ã€ŠThe Problematic Kids of Elite High Schoolã€‹


 0-0: Prologue

    0-0

    Gimmick.

    That is something I don¡¯t have. When people talk about gimmick, it has to be something grand like how can you attract audiences¡¯ attention to you, and you alone. When you¡¯re able to get the solid spotlight, depending on your gimmick, it may well make your further life much favourable and fun. To make your gimmick impactful, it has be done full with experience. Novices probably will always fail to make a good start.

    An example has to be is when someone casually approaches you as if he/she has already known you beforehand. To do this, it takes a lot of courage and being numb to shame and if it succeeds, tada! You make a friend. Well, what I¡¯m trying to explain is the gimmick for high school life.

    If you do it horribly, God knows how bad your life will be.

    Sounds hocus pocus.

    And it doesn¡¯t concern me.

    Because.

    I have no need to do such thing. Thanks to my cool-looking naturally born face, people seem to come to me without even trying to care about my non-existent gimmick. I remember when that girl¡­ A? Let¡¯s call it girl A then B then C then¡­ well you know the rest of the alphabet. Memorizing each of their name is such a hassle.

    During the first day of my second year high school, Girl A spoke to me so casually that I was confused. I thought she was my sister. That slender body of her meant business and not to mention, she always invited me out afterschool or even sometimes on weekend. Though, deep inside me, I always wondered if I actually knew this girl.

    ¡°You got plans after school?¡± she asked, sitting leisurely on my table while browsing her smartphone using her feminine forefinger.

    To be honest, her behaviour was kind of disrespectful. Not to mention, she was doing it in the classroom and there was like few more minutes before the first period start. Though, having her thighs this close to me was never a bad thing. It had been weeks after the entrance ceremony she started doing this ¡®bitchy¡¯ thing.

    Thanks to that, other alphabetical girls couldn¡¯t manage to approach me as often as they wanted.

    What¡¯s with this girl? Just because she¡¯s Girl A so she has to be bold? It¡¯s not even Girl B.

    As a modern high school boy, of course I too would be playing with my smartphone. Really, I can¡¯t stress how much of a useful gadget a smartphone is. It lets you do a lot of things in just matter of time. Not just that I¡¯m handsome, I¡¯m also born silver spooned. I have this latest i-thing 12 at my disposal. Though, it¡¯s all about the look and fame. Honestly speaking, I don¡¯t find this particular phone any special.

    ¡°Nah, not really. I plan to have a rest straight at home after school. Also, could you stop sitting on my desk?¡±

    She immediately made a soft smile and hopped off the desk as she was told. Her blue short hair and bang wiggled before she made a direct eye contact with me.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.

    ¡°Just perfect, Ms. Claire asked us to meet her in the office.¡±

    Ms. Claire, our classroom teacher who was really doting of her students, especially the ones who always cause trouble. For some reasons, she started to pay too much attention to me and Girl A.

    It¡¯s too much.

    Too much that we could be often mistaken as having a parents-children relationship with her.

    Wait, I¡¯m not a problematic kid, aren¡¯t It?

    ¡°I¡¯ve been keeping low profile lately. I don¡¯t think her call is any important.¡±

    ¡°Ehh¡­¡± she placed both her palms on the table. ¡°Let¡¯s just go! I don¡¯t want to anger the teacher!¡± she said in persuasively worried voice.

    ¡°You, despite acting delinquent and bold, aren¡¯t you being too obedient?¡± I lifted my hands and waved nonchalantly, ¡°I¡¯m telling you, ignoring some of her orders is not a bad thing.¡±

    She was like a delinquent, a beauty but her manners were always harsh. Her skirt always appeared short and she always loosened the ribbon tie so that her upper clavicle was exposed, sometimes she didn¡¯t even bother to wear a tie. Not to mention, she seemingly paid no heed about others when she decided to do skinship. Skinship? Yes to me.

    Her eyebrows frowned.

    ¡°It¡¯s a bad thing! We have to fully respect our teachers! Therefore¡­¡± she paused, ¡°¡­we have to obediently follow their orders?¡± as she tilted her head.

    Why the question tone? You¡¯re not even sure!

    ¡°Are you a loyal dog of some sorts? You never know how she will abuse her power. I bet she won¡¯t hesitate to make us do her daily errands.¡±

    ¡°Your view on Ms. Claire is too dark!¡±

    Dark? Where do you find that blondie teacher being other than dark? Truth to be told, she¡¯s darker than black! One time I made an incident, she lectured for hours. I thought I remember her calling my parents, but fortunately both my parents were busy to be bothered with me. Hence the hell of a lengthy lecture as a replacement. Just because she wouldn¡¯t be able to humiliate me in front of my parents, she decided to exasperate me by wasting my precious time.

    Being lectured by an older woman was sure uncomfortable. My mother herself never lectured me. The feeling of getting lectured was very unfamiliar to me, or maybe if I can put it in other word,

    Annoying.

    What¡¯s with ¡°Oh you¡¯re such an excellent student, but your attitude is like a rotten frog. I¡¯m worried about your future.¡± Are you my mom?

    Well, it doesn¡¯t sound like my mom either.

    My future had already been decided the moment I was born in this family. There was almost nothing can change that from happening. It¡¯s fate. My linear unchanging fate.

    I made a quick hum, then averted my eyes away from her and rested my chin on my palm.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± she insisted.

    I remained silent with my eyes rolled to the side to peek on her.

    She then lifted a forefinger. ¡°Oh right! Tonight, let¡¯s chill and watch movie at your house. I¡¯ve bought this new movie from Google. It¡¯s highly recommended by the reviewers!¡±

    ¡°Why my house? If we want to go for a movie, better go to a cinema.¡±

    ¡°Because your house is huge! I mean, humongous! Plus¡­ we¡¯re living together, right?¡±

    What is she talking about? As far as I had been aware, there was no one in that mansion except me, and me only. Every day was lonely, no one welcomed me at home. That uselessly huge mansion, even decorated with lovely mini gardens of flowers, over 10 meters veranda, enormous concrete pools, it felt nothing but emptiness.

    My residence probably cost over 30 million dollars, not that I know the exact figure. In fact, it was personally designed by my father.

    What does she mean by living together?

    No.

    Is she even telling the truth?

    Her offer was very alluring. You know I¡¯m also a boy, I couldn¡¯t ask more than being invited by a girl to stay overnight. When the vanilla fragrant tingled my nose as her face got closer, I made up my mind.

    ¡°So to say, if only I decide to meet Ms. Claire, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes¡­ you really know what I mean!¡± she answered confidently.

    How foxy!

    And Underhanded!

    Women are no joke. But they also tend to lie. While they¡¯re no joke, it doesn¡¯t mean you can just trust them. Of course, that was such a sexism comment. To put it in the right place, you shouldn¡¯t even trust anyone but yourself.

    Annoyed by the situation, I unconsciously clicked my tongue.

    ¡°I guess I¡¯ll just go.¡±

 1-1: Be the President!

    1-1

    ¡°Be the President of Student Council!¡±

    What a big word coming from my blondie teacher. She announced it straight to my face together with her triumphant smile, and an intense stare by her pair of cerulean eyes. In addition, she also pointed her finger as if she just won a grand competition.

    ¡°No, I mean why?¡±

    ¡°The round table of the councillors have decide that you should be part of student council. Be the president! You see, we¡¯re already few weeks into the new semester and no student has nominated anyone for the position.¡±

    I felt like my eyes just twitched. Seeing my reaction, Ms. Claire swiftly crossed her arms.

    ¡°¡ªAny sort of rejection is unacceptable.¡±

    Surely heaving a frustrated sigh was unavoidable. I turned my head to give an annoyed look to Girl A. She seemed to have made a wry laugh while her eyes cued an innocent look.

    In this school, teachers have practically the veto power to assume the student council¡¯s members. Although students can announce any candidacy of their like, if no one does so, teachers have no choice but to choose the candidate themselves.

    This is highly prestigious school, most students will only focus on studying. Perhaps doing the student council¡¯s work will merit them nothing except taking away their precious study time. It¡¯s not all bad fruits coming from being in student council, they will be rewarded handsomely too. For example, a huge benefit you can get is a direct letter of recommendation from the school. The letter from the school will help you to open up your path to a brighter future.

    ¡°I told you she¡¯d abuse her power,¡± I said in whisper.

    ¡°Sorry, I didn¡¯t anticipate this,¡± replied Girl A as she scratched the back of her head.

    ¡°Is there something you wanna say?¡± intervened Ms. Claire.

    ¡°N-no¡­ nothing.¡±

    ¡°Good, follow me.¡±

    We, the two students and the teacher walked out of the office. Turning left, we went through a long glassed-built hallway. Outside scenery was viewable through the transparent bridge. From up here, we could see the tennis court and next to it, the basketball court. Far behind those courts, there was a football field.

    Aside from my home, the architectural aspect of this school was also outstanding. There were four blocks of building connected by these transparent bridges to which we were heading to block D. It¡¯s the most eastern block as well the closest to teacher¡¯s office. Each block has their own lift too. Not many high schools were offered the elevator services. It¡¯s thanks to the government¡¯s commitment to inject a huge sum of budget into this school. We also sometimes get sponsors by companies. Due to that, many renovations were underway.

    When we arrived at the uppermost floor of the building D which we took a lift, Ms. Claire opened an isolated wooden door and immediately, the air between the door¡¯s gaps rushed in. The air was cold, colder than in the hallway.

    We were just few weeks into the spring.

    The school ought to be more efficient on energy usage. God, I guess they have too much money in the reserve.

    Though how¡¯s the school gonna manage its budget was none of my concern, we stumbled upon a view to which a white-haired girl was quietly reading a pocket book on the president¡¯s chair. The rear of her shone a frame of evening daylight through a window.

    ¡°Yo Alice!¡± greeted Ms. Claire casually.

    Heard, the girl didn¡¯t promptly reply. Instead, she steadily raised her head and gave the teacher a blank look. After a few moments, she finally spoke,

    ¡°Is it wrong that I wonder if western people never learn about mannerism?¡±

    Sharp and unfiltered.

    What a scary statement towards a teacher!

    However, it didn¡¯t bother Ms. Claire a bit. She carved a huge smile in return.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be so negative. You¡¯re also from the west!¡±

    ¡°Untrue, although it¡¯s undeniable I¡¯m half but unlike you, I have been staying in Japan since I was born. You came directly after you graduated and started working here. I guess you haven¡¯t got used to living in this country.¡±The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

    ¡°Your way of living is too much for me, I tell you. Forget about it,¡± replied Ms. Claire after waving the topic away.

    ¡°¡ªAnyway, remember when I told you I¡¯ll bring more people into the council?¡±

    ¡°Is he¡­?¡± the girl asked with a doubt.

    Lifting her hand and firmly grabbed my right shoulder, Ms. Clair announced,

    ¡°This guy¡­ is SADIST.¡±

    Huh?!

    ¡°Oy, why is that the first thing you told her?!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve had many cases in the school. When I asked all the involved, it somehow led to you being an unbelievable piece of jerk. Well, I can¡¯t disclose what you did in details here¡­ but in anyway, it¡¯s your thing right? Being schadenfreude.¡±

    Schadenfreude. It¡¯s not an easy word to just spurt randomly. If I do take pleasure by seeing others¡¯ misfortune, there¡¯s some screws loose with my head. Even if the teachers acknowledged my problem, what can they do about it?

    Or

    What are they gonna do?

    ¡°To be clear I have to tell you. It¡¯s not a disease.¡±

    Ms. Claire maintained her positive expression.

    ¡°Is that what you think?¡±

    ¡°Think? Think whatever you want, it doesn¡¯t matter to me.¡±

    From positivity into an absolute affirmation, she grasped her waist and announced,

    ¡°Impeccable, I will now appoint you as the president of the student council for this year!¡±

    This blondie never listens. . .

    ¡°Please wait a minute.¡±

    We heard Alice¡¯s unsatisfied voice from a distance.

