Anton Brotherhood

Chapter 5 The NO.1 High School I

Anton walked home alone. It was 10p.m., there were few people on the street. The night breeze stirred

the lawn alongside. The city was exceptionally tranquil, except when the cars whizzed by sometimes.

Anton was walking while kicking the stones alongside the sidewalk, reflecting on something, ‘What will

my future be like? Am I going to be a hooligan for the rest of my life? Or I’ll just join the real gangs? I

don’t like choose either of them. There will be no turning back on either of the choice if I go further. ’

Suddenly a thought struck him, but he was frightened. He shook his head, trying to get it out of his

mind. However, it never occurred to him that he would be so close to that thought years later.

Anton tried not to dwell on this. One’s fate might lie in his or her own hand, but sometimes, it was

bound to be like that.

The following month was the most painful period for Anton’s fellow boys. They had no freedom but

pressure. They were not permitted to have fun, but studying all the time. Under Anton’s pressure, these

future scums, in their teacher’s opinion, had made great academic progress. All the teachers were

stunned, ‘Is it because of our contribution that these students were finally moved and decided to make

a change?’ The school held a meeting to praise the teachers in Grade Nine, because their students

had much higher marks than classes in the past, which was a remarkable contribution to education. All

teachers expressed their will to work harder on teaching for the future of their country.

Finally came the exam day. On the day before, Anton summoned all his men who were going to take

the exam. He asked about how’s their preparation going, but everyone lowered their head and stay

silent. It was far from easy for them to catch up, since they had wasted the last three years. Anton

shook his head, “Fine. Whatever ways you use, promise me to get yourself a beeper tomorrow!”

Jasper was confused, “Boss, why do we need that?” Bruce was puzzled at first, but he suddenly

understood, and hit Jasper on the head, “Are you stupid? Boss will be sending us the keys to the

questions through that!”

Jasper pretended he knew that as well, and gnarled, “Piss off! I know it!” Then he turned to a fellow

next to him, “So, what’s all that about?” The fellow was speechless, ‘Bruce’s right, he really is stupid.’

However, he dared not say so, and explained it in detail.

Seeing everyone was chatting happily, Anton spoke up, “Raise your hand if you can’t make it! I’ll help

you!”

Some raised their hands. Jasper looked around, blushed. He lowered his head and raised his hand as

well. Bruce nudged him, “Honestly, Jasper? Stop making yourself a fool. I’ll handle it for you.”

Jasper’s head bent even lower. He murmured embarrassedly, “My family’s not rich!” People nearby

laughed. Anton grinned, “Those who have ways, borrow as many beepers as you can. Help your

brothers, OK?” Several boys who were rich spoke up, “Yes, boss!”

Anton nodded in satisfaction. Jasper asked, “Boss, you have figured out this way to help us pass the

exam beforehand?”

“Well. This is called ‘to save up for a rainy day’. Your academic level can’t help you pass the exam.”

“But why did you force us to study for the past whole month?” Jasper asked the question that everyone

wanted to know.

Anton said sternly, “Because I don’t want you to be a fool in high school. You must remember, you’re

nothing if you store no knowledge in your brain! Wherever you go, no one will look up to you, even

though you become the boss of a gang.” They finally realized Anton’s purpose. He really did that for

their own good. They were all touched, “Yes, boss!”

The next day, the gate of the No.4 Primary School was swarmed with parents. The exam took place

there, so, many parents came to support their children. They had been standing here for the whole

morning.

Carl squatted aside and kept smoking. He glanced at his watch, and asked the men next to him, “Josh,

go check whether they have taken up the communication center.” Josh nodded and ran away. “It’s

been over an hour. Why they haven’t come out?” Carl murmured impatiently.

“Brother Carl, has boss come out?” A men next to Carl asked. Carl shook his head. He had no idea.

Five minutes later, someone patted Carl’s shoulder, frightening him. Carl was ready to shout at that

person, but he realized it was Anton. He swallowed his nasty words, “Boss, where did you come out? I

didn’t see you!”

Anton beamed, “The front gate is guarded. So I have to jump across the wall.” Then he took out a piece

of paper to Carl, “Hurry up, we’re running out of time!”

“I see. Don’t worry, boss! Everyone will receive it!” Carl led his men with the paper in his hand and ran

away without even looking at it.

Finally, their results came out. All of them had passed the exam. Anton ranked topped the list of J. City,

but he volunteered to go to No.1 High School, one of the worst schools in J. City. His teachers were

confused. They all signed, “What a waste!”

Anton’s parents were also against his decision. Anton had to explain it to them, “Dad, Mom, I’m an

adult. Just let me choose my own path! I swear to you that I will go to college three years later.”

His father said to his mother, “Well. He’s not a naïve boy. He has his own choice. We can’t always force

him.” Then he said to Anton, “Anton, choose it carefully, or you won’t have any chance to regret!”

Finally, Anton, the top student in the city, got enrolled in the notorious No.1 High School, bringing with

him over a hundred fellows. Anton eventually finished middle school, which was proved to be the

turning point of his life, and entered a new phase.

Anton was busy during the entire summer holiday. Since his fight with Carl, Anton understood that he

needed not only cleverness and ruthlessness, but also a tough body. In these two months, Anton

signed up for free combat and martial arts courses. He did exercise as long as he’s free. Even Carl

admired his perseverance. He had known Anton for a while. In his eye, Anton’s way of doing things

was to crave for perfection or leave it. A month later, Anton asked Carl to combat with him. He put on

his boxing gloves and fought Carl alone. No one knew the result, but both of them were seriously

injured.

