59 A Rewarding Punishment
Mark’s face burned with shame, the weight of his humiliation pressing down on him like a heavy stone. The murmurs around the classroom had grown louder, swirling around him like a storm he couldn’t escape.
His cheeks flushed bright red as if every word was a dagger slicing through what little remained of his pride.
How could he show his face in this school again?
The thought rang in his head over and over like a broken record. His hands were clammy, his legs weak, and his mind raced with desperation.
Mark wasn’t used to being on this end of humiliation—he was always the one dishing it out, not receiving it. And now, here he was, utterly disgraced, calling Noah his “dad” in front of the entire class. His ego had taken a blow so deep it left him dizzy.
“I-I need to use the restroom,” he blurted out, his voice strained as he raised a trembling hand towards Ms. Elara.
The teacher, who had been watching the whole ordeal with a mix of sympathy and resignation, nodded silently.
Mark didn’t wait for a proper response—he practically bolted out of the room, his legs carrying him faster than he’d ever intended.
His heart pounded in his chest as he left the whispers and stares behind, but he knew he wasn’t really escaping. The humiliation would follow him, lingering in every classroom, in every hallway, in every corner of the school. This was only the beginning.
Once outside, Mark leaned against the cold hallway wall and let out a deep, shuddering sigh. He ran a hand through his dishevelled hair, staring blankly at the floor.
“What had he done? How did he end up here”
He used to be the king of this school—the guy everyone feared or respected. Now, he was a joke.
“I can’t believe I let my arrogance get me here.”
The hallway was mostly empty, with just a few students roaming between classes. It was the perfect moment for Mark to carry out the rest of his punishment—running a lap around the school’s main hallway while declaring that Noah was his dad.
The mere thought of it made him sick to his stomach, but what choice did he have? Backing out now would only make things worse.
He took a deep breath, then another, trying to steady his shaking hands.
“Maybe I should’ve just kept my mouth shut,” he thought bitterly.
“Why did I always have to act like I was better than everyone? Maybe if I wasn’t such an arrogant idiot, I wouldn’t be in this mess.”
The sting of regret gnawed at him as he started jogging down the hallway, his feet dragging reluctantly across the floor. His voice came out shaky at first, barely above a whisper, but he forced himself to speak louder, knowing he had no choice.
“I-I am Mark from class 3-A… and Noah Thompson is my dad!”
The words tasted like acid in his mouth, each one heavier than the last. He could feel the eyes of the few students in the hallway on him, their confused expressions adding to his shame.
Some were laughing, others just stared in disbelief, while a few looked away, pretending not to notice the scene. But even though the hall was mostly empty, he knew it wouldn’t stay quiet for long.
“Everyone in the classrooms heard me.” The walls here were thin, and the chatter from inside the rooms confirmed his worst fear—word was spreading like wildfire. Soon, the entire school would know.
Mark sighed again, this time in defeat. He had run the lap, just like he promised. He had shouted the words for the whole school to hear. But the pit in his stomach told him that this wasn’t the end. This was the beginning of his downfall or maybe his rise.
Inside the classroom, Noah leaned back in his chair, a small, satisfied smile tugging at the corner of his lips.
His eyes flicked toward the door where Mark had left, and he couldn’t help but feel a twinge of amusement.
“He did it in the end,” Noah thought to himself, watching the whispers spread like ripples in a pond.
Mark had run the lap, shouted the humiliating words, and faced the consequences of his arrogance.
Noah’s smile widened slightly. “This should teach him a lesson.”
As he sat there, he couldn’t help but think about the future of Mark.
Mark was reckless. Arrogant and stupid, always looking for trouble without understanding the consequences of his actions. If today’s events didn’t humble him, Mark might’ve gotten himself into a far worse situation someday—one he couldn’t run from.
“You need to thank me, Mark.” Noah’s smirk deepened, a flash of cold amusement in his eyes.
“I stopped you from courting death somewhere in the future, I’m sure.”
The room was still buzzing with shocked conversations as students processed what had just happened. Noah could hear them murmuring to each other:
“Did Mark really just do that again?”
“He called Noah ‘dad’ in front of the whole school! I can’t believe it!”
“I thought Mark was, like, the king of this school. What happened?”
Noah stayed silent, letting the students talk. He knew that today marked a turning point in his school life, not just for Mark, but for him too.
No more rumors. No more doubts. He had proven his intelligence in front of the entire class, and now, with Mark’s public humiliation, no one would dare bother him again.
Not when even Mark had to drop his ego and humiliate himself for him. The students knew what this meant, it meant that Noah was hiding deeper than they imagined. To be able to make Mark do that, Noah needed to have either strength or a background that made Mark fear him.
Rumours began circulating around the students, regarding the reason which made Mark succomb and call Noah ‘Dad’, but the most prevalent one was that Mark was threatened by some people of high status that came looking for Noah the day before.