nora rushed over, grabbed her student, and sprinted away, all the while scolding, "Why are you mixing with such dubious characters?"

The student, "Xander Thompson", tried to interject, "Its not what you think, Ms. Smith..."

Nora cut him off, "What do you mean its not? That man looked far from decent."

Xander attempted to explain again, but Nora was on a roll, "Did you finish your homework? Can you recite the text?"

Exasperated, Xander replied, "No, Ms. Smith!"

Nora pointed towards the school track, "Then go run laps!"

It wasnt until the afternoon that Nora encountered the new PE teacher at the sports field. Dressed in a crisp white shirt and gold-rimmed glasses, he exuded an air of refinement and elegance. His voice was as smooth as jade when he greeted her with a polite, "Hello, Ms. Smith."

Nora paused, then felt compelled to remind him, "Your tattoo... its showing."

Ethan Mitchell... or should we say the "tough guy" from earlier, was momentarily speechless. After a beat, he removed his glasses, "Its damn hard to look like a good guy."

The first evening study hall was for language arts. Nora Smith was in charge of the language arts classes for seniors five and six, and was also the acting head teacher for class six.

She first checked on class five; the discipline was decent, with students working on the assignments she had given during the day.

Next to class five was class six. Nora slowed her pace and stealthily stopped at the back door of the classroom.

The glass window on the back door was installed a bit high, so she placed her book on the ground, stepped on it, and then stood on her tiptoes to peek inside the classroom.

After observing through the window for a moment, Noras expression grew increasingly grim.

With a stern face, she pushed the door open, placed the test papers on the podium, and spoke seriously, "Count on your fingers, how many days are left until the college entrance exams? Dont you have a sense of urgency?"

The noisy classroom instantly fell silent. Nora pushed her glasses up her nose and scanned the classroom, "Those in the back, if you must chat, do it outside, to your hearts content."

"Xander Thompson, is it delicious?"

The boy named wiped his mouth, trying to hide the instant noodle box in his desk.

Nora approached, "Shall you stand at the door or run the track?"

Xander slowly stood up, "Ive just eaten, Id better stand." After speaking, he willingly left the classroom; running the track was too tiring.

Nora paced around the classroom, supervising the students who were not self-motivated during their self-study time.

As class was about to end, Nora stood at the podium and tapped the table with a chalk eraser, "I want to emphasize a few safety issues."

"Do not linger inside or outside the school after evening study hall. Boarders should return to the dormitory quickly, and day students should go home in pairs or be picked up by family."

"Everyone knows how Mr. Newton retired, dont take it lightly."

Mr. Newton was a senior PE teacher who last week encountered bullying students at the school gate. He stepped in to protect the students and ended up with a leg fracture. Being older, his recovery was slow, leading to his medical retirement.

There were whispers among the students: "Well, now were completely without PE classes."

"Dont be so pessimistic, with Mr. Newtons retirement, there will definitely be a new PE teacher. Maybe shell be a great beauty."

"I hope its a woman, spicy and strong, ready to defend our sports time to the death."

"This mornings PE class was taken over by Mr. Zhao; wait and see, next time itll be Noras turn..."

Nora quieted everyone down with a word, ending the students discussion: "Tomorrows PE class will be for language arts, and we will check recitations."

There was a chorus of groans from the students.

Having given all the necessary advice and encouragement, Nora left the classroom and saw the student who was standing punishment at the door.

The teenager, seventeen or eighteen years old, had grown to six feet tall. Nora always had to look up a bit when speaking with tall boys: "Youve been distracted in class lately, and you didnt even hand in your homework yesterday."

Xander pulled up his school uniform zipper, covering a bruise on his neck.

He just wanted to end the conversation quickly and mumbled, "Ill try harder."

Noras voice softened a bit: "Are you facing any issues?"

Yesterday during the evening study hall, Nora saw him with a group of delinquents from outside the school, walking shoulder to shoulder towards the depths of an alley. Because of the distance and the dark, she wasnt sure if it was him.

Nora stared into Xanders eyes, probing, "Have you made any new friends recently?"

Xander pulled the zipper up again, looking into the distance: "No."

He paused, then returned to his usual lively and playful demeanor: "If I really go astray, you can punish me to run the track, as many laps as you want."

Nora nodded, "Its good if everything is fine. If theres really something, you must tell your teacher and parents. Alright, go back."

The next day, Nora saw Xander on the street outside the school.

He was in his school uniform, standing in front of a modified black motorcycle, talking to a man.

The man was tall, wearing a blue Hawaiian floral shirt, sunglasses, with a dragon tattoo on his arm, leaning against the motorcycle, a cigarette dangling from his lips.

Thinking about recent safety issues, Nora frowned.

She was afraid of such tough characters, usually avoiding them, fearing that even a glance would invite trouble, never daring to provoke them.

But now her student was in the hands of one of them.

Nora took several deep breaths to relax herself and took out a pen from her bag, unscrewing the cap to reveal the sharp tip, using it as a weapon.

A female teacher standing with Nora also saw the scene and saw her looking as if facing an enemy: "Are you this nervous?"

Nora lifted her skirt to reveal a scar above her knee: "This was from an injury by a street thug before, a lot of blood was shed, and it was hard to stop."

This made her subconsciously nervous and scared whenever she saw men dressed improperly, thinking they were not good people, as if they could jump out and beat her up at any time.

The female teacher saw Noras face was a bit pale, seeing that she was really scared, and whispered: "Dont worry about it, youre just an acting head teacher, if a student really wants to fall, you cant pull them back, and its annoying."

Nora lowered her head to straighten her skirt.

The female teacher: "Look at that students posture and expression, respectful, more respectful than to a teacher, obviously treating him as the boss, you cant do anything about it."

"Mr. Newton was still a PE teacher, and he was still broken," the female teacher continued, "If you are really targeted and entangled by such people, they will block you at the school gate every day, and you cant get rid of them. Dont tell me to call the police, the police cant follow you all the time to protect you, your life is over."

Nora imagined that scene and felt a bit suffocated.

"Ill go back and talk to Xander, and then call his parents, let his parents manage it."

The two turned around and walked side by side towards the school, the female teacher: "That person is quite handsome, with long legs."

Nora turned her head and took another look, thinking she was right.

Handsome, long legs, very dangerous.

The female teacher lowered her voice: "You see his smile, this kind of person is the most terrible, ruthless, and dont want to die."

Nora turned her head and took another look.

The cicadas in the summer afternoon