    ¡°¡ªTeacher, are you pulling a farce here? Disease or not, I¡¯ve also heard few nasty things about him. Making him the president is the worst decision you can make right now.¡±

    ¡°¡ªI faithfully reject.¡±

    Great. The event turned out to be better than I thought. From what I¡¯d seen now, Alice was a very straightforward girl. She didn¡¯t give a damn about others¡¯ ridiculous opinions and she will raise her voice in order to correct things that appear wrong. Be it a teacher as her opponent, she seemed the type of girl who would not back down until she gets what she wants.

    I would thank God for this odd encounter. But before I even managed to butt in, she immediately continued,

    ¡°¡ªHis appointment would possibly cause a bad reputation to the school. Schadenfreude you say? That¡¯s just something wrong with his personality, his psychology to be precise.¡±

    So she said with a straight face. Despite her argument only pointed out the truth, my heart just couldn¡¯t tank the frustration of being blatantly insulted. I felt like something had already ticked inside my head.

    ¡°Are you worried or something?¡±

    Her fingers holding the pocket book somewhat twitched. While maintaining her calm expression, she gave me a sharp stare.

    ¡°¡­ of what, if I may ask?¡±

    ¡°Of losing your place. Your lovely high prestigious school¡¯s name. You look like a very mannered girl who only knows how to follow orders, believing that it¡¯s the right things to do. What¡¯s good of appointing some boring, down-to-earth person as your president? Nothing will change, or I would say, you will not change.¡±

    The pocket book she¡¯s holding was snapped close.

    ¡°I¡¯m just saying for the benefits¡ª¡°

    ¡°Ah¡­ the classic benefits of everyone? That¡¯s just a convenient way to replace ¡®I¡¯.¡±

    ¡°What¡ª¡°

    ¡°Don¡¯t try to play dumb woman, I¡¯m the Main Character here.¡±

    Heard, or rather, once she had looked at my face, her eyes were slightly widened as well as her mouth was slightly hung open. After that, she muttered,

    ¡°I see¡­ that¡¯s the face you¡¯d make. It¡¯s clear as a day, you double-faced wolf.¡±

    I didn¡¯t know what my face looked like but one thing for sure, I intended to belittle the girl until something happens. Something? Yes, like¡­ her crying?

    I took a very deep breath.

    ¡°Forget what I said,¡± I cued a resigning gesture as I averted my eyes away.

    Girl A, who was watching us conversed had finally made a move. She gently held my hand then asked Ms. Claire, ¡°Teacher, I will be joining student council too, right?¡±

    The teacher nodded as a confirmation. She then lightly petted my back before insisting that I must become the president.

    ¡°Consider this as your punishment, work your ass and help the whole school to move forward.¡±

    Being the president as a punishment¡­? This setup is worse than our conventional politics.

    ¡°Teacher¡­¡± Alice voiced out as her forehead contracted, ¡°¡­no matter what I say¡­?¡±

    ¡°Yes, no matter what you say, I stand still with my decision. I can¡¯t let the seat stays empty, this school is full of problematic kids you see. Us, teachers can¡¯t really handle all of your problems.¡±

    Wait, is she trying to say that I will have to solve the students¡¯ problem in teachers¡¯ stead?

    Alice heaved a heavy resigning sigh.

    ¡°Then, I won¡¯t dispute anymore.¡±

    ¡°Very well. Alice, you¡¯ll be the vice-president. I¡¯m expecting a lot from you. I¡¯ve e-mailed your further details how can you start.¡±

    Everyone knew well how hard Alice wanted to scream her objection but she held it back splendidly. The teacher¡¯s order went by just only with Alice¡¯s frustrated eyebrows. Satisfied with the result, Ms. Claire finally left the room, leaving only the three of us. The situation couldn¡¯t get any awkward. However, Alice tried to sooth the mood by walking towards us, or to be specific, Girl A.

    ¡°Why are you wearing the uniform such a slutty way? It¡¯s unbefitting.¡±

    In contrast to Girl A, Alice wore her uniform orderly. Her tie was tied neatly and her skirt didn¡¯t look so short. Her silky white skin and slender body really invoked her beauty.

    Uhh¡­ come to think of it, this girl is kind cute.

    ¡°You really do speak up your mind, don¡¯t you?¡± Girl A replied with a chuckle.

    ¡°I only say the truth, I¡¯m not fond of lying or cover up. At least I do it as sincere as I can get. Unlike this fella over there, speaking up for the purpose of bringing them down. What¡¯s with that ¡®main character?¡¯ setting, are you implying others are just mob character? Or perhaps you¡¯re just fantasizing?¡±

    ¡°I told you don¡¯t mind it. Just talking to myself.¡±

    Nevertheless, I really do think I¡¯m the main character here. If Ms. Clair never mentioned your name in the conversation, I would have branded you just Girl B. You should be thankful I decided to use your name in the narration.

    I walked towards the chair where Alice was sitting before. Prior be able to take a seat, Alice stopped me,

    ¡°Wait.¡±

    ¡°Huh, what is it?¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t take the seat yet. I haven¡¯t approved you for being the president yet.¡±

    ¡°What are you talking about? You heard Ms. Claire didn¡¯t you? Unfortunately, I had no choice but to swallow this hard reality.¡±

    ¡°You have a point but¡­¡± she approached me, resting one hand on her waist and the other directing a smartphone¡¯s screen at me, ¡°¡ªYou have first to pass the trials.¡±

 1-2

    1-2

    Ever since we were left behind in this moderate-sized room filled with two pairs of sofas placed at each side of a table tea, a huge LCD, fridge and some cabinets, we were trying to figure out what did Ms. Claire mean by trials. The president chair and desk had remained untouched since then.

    ¡°What the hell is this, a riddle?¡±

    Alice and I were sitting next to each other on the sofa. While we maintained a considerate distance, I somehow managed to peek on the message saying,

    ¡°Overcome the trials, make yourself worth.

    ¨CClaire Samaras¡±

    That was being displayed on Alice¡¯s smartphone.

    Judging by that name, Ms. Claire is from German, I suppose?

    I was aware that she just got transferred into the school this year from overseas and not to mention, immediately became our classroom teacher, class A-2. Class A is the second class top class you can enter and if you are the best amongst the best, you can enter class S. The alphabetical descending order would from S to D. Though, there¡¯s not much deviance between these classes, at best it would only differ for about 5 marks.

    None of the students in the school got less than 80 marks on each subject. That just means everyone had only distinction grade on their examination results. Sounds amazing right?

    But class S was more outrageous. It¡¯s a room where you pile a lump of monsters together. Students in the class would only get minimum of 100 marks, no less. Getting 100 marks for every subject was like being perfect. They had like the total of 17 students. In other words, they¡¯re just bunch of study maniacs.

    Ridiculous.

    Nothing is perfect.

    Sliding my hips to the most corner of the sofa, I looked aside and rested my chin against my fist, mumbling,

    ¡°What a load of crap. Are we supposed to be playing a game? I¡¯m sorry but I¡¯m not in the mood.¡±

    ¡°Probably, it has some meaning to it.¡±

    Girl A was preparing some sort of tea after she found a newly packed teabag from the cabinets. She stirred the liquid in the jug after pouring the hot water that she got from the nearby active water purifier that came with hot and cold dispensing functions. Then, she poured the blended tea into three cups and put each of them in front of us on the table. She later took a seat opposite of me and Alice.

    Unlike Alice who¡¯s sitting in manner with her legs closed, Girl A sat with one feet resting on other thigh. If not because of her skirt¡¯s fabric drooped down, I could clearly see her panties.

    I hope she¡¯s wearing a short of something similar.

    Alice put her smartphone at the side, then took a sip of the tea. After relishing the drink, she spoke.

    ¡°This is really delicious. Did you brew the mixture manually? The sweetness and the tea strength blended together quite nicely.¡±

    ¡°Anyone can make tea¡­ not a big deal,¡± Kina denied as she swayed her hand.

    ¡°Sure I agree,¡± Alice nodded while landing her half-drunk cup on the table, ¡°I can tell apart amateur tea and pro tea, it is as if you¡¯ve been doing it regularly.¡±

    Amateur tea and pro tea? Either way, both are tea right?

    If I was allowed to translate, amateur tea is made from someone novice in tea making while pro tea is made by experienced tea maker, or perhaps, professional tea maker. Quite a distinction in the eyes of the girl named Alice but I just couldn¡¯t tell. It tasted the same of every tea I¡¯d been drinking.

    Huh, why is it the same?

    ¡°Is that so? Well, it¡¯s a kind of habit. Plus, it¡¯s Tieguanyin tea so it¡¯s no surprise.¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± showing the least interest, I spoke, ¡°It¡¯s the same tea I¡¯ve been drinking in my house.¡±

    No wonder the taste is similar. I¡¯ve had the same tea for quite a long time. Oh yeah, in fact, tea is never my favourite as I¡¯ve never bought any tea-related stuff outside my house.

    I¡¯m a coffee guy.

    Girl A paused upon hearing my say. Then, she carved a soft smile before agreeing on something that never needed an agreement.

    ¡°Yes, I suppose. It¡¯s the same what¡¯s in your house.¡±

    ¡°Talking about Tieguanyin¡­¡± Alice drank her tea empty, ¡°I heard it¡¯s a type of Oolong tea named after the Goddess of Mercy in Buddhist Deity. It has this unique taste because compared to other Oolong tea, it¡¯s a mixed of black and green teas. And I heard it can cost up to $3000 per kilogram.¡±Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

    Is that expensive¡­?

    ¡°You really do know a lot about tea, Alice,¡± Girl A spoke, following suit to finishing her tea.

    ¡°Thank you. It¡¯s because I like tea.¡±

    Alice pushed her cup slightly to the front, indicating she wished for something.

    ¡°¡ªIs it okay if I ask for a refill?¡±

    ¡°Sure!¡±

    Girl A did what needed to be done with the jug. For the second time, she poured the tea into Alice¡¯s cup as well as refilling hers. She even cued if I needed the same thing but I shook my head as a refusal. She then went back to her seating in front of me and Alice.

    After reading Ms. Claire e-mail one more time, Alice sparked the main topic again.

    ¡°Let¡¯s get back to business¡­ I think I¡¯ve figured out what the teacher wants.¡±

    ¡°And what¡¯s that?¡± I asked.

    ¡°President of Student Council, a way to describe it that he/she will represent all the students in this school. It¡¯s not limited to inside work but outside work as well. In other word, he/she will be the diplomatic figure for the school.¡±

    ¡°Ahh¡­ I get it. Normally the candidates have to go through the election process before being qualified as the president. Since there¡¯s no such thing, we have to declare it to the students¡­? I guess,¡± Girl A explained.

    ¡°Yes, we will announce it,¡± affirmed Alice. ¡°Make yourself worth probably means we have to make the students accept their new president.¡±

    Announce? Accept?

    I think I¡¯m out.

    I raised my hands as if I raised a white flag, and spoke in reluctance,

    ¡°I give up. There¡¯s no way the students will easily accept me. Truth be told, I don¡¯t think they will even accept me at all.¡±

    Averting eyes contacts with both of them, I continued,

    ¡°¡ªAlice you do it.¡±

    ¡°No, you will do it,¡± a solid, firm rejection promptly expelled from Alice¡¯s mouth followed by a grave look. Her eyes stared so sharp that it somehow threatened me from the inside.

    ¡°¡ªAtone your mistake, your sin. As much I want to support your withdrawal from the position, I will want to make you the president.¡±

    Her serious look defined nothing of any sense. If she would just accept being the president, everything can be solved so easily. I bet this type of girl was very much liked by ¡®everyone¡¯. She¡¯s gonna have the simplest way.

    Maybe I¡¯m wrong?

