Once history class was over, the rest of the morning went fairly smooth. Paul always felt that if you could get that first class on the first day out of the way, time would tend to fly by. And sure enough, it was time for lunch. 

Lunch times were arranged by grades, so the freshman ate at 11am. And the seniors always ate last, because most could leave right after. 

Paul and Linda walked into the cafeteria. Paul headed to his normal sized table that was back in the corner. And there was only one long table this year for the ten Betas left. 

Paul assumed Linda would want to eat with her fellow tweeners, but she surprised him again by asking if she could sit as his table. He wasn't about to say no. With the number of Betas dwindling, it was nice to find friends elsewhere. 

It was a little awkward for Linda to eat, as she was forced to hunch over her food, a position Paul knew to be uncomfortable. He looked around and spotted Todd, sitting alone at a table. After the scene from this morning, it was obvious that nobody wanted to hang around with a tweener that was intimidated by a Beta.

Paul excused himself from the table. He cautiously approached Todd. Todd saw him coming, and not wanting to be put in another embarrassing situation, was about to get up and leave. Before he did, he quietly asked Todd if it would be alright if he and Linda sat at his table.

Todd stared blankly at Paul, as if he was hypnotized. This Beta, who had humiliated him twice, was asking for permission to sit at his table. Todd didn't know what to say, so he nodded his head. Paul thanked him. 

There were plenty of eyes on Paul and Todd from the cafeteria crowd, as they assumed that some sort of altercation was about to ensure. The quiet nature of the conversation left them unable to know what had happened. Seeing Paul go back towards his table, they assumed that Paul was warning Todd about something.

Paul got his food tray, and dropped it off at Todd's table, then went back and asked Linda to follow him as he reach for her tray. Never having held a tray made for Alpha before, he fully didn't grasp its size and weight. He nearly dropped it. Fortunately, he steadied himself, and with Linda following him, brought it to the table. 

Linda sat down and was able to eat in an upright position, which felt good. Paul thought that she wouldn't be able to enjoy her food if she stayed in that position. So he thought to himself that if anyone would have to adjust, it should be him.

Linda didn't know what was going on. Earlier, the two boys sitting with her were close to having a serious, physical altercation. Now, they were eating at the same table. She would have to ask Paul about it on the bus ride home.

Paul glanced around the cafeteria. He noticed that the tweener boy from the bus was sitting as far away from Alice as he possibly could, with all of his friends around him. Paul laughed. If the boy thought that having all of his friends with him would be a hindrance to an Alpha, then he was sadly mistaken.

With their meal done, the three got up. Paul thanked Todd again for letting them sit at his table. Todd looked at him, not with any malice or bad intentions, but one of regret. After dropping off the dirty trays, Todd pulled Paul aside, and just blurted out that he was sorry for his behavior towards him and his friend. Paul had a surprised look on his face, but said said no problem. He had considered the earlier confrontations to be forgotten. And he held out his hand. Todd tentatively took it. Even though he wasn't an Alpha, his hand still dwarfed Paul's. But they shook, and called a truce.

Linda had gone out to the hallway, and was unaware of what just took place. Paul came out, and walked her to the next class. 

The afternoon flew by. School was over. Everyone headed for their bus. Linda asked Paul if he could sit with her on the ride home. Paul looked a little surprised, but he would never refuse a request from a beautiful girl.

As they were making their way to their seats, Paul and Linda noticed that the tweener boy from this morning was sitting, just not in a seat. Alice had him in her lap, moving his arms like a parent would with an infant. Now Paul realized what she had whispered to him. Obviously, Alice wanted to reinforce to him about his place in the Alpha world. The boy looked to be on the verge of tears. Almost eight feet tall and unable to do anything other than just sit there and take it. Now Paul really felt sorry for this kid.

Alice lifted him off her lap, and in a voice loud enough for everyone to hear, she told him to be a good boy and go to his seat. And with a little pat on his ass, he was quickly on his way.

Paul hoped that Alice was done proving her point. He felt that she was going overboard. And he thought that after this day this kid may be terrified to talk to an Alpha girl again. But they noticed his swelling was gone, and the bruise on his cheek was significantly smaller than before. Probably the healing effects of the formula.