Never Judge

When Al, Eric, and Cara entered the principal's office, they heard the secretary gasp as soon as she saw Eric.

She quickly sent all the students and parents in the room out, claiming that the principal had meetings and they couldn't wait there.

As they exited the office, some gave Al, Eric, and Cara pitiful looks, it seemed that they assumed the trio was in trouble.

Some looks lingered on Eric, without a doubt many were confused since they had never seen him on campus.

Al was a popular kid, everyone knew who hung out with him. Even his odd friendship with Cara was public knowledge and had caused other students to either be kinder to Cara or envy her, occasionally resulting in mild bullying.

He had made it clear, however, that if anyone hurt Cara it was like signing their own social death certificate.

When the doors finally shut behind the last parent leaving, Al waited a few seconds before addressing the secretary.

"Did my dad's assistant call in advance?" He asked with an air of authority in his voice.

The principal and her secretary were well aware of who Al was and now of who Eric was.

The secretary gave Cara a nervous glance.

She knew the girl was friends with Al, but she wasn't sure if Cara was in on the secret.

Al noticed the hesitation on the secretary's face, it took a while for him to register that it was because of Cara that the secretary didn't speak.

"She's a friend, it's safe to speak around her." Al said as he saw the secretary relax.

"Yes, sir. He called." The secretary said, confirming that the school had been informed about Eric's enrollment and how his identity was to be kept a secret.

"Eric will go by the name Eric Sebastian, he's my cousin who recently moved to the capital from a province." Al explained as he took out a file from his bag and handed it to the secretary.

It had all of Eric's educational information as well as the falsified personal data that he used.

"As you will see, Eric is quite smart." Al informed the assistant who quickly powered on her laptop in order to assign him to the right class. "We will be classmates." Al demanded.

To Eric's and Cara's surprise, the secretary simply nodded as she continued typing on the laptop.

"I expect his identity to remain a secret. I know you belonged to his father's fan club, but should his photos in school leak to that page, I will hold you personally accountable." Al threatened making the secretary go pale.

"Al." Eric groaned as he placed a hand on his cousin's shoulder.

Al looked at Eric, but he didn't relent.

Eric was well aware that this was all part of how Al was brought up. He was taught to take common and to use fear and respect before kindness.

Kindness would not look good on the king of the underworld, it would make him seem soft.

"Mr. Laurence, Mr. Chan, Miss Jao." The Principal greeted as she walked out of her office.

She seemed worried, probably because she wasn't out there when Al and his group arrived. She was well aware of who he was and how dangerous it would be to offend him and his cousin.

"You are aware of the situation?" Al asked the principal.

The woman simply nodded in response.

"Good, your secretary has arranged for everything. You know the consequences if information about Eric or I is leaked, yes?" Al asked.

"Yes sir." The principal responded.

"Good. We will get to our classes now. Oh and I want Cara moved to the same class as us." Al ordered.

To which the principal nodded and her assistant quickly got to work.

Within seconds Cara's and Eric's schedules were printed out and handed to them.

Eric's student ID card was also given to him, he would need it to enter the campus.

"Class starts soon." Eric said as he looked up at the clock.

"Let's get going. I'll give you a tour of the campus after class." Al told his cousin as he turned and led them out.

Before exiting the office Al stopped and turned back to look at the principal and her secretary.

"Thank you, for your assistance, and for keeping our identities a secret." Al said in a rare moment of kindness to them.

They were stunned by his words and were unable to reply.

By the time they had full absorbed what Al had said, he, Eric, and Cara were already out the door and headed to their class.

The halls had less students, most of whom were rushing so they wouldn't be late for the first class of the day.

"It seems Eric has made it all over social media." Cara giggled as she showed her phone to the cousins.

They each took turns looking at it, with Al carrying a concerned look while Eric seemed to be proud of himself.

"I wouldn't be my father's son if I couldn't catch the attention of a few highschool girls." Eric teased Cara and Al, making sure that no one could hear his comment.

Al rolled his eyes while Cara laughed at his joke.

"Do you plan to follow in his footsteps? Go into that career as well?" She asked Eric as they neared their classroom.

"I don't know what I want just yet." Eric said with a shrug as they steps slowed, giving them more time to speak.

"It's the freedom our parents gave us, one that they didn't exactly have." Al said as he joined in on the conversation, his tone was grave, something that confused both Cara and Eric.

"At least we can choose, dad had to fight to do what he did for a living." Eric reminded his cousin.

"I'm not saying it's a bad thing, it's just a difficult choice when you're fifteen." Al sighed.

"You're right, at least I have more time than you." Eric said as he placed his hand on his cousin's shoulder, reminding him that he wasn't alone.

They stood in silence till the bell rang, pulling them from their thoughts.

"Let's go face those highschool girls that probably have a crush on you on your first day." Cara giggled as she led their group into class.

Al smiled, at least for now they were just ordinary highschool students trying to pass their next class.