    You really can¡¯t judge the book by its cover, or the face¡­ wait. Her appearance didn¡¯t tell me anything. Yeah right, her unfiltered, sharp-tongue personality. By a societal standard, it¡¯s common to adapt a hypocritical approach in some parts of your life. There are things you should point out and things you shouldn¡¯t

    Others might call it interpersonal skills. Changing your way of talking and behaviours, depending on your audience, is just being hypocrite. Argue all you want but it¡¯s a fact. Just because he¡¯s your boss, you should just listen to him and lick his shoes because he pays you? Even though what he¡¯s doing is plain wrong? Or because he¡¯s your boss you have to talk politely?

    Hypocrisy and Interpersonal Skills.

    It¡¯s just like yin and yang, a negative description and the positive description.

    People aren¡¯t just being true to themselves.

    What is being true anyway?

    ¡°Your attitude before and after the agreement with Ms. Claire differs too much. What¡¯s up with you? Identity crisis? Is it because you don¡¯t have friends to support you?¡±

    She let a small sigh before answering.

    ¡°You are partially true¡­ but that¡¯s not the case. We have to follow teacher¡¯s order.¡±

    ¡°Oh wow... look here, a teacher¡¯s pet.¡±

    ¡°Say what you want. I will do what I¡¯ve agreed to do.¡±

    And just like that, I had lost interest in the conversation. I knew when she said ¡®say whatever I want¡¯, it really meant say whatever I want. In that case, it would bring me no benefit to continue sparing words with her and there¡¯s no reason to break the shell which someone had been comfortable to be in.

    Because they will just recreate the shell.

    Why?

    Because it¡¯s comfortable.

    I stood up, and looked down on both Alice and Girl A.

    ¡°Don¡¯t regret ever supporting me.¡±

    By the look of Alice¡¯s sullen reaction and Girl A¡¯s unchanging expression, I had probably made that mischievous smile. A smile that indicated nothing but bad omen. Though after the declaration, none of the girls ever gave a reply.

    ¡°Vice-Prez,¡± I called, ¡°I¡¯m all ears of your suggestions.¡±

    Alice dropped in confusion as her left eyebrow lifted.

    ¡°I¡¯m not officially the vice-president, in order to have a vice-president, the president needs to be elected first.¡± She then went into deep thought, ¡°¡ªWell¡­ if you want to call me, maybe soon-to-be-vice-president?¡±

    ¡°Soon-to-be¡­? Damn long, and weird. Forget about it, I¡¯m just gonna call you Alice.¡±

    Seeing her accepting expression, I brought the conversation back.

    ¡°¡ªSo, what¡¯s your suggestions? I¡¯m not good with this kind of stuff and to be fair, I¡¯d appreciate if you come up all the processes we have to go through.¡±

    I don¡¯t know why she decided to give me an intense glare. But when she opened her mouth, I knew she¡¯s not just an Alice.

    ¡°I see. At first, I didn¡¯t understand when Ms. Claire told me about you. Now I get it. Not only you have detestable personality, you can also lie straight to people¡¯s face without the slightest guilt.¡±

    I forced myself to lay down and took the seat back. Then, I crossed my legs, tilted my head to the side and rested my face against my fist.

    ¡°It just means that I trust you as my future aide.¡±

    Alice definitely heard my fake assurance. Somehow, she decided to take a glance at Girl A who was relaxing against the sofa with her arms wide opened. Noticed, Girl A asked,

    ¡°Is there something in your mind?¡±

    ¡°Nah, I just thought this student council gonna be bizarre one.¡±

    ¡°I think so too.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s make a plan. First, we have to make an announcement, possibly via poster and media social. Then make a town hall to listen any dispute that students would probably voice.¡±

    There¡¯s simply a thing I didn¡¯t like in the plan. Thus, I asked.

    ¡°Town hall? Is that even necessary? Ms. Claire has given us green light to form a student council already. There¡¯s no need to go trouble organizing a town hall. Just announce it and be done.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right. That way, there¡¯s no way students can make an objection and we be good without further hassle. However, while I¡¯m being ordered to be your vice, I won¡¯t just help any fools.¡±

    I understand when you don¡¯t want to blindly extend hand to someone. Knowing where to put your face is very important. But well, it¡¯s kind of hurt when she said that.

    ¡°So you¡¯re just saying that you have pride to mind?¡±

    ¡°For the least, I¡¯m not helping an idiot. Plus...--¡±

    Before proceeding, she made a blank stare. Though, I couldn¡¯t really tell what¡¯s the telling of the stare, I was confused. It¡¯s like she¡¯s trying to convey a message, but the content was written with various languages. Unless you learn all the languages in the world, you can¡¯t possible understand.

    ¡°¡ªI want them to know that you¡¯re the president.¡±

    Hostility. . .

    Friendliness. . .

    What¡¯s going on¡­?

    The way she talked felt like she wanted to kill me but at the same time, she ought to support me. I can¡¯t help but foresee a backstabbing coming from her.

    ¡°¡ªWe might even need to go class by class,¡± she added.

    Breaking the weird intensity, Girl A started asking with a relaxed voice,

    ¡°Talking about class, what class are you in Alice? I never saw you in mine, so I think you¡¯re in different class?¡±

    Alice paused a moment, taking a sip of tea and eventually replied,

    ¡°2-S.¡±

 1-3

    1-3

    After a seemingly adequate meeting with Alice and Girl A, we managed to design a simple poster then printed about 20 pages and displayed it throughout the school. In addition, social media pages of current student council were created, posting its first announcement while tagging anyone that¡¯s have relation with the school. By this method, we could even managed to reach parents and alumnus.

    All in all, we just had to wait for the public feedback tomorrow.

    If you think about how¡¯s people gonna react to whatever you¡¯re doing, it is kind of worrisome. It indirectly instils fear into one¡¯s mind. Humans are curious creatures. They prone to know their ability, what happens if they do something. Will the result side with them? Or does it simply make them regret?

    You never know.

    That¡¯s why you have to know, but then if you haven¡¯t known, you¡¯ll be worried.

    If that¡¯s so, then you can avoid fall into unavailing mental state with one simple method.

    That is, to never care.

    People always question whether is avoiding to care even an honourable thing to do as a human-being. They just don¡¯t try. The lack of trying is even less honourable. But once they¡¯ve tried, it becomes addicting just like nicotine.

    ¡°As promised, we are going to have a movie night together!¡±

    Although after listening to Girl A¡¯s enticing confirmation for the plan tonight, I couldn¡¯t shake the frustration of being tricked. I never wanted to become the president, it never caught my interest in the first place. Yet somehow I was driven to become one.

    ¡°Did you know these messed up things gonna happen when you insisted me to meet Ms. Claire?¡±

    Looking up the sky, then turned towards me, she answered,

    ¡°Nope, not at all. I was just following the flow.¡±

    Her eyes showed sincerity followed by an aura reeked only honesty. When I forced a suspicion look, she kept on insisting with a casual smile. Thereafter, I gave in and continued my focus on the road.

    My house and school were in commutable distance as it would take me about 10 minutes to travel by train and probably around 30 minutes if by walking alone. Presently, we were just few minutes away from the train station, heading to my house. Father once asked me if I ever needed a personal driver to send me to school but I refused. Aside from the hellishly everyday crowd, getting on and off train made me feel alive.

    ¡°Well, what¡¯s done is done. We can just see what¡¯s gonna happen tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°Would you want to have dinner tonight?¡±

    Dinner is something that I usually take on daily basis because I¡¯ll naturally turn hungry at the end of the day. But thanks to the student council thingy, I didn¡¯t seem to have appetite to eat proper dinner.

    ¡°Nah, let¡¯s just have popcorn or whatever, and eat during the movie.¡±

    Dashing forward a few steps, Girl A pointed towards the side of the road. The location of interest was a small 24-7 shop that had just started to switch on its night light. Teng Ning! The digital bell rang as soon as we passed through the entrance line and we saw only the storekeeper who just welcomed us.

    The night was coming so we both preferred to do a quick shopping. After grabbing some snacks and small bottles of carbonated drinks, Girl A finally approached me at the counter with the goods. It¡¯s common for me, so I thought without realizing, to leave things to her and I always wonder, why did I even do that? When my eyes picked up the goods she brought, I noticed those snacks were mostly my favourite.

    ¡°I think we¡¯re good with these,¡± she said, transferring those goods one by one from the basket onto the table counter.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

    I didn¡¯t imply any sort of green light yet as my eyes were attracted to the magazine section.

    Noticed, the girl tilted her head to see the designated corner. A small ¡°Oh¡± came out from her lips.

    ¡°¡ªToday, a new volume of JUMP is released, isn¡¯t it? I totally forgot about it. Let¡¯s buy it too.¡±

    Thus, she walked to grab a JUMP from the bookcase and promptly placed it on the counter. Then, she turned towards me and held her palm opened as if she¡¯s asking for me to pay.

    ¡°Why me¡­?¡± I asked, confused.

    ¡°Because I don¡¯t have money to pay it,¡± she answered with a casual smile.

    Is that even a valid reason?

    Despite having given such an irritating reasoning, I still handed her my card for the payment. You don¡¯t really do cash these days, cards have that we call payWave. It really makes payment such a simple task. Just a quick tap and you¡¯re good to go.

    The same digital bell rang as we exited the store.

    A little bit more walk, we arrived in front of house¡¯s main gate which was located at quite a hilly residence. The houses constructed here were all having those ¡®grand and rich¡¯ feels to it but mine was quite unique as it had world-class ecstatic design. Everyone that ever came here will get wowed by the neighbourhood but they will definitely get overwhelmed once they¡¯d seen my house.

    It¡¯s equipped with a very sophisticated security system. I just had to take my step as usual and the gate would open by itself. It wouldn¡¯t work if it¡¯s not my parents or me, or the girl beside me. At the doorstep, a sleek designed finger print scanner was placed at the sidewall. In order to open the door, I had to put my fingerprint in and if it failed to recognize the input more than three time, the siren would rang and notify the nearby police station.

    It also had this vibration-movement sort of sensing tech that will most of the time, threatens any trampling attempts.

    Going through the front gate, surrounding with mini-garden and a small fish pond, we entered the house.

    Girl A came in with ¡°I¡¯m home,¡± albeit knowing there¡¯s no one to answer the call.

    What a useless thing to do.

    ¡°I¡¯m thinking of watching the movie at the outdoor cinema, what do you think?¡± she asked.

    ¡°¡­ I¡¯m fine with either place.¡±

    This mansion had two type of cinemas, one indoor and the other as mentioned by Girl A. Outdoor cinema was located at the other side of the mansion facing a golf field while indoor one was located at the second floor, somewhere at the center.

    The first thing Girl A did after asking was gently carrying my bag and laid it against the wall together with hers right after entering the home cinema. She subsequently landed our snacks on a small table and slid off the curtains, revealing a vast view of the golf field. By the time it was opened, the sun had already set, having poles of artificial lights to appear in its stead.

    From time to time, nearby billionaires will spend their time playing golf. Well, it¡¯s usually lively during weekends and rarely during weekdays. As of now, it was really quiet.

    She took out her smartphone, opened up an app then connected to the cinema screen via Bluetooth for streaming.

    ¡°What movie is this?¡± I asked before she hit the play button.

    ¡°It¡¯s for us to enjoy!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯d better not asking me to watch a horror movie¡­ wait, is it a horror movie?¡±

    I took a seat on the comfy sofa so did she really close next to mine. We were very close that our shoulder touched each other¡¯s. Unlike being with Alice, I really didn¡¯t mind her doing that to me. In fact, it¡¯s common for me to be this close especially when I was having fun with other girls. It just felt superb. Not to mention, I could still smell her disappearing perfume.

    The smell really last long huh?

    ¡°You¡¯re still afraid of scary stuff?¡± she chuckled. ¡°It¡¯s really weird¡­ being such a cool and dominant playboy.¡±

    ¡°People don¡¯t call it ¡®scary¡¯ for no reasons.¡±

    I tried to play it cool.

