The Enemy's Puppet

Chapter Four

The morning after new year's day arrived, concluding the reopening of the university after the winter break. The last semester, for Hazel Styles and Leon Martin.

The snowfall had almost stopped the night before, clearing the roads and the view. There was snow settled on roofs of the houses and shops, but it had started to melt.

The usual rush which was missed during the holidays was back on the road, with transport increasing due to the reopening of work places. The roads were cleansed of snow by cleaners, for easier roadway communication.

It was a cosy environment with families wishing to stay indoors for just another moment, or two, to cherish the holiday memories they had just spent with their close ones. To not face reality just yet.

But that was again a wishful thought, as they knew too, and everyone had got themselves out of their cuddly beds and partner's arms, to get ready for the day. For the first day, at their respective workplace, of this new year.

Here in the one-man's penthouse, Leon stood in front of the floor-length mirror in his room, in his black, skin-tight jeans along with red checkered button-down shirt, with the top three buttons undone, carrying a casual look, fixing his hair with some hair setting wax, needing them to stay the exact way, for the entire day ahead.

Wearing his black customized Edifice watch, which the brand had made just for him, since Martins worked for their promotion, he completed his look with all black raised ankle-length converse shoes.

Grabbing his car keys, his back bag consisting of a formal shirt to change after university, and his iPhone, he left the house after delivering the house head; Adam some money for bringing the groceries required, and also his monthly salary.

Adam was a nice, humble, down-to-earth, 45-year-old guy, with his average fit body towering at 5'10". He used to be a lonely man after his wife and son died in a car crash, and hence decided to dedicate his time to taking care of someone who needed that constant lookout for, and also earn some money for his old-age purposes.

He looks out for Leon, and feels fatherly for him, but is scared to express that, knowing Leon has a lot of protective elders around him, blood related, that he would end up making everything awkward, or worse, make a fool out of himself.

Grabbing the house keys, Adam left the house locked and unattended to do a quick shopping tour from the supermarket down the street.

Here, Leon's car screeched to a halt in the parking ground of the college and got out, instantly grabbing eyeballs; some lustful and some jealous. Being used to the gazes, he walked towards the cafeteria, ignoring them, to grab a protein bar since he felt hungry.

Finding his best friend sitting in the cafeteria with a very beautiful brown-skinned girl he didn't remember the name of, but recognised her as his friend's long-time crush, he decided not to disturb them, and walked out peeling the protein bar, taking a bite.

On his way towards the university backyard, he found the one man he wasn't so keen on seeing, on his first day of last semester, sitting in the waiting arena outside the Headmaster's office, alongside an extremely gorgeous-fair skinned, dark brunette, holding a file that seemed loaded with documents.

Lucas Styles.

Rerouting from his trip to the backyard, he walked towards them, and mocked Lucas when he reached their hearing range. "Oh look who it is?? The infamous Lucas Styles, huh? What happened, you want to enroll in a junior batch for learning Business Ethics?"

The Styles duo looked at him from their place. One with amusement while another with a hint of irritation, as if not wanting to deal with him the first thing today.

"Well, Hello Mr. Leon Dickhead Martin" Lucas greeted him back, decided not to answer any of his stupid and unnerving comments, since they were just that. Immature comments. And he was far above them.

"Not interested, Styles. Who is this pretty lady? Are you sure you haven't paid her to be your arm candy? 'Cause like, she is way beyond your reach." Leon spoke, which resulted in the Styles duo's eyes widening in shock and awkwardness.

"Shut up, Leon" growled Lucas, at his misinterpretation of their relationship, which was none of his business to begin with.

"Ouch! You hurt my feelings, Lucas." he clutched his heart dramatically, before diverting his full attention to the woman besides him, "Hey Ms.Pretty, are you sure you want to be with him? I can rock your world better than him, you know? I am way better at everything than him."

"Leave her alone, Leon." Lucas tried to push the dickhead in front of him, away from his sister. He didn't even want to make a scene here where he had accompanied his sister for her enrollment process, where hundreds of students were gathered, to watch a scene.

"That's not fair, Lucas. You do know the saying, right? 'Sharing is Caring'?" Lucas clenched his fist and before he could answer Leon's douche move by a physical attack, Hazel answered, stammering, "I- I'm hi-his sister. Hazel"

Leon's eyes widened at the mention of his relationship with the lady, and felt bad for doing that in front of everyone, just for some fun. He looked at the audience around and growled at them to leave, "What!? Leave!"

Everyone scattered away in small groups, while Lucas stared at Leon with glaring eyes while Hazel stood there nervously playing with her fingers. She couldn't stand the humiliation.

"Listen, I'm-" Leon was starting to apologise when he felt a sudden pain in his jaw, through the unexpectedly delivered punch by Lucas, with the words, "Shut the f**k up man." as he wasn't in the mood to listen to any other bullshit that would leave Leon's mouth.

