Caught Red-Handed (Bullying another student)

A deleted scene I wrote for book 3 and later posted it to my Goodreads blog. Just found it and wanted to share it again. Poor Griff :/

An image of part of the field showing the metal ball racks popped on the screen, a clear picture of the green grass swaying in the wind. Well, it may not have been a powerful sorceress searching their minds for any sign of trouble they’d gotten into, but it was close enough, Ethan not having seen a single camera when he went from one class to another, certain the yard duty teachers on the field were the only people watching them. He’d been absolutely sure of it. A boy with a blurred face approached the ball racks, nudging aside a few of the softballs until he got to a lone, bright red bouncy ball, snatching it in one hand, fingers grazing the rough texture and tossing it up into the air, catching it with the same hand he grabbed it with. He lifted a foot, getting ready to walk off, when a voice said harshly, “What’s the hurry?” The boy with the blurred face froze, clutching the ball to his hip then sliding it so it was on his stomach. “I asked you a question,” the harsh voice continued, which Ethan recognized as belonging to Maddox, who strolled onto the screen, face as clear as the clouds in the sky, not a speck of pixels on his face, at least, not big enough so Ethan could see them. The sound on the screen suddenly became so low, Ethan couldn’t hear a word the first boy said, his voice muffled while he fidgeted in his stance, eventually taking a small step back. This didn’t deter Maddox, taking an angry step forward, swiping the red ball out of the other boy’s hand and shoving him so he tumbled and landed onto the hard ground, jumping to his feet only to be pushed a second time. Ethan expected to hear boisterous laughter coming from off the camera, or his friends egging him on, encouraging Maddox to finish the fight, but the only sound coming out the speakers was Maddox’s own voice as he snapped at the first boy, getting in his face, jabbing a finger into his chest. “Okay, Arlene, you can stop the video.” Ms. Violet waved her hand at Ms. Gail, the screen going black straight afterwards. Crossing her arms, Ms. Violet’s expression turned from easy-going to a fixed glare, her eyes directed at someone in the back of the room, someone Ethan figured had to be calculating how to word his next response. Ms. Violet ended up being the first person to break the smothering silence encompassing the room ever since the TV turned off. “What have you got to say for yourself?” she demanded, index finger tapping against her arm. Everyone looked over their shoulder at Maddox simultaneously, the muscles in his jaw line straining because of how tightly his teeth were clenched. Pulling himself together, eyes positioned on Ms. Violet, straightening in his stance, Maddox finally partly opened his mouth, mumbling incoherently. “What was that?” Ms. Violet waited expectantly. “I’m not a bully,” Maddox repeated, voice low. “He deserved what he got and-” “And we’d do it again!” Griff chimed in, brusquely nodding his head. Ethan watched as Wolf, Cat, and the boy with the glass plating covering his mouth, who he learned was named Noah Henderson, all groaned, Wolf kicking at the ground, Cat covering he face with both hands, and Noah whipping around so the door they entered through was in his sight. Anthony, on the other hand, sat on his haunches, typing at a keyboard attached to a laptop perched on his upturned knees, clueless as to what was going on, only halting his rapid typing to push his glasses up his nose. “I’ll deal with you all later,” assured Ms. Violet, ignoring Maddox’s scathing glare directed at a sheepish Griff. “But for now, it is time we get started on the next student. Who’s up for it?”