    That¡¯s right. Things are scary because we just have little knowledge about them. In movie, it depicts the scariness by masking the true nature of something. Scary face, albeit just being makeup, is scary because it¡¯s very uncommon for humans to see such face in their daily life. It¡¯s just unnatural for us and we don¡¯t know the true nature behind the face. Normal-faced human beings will just do normal things but what about those monsters or ghost? Are they good creatures? Are they going to kill us?

    We lack information on that thus it becomes scary, because it¡¯s intimidating. Humans don¡¯t really like involving themselves with unknown stuff. So people who like horror stuff just like to take the risk, in short, they¡¯re suicidal.

    I¡¯m gonna admit, knowledge and information are very valuable.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s just a movie.¡±

    Just a movie¡­ eh?

    In the area where only the screen¡¯s luminous light shone, the intro had finally been played. By the look of it, it really was just a movie and it¡¯s for us to enjoy, it¡¯s for us to discover.

    Discovering things are really excited, but at the same time, it¡¯s rough. It¡¯s rough to just go out of your comfort zone to discover things. Sure that¡¯s not the case here because being with this girl really brings peace to my environment.

    ¡°You¡­--¡°

    ¡°I¡¯m not just you.¡±

    I was cut before I could continue. Then, she grabbed a bottle of drink and gulped it for few times. With the lid still opened, she passed it to me.

    ¡°¡ªWatanabe Kina.¡±

    Before accepting the offer, I calmly stared at the bottle. Thinking it was a chance for me to experience an indirect kiss, I immediately drank half the bottle. Of course, I made sure my lips touched the lids as much as she made sure hers touched the same thing.

    Happy with what I did, she steadily laid her head against my shoulder and murmured,

    ¡°¡ªPlease don¡¯t play dumb again, I¡¯m your maid, right?¡±

 1-4

    1-4

    The movie last night was from a Hollywood action movie, Avengers was it? It was quite epic and it¡¯s always Kina¡¯s favourite things to always watch. Sometimes she watches horror movies and that¡¯s why, I was just being cautious when I first asked her about the movie

    Early in the morning, the sun begun to raise and I found myself laying on the sofa. It wasn¡¯t familiar ceiling I was looking at because it¡¯s very uncommon for me to sleep in the cinema. However, I got really attached to the sound of chirping bird thus I knew very well that it¡¯d be the time to wake up. Regardless how boring this chore was, I¡¯d still heed the naturalistic morning call.

    From young age, I was trained to wake up early, the rule was before six in the morning. My body just got used to it no matter what time I fell asleep. It was part of my father¡¯s ¡®productive¡¯ lesson forced on me. Although I used the word ¡®forced¡¯, it¡¯s not all bad. It had its own merit.

    Come to talk of it, father and mother didn¡¯t come home yesterday huh¡­?

    Well, it doesn¡¯t matter, it happens quite commonly. At least during weekends they¡¯ll be here most of the time. As soon as I stood up from the sleeping position, my nose caught a smell of frying eggs. Then, I remembered that we had a small kitchen next to the outdoor cinema as well. Another one at ground floor which we often use.

    To walk there was quite far, I think that¡¯s why Kina decided to make breakfast nearby.

    I intended to have my breakfast outside so I walked up and opened the sliding door. A mini fountain reverberated the sound of splashing water and the bird¡¯s chirp became louder. I took a seat at a small set of two chairs and a round table near the edge of the veranda. A goose promptly flied in front of my eyes before landing on the nearby pond.

    It¡¯s really like a utopia living here.

    So that¡¯s what I thought, I immediately got hit by an unpleasant feeling once I started staring at the mentioned goose.

    Coming from kitchen¡¯s door, pushing a tray with a cooked breakfast, Kina called me,

    ¡°Good morning, sorry I didn¡¯t wake you up last night before bedtime. Is your back hurt somewhere?¡±

    She spoke so colloquially, as if she was speaking with a close friend while serving me the breakfast on the table.

    ¡°Nah it¡¯s fine. The sofa was unusually comfy.¡±

    Kina had been really mysterious to me. She was always loyal and obedient to me but never failed to act like a friend, not to mention, a ¡®delinquent-slutty-like¡¯ friend and always by my side. Very few called us couple and most of them called us friends with benefits. Whichever, it didn¡¯t matter to me.

    The tea was poured from the pot into my cup before I heard a reply.

    ¡°Phew¡­ I¡¯m really glad,¡± she said, putting the pot back to its original place. ¡°I thought you¡¯re gonna punish me again.¡±

    It sounded exactly like I wanted to do but I have better priority to take care, for instance the president thingy. I gave her a quick cold stare once before shifting my attention to the breakfast menu. I was served a two slices of baked bread, a fried egg, a cup of coleslaw as well as a cup of hot tea. Well, it was just that everyday essential meal of a simple breakfast.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    ¡°For the punishment, I mig¡ª¡°

    Before I even finished talking, a loud shriek shocked us from the side, having me to jump off from the chair. We were kind of frozen seeing the goose was making an attack on us. It was flying mid-air, forcing an offensive disturbance with its wings, and annoying honk that was blasting the quiet and calm environment.

    That¡¯s right.

    I remember now.

    Whenever I try to eat outside, it will always try to steal my food! I tell you, that particular goose!

    *Queek* Queek*

    The goose stood its ground (sky?) as if it was trying to provoke me.

    ¡°That surprised me!¡± Kina sighed a relief. ¡°This goose really likes picking on our nerve, isn¡¯t it? What we gonna do about this bird?¡±

    I was pretty scowled at a point I was thinking to kill it and turn it into BBQ. Grilled BBQ flavoured. No, is it better if I grill this damn goose alive? Or so I should grill it in front of their kinds so I can prevent any more gooses trying to pick a fight with me?

    ¡°Murder the hell of this piece of shit.¡±

    ¡°If you say so¡­¡± Kina pulled her sleeves up, readied herself to jump on the goose. ¡°I can definitely do it, you sure?¡±

    Knowing Kina, I¡¯m sure she would actually go and kill the goose without complaints. However, we were at 2<sup>nd</sup> floor and she really did try to jump on that goose, undoubtedly she¡¯s gonna fall into the garden. Well, she¡¯s probably gonna survive the fall with little to no injury but I can¡¯t afford to attend her if worse things happen.

    Plus, deep down, she didn¡¯t want to get hurt, that¡¯s why she asked for a confirmation. Thus, I grabbed a slice of my bread and threw it away like I was throwing a boomerang. The goose immediately went and try to catch the bread that was later fell into the pond.

    ¡°It¡¯s like a flying dog,¡± Kina chuckled.

    We saw the goose dived into the water which later emerged with a fish stuck between its beaks. From there it was confirmed, that goose was just playing around.

    I swear I¡¯m gonna turn you into BBQ one day.

    ¡°You don¡¯t really eat dogs. If he comes again, he can say goodbye to this world.¡±

    Make sure to say goodbye to your family too!

    ¡°Oh? We¡¯re gonna eat it? I wonder what goose tastes like?¡±

    She placed her hand near her chin while I took the seat back, chomping the bread with the fried egg in seconds. When it¡¯s turn to eat the coleslaw, I slowed down. Then Kina took her seat and began eating her portions.

    ¡°What¡¯s my plan for today?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­¡± she closed her eyes and began searching her memory. ¡°Pretty much you only need to settle things about this president of student council.¡±

    ¡°Any news from father yet?¡±

    ¡°He said there¡¯s nothing to let you handle for this week. He¡¯ll update next week, I guess?¡±

    The way she shifted her tone to questioning in the middle of giving statement was really irritating. Why didn¡¯t she just take note? It¡¯s really of unbecoming a professional helper. Though, contrary to what I¡¯m complaining, she never ever gave me inaccurate information. I appreciated her hidden commitment to always seek legit info.

    In anyway, I was quite free and I might be able to handle this president things quite easily.

    Ughh¡­ remembering about yesterday with those girls and the fact that Kina didn¡¯t do anything to compromise Ms. Claire¡¯s absurd decision suddenly sparked my indignation to the very core.

    Frustrating.

    ¡°Kina. Before going to school, clean the whole mansion first.¡±

    The spoon scooping her coleslaw dropped from her hand and made a cling sound. A weak ¡°Ehh¡­¡± was mumbled with her face turned slightly red. All in while her whole body was frozen in confusion.

    ¡°¡ªW-Why¡­?!¡±

    A valid, one-word question indeed. She just did the cleaning on last Sunday, which exactly two days ago. Asking another cleaning session was a pointless thing to do. But since I was unhappy, she had to be punished.

    I¡¯m not totally being selfish, okay? It¡¯s true that it was partially her fault for letting that happened. So, she had to take the responsibility.

    ¡°I¡¯m not listening to any excuse. If I come back from school seeing things still unclean, you¡¯ll know what happen, right?¡±

    Her oceanic eyes closed half-way, looking at me with a pair of trustless eyes.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure what¡¯s the definition of your ¡®unclean¡¯¡­ I bet you¡¯ll say anything you want depending on your mood later. Even if I do the cleaning, it won¡¯t be much different from what you see right now.¡±

    Tch. As expected from my most trusted servant. I wouldn¡¯t say I will not do that. Worry not, I¡¯m not going to justify a nut. Just brushing it off like how most politicians brushing hot issues centering them would be good enough.

    ¡°Told you no excuse,¡± I asserted, finishing my last bite of coleslaw thereafter returned inside to take some morning bath.

    Still unsatisfied with my absurd order, Kina¡¯s face remained red as she watched me walking away. At the very end of my disappearance from her view, she exhaled a huge sigh.

 2-1: The Prosaic of the MC

    2-1

    On rare occasions, I¡¯d go to school alone, walk by the street alone, enter and exit the train stations alone. My alone time would end when I¡¯m approaching the school¡¯s main gate where I¡¯ve realized my surrounding is occupied with students of the same uniform.

    The school used sleek with red-lined design as the formal school uniforms. In the season other than summer, we¡¯d wear a white shirt and black, red collared blazer with red patterned skirt for girls, and a matching colour of black with pants for boys. Otherwise, it¡¯s just a white shirt and the skirt/pants. From outsider¡¯s point of view, our uniform might as well scream ¡®eliteeeeeee¡¯, coming from every corner of the fabric.

    The ¡®elite¡¯ aspect wasn¡¯t just for show, the students from the school were actually monstrously excellent. What differed us apart were just our involvements in co-curriculum activities, what we do beyond schools, be it outside or within our the school¡¯s premise. The school didn¡¯t have infinite options to offer to the students therefore like it or not, parts of us would opt to do something else outside schools. It was unavoidable that some of us would just go home and rest, play games or whatever things that don¡¯t formally involve any groups or organizations.

    Kanagawa International Elite High School, an obvious name for our luxurious school, located at Kanagawa Prefecture. In specific, we were few train stations away from the capital city of Tokyo. It admission were widely-opened for everyone around the globe, that is if you¡¯re excellent students. If I can put a fraction into the figure, about 50% of the school population was local and the rest was international.

    Japan doesn¡¯t have all the talents to fill in the school¡¯s quota anyway. This number is expected.

    Today, I was going to school alone since Kina had to do the cleaning chores. Our school starts the first period at sharp 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. It usually took around 4 hours to clean the whole house and since she started doing so around 7 a.m., I guess she will be late at least 3 hours for school? Well, if any of you think of getting the any weird idea, just consider it as a light punishment to her for not properly doing her job.

    It¡¯s inevitable.

    Yes, definitely inevitable. (It¡¯s not my fault)

    However, four hours to me sounded unreasonable. Cleaning that humongous mansion should at least take half a day. I should be grateful to have such as a capable servant to do the impossible, possible. Well, the mansion was technically clean so I could expect that she should be done sooner.

    So, with Kina being absent right now, I stood out like a stray prey. A prey for lusting teenage girls to play around with. Perhaps saying them ¡®lusty¡¯ wouldn¡¯t feel right, it¡¯s just female¡¯s nature to get attracted to men of their likes and I seemingly fell into those ¡®likes¡¯ category for most girls in the school.