Hazel gasped at the physical attack delivered by her brother. She couldn't believe her eyes. She was worried, and not just about her brother, who was the one delivering the punch, but also the one who was at the receiving end of it; Leon.

A surprised look on Leon's face changed to anger as he touched his jaw and found it bruised and bleeding. Curling his fist in a tight grip, Leon looked at Lucas before delivering a punch right back at him.

"You bloody-" they both stopped in their tracks as they heard the HeadMaster come out of his office, with a strict look in his eyes, sternly asking, "What is going on here?"

"I don't need a nuisance in my college, young men." Both the men looked down in opposite directions at the other, silencing themselves.

Hazel stood there trying to decipher the words that she should be speaking in front of the authorities, for the recklessness these men in front of her had shown. "Mr. Dickson, I'm so sorry on behalf of them both. And I assure you that this won't happen again."

Leon and Lucas both looked at her with unsure eyes, knowing that was not possible. They were both blood thirsty. They wanted each other's blood. Figuratively, if not literally.

"All three of you, come to my office. Now." Mr. Dickson walked back into his office, while the three followed behind, with Hazel in the middle, not trusting the men to control their fists.

Lucas stood behind Hazel, who sat on one of the two chairs in front of Mr. Dickson, with Leon on the other chair by her side. Mr. Dickson, after understanding the reason why the Styles' siblings were there, enrolled Hazel in their university and gave a warning to Leon to control his anger if he wanted to graduate this year.

He dismissed them all, asking the men to go to the med-bay and get themselves cleaned up. Face and knuckles.

Exiting the office, Lucas and Leon gave each other a last glare before Leon left for his class. All the guilt he was feeling for assuming their relationship status was now gone. He wasn't a saint to get a punch right in the face and still sell his self-respect.

Reaching the class, without getting his medical attention, Leon sat in his usual seat; the last seat, way before anyone. He was angry and his anger was beyond limits. The fight added more reasons to the enmity between families to extend.

Cracking his knuckles, he stared into space thinking of a way to make Lucas hurt. A way to make the entire Styles' family hurt. His mind wanted revenge. And more. He wasn't the one to settle without proper damage done.

Scott entered the class next, almost rushing towards him, carrying his bag on his shoulder, worried for his best friend the moment he heard what happened through the fast spreading gossip in the college.

"Leon!" He called out, breaking his friend's trance, to look at him, with eyes still burning red. Pulling his fingers to Leon's face, Scott traced the scar that had started to turn purple now. Clenching his jaw, he was about to leave the room, when Leon held his arm, shaking his head with determined eyes.

"Don't." he pulled Scott by the arm, and made him sit by his side, not wanting to get his friend involved in their family rivalry. He should stay out of it. Out of everything that he's planned, for the Styles'.

"Leo-" he was cut off by the bell ringing and the class becoming occupied by more students and the teacher. He saw Jenna, the girl he sat in the cafeteria with, enter along with another girl by her side, who was unknown to his eyes and head.

But Leon knew that face. The Styles' daughter, Hazel Styles. His mind was running in a spider-web, creating infinite possibilities for his plan to work, but when he saw her enter with Scott's girl crush, he smirked inwardly. It would be fun. For him.

Hazel looked around the class as she was led by Jenna to a seat in the middle of the class, when her eyes landed on Leon, before they widened as he was staring right back at her. She noticed he still hadn't been to the medic, and sighed.

Men and their stubbornness. She thought, sitting down on the seat, and bringing her attention to the whiteboard, where the professor had written the subject title; 'Management Ethics' in bold.

"Good Morning class, I'm Ms. Maya Heart, and I am going to be your Management Ethics Professor for your last semester. And since today's just the first day, we will be understanding the reason why Management is needed in all fields of life" She started, while the enthusiasm of the class died down a little, as their expectation was a simple introduction lecture, but that didn't happen.

"So anyone here would like to tell me why management is important?" She asked, as she stood by the podium on the platform, facing the class.

When no one came forward to answer, she herself chose someone from the class, followed by another and by another. When no one answered the right thing that she wanted to hear, Leon sighed in irritation, and answered, "Management is the process that involves various steps like Planning, Organising, Staffing, Directing, Coordinating, Reporting and Budgeting. All these steps involved gets an organisation or an individual prepared for the unexpected with enough ideas and resources. It helps them understand the needs and wants, which can then be managed appropriately."

Ms. Heart, gave a smile and acknowledged the correct answer, "That's correct, Mr. Martin. Management is important in every field because it gets you prepared for the worst without harm affecting you deeply."

Leon rolled his eyes, and cracked his knuckles, as Ms. Heart proceeded in explaining the subject further with more in depth information from the text book.

And although Leon was a bright student, and always paid attention, knowing the importance they held in his business, he couldn't concentrate on a single word, Ms. Heart spoke. His mind ran in circles about the scene that happened outside Mr. Dickson's office.

And after every loop of the particular scene playing, his anger reached a new height. Making him irrational in his thinking process. Giving him ideas of destruction.