As Taylor spoke, he started mimicking Arthur’s moves from earlier, reenacting the way he had taken down those guys in front of the cafeteria. At this point, Taylor had completely shifted from wanting to look out for Arthur to outright admiring him. Arthur had been insanely cool! With just a few moves, he had taken down all four of them! Arthur chuckled and agreed readily. "Sure, whenever we have time, I’ll teach you." "Hahaha!" Taylor burst out laughing, punching Arthur lightly on the shoulder. "Good man! You’ve got my back! Alright, let’s hurry up and get to the cafeteria before all the good food is gone." With all the delays, they had already missed the usual meal rush. By the time they arrived, there were only a few dishes left. Taylor didn’t mind in the slightest. He immediately grabbed a tray and motioned for Arthur to start picking food. The cafeteria was self-serve—students could take whatever they wanted. Just as the two were filling their plates, an unpleasant voice interrupted them. "Typical broke kids. You act like you haven’t eaten in years." The tone was dripping with disdain and mockery. Taylor and Arthur turned around in unison. Taylor’s mood soured instantly. He set down his tray and pointed at the guy. "What the heck is your problem? Kent just got beaten down, and now you want to step up? What, you want to get beaten too?" That school-bully attitude momentarily stunned the guy. But he recovered quickly. Glancing around at the students who had nearly finished eating, he suddenly raised his voice dramatically. "What? You already beat up Kent and his friends, and now you want to hit me too?" He practically shouted the words, as if terrified people wouldn’t hear. His voice successfully drew the attention of everyone nearby. Noticing this, his lips curled into a smirk. He continued in an exaggerated tone, "Do you two really think that just because Mr. Hugo took you in as students, you can go around beating people up? Do you even respect the rules of this school?" That one sentence immediately sent a ripple through the crowd. Whispers turned into open accusations. "I was thinking the same thing! This new guy beat up those students so badly, and yet here he is, casually eating like nothing happened. And Mr. Everest? I heard he’s the one who got punished instead!" "Yeah! I’ve been following this whole situation! Those four students are still in the infirmary getting treated, and yet these two are just chilling here like they don’t have a care in the world!" "Is the school covering for them? Just because they’re Mr. Hugo’s students?" "This is outrageous! If they can get away with beating people up, then none of us are safe! What if they decide to randomly attack us next?" "How can this be happening? They beat people up and don’t get punished? That’s completely unfair!" The crowd grew more agitated, each person feeding off the other’s indignation. Seeing that he had successfully riled them up, the instigator smirked in satisfaction. Then, raising his hand dramatically, he shouted, "Come on! Let’s take this to the administration! If the school doesn’t punish them now, we could be next!" His rallying cry was met with an immediate response. Before Taylor and Arthur could even say a word, the mob had already surged toward the cafeteria doors, storming off like an army of oppressed citizens rising in rebellion. Most of the students following him were part of the student council. Their president? Finley. And just like Kent, the guy who started all this was one of Finley’s lackeys. Taylor could already guess what was going on. This whole scene? Definitely Finley’s doing. The few students left behind exchanged uncertain glances. Many of them had been near the fight earlier and had seen the aftermath. And hadn’t Taylor and the new guy already said that those four were the ones who started it? There was still no concrete evidence, so why were people so quick to blindly take sides? They knew Taylor. He didn’t have many friends at school, but one thing was certain—he had never gone around picking fights. In fact, if a classmate was in trouble and Taylor happened to be there, he would usually lend a hand.To them, Taylor had always been someone willing to help. Meanwhile, inside the principal’s office, a horde of students barged in, completely forgetting to knock. At the front of the group was Henry. He shoved the door open and immediately spotted Principal Mateo. Even though he had mentally prepared himself, the moment he actually locked eyes with Mateo’s stern expression, Henry felt a chill run down his spine. Mateo had already heard the commotion long before they pushed open the door. Now, he was sitting there, his sharp gaze fixed on them, dead serious.