A Life Beyond Limits novel Chapter 19

On the other end of the line, Shane's voice carried a stern edge.

"Come to my office," he said curtly before hanging up.

Arthur frowned in confusion. What could have gone wrong? He racked his brain, but he couldn't think of anything he might have done to offend Shane recently.

Shrugging it off, he decided it was probably nothing serious. Humming a tune, he made his way to the principal's office at a leisurely pace.

Knocking lightly on the door, he heard Shane's voice. "Come in."

Arthur stepped inside, only to find Shane sitting behind his desk, holding a tea cup with a dark expression.

His assistant, Jake Carter, was standing nearby, organizing documents in a tense silence.

Arthur forced a smile and approached cautiously. "Uncle Shane, what can I do for you?" he asked, trying to sound casual.

Shane set his tea cup down with a sharp clink and fixed Arthur with a cold stare. "In formal settings, don't call me 'Uncle Shane.' I'm Principal Sayer here."

There was a tightly controlled anger in Shane's voice, like a volcano teetering on the edge of eruption.

Arthur's nerves began to fray. "Uh, Principal Sayer, is there something wrong?" he asked carefully.

Shane opened a drawer and pulled out a notebook, tossing it onto the desk in front of Arthur.

His expression grew darker. He asked, "Did you expel a student named Jack Holland from your class? He lives in the suburbs, and his phone number ends with 6789."

Arthur felt a flicker of unease. Something about the situation felt off, but he couldn't figure out how Jack might be involved in any of this.

He admitted hesitantly. "Yes. Why? What's going on?"

Shane took a deep breath, clearly struggling to contain his anger. He gestured to Jake and said, "Jake, step outside for a moment. Shut the door behind you."

Jake nodded, clearly understanding the gravity of the situation. He exited quickly, closing the door softly behind him.

Once the office was left with just the two of them, Shane abruptly stood up and hurled his teacup at Arthur with all his strength.

He shouted furiously, "Arthur, you shameless idiot! What the hell did I do in my past life to deserve this? You're nothing but a useless bastard! I swear, I'd break your damn legs if I could!"

Arthur barely dodged the cup, still getting clipped enough to leave him bruised. Clutching his head in confusion, he asked, "Uncle Shane, why are you so angry? I really don't know what's going on."

"Stop pretending to be clueless!" Shane roared, pointing at a stack of documents scattered across the floor. "Look at that! Look at what you've done! You've completely ruined Crestfield High School's reputation for the next 20 years!"

Arthur was trembling. He bent down to pick up the papers. As he scanned the contents, his hands shook even harder. The documents listed the top ten scorers in the state exams.

His eyes landed on a name that made his heart nearly stop—Jack Holland. Next to it was a note that said, "Former student of Crestfield High School".

Arthur froze, his mind reeling. His voice quivered as he stammered, "T-This… Could it be…"

"'Could it be?' You damn fool!" Shane bellowed, grinding his teeth with rage. He was practically shaking as he jabbed a finger toward Arthur.

He snapped, "Do you have any idea what you've done? Crestfield High School spent three years nurturing a top scholar, and you expelled him! You handed him over to Seaton High School on a silver platter! Do you even comprehend the damage this has done to the school? To my reputation? I should flay you alive!"

"This can't be… This can't be happening…" Arthur muttered in denial.

Shane, seeing Arthur's refusal to accept reality, picked up a chair and swung it at him.

Arthur scrambled to dodge, his heart pounding in terror. By now, he knew he had completely messed up.

Never in his wildest dreams could he have imagined that the student he expelled was this year's top science student in the state. It was like a bolt of lightning striking him out of nowhere.

But Shane wasn't done. He grabbed a potted cactus from the desk and hurled it at Arthur.

"Get out!" Shane roared, his voice booming through the office. "Get out of Crestfield High School and never come back!"

Arthur stumbled out of the office, battered and humiliated. His body ached, but his heart hurt even more. He couldn't believe what had just happened.

Jack Holland, the same Jack who could barely scrape together a score of 300 or 400 in the past, had somehow transformed into the state's top scholar.