    Without further ado, I already heard my name was called from behind. Two girls were walking briskly to catch up with me and once they reached both my shoulders, their feet continued walking along with me in a rhythm. Soon after, they both casually grasped both my arms each. It¡¯s not like they were trying to cling on me but rather to demonstrate how close we were as friends.

    One girl, brown short-haired with curly ends and another, blonde medium-long-haired with side ponytail. I¡¯d like to call them Girl C and D respectively because the A and B were already occupied in the story.

    ¡°Good morning,¡± they started greeting one after another.

    ¡°Good morning.¡±

    ¡°I heard you¡¯re appointed as the president of student council. Gratz!¡±

    ¡°I see, the news spread quite fast. Thanks.¡±If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    ¡°Do your best, we both will whole-heartedly support you! Unlike those jealous fellas!¡±

    Girl D suddenly turned slightly bitter. Her bitterness became contagious as it affected Girl C who also went heated.

    ¡°Really, those guys really just talk nonsense!¡±

    I didn¡¯t quite follow the conversation, thus I asked,

    ¡°What are you gals talking about?¡±

    Girl C¡¯s eyes rounded slightly.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you know? There have been criticisms about your nomination as the president, saying you¡¯re not suitable, worst person yada yada¡­ Though there¡¯s not many who¡¯re with them. Mostly comes from class 2-S and some from our class.¡±

    Our class is class 2-A.

    If I wasn¡¯t wrong, these girls were in the same class as mine, sitting at the most front left wing while me being the most rear on the right wing. Mine was closer to the rear door.

    Now I kinda understood why Ms. Claire said it was a trial even though I¡¯d been practically the president already. It can¡¯t be helped that there will be factions that were unsatisfied by the teacher¡¯s decision, perhaps they were seeking the position themselves. But that didn¡¯t explain the long haul of the president¡¯s vacancy.

    In other way, they felt like making criticisms for the sake of making it. Humans are too many to share one common, positive goal. We ought to disagree with each other and always try to bring groups they don¡¯t like down. That¡¯s why democracy is such a joke, there will always be never-ending arguments, as much like we¡¯re forced to watch circus shows for eternity.

    Given the situation, I was lucky to have met these girls first that by default had already shown their supports to me. I bet if Kina were here, they wouldn¡¯t even try to approach me and I might have bumped into my opponents first. Bullying Kina early in the morning was the right path.

    I¡¯m contented with the consequences.

    ¡°Our students are quite aggressive, huh? I was curious about what¡¯s gonna happen too, thanks for informing me.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, it¡¯s fine. We¡¯re already always at your side. Anyway, you free afterschool? Wanna go karaoke?¡±

    Karaoke¡­ I don¡¯t dislike singing but I¡¯m also not a good singer. But going out having fun with the girls always be a pleasant experience. Too bad I have to put it off for later.

    ¡°I really appreciate your offer but I¡¯m kinda not too free at the moment. Not to mention, student council works. Well, if you don¡¯t mind, come have fun at student council room.¡±

    Girl C and D looked at each other concernedly before coming out with a question.

    ¡°Watanabe, is she going to be there as well?¡±

    ¡°Under normal circumstance, yeah¡­ she should be.¡±

    Upon hearing my answer, both girls went reluctant as if they¡¯re trying to ditch the topic.

    ¡°W-Well, we might come if we have free time o-okay?¡±

    As expected my Kina. Her existence herself pose a threat to the girls. I always wonder why Kina put up with the delinquent appearances. She¡¯d make more friends if she behave and dress up more amiably. I have no validation but one theory of mine suggests that she purposely did that so she can have me all by herself.

    Geez, I¡¯d rather if you (Kina) learn how to share.

    Back to my problem, if revolts were to happen, there must be some sort of catalyzer, in other word a leader leading a revolution. People don¡¯t usually speak up together at the same time, someone had to get up first so that individual can initiate a chain leading up to a group revolt. Humans are very dependent on each other, it there¡¯s no leader, it would just be a chaos.

    ¡°Do you have any idea if someone¡¯s particularly against my appointment?¡±

    ¡°Someone¡¯s particular¡­?¡±

    Girl C and D exchanged look again, puzzled.

    ¡°Well, maybe like the most vocal, or whose statement are very much supported by the crowded. A leader I would say¡­¡±

    ¡°Oooh¡­ You mean that,¡± Girl D turned toward the sky, placing her finger on the lips. ¡°I think I heard something about a very unpleasant person, a girl? Sorry, I can¡¯t really remember her name.¡±

    Then Girl D cued to Girl C as she¡¯s asking her if she¡¯d remember anything.

    ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m also not so sure. But I think she¡¯s from S class.¡±

    ¡°I see, don¡¯t worry¡­ it¡¯s fine.¡±

    S-class huh? To start with they don¡¯t have that many students, sooner or later I¡¯d be able to figure it out.

    After some moments of leisure walk, we finally passed through the school entrance gate. We stumbled upon Alice in our sight and both the girls excused themselves saying that they had things to attend prior going to class. Before completely be out of my view, Girl C momentarily paused and curiously stared at Alice.

    ¡°What¡¯s up? Let¡¯s hurry up, we don¡¯t have much time before the first period,¡± urged Girl D.

    ¡°N-nothing, let¡¯s go.¡±

    And so with them being gone, I approached Alice who was few meters away which later greeted me with a typical ¡®good morning¡¯. As we went into the main building, I replied her with the same response.

    ¡°You¡¯re really taking it easy huh? Having fun with other girls despite being such in a dire position, don¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s quite an exaggerating statement. We just happened to meet when we¡¯re walking to school.¡±

    If exaggerating is not the right word, you can replace it with meaningless. My appointment was decided and if teacher would recall her order, then I¡¯d be more than grateful to accept it.

    But¡­

    My pride doesn¡¯t allow it.

    ¡°How dire is, dire?¡± I asked.

    Alice tilted her head and winked with a foxy smile.

    ¡°So dire that you¡¯d wish to kill yourself.¡±

 2-2

    2-2

    Again, what an exaggerating statement. I¡¯d never wish to die because dying is to end, you won¡¯t be able to gain anything by ending your story. However, Alice¡¯s self-justified character won¡¯t allow her to speak nonsense. Just how Ms. Claire¡¯s trials had meaning, Alice¡¯s word was no different.

    ¡°If I¡¯d wish for dying, I wouldn¡¯t even bother to go along with Ms. Claire, and you. Also, school. So, what information can you give me?¡±

    Looking at me in positive vibe, she answered,

    ¡°Oh? You¡¯re already relying on me? Your leader¡¯s point is going down.¡±

    Leader¡¯s point? What the hell is that? I don¡¯t need your acknowledgement to function as the president.

    ¡°I told you yesterday, I trust you as my vice. So just heed my order and tell me what you know.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re such a dictator¡­ well I don¡¯t really hate it.¡±

    She paused, swapping her outdoor shoes into indoor shoes. Naturally, I would also do the same because that¡¯s how Japan¡¯s schools nationwide have been practicing. We wanted to wear shoes in the building but at the same time, we wanted to make sure it¡¯s not too dirty. Thus, the creation of two types of shoes. It saved us from hassle of cleaning. We don¡¯t really have people to do the cleaning job so students themselves have to do it instead.

    After we¡¯re done, we walked side by side to our classroom located at block A. So then Alice decided to continue her talk,

    ¡°Your reputation in school is not as clean as it seems. Well, it¡¯s never clean in the first place.¡±

    ¡°Ha? What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°Rumors say you¡¯ve made a girl cries by two-timing on them. Perhaps, worse rumors surrounding you selling girls¡¯ naked picture for load of money. You convinced them to make you take the pictures by making false promises. Oh, maybe last but not least, you¡¯re part of human trafficking organizations and came here to lure your victims in.¡±

    I was shocked and had huge dumbfounding moment. But she explained it like a teacher teaching her students ABC. Without having me the chance to reply, she continued,

    ¡°Well, I think that last one was just false accusation. It¡¯s too dark to be true and there was no case regarding missing students.¡±

    It¡¯s so clear that I¡¯d definitely heard these, and there¡¯s one thing I was made sure, Alice never held back!

    ¡°I understand now what you mean by I¡¯d wish I¡¯d die.¡±

    People tell lies and when that lies have been told, spread convincing and long enough, it might as well become the truth. If it¡¯s a good lie then it wouldn¡¯t really matter but if someone¡¯s been struck by these horrible lies, there¡¯s no way that person can live normally.

    It takes effort to pacify false rumors regarding someone in your area and if it stays too long, it may become someone¡¯s worst experience. Humans are uncontrollable, God knows where these lies can lead to.

    We are also cowardice, we tend to stay away from what we seem a danger. In this case, people would most likely stay away from me and hinder me to clear things up. I¡¯m just gonna lose if I let it be.

    But I am not going to let it be.

    ¡°Spreading bad rumors is so like scums would do, don¡¯t you think?¡±This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

    Alice suddenly turned low, her voice was somewhat trembling with animosity. I didn¡¯t expect her to express her anger first so I could only murmur a questioning ¡°huh¡­?¡± She then continued,

    ¡°Creating false information and spread it for the sake of bringing people¡¯s down. The nature of its objective itself is horrendous. What¡¯s fun with seeing others suffer?¡±

    As creepy as the unwanted rumors could spread, her furious aura leaked from her body. When I started feeling the mental chill, she looked at me with her lips curved up.

    ¡°¡ªWhat do you think of these scums?¡±

    I think I had cold sweat for a moment there.

    ¡°What¡¯s up with you? If you want to talk about morale, go to the church or something.¡±

    Heard, she mumbled, ¡°So, that¡¯s your answer¡­¡±

    I took a peek at her from the corner of my eyes, then turned back looking at the hall ahead. Soon, we took our first step to climb the stair.

    ¡°Whatever with those guys, I¡¯m not gonna back down so easily.¡±

    The unpleasant aura she emitted promptly disappeared as she took a deep breath.

    ¡°Right, this small case is easy for you to settle.¡±

    On the 2<sup>nd</sup> floor lied a row of 2<sup>nd</sup> year classes, starting from A to S from the right and B to D from the left. Paused momentarily near the entrance of class 2-A, Alice raised her hand.

    ¡°¡ªI¡¯m looking forward to it, President.¡±

    I hadn¡¯t yet entered my classroom not because of any reasons, but to predict what the situation was gonna be like when my classmates saw me coming. Without me realizing, I was in very deep thought to which I was watching Alice sliding the door¡¯s open and swiftly entered her classroom. It didn¡¯t register to my brain what Alice¡¯s expression looked like when she waved at me.

    But my subconsciousness did raise me an odd wonder¡­

    ¡°¡­What the hell was that smile¡­?¡±

    Knowing I would just block the way standing here, I decided to open my classroom¡¯s door.

    ZUSH! I felt tremendous loads weighing down my spirit. Peeking around, I noticed people were glaring at me in disgust, fear and even ego. It was so heavy that I felt like vomiting. However, there¡¯re certain individuals who didn¡¯t even care about me, much less playing along with the toxic circumstances.

    One guy with very long side bang was pretending to sleep, one guy with disinterested eyes was playing with his phone and one girl with long ponytails stared dead at the windows. There were some additional people who wouldn¡¯t join to the rumors trains but based on my prediction, those guys wouldn¡¯t even make up third of the class.

    This is harder than I thought¡­

    As I walked towards my seat, I couldn¡¯t avoid to hear the whisper between those gossipers. It was unpleasantly audible that I felt like needles been piercing through my eardrums. The more I kept hearing, the deeper the pain.

    I stood before my own seat, staring at it and I found nothing unusual. As shitty as the situation went, I guess the students were mannered enough to not conduct bully on others. Though, I couldn¡¯t decide to have a seat just yet so I looked around again. When my eyes met the gossipers, they quickly averted away. My observing eyes unintentionally caught what¡¯s written on the whiteboard, and I remembered there was someone who recently got elected as the class rep. That person was the one with disinterested eyes, playing with his smartphone. Judging by the vibe around him, I didn¡¯t think he¡¯s the type to be a class rep.

