Benjamin Knox's Rise to Riches

Chapter 9

It was safe to say that the director, Andrew, Alexa, Max, and Benjamin's grandmother weren't the only ones shocked by Benjamin's claim.

The crowd that had been watching the commotion ever since Benjamin had punched Andrew in the face. They burst into heavy bouts of laughter as soon as they heard those words as well.

“Wait! Is he for real? I know that guy. He's so freaking poor, and now he's suddenly claiming that he can pay ten times the annual donation this school gets from the Tyrone family.”

“Oh my goodness, this guy must have lost his mind. He's definitely gone crazy. The Tyrone family donates $1 million annually, which means that guy would have to be able to pay $10 million at once. Isn't that too pretentious?!”

Another student quickly pulled out her phone. “Oh, I will be damned if I don't live stream this for my fans! They're gonna eat this up.”

The crowd was bustling at this point, wanting to see how Benjamin would dig himself out of this ‘grave’ he created for himself.

Benjamin's grandmother, on the other hand, was truly too stunned to speak. She yanked on her grandson's wrist to get his attention. “Benjy, wh….what are you saying for God's sake?! That's $10 million you're claiming you can pay!”

“Yeah, buddy.” Max was really worried as he placed a hand on Benjamin's shoulder. “Where in hell are you going to get that much money?”

“You two worry too much.” Benjamin smiled at them. “Don't worry; I've got this, okay? Trust me.”

At that moment, Benjamin's grandmother and Max saw the absolute confidence in Benjamin's eyes, and they were both left stunned, glancing at each other. What exactly made this young man so confident?

Benjamin walked closer to the director. “Sir, go on. Give me the official account details of the school.”

Alexa couldn't believe this. “Is he for real?” She whispered to her new lover.

“Oh, what are you saying?” Andrew could see that Alexa was starting to be curious about Benjamin's confidence, and it pissed him off.

“Everyone in the school knows that loser's financial status, so how could he be suddenly rich? Are you telling me he gained a massive amount of wealth overnight?” He huffed while still trying to soothe away the punch he received to the face earlier. “He wants to see me expelled, huh? We'll see who ends up humiliated between the two of us.”

Unknown to Andrew though, that was exactly what happened to Benjamin. He had gained a massive amount of wealth within hours.

“Director, it's fine. Please, give it to him. Let's see what he does next.” Andrew couldn't wait to witness how Benjamin would publicly make a fool of himself.

The director sneered at Benjamin as he gave him the account details, anticipating what this overconfident young student would do.

“Wait!” Andrew suddenly raised his hand as an idea came to his mind. “Benjamin Knox, since you had the audacity to claim riches that even your forefathers wouldn't dare claim, why don't we make this much more interesting. If the transfer you're about to make fails, then you must run around the school completely naked. Also, everyone here is allowed to record the entirety of your humiliation and upload it on the internet.”

The crowd began murmuring their excitement over this wager that Andrew had just initiated. A lot of them were glad that they came here at the right time. Some of these people even began calling their fellow students to come to the school's main gate as soon as possible, so they wouldn't miss such a spectacle. It was safe to say everyone had concluded in their minds that Benjamin wouldn't be able to pay such a hefty amount.

Max gritted his teeth. “Hey, isn't that taking it a bit too far?!”

“I agree!"

Max was shocked, and Benjamin's grandmother was on the verge of passing out at this point.

Mrs. Knox could only shake her head at her grandson. “This boy, he's being too childish at a time like this. Why would he make such a promise when there's still the issue of his suspension?”

Max sighed. “Mrs. Knox, please, take it easy. We can only trust that Benjamin knows what he's doing.”

Benjamin glanced back at his grandmother with determination. He was going to make those who humiliated her, especially Andrew, pay heavily for it. In front of everyone, he went to the school's website on his phone and once he was required to pay the sum of $10 million as donation, he pulled out an object from his pocket.

The second people saw that shiny object hanging between Benjamin's index and middle fingers, there was a collective gasp travelling through the crowd.

“Holy shit! Is that a freaking black card in his hand?!”

“It definitely is! Oh my goodness, he has a black card?!”

The director frowned in shock when he saw this, and he had to squint his eyes further. Yet, the bright sun cascaded enough white light to make it clear to everyone.

“How's that possible?” Alexa was expectedly beyond shocked as she stared at the black card in Benjamin's hand.

“Hey!” Andrew pulled the young woman out of her daze. “He probably stole it. There's no way he'd suddenly have such an item.”

“Oh, you're right. What was I thinking?” Alexa quickly gathered her straying thoughts. “It's either that black card is fake, or he stole it.”

Meanwhile, Benjamin ignored the gossips as he put in the card details and made the final payment. Unfortunately, he came across a problem.

[Payment declined!]