“She’s right, Keenan. They’re vying for you. Come and sit with me. Don’t worry. I have no interest in men at all.”
When this particular girl said that, the entire lecture hall fell silent. Everyone, including the boys, looked at her strangely and judged her inwardly. Although the girl was thick-skinned, the students’ glares irritated her.
Ultimately, she raised a book and hid behind it.
As the pin-drop silence hung over the hall, Keenan left the podium and sat beside Bonnie. That simple action upset everyone.
“Why would he even sit there?”
“That’s what I want to know!”
Suddenly, Avril said, “That’s because Bonnie is gorgeous!”
The girls disliked how she phrased it, but it was true. Nonetheless, Bonnie turned to look at him and asked, “Reporting for duty?”
Keenan bolted upright and yelled, “Yes, m’lady! I’ll keep you safe! Nothing will happen to you as long as I’m around!”
Everyone was shocked as they gawked at the duo. Even Bonnie was dumbfounded by his sudden reaction.
‘I just greeted him out of courtesy. Why’d he have to react like that?’
The school counselor took a while to recover from her daze. Afterward, she said, “Take a seat, Keenan.”
However, Keenan gazed at Bonnie as if he had not heard the counselor’s words. The former was the best combatant in the task force, young and massively talented. He was also a rebellious soul. Keenan would not answer to anyone except Jim and a handful of people. Several days ago, Jim called him and told him to protect someone. Keenan rejected the request vehemently because he was uninterested in protecting some fat cat.
However, when Jim told Keenan to protect Bonita, the latter quickly packed his things and rushed from the borders to Pyralis.
“Ahem!” Bonnie cleared her throat and said, “Um, Keenan, take a seat.”
“Yes, ma’am!” He sat at once.
The counselor and the students were dumbfounded yet again. They could not process what they had just witnessed and thought the new exchange student was acting like Bonnie’s sidekick.
As the students walked to the cafeteria during lunch break, Avril could not hold it anymore and asked, “Bonnie, who is that guy? Why’d he obey you so strictly?”
Bonnie knew Avril would ask such a
et
thing, but the former had no intentions of making up a story. Bonnie answered, “Jim needed return to his hometown to deal with something. You should know about that. He sent Keenan to protect me in his stead for the time being.”
“So, that’s what happened!” Avril nodded in understanding and looked at Keenan.
His fair skin made him look like an innocent and helpless bunny. Meanwhile, his five-foot-one stature made it easy for people to regard him as a naive little boy.
Avril leaned toward Bonnie and whispered, “He looks like he can’t handle himself in a fight. Are you sure he can keep you safe?”
“Don’t let him hear what you just
said. Jim told me about his history. First, don’t be fooled by his innocent and obedient facade. He was a typical troublemaker in the task force and always picked fights with people to hone his skills.
“Jim was the only person who could subdue him and command his respect. Secondly, Keenan used to lead a squad on survival training in a rainforest. They didn’t take rations or water with them but survived for three months.
“The other squads retreated from
the rainforest much earlier than his squad. Most were hurt pretty badly, too. Keenan was the only one who was still pumped and raring to go. It’s almost as if he feels at home in the rainforest,” Bonnie explained leisurely.
That shocked Avril. “I wouldn’t have believed this story if someone else told me about it.”