    Why was he elected though?

    Somehow staring at him while in deep thinking had alerted him as he gave a brief glare before returning to his smartphone again. The look he gave was definitely ¡°Don¡¯t get me involved in your shit.¡±

    Well, it doesn¡¯t matter. For now at least I know he¡¯s not the one I should be confronting.

    Good timing was really hard to find, it¡¯s best to follow your hunch. It¡¯s the best that I should speak up now, later won¡¯t put me in a better place. So I took a deep breath, locking sight into the group of gossipers, I asked in a very stern voice,

    ¡°If you have something to say to me, say it out loud to my face. I¡¯d gladly listen to your complaints.¡±

    They didn¡¯t expect my direct remarks so that¡¯s why I didn¡¯t get an immediately reply. Surely before someone in their group had made up their words to say, the class was filled with awkward silence. Not even a flinch of faltering, I made an eye contact with each of them just to hint them that I was dead serious.

    ¡°¡ªWhat¡¯s wrong? I thought I heard someone¡¯s talking about me, it¡¯s about me of course I¡¯d be interested to hop in.¡±

    There was still a silence.

    This is why humans are cowardice, they would do anything they want if they don¡¯t feel in the risk of getting harmed. Cowards tend to meet the other cowards, they¡¯d expect things always go their way. ¡®I am fine, I will just gossip and nobody¡¯s gonna care.¡¯

    But sorry yeah, I¡¯m unable to not care. Unlike our class rep.

    Among the cowards, a voice finally be heard. The voice sounded so arrogant that if I punch the owner¡¯s face, nobody should complain.

    ¡°Hey you¡­¡±

    The hoarse voice also sounded like it was trying to purposely pick a fight.

    ¡°¡ªAfter all the shits you do, could you not be so cocky? Know your place, criminal.¡±

 2-3

    2-3

    Crime, an unlawful act that is punishable by authorities, provided that people still believe the authorities are justified as ¡®good¡¯. If the rumors, gossips were true, then perhaps I am a criminal. That blatant allegation was made by a tall and spiky haired boy, no matter how you look at him, you couldn¡¯t shake off this unpleasant feeling¡­

    It¡¯s like his sole existence is to piss me off.

    Under this pressured situation, alternatively I might have gone nuts and went straight to that guy¡¯s face. Thankfully I was wise enough to have a sensible judgment. His existence, despite being a pure annoyance, should somehow be able to give me some clues about their mastermind. Though, with him being the very first to be vocal, it would make sense that he¡¯s a leader, if not the mastermind.

    Though really, I¡¯d wish this guy is the mastermind so I can get on with this crap with less hassle.

    ¡°So, are you the culprit? You really like talking about other people, don¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°Ha?! What the hell are you talking about? Culprit? Aren¡¯t ya talking about yourself?

    His obnoxious voice made it obvious he¡¯d want no peace. This type of person would just use his accomplices to win his argument no matter what. And no matter what, if they have the numbers, they will back their leader.

    If you cannot win by brain, win by numbers. That¡¯s how democratic countries were mostly decided.

    I guess trying to prolong the conversation would be a waste of time.

    ¡°About myself heh? Well¡­ I won¡¯t mind playing along with you. So,¡± I placed my hand on the waist to assert my confidence, ¡°Let¡¯s hear what you were talking about me just now.¡±

    His eyes kinda twitched, perhaps he wasn¡¯t expecting my attitude. He may had used to bullying weaker people but to make me your next victim, I¡¯d say there¡¯s limit how brainless can he be.

    ¡°The news about your shit is been all over the school now. Aren¡¯t you ashamed of yourself? Others may not have the courage to speak up but I¡¯m different. Just because you¡¯re the newly elected president, I can¡¯t let you run free after what you¡¯ve done!¡±

    I¡¯d been thinking ways to kill this guy ASAP. You guys knew very well how frustrating watching this kind of person. No joke, in this very seconds of indulging in my own thought process, I pretty much believed I could¡¯ve become one of the top three assassins the world.

    It¡¯s so irritating that if this guy becomes an actor, he would¡¯ve won Oscar.

    That stinky sense of justice being put in a place where it¡¯s convenient to point out really just demonstrated how well he could become the most-hated char in the series.

    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s my fault.¡±

    ¡°Huh¡­?!¡±

    Although wanting to get even more pissed off, he couldn¡¯t help but question my reply with his extremely frowned eyebrows to which one of them lifted up in arrogance.

    ¡°It¡¯s my fault for letting your disgusting mouth run amok in this school. As the president representing the student body, I¡¯d have to take stern actions on you.¡±

    ¡°H-huh?! It¡¯s about you right?¡±

    He slowed down a little bit, trying to take in his composure. His hand raised near his shrugging shoulder and continued,

    ¡°¡ªWe can¡¯t have a bad person who did shady things as our president, it just won¡¯t do. That¡¯s why we¡¯re calling you off!¡±Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sorry to say I don¡¯t feel any sense of guilty right now. Show me your proof.¡±

    I was certain that my demand would spell a checkmate to this farce but his composure remained unchanged. Instead, his eyes were full with confidence while his lips grinned mischievously. There was a pause as if he¡¯s waiting for something. Afterwards, he looked around his backers before turning back to me.

    ¡°Proof? It¡¯s almost like a criminal would say, don¡¯t you think?¡±

    Followed by the guy¡¯s intimidation, his friends started to laugh along in a sense to belittle me. Surely my skin in the forehead wasn¡¯t comfortable with the statement so it twitched slightly not because of how underhanded he played, but how ridiculous it was. He knew damn well that you can¡¯t win without proof.

    Farce.

    An absolute farce.

    Albeit being a farce, he acted like he actually had won. But I somehow realized that the outcome might have been decided the moment he tilted his head to see a person behind me. Once he confirmed a presence, he spoke again,

    ¡°¡ªOh great timing, you¡¯re here.¡±

    As he called someone and walked towards his subject, I made a turnaround to see whom he was talking to. A brown-haired girl, medium length and has a height slightly shorter than average girls. By the colour of her ribbon, she was probably first year student. Though, her appearance was not the main concern.

    I see, that¡¯s how you going to play it.

    When he reached that girl, he steadily put his hand on the girl¡¯s shoulder.

    ¡°You know this girl, right?¡±

    ¡°Nah, maybe not particularly. I¡¯ve been going out with girls a lot.¡±

    Crap, I shouldn¡¯t have said that.

    That¡¯s what I thought the moment the girl¡¯s eyes widened a bit after she heard my answer and eventually stooped low. She was in fear. No, a coercion? What was obvious the girl was pretty much uncomfortable, probably didn¡¯t expect to see me here.

    ¡°W-why¡­ did you call me here¡­?¡±

    With the girl being somewhat reluctant, the mood¡¯s intensity raised as every each of us quietly waiting for the next scene. Being quite impatient, the spiky guy queried her but he did it with a gentle voice.

    ¡°This guy is the worst right? Tell him what he did to you¡­ in front of everyone here.¡±

    She was being very hesitant as she peeked the guy with the corner of her eyes. No voice came out from her mouth until the guy breathed in deeply and tried to speak again. Realizing that, the girl immediately made a cut.

    ¡°Wait! Let me just say it.¡±

    Before finally speaking up, she took a gulp and had a sharp stare directly into my eyes. Then, she sternly pointed forefinger towards my face.

    ¡°¡ªThat guy! He¡¯s a jerk that always play around girls to satisfy his needs! I¡¯m a victim of his crime!¡± she yelled as she turned at the other students in the class at the same time, swinging her arms in the direction of her desired sight.

    ¡°¡ªSo, girls! Please be mindful of this asshole! Avoid falling to his sly trick!¡±

    Oy, oy¡­

    How can you say that?

    Unforgivable.

    The guy¡¯s lips quirked upwards. His eyes claimed that as if this is the most victorious altercation he had ever obtained.

    ¡°As you can see, you¡¯re horrible and we are very much doubting your credibility as our president. Make your way to resign.¡±

    Surely, girls are very fascinating existence. In this world cultured with inequality, just have a girl to do your talk can turn any table around. It¡¯s easy to believe them because girls in general are weaker than boys. Most likely they speak the truth.

    What a bunch of crap.

    The witnesses in the class had made it clear that the situation was not in my favor. Although they refused to present any sort of proof, the atmosphere was only influenced by mood and anxiety. That¡¯s why these things were not brought to the police because it was purely emotionally driven. Just like what I said, humans are cowardice, they don¡¯t like to deal with something they are unsure. In this case, I was the subject of enigma.

    ¡°¡ªWhy are you so quiet? Say something prez, no¡­ ex-president!¡±

    Resign? Don¡¯t joke around.

    I just got forced in it you know?

    I took a deep breath to calm my mind. Next, I carefully observed my surrounding that was surely trying to overwhelm me to actually step down. After I was assured, I finally spoke,

    ¡°Alright, but please give me some time.¡±

    ¡°Haa?! There¡¯s no reason that you should delay it!¡±

    ¡°There is, I need to inform teacher and write a resignation letter and everything. That¡¯s why I need time before I can announce it.¡±

    ¡°N?-¡°

    Ding Dong Ding Dong! The bell rang and Ms. Claire swiftly entered the class announcing ¡°Go back to your seat, we¡¯re starting the class,¡± with a relaxed voice.

    The guy stood still and turned to see the incoming teacher.

    ¡°What¡¯re you doing?¡± asked Ms. Claire.

    ¡°A-ah¡­ it¡¯s nothing.¡±

    ¡°Well then, go back to your seat.¡±

    The teacher then also told the girl to go back to her class once she noticed that the girl wasn¡¯t one of ours. The girl and I promptly did as instructed but the guy in the other hand waited me to pass by him. He whispered,

    ¡°You¡¯d better keep your word just now¡­¡±

    ¡°Sure,¡± I replied as I peeked him by the corner of my eyes.

    By chance, I also managed to take a glance of Ms. Claire¡¯s face. Doing the same, her smile threw me in puzzle, it was so mysterious. I couldn¡¯t really read the general intention coming from her.

 2-4

    2-4

    Alice¡¯s word pierced me when she said I¡¯d lie without the slightest feel of guilt. It¡¯s not piercing because it hurt, but because it was so precise. During the commotion earlier, I wasn¡¯t intending to do as that guy demanded. It was just that the situation was so unfavorable to me so I had to play along, pushed some excuses to flee and reforge my plan. Things got easier for me because Ms. Claire just butted in at the perfect time even though she was just doing her job.

    Talking about our classroom teacher, she¡¯s teaching us mathematics. Never in my life I¡¯d imagine myself complimenting her but she¡¯s really good at simplifying things for students to understand. No wonder she was admitted here. Our school was extremely selective in picking both teachers and students. While students were among elites, teachers also would have to cater to such high standard.

    Right after the math class ended with Ms. Claire leaving the room, I took the initiative to Line the girl from this morning. For some reasons, I had her number saved in my contact list. Not only that, my mind had been long tingling to mess with her for being cocky.

    I asked her to come to rooftop for lunch.

    There would be a great opportunity for me to do something because there usually wouldn¡¯t be much people going there during break. What am I going to do? Well, it¡¯s not something I should say now.

    Time had passed and it¡¯s almost the end of the final period before the lunch time. While the class had been patiently waiting for the English class to wrap up, we heard a sudden zraaappp!

    Coming from the front door, Watanabe Kina was panting slowly. Although it wasn¡¯t really obvious, she definitely rushed here if not running. Our English teacher was one of a scary kind. Surely, she didn¡¯t like her students to come late to school especially her class. You¡¯re basically declaring war if you do that.

