A Couple Steps Back

Chapter 5

When John had stepped into the room, the room fell uncomfortably quiet. A couple students shifted in their seats as they stared ahead, confused if this was a joke or not. But Remi kept her smile.

"Now that John's returned, he's made a lot of changes since we've last known him. There's no need to be afraid, for he's not here to hurt us anymore. As a matter of fact, he wants to join us as a member! As the poster declares, everyone is welcome, no matter their rank, and as an added note, no matter their history."

She gave John a glance as he stepped over to her, now looking out towards the classroom. As long as he was doing okay with this, then she could continue.

"Now, I kno-"

"How can we trust him?" A student asked, interrupting Remi.

"Well, I found no reason to believe that he would be lying about wanting to join, so-" She countered.

"What if he's just doing it to destroy us from the inside?" A new student spoke.

"Nothing really prevented him from doing that before-" She tried explaining.

"What if he beats us all while we have our guard down?" Another called.

"He didn't even fight Zeke when confronted by him-" She pointed out.

"But-"

Remi wasn't even able to say anything this time as another student had, yet again, butted in. The classroom was then filled with people asking questions and saying things to each other as uncertainty and anxiety spread throughout the room. As Remi tried to calm them down in a peaceful manner, John was quite fed up with their resistance towards him.

"-will you quit?!" John shouted at them. 

The room fell silent. Remi also silenced herself, as she had a feeling that John had more to say. Seeing this as an opportunity, he continued.

"I get it. You don't trust me, and you know what? I'm fine with that. But that won't stop me from wanting to be here. I want to make a change, I want to make a difference, and if you're not ready for that, then that's just too bad, okay?!"

His eyes widened a bit as he caught himself in the midst of his uprising anger, to which he let himself have a moment to breathe before continuing.

". . .I don't mean to raise my voice, but I wanted to make it clear that I'm not here to hurt you. I'm tired of hurting people, and I'm tired of having people hate me as much as I hate myself. I've learned my lesson, so I won't be reverting back to my old ways."

Silence continued to linger about in the room, so John decided that he'd just go ahead and take a seat. They seemed to have gotten the message anyways.

Once he had sat down, Seraphina gave him a light grip on his wrist, whispering,

"Good job at keeping your cool."

John gave her a small nod before staring ahead, Seraphina releasing her grip on him. His hands lightly wrapped around a part of his pants, trying to remind himself that he was doing good so far, and that he wouldn't let some discouragement bring him down. He's been through far worse.

Noticing the silence, Remi decided to speak up. She clasped her hands together, saying,

"Alright, then! That's all for today. You guys can all hang out and chill, or you can go hit up with your other buddies!" She swung her arm, trying to lighten the mood before she stepped off from the front of the club room, heading to the others.

As she stepped off, a few of the members stood up to attend to their own business, whether it was remaining within the club room or leaving the room entirely. Quiet whispers began to spread around. Their conversations lacked any mention of John, but their volume probably had a relation to him.