After the principal’s little speech concerning the flyers, the rest of the school day proceeded uneventfully. Meg had an idea of who was behind the flyers, but without proof, there was no way she would accuse anyone. 

James should have felt upset that some Alpha girls thought it would be a great idea to taunt Beta males, but that was the new reality that they were living in. But his mind started to become more and more preoccupied by something else. He started to realize that he enjoyed Meg’s company so much that he felt odd when he wasn’t with her. He couldn’t explain it.

But at the end of the day, James arrived home at the same time as his father. James immediately sensed a different mood from Tom, as his father exuded positivity, and was very upbeat walking into the kitchen. 

James was happy that his dad was in a great mood, and wasn’t going to ask how his day went, as he already guessed the answer.

After dinner, James went to his room to finish homework and study for a test. The homework wasn’t a problem. It was the studying, as he found it difficult to concentrate with thoughts of Meg running around in his head. He wanted to call her, but didn’t know how her parents would react. So it was back to studying.

James had his best night of sleep in a while. In fact, he slept so soundly that he nearly missed the bus. But he saw Todd sitting with a girl, and so made his way to Meg. She noticed his ruffled hair and asked him if he overslept. He grinned and said yes.

But once seated, he decided to ask her if he could call her at night, and if so, what would be the best time. She told him that he could, and as long as it was before 9pm. James made a mental note regarding the time.

The bus arrived at school and the students filed out. Entering the hallway they noticed that the teachers were walking around. Meg and James guessed that it had something to do with yesterday.  The principal may not have known who put the flyers up, but she was going to make sure that it wasn’t going to happen again.

Tom Adams pulled his truck into the parking lot at work and made his way towards the office. But he couldn’t enter, as four of the secretaries were standing in front of the door talking, thereby blocking his entry. Worse still, they ignored his presence as they continued their conversation. Tom had tried to get their attention for a good minute before one of the ladies looked down at him with disdain and demanded to know what he wanted.

In order to avoid a confrontation, Tom apologized for the interruption and said that he was only trying to get into the office. The secretaries moved, allowing him to pass, but not before discussing the inferiority of Betas loud enough for Tom to hear. His blood started to boil, and he resisted the urge to say something.

However, the ladies kept going on and on about the Betas, and how they were useless compared to Alphas. Tom had enough, and made his way back towards the secretaries and promptly interrupted their talk to remind them that Betas were human beings, and they were capable of looking out for themselves, and they were able to function and run businesses and government before the Alphas ever came about. And he told them that they needed a formula to make them what they were.

That was Tom’s big mistake. One of the ladies grabbed him by the front of his shirt and lifted him high enough to be eye level with her. She saw a brief moment of fear in his eyes, before he steeled his resolve. She brought him closer and told him that if he ever talked to an Alpha women like that again, he would be spending years in the hospital recovering from what she would do to him. And Tom could see that she meant every word. She told him to apologize to the four of them. Tom started to object, but felt her grip get tighter. He apologized to them. The lady put him down. Tom backed away cautiously. One of the other secretaries suddenly moved her arm, and Tom jumped back. The ladies started laughing. 

Tom felt humiliated. He made his way to his desk. He was never one for emotions, but he fought back tears. He was 6’3” and weighed over 220 lbs, yet was just physically manhandled by an Alpha women like he was a 4 year old. He didn’t know what to do. When he was foreman for the mine, he could always handle issues personally. But now, after what just happened, he knew those days were over for good. 

The other secretaries entered the office. Tom tried to keep a low profile, but could hear the ladies laughing loudly. He knew that they were laughing at him. He decided to quit his job. Although he needed the insurance, he couldn’t handle the Alphas. The one secretary just showed him how weak he was, and she did it with ease. 

He started to write his lettter to the plant manager when he entered the office, followed by his daughter, Susan. Tom recognized her from the help she gave him with the coffee. He had hoped to see her again so that he could thank her. 

The boss told the secretaries and Tom that Susan was being hired as his assistant and office manager. Tom thought it must be nice to be the boss’s daughter. The plant manager said that if there were any issues, or concerns, Susan was the one to see. 

Tom noticed that the secretaries didn’t look happy. Their little territory was now being invaded by an outsider. And they didn’t like it one bit.

After the boss left, Susan looked around and spotted Tom in the back. She made her way to see him, and introduced herself as Susan Myers. Tom did the same, and thanked her for her help with the coffee earlier. Susan smiled and said it was not a problem. She asked him how long had he been with the company. Tom replied 22 years.

Susan seemed impressed. She asked him what his previous position was, and Tom replied foreman. Susan asked Tom how he liked his new job. Tom glanced towards the secretaries and said it was ok. But Susan picked up on his glance and reply. She sensed the extreme attitudes of the secretaries, and she immediately sensed that they were being hard on Tom for no other reason than he was a Beta. She silently committed herself to changing the culture of the office.

Back at school, James had his History test second period. He was a little upset with himself. The test should have been easy, but his thoughts kept wandering towards Meg. He hoped that he got enough answers right to pass.

It was during the break between 2nd and 3rd periods that he caught up with Meg in the hallway. They instantly asked one another how the test went, and started laughing when the questions came at the same time. James looked up at Meg, and decided at that moment to ask her if she wanted to go out and get a pizza sometime. He didn’t know why he thought of pizza, but it was the only thing that he could think of.

Meg looked at him, and thought he was kidding, but saw the honesty in his eyes, and said she would love to get pizza with him. James’ heart skipped a beat hearing her answer, and smiled up at her.