Half a month later, Anton asked Carl to fight again. Bruce and Jasper was there too, but they were shut

outside. When Carl came out with his eyes swelled, they both asked him the result, but Carl only said,

“Anton’s gifted in sports!” Then he left.

Another half month passed, Anton invited Carl for the third time. Carl’s eyes were still aching, and he

refused. Anton had to tempt him, “Come with me. I’ll treat you to dinner tonight. You can choose to eat

anything.” Carl closed his eye, “Even God won’t talk me into it! How can I have dinner if I die?” Jasper

couldn’t resist this temptation, so he was willing to fight Anton alone. Carl shook his head and felt pity

for him. He thought to himself, “Take care, bro!” As a result, when Jasper dined with Anton that

evening, he spat two teeth out.

Since then, when Anton asked them to fight him, no one dared to come. Carl once said, “If Anton

doesn’t want to become a gangster in the future, he could be a sprinter. He’s capable of this with the

burst of his energy.” Jasper resonated with this point.

It had been over two months, Anton looked almost the same, except he became a bit taller than before,

yet he looked a bit skinny.

No.1 High School was far away from Anton’s home, so he had to ride a bike to school. When he

arrived, he saw a decrepit gate at first sight, both sides of which were covered in paper. All were ad-

lets. Some even recommending STD medicine. Anton shook his head, couldn’t believe such ads had

been pasted on the school gate. He went into the school and saw an old man sitting in the duty room,

reading newspaper. He came over and asked, “Hello, sir. I’m new here. Do you know where I can

check in?”

The old man put down his newspaper to look at Anton and said loudly, “What did you say? I didn’t

catch that! Louder!” Anton had to raise his voice, “Where can I check in?”

“What? Chickens? I don’t know what you’re talking about!” The old man shook his head and continued

to read his newspaper.

Anton was speechless. How could people like that ensure the safety of a school? He ignored the old

man and pushed his bike inside. A few steps away, he heard the sound of the engine of a motorbike.

Anton jumped aside, leaving his bike falling on the ground. A motorbike whizzed pass him and stop

nearby. The rider was dressing like a cowboy. But when he took off his helmet, Anton saw long black

flowing hair. And the person turned around to look at Anton. It was clear that she was a girl. Anton

thought she was really pretty with long and thin eyebrows on her oval face, a pair of black-pearl-like

bright eyes and hot red lips.

“Are you blind? Watch out!”

Her voice sounded pleasant to the ear, but not her words, which stopped Anton from appreciating her

beauty. Anton said in grievance, “You drove your motor towards me. Why’s me to be blamed?”

The girl screened Anton from top to bottom. He’s figure was average, but he had a handsome face,

especially his distinctive wide and small eyes. They were bright, very different from others.

Noticing she was watching him. Anton felt a bit embarrassed, “Excuse me? Is there anything wrong

with my body?”

Anton disrupted the girl. She went a bit pink, getting off to talk to him, “You’re new here?” Anton

nodded. She had a hot figure, nearly as tall as him. And she’s quite slim.

“I’m older than you here. You look quite skinny. If someone bullies you, just let me know. I’ll help you

punish them!” The girl patted Anton’s head. She didn’t know why she had done that. His face gave her

the desire to protect him. ‘Perhaps it’s because of his skinny appearance.’ She thought to herself.

Anton felt a bit weird. It seemed that she’s quite proud. Anton just nodded, “Yes, Ma’am. I will!”

Seeing Anton was smiling at her, she felt a bit shy, and her heart beat fast. She shook her head and

left, convincing herself that she was just leaving, not escaping. Anton yelled from behind, “See you!” In

fact, he didn’t even know which class she was in, and he didn’t want to know, because her attraction to

him was simply out of his appreciation to her beauty.

As she left, Anton turned back to his bike and held it up. “Boss! Wait!” He could hear a thunderous

sound from behind, but he knew who it was without any need to turn back. Anton looked back to see

Jasper, who was sweating, Bruce and another six strangers.

As they approached, Jasper said to the six boys, “This is Boss Williams, your boss!” They looked at

Anton, and bowed, “Good morning, boss!”

Noticing Anton’s confusion, Bruce explained, “They are all new students. We along with Carl got them

here. Very fierce fighters!”

Anton nodded at them, and turned to Bruce and Jasper, “Our brothers will be here soon. You guys be

careful. Don’t make any trouble, OK?” They both nodded. Jasper grinned, “Don’t worry, boss. We’ve

learnt our lesson since we followed you.”

Anton looked back at him and shook his head, “You’re the most troublesome git.” He pushed his bike to

the parking lot. Bruce laughed, pushing his bike after Anton. “You asshole! Stop laughing at me!”

Jasper got on his bike and caught up with Anton. The other six boys also followed, grinning.

When they came to the parking lot and were about to go inside, they were stopped by two students,

“Hey! Stop! Don’t park here! It’s for teachers!”

Jasper was a little bit irritated, “But I just saw two people in school uniforms parked their bikes here.

Why can’t we do the same?”

A student with small eyes squinted at Jasper, “They’re different from you. You’re just not allowed to do

so!” A slim guy next to him didn’t speak, but his head held so high that everyone could see his nostrils.

Jasper parked his bike and came forth, “What? Because I’m new here? Get the hell out! I will park my novelbin

bike here!” Anton was not pleased with those two boys as well, so he didn’t stopped Jasper.