    15 minutes before the period ended, no students were able to get away from listening teacher¡¯s annoying reprimand to Kina. Blab la bla¡­ it was so uselessly loud that some of us already started playing with their phone. Others just put on earphone and ignored the whole babbling. There were also who was obediently listening as if they¡¯re also guilty.

    While at it, the teacher took the opportunity to censure her bitchy appearance. It was very rare for teachers to even care about how their students dress up as long as they wear the school uniform. To point it out, it just meant the teacher was bloated with displeasure or perhaps her own OCD.

    Woah, so unprofessional.

    Regardless, Kina¡¯s red-tinting face when getting scolded made it very entertaining for me. Being someone who had known each other for quite a long time, Kina decided to glare at me with resenting eyes while I bounced it off with a sarcastic smile. After being exhausted by the seemingly endless scolding, Kina was finally allowed to take her seat and prior doing so, she threw me a pouting pair of stare and mumbled ¡°idiot!¡±

    That¡¯s what you get for upsetting me.

    Ding¡­ Dong! Our soothing bell rang for our lunch break. Immediately, I took the earliest step to become the first one who exited the class that day. Noticing my unusual rushing behavior, Kina decided to tag along. There were two lunch boxes that she brought with her, perhaps she picked it up at the convenient store while on the way to school.

    Walking steadily forward, I started a conversation,

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you just call me idiot?¡±The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

    Kina with straight face replied,

    ¡°It can¡¯t be helped. I¡¯m your maid so I have to do my job.¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t call you but¡­ nevertheless, I may need your help.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re really like a tsun-tsun guy.¡±

    I wasn¡¯t in the mood of getting made fun of so I just glanced at her through the corner of my eyes.

    ¡°Do you want to clean the house again?¡±

    Kina hastily raised her hands and shook her head in panic.

    ¡°N-No, no, no! Please spare me! That was just too sadistic!¡±

    I¡¯m not gonna tell her this but if she decided to cheat and not doing the cleaning, things would¡¯ve been light for her. I wouldn¡¯t have known if she actually did the cleaning, it was quite impossible to notice any changes since the mansion was already clean in the first place. To do what she did was just proving her loyalty to me. Not that I know.

    ¡°Today I feel like having lunch at the rooftop.¡±

    ¡°Hm, isn¡¯t that place too windy? I doubt we¡¯re gonna have a good time eating there.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m gonna meet someone up there. It¡¯s about the student council.¡±

    ¡°Alice?¡±

    ¡°Nope, someone else.¡±

    ¡°Are you going for a recruit?!¡±

    Kina seemed surprise of her own self-induced conclusion. Though I had different plan in mind but Kina¡¯s out-of-nowhere idea was also not bad.

    ¡°Well, uh¡­ something like that I guess¡­?¡±

    All the main blocks of the school buildings had some kind of rooftop gardens and they were connected to each other via bridges just like how it was connected at the lower level. In order to go there, we had to take the middle stairs straight to the uppermost floor. Then, we finally got into the garden via a wide stairs which led to a fiberglass pair of entrance doors.

    When we opened the door, the air that rushed into our face felt very pleasant, it smelled so green. The school purposely built this place for students to have some tranquilization time but for some reason, it¡¯s not so popular. So, there often less people you¡¯ll be bumping here. Plus, it was built like a puzzle for the first half and the latter half a wide open area.  Finding other people in this area with given situation was like playing hide and seek.

    I pity the designer.

    After making our way around the simple puzzle, we stumbled upon our goal ¨C the girl who blatantly accused me this morning. She was seated on a bench, looking curiously at the smartphone. Her legs were quite unrested, tapping non-stop as if she¡¯s waiting something to pop out of her device.

    However, that had changed once she saw me to which later she had a glance at Kina, she immediately dropped in disappointment.

    ¡°What¡¯s up? Your attitude really differs compared to this morning?¡± I asked her in sarcastic voice.

    "What do you want?¡±

    She acted big but at the same time, scared. I knew by the look of her watery eyes, she seemed like she¡¯s gonna cry any time now.

    Even that, I think what made her act like this was because Kina¡¯s presence. Since Kina was absent this morning, maybe she thought it¡¯s her chance now.

    Nevertheless, I feel like her face had some sort of resemblance to someone.

    Despite getting a reluctant answer, I paid it no concern. Calmly, I observed her surrounding in which she hadn¡¯t had anything else with her except a smartphone in her hand. Thus I asked,

    ¡°Where¡¯s your lunch?¡±

    Realizing, she looked around the bench before diving into brief thought.

    ¡°I¡­ forgot about it.¡±

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter, I got one more for you.¡±

    That statement somehow caught Kina¡¯s attention in which she went ¡°E-eh¡­ w-what do-¡°

    Even before she got to finish her sentence, I already confiscated the lunch boxes she was holding.

    ¡°¡­W-wwait!¡± she tried to resist but regardless, since it¡¯s me, she couldn¡¯t really put her full force in doing so. With the lunchboxes unhanded from her, she went into a state of disbelief. Her lips couldn¡¯t stop mumbling the sound of soft ¡°ehh.¡±

    ¡°There you go, thank you for buying us the lunch.¡±

    ¡°What about me¡­?¡±

    ¡°You go eat at the cafeteria or something. I heard they just put some new menus to pick from. Check that for me too.¡±

    She paused momentarily while staring at me, then heaved a resigning sigh. To put it simply, she saw my face which expressed a ¡®leave us alone, you¡¯re a bother right now¡¯ and that¡¯s why there was not a single complaint made afterwards. Kina¡¯s expression however, was a little balked to follow that wordless order. Regardless, she waved it off.

    ¡°Understood, have fun you two.¡±

    With Kina vanished from our view, the other girl¡¯s expression became apparent. She was left slightly open-mouthed.

    ¡°Is there something in my face?¡±

    She came back to her sense before replying.

    ¡°N-no, I never thought Watanabe-senpai can just leave us alone so easily. I thought she would just stick around and mess with me.¡±

    What do you think she is? Unlucky for you, I¡¯m the one who will be messing with you.

    Raising the lunchboxes into the air, I invited,

    ¡°Let¡¯s have lunch.¡±

 2-5

    2-5

    The people at the garden were only me and the girl from this morning, at least in this particular area. I had no idea whoever could be beyond the bridges. The breezy air somewhat calmed the girl¡¯s tension, aforetime she was acting confusingly averse. Now, not as much.

    ¡°Why do you call me here? I don¡¯t have time for this!¡± she asked the same question like she did not while ago. This time, if not nervously reluctant, she behaved tsun-tsun happily.

    You see Kina, this what you call tsun-tsun.

    ¡°Why are you asking me again? I¡¯ve told you in Line that we gonna have lunch together right?¡±

    She didn¡¯t put up any words but only her eyes were kind of moving in interest. I took out the lunch boxes and opened the lids. The bento were already cold so there¡¯s no significant aroma tingling our nose. However, its appeal hadn¡¯t lost, it still looked delicious.

    Promptly after putting the lid aside, I offered her the bento. As usual, she didn¡¯t immediately took the offer as her eyes were full with suspicion. Nonetheless, after I made some force by slightly pushing the bento into her, she finally gave in.

    She took the provided pair of chopstick and quickly picked up a little tako (octopus) into her mouth. After munching and gulping her piece of food, she asked,

    ¡°So, is it about this morning?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s one thing too¡­ but¡ª¡°

    Getting straight to the point wasn¡¯t really my way of doing things, that¡¯s what Alice¡¯s should be doing. Well, I¡¯d lie if I say I don¡¯t want an immediate answer to whatever happened this morning. Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet! Right now, I¡¯m aiming for the sweetest fruit¡­ no, the sweetest revenge.

    Therefore, I diverted the topic,

    ¡°¡ªHow are you since then?¡±

    Her expression showed a glimmer of happiness.

    ¡°Did you meet me because you¡¯re worried about me? I¡¯m so happy!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±

    She noticed my smile which she didn¡¯t know it was far from genuine. Thus, her joy became more sparkly as she took another bite of the fried tako and munched it in bliss. So far, she wasn¡¯t eating the rice yet.

    ¡°Well¡­ since we broke up, it was kind of hard for to move on. But then I was like, meh it happened. Right after that, I went out with my sister and we had a lot of fun. Before I knew it, I already forgot about it. But then¡­¡±

    Her lips suddenly closed tight.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, did you bite your tongue?¡±

    She remained in the same state but her eyebrows knitted quizzically. I didn¡¯t see any reason that she should stop talking. Therefore, I picked up my squid and poked it near her tight lips. There was a moment of annoyance before she finally opened her mouth big and tried to catch my tako.

    Little did she know that I wouldn¡¯t allow her to take mine so easily.

    So she took the bait, I mean missed the bait?

    ¡°You¡¯re really like teasing people! When you¡¯re gonna fix that rotten attitude?! That¡¯s why we broke up!¡±

    ¡°I will give it to you after you explain the things from this morning.¡±

    ¡°H-huh? Aren¡¯t we talking about me? Then, I don¡¯t need the tako.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s what I thought.¡±Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

    I put the squid¡¯s head into my mouth and held it half with the tentacles sticking out. Realizing what I was gonna do, the girl tried to back off but I responsively blocked her way out with my arms. Now she had no way to escape, she had two options. One was to push me over and scream the hell out of her mind or two, just accept the impending seduction. As of now, she hadn¡¯t make any countermove.

    To be honest, if she insisted on staying quiet, I would have no choice but to retreat myself. However, as my lips getting closer, she finally accepted the tako ¡®gift¡¯ and thanks to that, we had a brief smooch with each other. Her face turned scarlet and her eyes averted to the side, having munched the food then finally a gulp.

    What is this creature?

    ¡°I already gave you my precious fried tako, now speak up.¡± I demanded while taking my own next bite.

    Her head turned away as to avoid eye contact with me.

    ¡°Y-you¡¯re the one forcing it into my mouth¡­¡±

    Ugh¡­ I feel like, this girl is troublesome.

    Why did I even date this girl? Well, did I even date this girl before? She¡¯s definitely not my type. If you dare to ask me, I¡¯d say Kina or probably Alice are my choices. Nevertheless, my conscious circle might be too small to make a judgment just yet, there could be many more wonderful girls out there.

    Maybe I should try one of the few¡­ huh?

    ¡°Say, do you want to stay close to me?¡±

    That proposal certainly piqued her interest as she immediately turned to me. Surely she was also accompanied with shock and confusion.

    ¡°You mean it¡­?¡±

    ¡°Deep in my heart, but¡­--¡°

    To be clear, I wasn¡¯t reinstating my love interest, I was just allowing her stay besides me most of the time. She might have different ideas which somehow better favored my plan.

    I pushed my face further closer to her and my eyes as if I was caressing her throbbing heart, ours met in intimation. After purposely trying to shape the mood, I then continued,

    ¡°¡ªOnly if you do what I say from now on.¡±

    She gritted her teeth and her eyebrows frowned in disgust. Perhaps, the best word to describe her reactions is she was nonplussed. I wouldn¡¯t disagree it¡¯s the most accurate description. Anybody in the same situation as her would probably act similarly.

    ¡°You¡¯re the worst,¡± she mumbled, ¡°Fine, what do you want me to do?¡±

    ¡°I like that face of yours.¡±

    Blushing even more, she averted away and insisted.

    ¡°J-just tell me what do you want?!¡±

    Feeling defeated, submitted, and succumbed to her own desire¡­ I¡¯d say girls are very easy to manipulate and not to mention, love is a scary thing.

    ¡°Regarding all the mess from this morning, do you know the mastermind? Or should I ask, are you the mastermind?¡±

    While her head remained averted, her eyes rolled to have a peek at me.

    ¡°What if I told that I am? What¡¯re you gonna do¡­?¡±

    I was baffled. There was a mix between lie and truth, though I couldn¡¯t tell which one exactly. I couldn¡¯t be so sure but I needed all the resources at my disposal. Sorry to say, she¡¯s one of my resources. That spiky guy had no idea that he¡¯s just playing a losing game when he decided to use this girl for his mindless rebellion.

