The Principal Wasn't Happy

Alvin's mood turned sour the moment he ran into Professor Cage as soon as he got to school.

When Alvin was in a bad mood, the students at school were the ones who suffered.

Why were you holding hands during school? Separate! What? You have the freedom to date? I went to school for twelve years without ever dating, so what makes you think you can? Separate! Otherwise, you'll all be locked in the detention room! This is outrageous! No one from first grade through twelfth grade is allowed to date at this school. You'd be better off using that time to do more practice problems.

Seeing that things were going south, Nelson made an excuse and quickly slipped away. He knew Alvin was in a bad mood, and he didn't want to become collateral damage.

Why are you bouncing around? Why are you horsing around on the stairs? What if you fall and kill yourself? Get back to class and read!

Spitting on the floor—who gave you the nerve? Go to the supply room, get a mop, and clean the entire hallway! What? You didn't make the other messes? Idiot! Then mop two floors. It's a punishment. Don't you know that?

And you girls! Why have you painted your faces like that? Get to the bathroom and wash it all off! Crying? No use. Hurry up and wash your faces. And tomorrow, dye your hair back to normal. If I see any more weird colors, I'll have JJ shave it all off. Now get moving!

After turning the school upside down, Alvin had vented most of his anger. Seeing that his office was just ahead, he decided to go rest for a while.

As a school principal, he had a fairly spacious office. It was divided into two rooms, with the principal's secretary's desk in the outer room.

When Alvin pushed open the door, a heavyset Black woman in a white floral dress was applying makeup in a small mirror. The moment she saw him come in, she rushed over, hugged him, and showered him with kisses.

"Olivia, you're so affectionate! I think you look even prettier today. What's your secret? I have to go teach my waiter when I get back. He still hasn't learned how to dress himself." Alvin gently pushed the Black woman away and joked.

Olivia let out a warm "Oh-ho-ho!" and said, "Alvin, you really know how to talk. I wish you'd come in to work every day. I heard that old bastard Cage came looking for trouble again today?

"Don't worry. Next time, let me handle him. His wife, Mrs. Cage, is a good friend of mine now. I can make him suffer when he gets home!"

Alvin shuddered. If old man Cage found out he was conspiring against him, how could he ever live it down? He quickly stopped Olivia from carrying out her terrible idea and asked, "Is there anything I need to know about today?" As he spoke, he headed for his office.

He sat in a luxurious executive chair, crossed his legs, and listened to Olivia's report.

"A few parents called to complain, saying their children were being mistreated and asking the school to change the schedule. Someone else called and hurled a lot of obscenities.

"The Department of Education called to say they'd received a report and were coming to inspect the school."

When Olivia finished, she gave Alvin a smug smile. "I yelled at all the people who called to complain and swear at us until they backed down. I passed the Department of Education matter on to Nelson."

Alvin nodded in satisfaction and smiled. "Nicely done, Olivia. I knew you'd be a great help."

"Oh, Professor Wilson came by to see you. He said to let him know when you arrived. Should I go tell him?" Olivia asked.

Alvin nodded. Professor Wilson was a levelheaded man; he wouldn't come to see Alvin without a reason. He motioned for Olivia to go notify him, then propped his feet on the desk and wondered where he could get some money.

This school was an absolute money pit. The funding from the Department of Education, together with the five million he'd managed to scrape from Kingpin, simply wasn't enough.

Taking out a loan wasn't a reliable option. In his previous life, as an ordinary Chinese citizen, he had never been in the habit of borrowing money to spend.

After coming to this world, Alvin had done some investigating. Of the wealthy people he knew about, two came to mind. One was Tony Stark, a playboy currently busy partying and chasing women; the other was Norman Osborn of the Osborn Corporation.

One was Iron Man, the other Green Goblin. Those were the only two super-rich people Alvin knew of. But how could he squeeze money out of them?

They were both insanely wealthy. Alvin was just a restaurant owner in Hell's Kitchen; there was no way he could get close to them.

Alvin was annoyed. The only superhero he'd met in this world was Matt Murdock, Daredevil, but he was a certified pauper. A few days every month, he and Foggy would come by to hit Alvin up for money. There was no point asking him for help.

Just as Alvin was getting a headache over it, Olivia came in with Professor Wilson.

Professor Wilson was a handsome man nearing seventy. Many of the school's female teachers were crazy about him. Whenever Alvin saw him, he was reminded of the Hollywood star Sean Connery from his previous life. The old guy only got more handsome with age.

Alvin stood and showed Professor Wilson to the sofa. He asked Olivia to pour them two cups of coffee, then said, "What can I do for you, Professor? Just don't tell me it's about money. Professor Cage is driving me crazy."

Professor Wilson smiled at Alvin, who was in a state of frazzled exhaustion. "Don't worry. I'm not here to ask for money. I recently found a strange little girl outside the school. She may be an undocumented immigrant, and I'd like to enroll her.

"I don't want to see a girl of four or five wandering around dangerous Hell's Kitchen. It's far too dangerous for her."

Hearing that Professor Wilson only wanted to enroll a little girl, Alvin breathed a sigh of relief. As long as it wasn't about money, it was fine. Before Professor Wilson could finish, he smiled and said, "No problem. Send her over. I'll tell Nelson to handle her enrollment. I can ask Michael to help with her papers."

Professor Wilson smiled and waved a hand. "I've already taken care of her papers, and she's been attending classes for two days. I came to see you about something else." He smiled at Alvin and fell silent.

Alvin suddenly had a bad feeling. This little girl might be more trouble than she seemed. He didn't dare follow up on Professor Wilson's words. He only narrowed his eyes and watched him, waiting to hear what he would say.

Professor Wilson wasn't the kind of shameless old rascal Professor Cage was. Looking a little embarrassed, he said, "My wife and I completed the adoption papers and adopted the girl, but we've realized we really don't have enough energy. There's just too much work at the school.

"We realized we couldn't take proper care of her, so I was hoping, Alvin, that you could look after her for us. She's a wonderful girl. I gave her a name: Ginny Ye." He stood up, bowed slightly, and said earnestly, "I hope you'll adopt her."

When Alvin heard that Professor Wilson had already given the girl a name—and that it was Ginny Ye, with his own surname—he knew it had to be deliberate. To say otherwise would be an insult to his intelligence.

He suppressed the urge to punch Professor Wilson in the nose. The old man had even brought his wife along to devote herself to the school. For that, Alvin let it go!

Pinching his nose, he agreed to Professor Wilson's request. He promised to pick Ginny Ye up after school and take her home.

Seeing that his business was finished, the old professor stood up, straightened his collar, nodded to Alvin, and went back to work.

Let me indulge myself for a moment. I hadn't planned to include any X-Men characters, but I recently watched Logan 3 again, and the tender moments between the little girl X-23, Laura Kinney, and the old Wolverine left a deep impression on me. I really like the character X-23. I'll let her make a brief appearance here, but no other X-Men characters will show up later.