Chapter 23: For Now, We're the Good Guys

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Sometimes, when I tried to recall what the headmaster looked like, I could remember everything but his face

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Sometimes, when I tried to recall what the headmaster looked like, I could remember everything but his face.

I didn't know if it was because of my age, or the fact that he never liked getting his picture taken. Yet, what I had remembered about the headmaster is that he had participated in various social movements for almost seventy years.

He had joined the Civil Rights Movement, volunteered at the hospital, served a long jail sentence for not joining the Vietnam War, became a supporter of the Gay Rights Movement, and so on.

Whenever he got thrown behind bars, the headmaster's motto was, "If you see someone in need, protect them."

His compassion towards the neglected inspired the headmaster to allow queers, people of color, impaired, and other mutants to enroll in his academy without any special charge.

Diverse socialites had often quarreled with Prometheus' opinions, while some were willing to fund his school if Prometheus would tell them his ideas.

He planned to allow unfortunate kids to spend their lives in a boarding school full of resources, food, and encouragement. Yet, as the world grew cold, the Headmaster had the children trained to protect the defenseless from monsters.

Caleb, Brooke, Johnny, and Nessa vowed to uphold these standards, but with brute force.

So, the first thing they did is ask their new friend Eliza some questions about Liberty High.

"Last year, there was this contest Principal Ramirez made the school take," she explained.

Nessa sits right next to Eliza, tying her hair up to keep it covering her eyes.

"What was the contest about?" asked Nessa.

Eliza squints her eyes as if she was trying to read the cheery blue school poster behind the librarian. "We were supposed to read The Count of Monte Cristo and write our thoughts about it."

"Hang on a second," Caleb says carefully. "I think the book was about revenge, right?"

To those who have not read the book, it was about a young man named Edmond Dantés, who was once well-liked, now framed for crimes he had not committed. As soon as he escaped from jail, Edmond planned to kill those who wronged him.

Wow. Johnny thinks to himself. Come to think of it, the book is a good description of Roman Cain.

He was about to ask more questions about the contest when Eliza winked at him.

"So, tell me about yourself, handsome," she says in a flirtatious tone. "What's your name?"

Johnny pretends to pick the lint off his shirt.

"My name is Mikey," he mumbled.

"Huh?"

Johnny spoke up a little louder. "Mikey."

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