Chapter 7 - School Gone Mad.

For the next few days the entire school had been covered by wallpapers and fliers all depicting the so called party by Henri.

"I heard there is going to be a pool party there too," Denis said, inspecting the flier as it perched just right there on his locker, "I get it's going to be all big and boujee by the "infamous and rich" Henri Matisse, what I don't get is why they have to put it on our faces. Why are they trying to get us to go by all means?"

He ripped off the flier from his locker, his face ridden with an annoying disgusted look.

"Because they want us to come. It's that simple," Vincent said, tearing the flier off his locker too, "So they will be able to embarrass and make fun of us there. That's his plan. And it's low."

Speaking of the devil, there were approached by Judee, a very huge man with a considerable muscular frame. He was known as the most fearsome student in Mattise University de Paris.

"Oh great." Denis retorted, about to leave with Vincent when Judee blocked them from passing by him.

"Are you two going for the party?" He asked, looking at them in the most terrible manner one could be able to imagine. 

"We are not." Vincent said in the most honest way possible, staring at him right in the eye shocking himself, Denis, and Judee.

"What did you say to me?" Judee growled holding Vincent by the arm. Denis looked concerned, wanting to put an end to the debacle that was occuring right before him.

"Hey stop that you two!" A security guard reprimanded, walking closer to them with hid face as stiff as the iron bar that he was holding. "What's going on here?" He finally asked as he reached them.

"Nothing," Judee said. "We were just getting along with one another. Socializing, isn't that right, Vincent?"

Vincent did not say a word. His lips were contorted in a frown.

"You kids better mind yourselves. You know that the price for fighting on school premises is expulsion," the security guard said at once. "Especially you Vincent. You were just nearly expelled last time. Be extra careful young man." 

After that incident, Vincent and Denis found themselves in a Cafe eating on a free period. 

"The whole school has gone mad I tell you," Denis lamented as he shoved a burger into his mouth. "How on Earth are we being threatened to go to a party we do not even want to attend? I fail to see the rationale behind it. What is so cool about going to a party?"

Vincent seemed not to be listening to him at the moment. His mind was on something else. His eyes were observing the looks of the student around them.

"They're all looking at us," he said to Denis who also began to look around.

In a short while all the students, whether sitting or standing before, were all on their feets, staring at Vincent and Denis who wondered what it was there might have gotten themselves into now.

The students began crowding around their table. Vincent found his heart beating, and so was Denis whose eyes kept scanning the surrounding for an escape. 

"Who do you think you are, Vincent?" One of the students began. "Do you think you're too good for us?" 

"Why are you not going to be attending the party by Henri?" Another one also began. "Do you think you're too good for him too? Is it because he stole your girlfriend?" 

A round of laughter began among the swam of students that surrounded them. Of course hearing that stung Vincent, but he still did not say a word to them, and neither did Denis.

But too bad, his silence hurt more than any word and come back he could have said, and so, the crowd began raining a hoard of abuses on him. It went on like this forever until a voice louder than any other, came forth.

"Look Vincent, I'll try to be reasonable with you by all means possible. Even though you don't seem yourself to be so much of a reasonable man," the student with the loud voice said, causing another roar of laughter from the crowd. "I am sure that you do not intend to be troubled, but I assure you, if you do not attend the party by Henri, you will forever be haunted by us. We will make your life even more miserable and a living hell, and not just you, Denis as well. You both want to be idiots and good for nothing, then so be it."

Denis did not know what to feel about it. To him the school had gone entirely mad. In his whole life in college he had never been the one being invited. From middle school to the University, he had always found himself being rejected by the cool kids. But now there he was being forcefully invited to a party, and he was, surprisingly, saying no.

Vincent was not entirely so psyched about the situation. He knew exactly what Henri was trying to do. He had heard of it all. Every student in the school was promised by him to be given a brand new phone if he managed to attend the party.

It was by all means a very funny thing to happen, but he learnt something about it. People would do a lot of things for money, and these students, on a normal day, would typically brag about being better than him financially, but then, same students were losing their minds on the count of a phone.

"I've always been living in hell," Vincent whispered to a confused Denis. "These students cannot make me suffer anymore than I have suffered. But I would not want you to suffer with me."

While Denis was trying his best to figure out what it was Vincent was trying to say, Vincent stood up immediately.

"Okay I will go to your party," he said with total resignation. 

The entire crowd cheered for a while before finally leaving.

"What are you doing?" Denis asked Vincent looking at his face as he drank calmly coca cola from a rubber cup.

"Just being a sacrifice," he said.

"A sacrifice for what? If you go, I go."

Denis could not place it, but he knew that there was something totally new and different about his friend.

At the end of school, Vincent went home in his trusty bicycle, and spent the weekend overlooking the whole of Paris from his cozy penthouse. He would stay there for the entire weekend before the party.