Paul reached the vehicle and thanked Victor, Linda's father, for the ride to and from school. Linda helped him into the van and to the seat near the back. Paul gave her a quick kiss before her father was able to get into the driver's seat.

Holding hands on the way to school, Paul and Linda quietly discussed all that happened since the beginning of the school year. Paul mentioned that, for better or worse, Valentine's day was memorable as he pointed to the cast on his ankle while winking at Linda. 

She just smiled and gave him a hug. Linda asked him how his ankle felt. Paul replied that it actually felt really good. He was finding that the more he moved, the less it hurt. So he has been trying to stay as active as possible. 

Soon, Linda's dad pulled into the school parking lot. Linda opened the door to help Paul out of the vehicle. She asked him where his backpack was, and Paul cursed and said he forgot it. Linda's dad offered to drive back to his house and get it, and Paul accepted. He had been so focused on seeing Linda that he totally forgot to grab it from the closet.

Victor told Linda and Paul that he would be back in about 20 minutes, then hopped in the van and drove away. Paul and Linda entered the building. She was impressed by the speed in which he moved. They made their way to the principal’s office, where they were greeted by the principal himself. He asked both of them to come into his office. 

Paul and Linda entered into a large room that he was very familiar with. The principal wanted to welcome Paul back to school, and asked how he was feeling. Paul said that his ankle hurt a little, but nowhere near the level of the previous week. The principal told Paul and Linda that if they needed anything, they could see him anytime. Both Paul and Linda said thank you and Linda told the principal that her father was returning shortly with Paul's backpack. The principal said that he would personally bring Paul's backpack to his homeroom. And with that, Paul and Linda excused themselves and went to homeroom.

The principal walked out to the front of the school to wait for Linda’s father. He wished that he could have apologized to Paul for not taking action sooner against Jill, but district policy prevented him. He felt guilty that a good boy like Paul could have died as a result of misguided district policies.

It was just before they got to home room when Linda asked Paul to wait one second. Paul was confused, but did as she asked. Linda peeked into the room, and once satisfied, walked Paul in. The class gave Paul an ovation, which he felt uncomfortable with. It wasn’t his nature to be the center of attention. He looked away, and then saw Todd at his desk. Paul went over to shake his hand and welcome him back.

Todd Banks’ parents took him out of school due the severe bullying from Jill Robbins. Now that she was gone, they felt it was safe enough for their son to return. Paul was very happy to see his friend, and Todd was happy to see him. 

Once everyone got settled, the principal came into the room and gave Paul his backpack, which Linda immediately took from him. Paul started to object, but Linda held firm. She was going to carry his backpack for him, and for as long as she needed to.

Paul asked Mrs Janeway if he could be excused so he could use the bathroom. Mrs Janeway gave him a hall pass, and Paul made his way towards the restrooms. It was on his way there that he ran into a person he hoped to avoid. It was the freshman Alpha girl that he interrupted while she was threatening Todd.

Paul warily approached the entrance to the men’s room, when the girl stepped in front of the door. Paul asked her what she wanted. She told him that she didn’t like the fact that he interrupted her during her encounter with Todd.

Paul said he didn’t care whether she was upset or not, she was a bully, and he hated bullies. She smiled down at Paul and was about to say something when a security guard that the school hired because of Jill walked towards them asking if there was a problem. 

The girl said no, as did Paul. The guard asked them for their names. The girl said Val Harris, and Paul gave his name. The guard told them to get back to class. Val turned to Paul when she was leaving and told him that she would see him later.

Meanwhile, Paul could finally use the bathroom. But he kept thinking about how bad his luck was. He dealt with this girl earlier in the year, then didn’t see her again until that morning. He had to deal with Alice, and then Jill. He wondered if he was going to have to fight all the Alpha girls in school. He thought about all of the most dangerous professions in the world, and realized that a Beta high school sophomore should be on the list. He thought about moving to a war zone, because he would be safer there. He wondered if his real name was Hercules, and these Alpha girls were part of the famed 12 labors. He shook his head.

Once he made it back to home room, Linda saw the bemused look on his face. She started to worry a little when he didn’t come right back. She would have to ask him after home room. And then the bell rang ending home room. 

John, Mindy, Todd and Linda all waited for Paul to come out into the hallway, which he did. Linda asked him if anything happened on his way to the bathroom, and she told him not to lie to her. Paul could see that she meant it. So he recounted the incident outside the bathroom, leaving nothing out. 

Linda was getting upset. Paul had just got out of the hospital, and here he was being threatened again. She wanted to scream to the heavens. Paul saw the look of concern from everyone, so to break the tension, told his friends that he didn’t realize that the back of his shirt had a sign saying that if you are an Alpha girl, please pick on me.

There was stifled laughs, but still the concern. Paul told them not to worry. He was sure that nothing would happen, especially with the school being so vigilant after his encounter with Jill. Still he wondered aloud about something that was running around in his mind.

Why was it only the Alpha girls that seemed to be trying to establish their territorial dominance? The Alpha males seemed to act more like Betas. But it was the females that were the aggressive sex. He couldn’t remember any time in history where it was the females that were the territorial sex. It was always the the males. And Paul knew history like the back of hand.

His friends didn’t know the answer, so Paul posited one. What if the girls’ aggressive behavior had something to do with the formula? It wouldn’t affect everyone, but maybe it made some girls ultra aggressive. That would explain Alice, and Val. 

Linda asked him about Jill, and Paul answered that she had a specific target, tweener males, and that was due to a traumatic experience as a child. He only became her target when Todd left school. But it seems that Alice at first, and now Val want to assume some sort of top-dog status at school. And since Alice met George, she had become a totally different person. It was the only explanation that he could come up with.

The four of them listened to Paul’s reasoning, and concluded that he was probably correct. But they told Paul that if they think that he is being harassed or intimidated, or threatened, they would immediately go right to a teacher or the principal. 

Reluctantly, Paul agreed. He hated to walk away from a situation with any bully, but he nearly paid a heavy price in his encounter with Jill. So he assured them that he would keep a low profile. If not, he would hop on a plane and hide out in some remote village if it would put their minds at ease. He winked at Linda. She gave him a quick hug and kiss and carried his backpack to their next class.