Chapter 109 - Team All or Nothing’s Drama

Jasper was shocked to hear that the librarian had collapsed. However, he wasn't fazed by the other team crashing his study sessions.

"I will overlook the study favour for today because of circ.u.mstances. We will start by doing some mental gymnastic exercises then take a short break for revision lessons. After which we will have quiz drills. Whoever gets full marks for the quiz drills today can leave early. I'll be here till five-thirty so do your best."

True to Jasper's words, he stayed till five-thirty and taught Mustafa with dwindling patience as the soccer star kept on rolling his eyes. The final straw was at four-forty when Mustafa proclaimed that Jasper's teaching sucked.

Danny walked in and saw Jasper snapping a pencil in half with one hand from anger. The cut on his hand wasn't too deep but it bled without signs of stopping. The counsellor quickly sourced for a first aid kit and brought the usually nonchalant boy to the sickbay. Why did the kids choose today of all days to make him busy?

Then again, it couldn't be helped. With such a fierce competition going on and a tight timeline, everyone was giving their best. While some of these children were considered geniuses, not all of them understood that if two people tugged hard at a rope trying to move the other person, the rope could sometimes snap and cause harm to both parties.

The counsellor couldn't see Jasper eyes that were still hidden behind hair. It wasn't very obvious if Jasper was hurt and holding back tears from that shaking or just extremely enraged. Danny didn't question too much. If Wilmer's information was accurate, Jasper was like a dormant volcano. It can be pleasant when he was dormant but when he exploded, all those bottled up emotions will come forth like an explosion. The damage would often linger for a while and the scale of destruction was at least ten times worse than any of Alex's outbursts.

Danny was merely a counsellor. It was not his job to teach these children how to make friends. That is the job of a pent but looking at all these children, they probably didn't have parents around them enough to teach them how to interact with others. Jasper was mature but his hard-headedness would be the one thing other kids wouldn't appreciate. Like a.d.u.l.ts, kids have pride as well. Mustafa was the school's soccer talent and being told repeatedly how incapable he was academically would rub him the wrong way. Danny didn't agree with Jasper's method of tough love. However, Jasper was inexperienced and simply didn't know how far to push them before the limits snapped.

After the wound was dressed, Danny allowed Jasper to stay in the office until he was emotionally stabilised. The boy was good at keeping his emotions under tight control but Danny didn't think it was a good idea to always suppress them. Things like that would often come to bite the person in the back. Closing his eyes and cursing Wilmer, he slyly peeked over his shoulder to look at the boy.

"Are you going to give up? It was impossible from the very start. Those boys don't have the potential for you to work with. Any more of this will only be a wasted investment on your end."

Jasper clenched his teeth and fist, indicating that Dany's words were affecting him. Reverse psychology was most effective when it comes from a person you're usually acquainted with but not on a very close level. Jasper had always been stubborn as a child and often worried about many things even when it wasn't his business.

"Who are you to decide that they don't have the potential to succeed?" Jasper's voice was low but there was a biting undertone to it.

Danny smirked, enjoying the role of an evil a.d.u.l.t. "Are you simply trying to delude yourself? Or is this simply pride speaking? Afraid that you won't be able to uphold your promise?"

Jasper said nothing. Everything that the counsellor said had actually gone through Jasper's mind before. He made the resolve to help the class pass and wanted to transform them into loyal friends capable of helping him build his empire to compete with the Wilde Empire. however, he never expected the brain capacities of a few individuals to become his stumbling block. They had the potential, Jasper knew it was there. However, the fact that they don't put in the effort or seem to want to try made him mad. Danny was wrong, this wasn't about potential.

Jasper looked at his bandaged finger. If it wasn't about potential, was it the problem with personality? The boy thought back about how he first came to know Mustafa and what Scarlet did to create that first miracle.

"Are you still using your computer?" he asked, sounding completely calm.

Danny shook his head. "Be my guest. It's still not going to change a thing."

Jasper ignored the counsellor who left to check on Scarlet's team now that the emergencies were over. He remembered that Scarlet like to keep a 'secret blog' about the people she met. Although Jasper doesn't read it, he hears things from Jenna and Mrs Wilde from time to time. Knowing Scarlet, there was no way she wouldn't cover the members of the E.C. Class. Her completed manuscript was based on them after all. Scarlet was a better people observer than he was so maybe she saw something that he missed out on, explaining his clash with Mustafa.

After reading the blog, Jasper was silent for a very long time. Danny didn't interrupt because he knew that Jasper was already mentally preparing himself to go back and devise a new plan. He caught a glimpse of what the boy was reading and he read them too. Thanks to Scarlet, Team All or Nothing would be able to get out of their first ordeal quickly.

"I'm heading back," he told the counsellor and stopped just before the door. "Thank you."

Danny was surprised to hear that and wondered what exactly Jasper was thanking him for. Was he thanking him for letting him borrow the computer or has his intentions been found out? Either way, Danny was glad that the day was finally coming to an end. He would probably check on Scarlet's team now. Of all the teams, he had the most faith in Scarlet's. The girl always found a way to succeed no matter how daunting the situation was. It was Benjamin's word and that lawyer could be trusted.