Christopher sat down in the principal's office, trying to appear casual despite the bandaged broken nose on his otherwise perfect face. It was a visible reminder of the altercation on the basketball court just moments ago. As he slouched into the chair, he couldn't help but touch his bandaged nose. He recalled when Jake's punch connected, and the searing pain that had shot through his nose at that moment. The memory angered him. He did not understand why he was being forced to defend and justify himself when he had been attacked first.

"Christopher, I've been informed that you were involved in a fight on the basketball court," Mr. McCann said, his voice stern. "This is the second fight you've been in this year. As a star athlete, I expected better behavior from you."

"Look at my face, Mr. McCann," Christopher pointed at his nose, his voice carried a hint of anger. "I was just defending myself. It's not my fault that the other player couldn't handle a little competition."

The principal sighed, shaking his head. "I know that you were wronged, Christopher," he said. "But you can't let your anger get the best of you. You should try to be more like your sweet sister Kristine. She's always been the model student, never causing any trouble."

Christopher couldn't help but laugh inwardly. The principal had no idea about Kristine's true nature. She may have been able to fool everyone, but Christopher knew the truth. Kristine was just as manipulative as he was, using every trick in the book to be the center of attention. She was almost doing it instinctively and completely unaware of it. Using her charm and charisma was second nature to her.

But Christopher kept his thoughts to himself. He still loved his sister and he would never do anything to hurt or expose her. So, he put on his best look of remorse and apologized for his actions.

"I'm sorry, sir," Christopher said with false sincerity. "I'll try to control myself better in the future."

The principal nodded, accepting his apology. "I hope so, Christopher," he said. "Unfortunately, I still have no choice but to suspend you for two weeks. We've received too many complaints about you on the court in the past few years and this was the final straw."

Christopher shrugged, still unconcerned about the suspension. He knew that the hatred points he had gained from his fight were worth the punishment.

The principal sighed at Christopher's attitude. He wasn't taking any of this seriously so he was handed a suspension notice and told him to go home.

Christopher took the note and left the office, already planning his next move. He couldn't wait to use the Hatred Points he earned today for the Devil Lottery and gain more abilities.

**

As Christopher walked out of the principal's office, he saw his sister Kristine waiting for him in the hallway. She looked angry as she ran up to him.

When she approached him, Christopher braced himself for another lecture. But instead, Kristine's anger was directed at something else entirely.

Kristine fumed as she saw Christopher's bandaged nose up close. "I can't believe Jake had the guts to aim for your perfect face," she exclaimed in anger. "I've spent so much time and effort perfecting our looks, and he just had to go and mess it all up."

She reached out gently to touch her brother's bandaged nose, feeling the cartilage shift under her fingers as Christopher flinched in pain. She quickly redrew her hand with an apologetic look on her face. She couldn't stand seeing him in pain. Christopher had been acting like a jerk on the court, but he was still her brother. He didn't deserve what happened to him.

"How are you feeling?" she asked. Her concern for her brother's looks and well-being made her forget about the fact that her brother put someone in the hospital just hours ago. “Is your nose okay?”

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"Don't worry about it, Kris," Christopher said nonchalantly, trying to stop his sister from worrying. "It's just a broken nose. It'll heal."

"Oh wait, what about your punishment?" she asked, now recalling that Christopher was sent to the principal's office.

"Yeah, the principal suspended me for two weeks," Christopher said, shrugging. "It's no big deal."

“What! That's not fair!" Kristine yelled. "Jake attacked you first, and now you're being punished for defending yourself?

"Don't worry about it, Kris," Christopher said, trying to calm his sister down. "Besides, I got some pretty sweet Hatred Points out of it."

But Kristine could not get rid of this feeling of injustice. Her obsession with beauty and love for her brother made her biased. She couldn't understand why her brother had to be punished for defending himself and trying to protect his good looks. She didn't even consider the current condition of the person her brother had attacked.

"That's good but our parents are going to flip," she said with a sad expression. She loved their new parents and didn't want to see their reaction to Christopher's suspension.

"I'll handle it, Kris," Christopher said confidently, as he started a phone call for Mr. Daniels to pick him up. After finishing the call, he turned back to her with a smirk, "Can you handle being without me at school for two weeks? You're not gonna miss me right, little sis?"

"As if," she said, trying to hide her smile. Despite his teasing and sometimes rude behavior, she knew she would miss having her brother by her side at school. At least she will still see him at home.

"We'll see about that," Christopher said, winking at her before turning to leave. As he walked away, he felt a bump from behind, and he knew it was Kristine, wrapping her arms around him in a tight hug. "I'll see you at home," she whispered before reluctantly letting him go.

While Christopher waited for Mr. Daniels to arrive, he smiled to himself. Despite their differences, he and his sister knew they had each other's backs.

**

Brigadier General Garrett Williams was reviewing a document when his phone rang. It was his wife, Nicole, and she was sobbing on the other end of the line. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"Christopher has been suspended from school," Nicole said, her voice trembling. "He got into another fight and I don't know what to do. I think he's lashing out."

Garrett stayed silent for a moment. He couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt. He had been busy with work for most of his children's lives and had missed a lot of their childhood. He knew that Nicole was the one who had to deal with the majority of the parenting and child-rearing. He felt guilty for not being there to help. He was determined to help now and already had a plan in mind.

"Hey, don't beat yourself up, Nicole," Garrett said, trying to sound reassuring. "I think I might have a solution."

"What is it, honey?" Nicole asked desperately. She was eager to find a solution to their son's worsening behavior.

Garrett's eyes fell on the document in front of him. It was a notice about a new military high school. It was opening the next year and had many high-ranking soldiers as instructors. The notice was sent to every soldier or military staff with children, especially those with psionic abilities.

"Maybe we can send Christopher to military school," he suggested. "It could be the perfect solution." He explained to Nicole how the army was suffering from a shortage of soldiers. There had been too many AWOLs and defectors recently, and they were desperate for more recruits. Instead of recruiting high school graduates as usual, the military devised a plan to start recruiting young kids straight out of middle school. This would allow the military to instill the proper values and mold the recruits to their needs much earlier in their development. He told her this was the best course of action for building discipline in Christopher.

"But what if he gets hurt?" Nicole asked, her voice filled with worry. She secretly also didn't want her son to be part of the military. It would be difficult for him to start a family in the future. She always wished she had stopped Garrett from joining the military but she knew he did it to earn her father's approval.

"Nicole, I'll make sure he's safe," Garrett reassured her. "I know a lot of the staff and faculty at the school, including the principal. He'll be in good hands." As a general in the army, he had the connections to ensure that the boy was safe and well-cared for at the new military school.

Nicole hesitated. She was torn between her love for her son and her fear of his safety. She didn't want her children to join the military, but she knew that her husband was right. Something needed to be done about Christopher's growing problematic attitude. It was time to take action before it was too late.

"Okay, Garrett," Nicole said, her voice filled with resignation. Let's give it a shot."