    ¡°Not really anything. You see, I don¡¯t like the guts of the guy from this morning.¡±

    ¡°Are you talking about Ginji-senpai?¡±

    Oh, that guy¡¯s name Ginji eh?

    ¡°Yeah, yes¡­ that Durian guy, if that¡¯s what people call him. Why did you come to my class anyway?¡±

    ¡°I was merely called over, the next thing I knew I met you guys. Well, before I even came, I already knew about the rumors, it¡¯s been spread like wildfire. Honestly thinking, it¡¯d be no surprise if you actually do those kind of horrible stuff.¡±

    When she was explaining, her eyes was sort of in the state of uneasiness. My instinct said she definitely be making things up. Even she was aware of the rumors, her reasoning to attack me was quite frivolous because she was in no spot in joking with me. I was her ex, you know, according to her.

    ¡°If you lie again, the deal is off.¡±

    Her whole muscle abruptly stiffened with her eyes slightly widened in shock, getting all worried out of sudden. It just meant that I hit the bullseye. It¡¯s hard to hide a spontaneous reaction to something you weren¡¯t expecting.

    ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry¡­¡± her voice dropped low. ¡°I was mad at you for breaking up with me so I thought I¡¯m just gonna take my revenge by ruining your life using the rumors.¡±

    Gosh, girls are scumbag.

    ¡°If you¡¯re sorry, you¡¯d better fix that.¡±

    ¡°How¡­? I mean, you really don¡¯t do those kind of things?¡±

    As if I¡¯d lost interest on her, I distanced myself back and due to that, we had some room in between us. We both then managed to take some breather before I decided to give any sort of reactions.

    ¡°You ask too much, I don¡¯t like girls who¡¯re asking too much questions.¡±

    I don¡¯t know whether she did it on purpose or what, but somehow her hand tightly grabbed the right sleeve of my blazer. Biting her lips, she started mumbling,

    ¡°D-don¡¯t... l-leave me¡­¡±

    I stayed silent to let her finish her repentance.

    ¡°¡ªI¡¯m sorry again¡­ I¡¯ll listen to you, what should I do?¡±

    With her now being completely open to me, I can now make the invitation and complete my plan to settle score with that Durian guy. Don¡¯t underestimate your president of student council, you piece of shit.

    ¡°Be part of the student council, Ichika.¡±

    ¡°H-huh¡­?¡±

    ¡°Well¡­ let me make things clear. I¡¯m currently recruiting candidates to fill in the position in student council. I can never work alone. If you want to stay close with me, you¡¯d appreciate my offer. Plus, we¡¯re in different class, no¡­ different year in fact.¡±

    Utterly confused but at the same time rejoiced, she without hesitation, immediately nodded and cheered the word,

    ¡°Yes!

 3-1

    3-1

    This evening was the second time me, Alice and Kina functioning as the student council. Despite that, Ms. Claire sent us email that she wouldn¡¯t let us get to work until we resolved the rumors. So naturally, judging by Ms. Claire¡¯s response, the rumors must¡¯ve also come to teachers¡¯ attention. An investigation should have been opened before I can actually get any feedback from the teachers¡¯ side.

    I¡¯m not worried about that, teachers are adults. They¡¯d probably review my case better than any of those fellow students could possibly do.

    Regardless, we still had the authority as the student council. This school basically handed all the hassles of student related work to student council, effectively making all the affairs between students were handled by students themselves. From general affairs, clubs and even festivals. Sometime we could even intervene with teachers¡¯ affair if given solid reasoning.

    The school really gives student council a lot of trust.

    Ironically, it wasn¡¯t always the trust, having the newly elected the president of student council besieged with bad scandals, Ms. Claire must¡¯ve been having headache knowing it was her suggestion to put me on the president¡¯s chair. Though, I doubted that¡¯s the case. Her neutral reaction from this morning gave me this sinister feeling of ¡°you deal with your own shit.¡± There¡¯s no way she didn¡¯t know about the rumors beforehand.

    Her unspoken message is somewhat similar to class rep¡¯s, don¡¯t you think?

    Talking about rumors, it surprised me how well Ichika spread her dark scheme overnight. It¡¯s almost like she had some kind of witch¡¯s power. A spell that its only purpose to bring misfortune on others. It even got the attention from the second years, if first years, then it wouldn¡¯t be much of a surprise.

    One night¡­ less than 16 hours¡­.

    Some things just refused to add up.

    ¡°We will keep doing nothing if this goes on. Are the stuff about you cleared up? We can¡¯t let things got delayed just because of your incompetency to keep your image clean.¡±

    Even from meters apart, with me sitting on the president¡¯s chair and her on the sofa, Alice sharp words and inattentive eyes which only directed towards a small book on her hands did nothing but tilt me. One little push and I would¡¯ve sacked her out of vice-president position. You should thank Ms. Claire for directly appointing you as the vice herself.

    I can rant all I wanted but Alice promised me to become my aide if she decided that I¡¯m worthy. The fact she did use the word ¡®incompetency¡¯, I¡¯d suggest she had yet to acknowledge me. Not to mention, she¡¯s from class S which I can expect she¡¯d produce only diamonds in her work.

    ¡°Don¡¯t ask me, it¡¯s not my fault people start believing hoax.¡±

    There was a sudden moment of reticence. Albeit not speaking up, Alice¡¯s silent treatment indicated she wasn¡¯t fond of my answer. Can¡¯t blame her, I sounded like I was running from my responsibility. So, I decided to rephrase my words.

    ¡°At ease, it¡¯s all under control.¡±

    ¡°I see but it doesn¡¯t show any sign of resolving yet.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s gonna be over soon.¡±

    My sentence was so enhanced with confidence that it made Alice turned this way. Of course it was not the ¡®surprised¡¯ reaction, instead the ¡®I¡¯m looking forward to it,¡± kind of reaction.

    She¡¯s really clinched on seeing what the president can do, huh?

    Though, I must admit her determination had gone to a point that I think it can be called creepy. Alice one thing, Ichika another, what¡¯s with you girls being so obsessed with me?

    ¡°Oh yeah, rumors aside, have you decided who¡¯s gonna take the rest of the position in the student council?¡± asked Kina who just finished polishing almost everything in the room.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    Our initial plan was first do some cleaning before doing other works. Before we knew, Kina had been doing all the cleaning jobs flawlessly. With Alice and me not being close to decent when it came to chores, we just got shushed away thus explaining our situation, sitting and doing nothing.

    Kina voiced a question as if the petty rumors was not even a threat to my position. Clearly, Alice noticed that and also the reason she had a brief stare at Kina before going on with the conversation.

    ¡°That¡¯s a matter we should address too. You got anyone in minds?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll deal with that later. I can¡¯t confirm anything right now. Well, this school is full with study maniacs and I think it¡¯s hard for us to convince anyone sometime soon. They¡¯ll probably don¡¯t want to waste their time with other stuff than studying.¡±

    The standard vacancies in the student council were usually the president, vice-president, secretary, treasurer and historian. Alice and I had taken the president and vice respectively while Kina, well¡­ let¡¯s see, I haven¡¯t assigned her to any position just yet.

    Maybe I should put her as secretary.

    ¡°Waste their time¡­? I agree. Who would spend their time helping this president, don¡¯t you think so?¡±

    I feel like having one¡¯s skin twitching when talking Alice was just a normal response that anyone would have. Don¡¯t fight me, it¡¯s been the third time I met her and I got wrinkles every time. At this rate, I can age twice¡­ no, thrice as fast throughout my term as the president!

    ¡°Yep, I really think so. I¡¯m not sure if you¡¯re talking about yourself.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I am not. Didn¡¯t I tell you? I¡¯m not helping the fools.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m assuming your words are heavy, heavy with meaning. Say, what will I get from you once things have settled down?¡±

    I¡¯d made my question as serious as possible, so did my eyes. It appeared as a demand severe enough she should consider her best offer, take it or leave it. As a result of that, we had exchanged eye contacts for a considerable amount of time.

    ¡°I will offer you¡­¡± she abruptly shut closed her book, ¡°My life. Of course that includes my time and efforts,¡± a paused was made, ¡°¡­all will be yours.¡±

    Certainly, once Alice declared her promise, both Kina and I went speechless. We looked at each other in daze and turned back to Alice at similar rate.

    Confused with our reaction, Alice asked,

    ¡°Did I say something odd?¡±

    ¡°N-no¡­¡± Kina spoke first, ¡°It¡¯s almost like you¡¯re confessing¡­ No, no! You are confessing, right?¡±

    ¡°Confessing? You mean like in love?¡±

    ¡°Yes, that!¡± Kina nodded aggressively.

    ¡°Ooh¡­ Then, I¡¯ve certainly sent the correct message. You¡¯re spot-on. It¡¯s just my way of expressing my interest to somebody after they¡¯ve proven their capability. You may call it ¡®love¡¯ if you¡¯d like.¡±

    What is this confounding feeling? Should I be pumped to get her recognition at all cost? More importantly, does she even know what love is? Is she confusing it with interest?

    I needed to ask her something.

    ¡°Alice, have we met before?¡±

    ¡°Other than our meeting along with Ms. Claire yesterday, never. What are you even asking? A question to your amnesia?¡±

    ¡°Nothing big, I¡¯ve just wondered if we¡¯ve met and I just never noticed you.¡±

    ¡°That¡­¡± just when Alice started to reopen her book, she quickly shut it back, ¡°¡­are you referring to someone you know?¡±

    ¡°Huh? Who exactly is that?¡±

    ¡°Who knows?¡±

    Alice immediately ended the quick puzzling game by returning her all attention towards the book. She resumed into her state of reading once again, leaving both me and Kina in curiosity.

    There¡¯s a lot of mysteries about Alice that just intrigued me. I called them mysteries because I simply had hard time reading her. Be it her intention, common movements or mere desires. Girls themselves are very much mysterious, add the recipe ¡°Alice¡± and there, you have a beautiful enigma.

    What is this creature?

    As I was in deep thought, something pinged my biological schedule as I looked at the fancy wall clock. The digital number showed 3.51 p.m. and it¡¯s an indication that an event was about to occur.

    ¡°It¡¯s almost time,¡± I called both Kina and Alice.

    ¡°Time¡­ for what?¡± asked Kina.

    ¡°Apparently there should be a meeting with club¡¯s president every time a new president of student council is elected. We probably will deal with each other a lot in the near future.¡±

    Alice with her attention only on the book, answered in my stead.

    ¡°Is this meeting necessary?¡±

    ¡°Ms. Claire said we can treat it as ice-breaking. Based on our proposal to conduct a town hall, I guess this meeting should be suitable enough to replace it.¡±

    By the sound of this, only Kina was unaware of the meeting. It can¡¯t be helped, she probably missed it because she came to the room late after Alice and I¡¯ve discussed on Ms. Claire¡¯s new email. Well, it wouldn¡¯t matter, I¡¯d probably do the most of the talking.

    ¡°The meeting will be held at the Minerva Meeting Room, located below this floor.¡±

    I¡¯d explained as I gathered my essential belongings like my smartphone and wallet. I¡¯d leave my bag in the room and Kina also decided to do the same. As Kina and I were already prepared to move out, Alice had shown no sign of following us. Thus, I asked,

    ¡°Are you not going?¡±

    ¡°Is there a reason I should come? At this time, I¡¯d rather not let others know that I¡¯m the vice-president just yet.¡±

    It¡¯s her decision, avoiding an undesirable title was also her decision. We¡¯d never announced the student council¡¯s member, only me as the president. So, the situation was most likely in Alice¡¯s favor if she decided to refuse that vice position.

    However, I¡¯ll change your mind.

    ¡°Is this your first time meeting people? I promise, it¡¯s gonna be interesting.¡±

    As if she¡¯s taking my cheap bait, Alice¡¯s lips carved a very sinister smile.

    ¡°Don¡¯t let me down.¡±