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MARCUS FOLLOWS BEHIND MAX as fast as he can. He's calling out for him but Max isn't responding, and it's not because he couldn't hear him, but because Max didn't want to talk or even look at his brother. After Max's encounter with Ren Adachi, Max has only now realized the small hints that he's been receiving since yesterday. Janus and Marcus were so secretive, and it was all because of the brotherhoods.

      For ordinary people, brotherhoods don't hold any special meaning. But a brotherhood is an organization inspired by the concept of fraternities. It is a traditional practice done by elite criminals to keep their social status alive even inside prison. In short, imagine a fraternity, but instead of having it in a university, it's practiced by rich adults who are locked in prison, so it's not an organization meant for universities at all. But to actually follow such a system in a high school? Has their uncle gone mad?

     "Max."

     "Leave me alone."

     "Please, I can explain."

     Max stops walking and turns around to look at his brother who also made a sudden halt. "You're good Mr. Thompson; you and our uncle. You're both the same." Max tells him with a half-hearted smile. Marcus wanted to say something to at least defend himself, but words just wouldn't come out of his mouth. Max found it funny how he didn't even try to at least say anything, even if it was a stupid excuse.

     "Has it ever crossed your mind to even tell me for god's sake?!" Max now asks with a louder tone.

     Marcus aggressively scratches the back of his head and finally opens his mouth, "I wanted to tell you okay? But uncle told me not to. He knew that you'd react like this."

     Max couldn't believe what he just heard. He almost wanted to punch him because of complete anger. "React like what? Like a normal person? Do you even know what brotherhoods are? Marcus, I am a future chairman of one of the biggest corporations in the world. I have kept my name and our family name clean for as long as I could remember. What do you think the outcome would be if something happens to me here?" Max asks, his temper reaching its utmost limit.

     Marcus starts looking worried. He's searching for the right words to say next, trying his best to turn the situation around. "You don't have to worry about that. There are rules okay? Rules that keep the brotherhoods at bay. We cannot physically hurt the students. There's a certain—" Marcus instantly stops when he sees his brother's horrified reaction.

     "We. You said we," Max repeats, and Marcus curses under his breath upon realizing it himself. 

     Max forces out a laugh and brushes his hair back with his fingers. After everything that he already experienced today, this was finally the end of the line for him. Nothing he'd learn now would be more shocking than this. "Of course. The uniform and the brooch said it all. I'm an idiot." Max says, still trying to laugh it off because this all seems to be like a big joke now.

     Marcus knows that whatever he says now won't make Max feel any better. He knows that the smartest thing to do now is to accept his mistake and give Max the time to think.

     "You have always kept secrets from me. You've lied so much before that I thought you'd at least get tired of it, but I guess I was wrong." Max tells him, but this time, he isn't laughing anymore.

     "Max I—"

     "I've always wanted the truth from you. Apparently all this time, that hasn't been clear enough," Max says without breaking eye contact. Before he starts saying anything else that would end up hurting him and his brother, he decides to just walk away. And this time, Marcus doesn't follow him.

...

On the second floor of the Hall of Caelus where the 2nd year classes are placed, Max arrives at room 201, where Class II-A can be found. Students placed in an A-class have an above-average grade of 94% from their previous year. For Max's case, and for any other student who only enrolled this year, their grade will be based on the score that they received during their entrance exam. Students in this class also have a handful of awards and achievements since it's one of the requirements needed to be part of the class. This is the reason why Ren Adachi mentioned that being in an A class is an impressive accomplishment.

     Max, who has been staring at the door for a while now, takes a long deep breath to calm his nerves. His conversation with his brother didn't end well, and the loud noises coming from inside his new classroom are making him anxious.

     After gathering all his courage, Max finally opens the door. The moment he does so, everyone in the room becomes quiet. Students who were even playing around stopped what they were doing to look at him. There are twenty students inside the class, a number that Max wasn't expecting to see because he thought that there'd be more of them.

     Max avoids eye contact and proceeds to look for an empty seat. But as he was doing so, a tall student suddenly stands in his way and tells him, "Hey, aren't you even going to greet us?"

     "Yeah. Didn't your parents teach you any manners? Introduce yourself, new kid." Another student adds.

     Max looks around the room with a blank expression. Everyone's looking at him with mocking smiles. As much as he hated where this is going, Max knows that if he doesn't play along, this won't end well for him. "I'm Maximilian Sinclaire." Max finally introduces before pushing away the student who's blocking his path.

     The class howls because of Max's surprising behavior, but the student he pushed didn't seem to like the attitude at all, so he grabs Max's arm to stop him, but Max pulls his arm away in an instant. 

     Max ignores the class's uproar as he finds his seat at the far right end of the room. He then hangs his bag on the bag holder at the side of his table. All Max wanted was to just take a seat and get this over with, but the student who was offended by Max's attitude approached him and says, "You think you're untouchable just cause you're a Sinclaire? Is that it?"

     Max continues to ignore him like he didn't hear a thing. He was supposed to take his seat but the man suddenly kicks his chair away, almost hitting another student who was sitting beside him.

     The class becomes quiet.

     Max takes a deep breath and glares at the student who dared to kick his chair away.

     "You almost hit him," Max says, referring to the guy who's sitting on the seat that clashed with his.

     The tough student laughs and looks back at his friends who awkwardly laughed with him. "Come on now, don't act like you're concerned. We all know what you and your monstrous mother really are. Acting as if you care won't make you look good." He says, and this time, Max's aura changes. He's been tolerating all this bullshit just fine, but the single mention of his mother, who passed away five years ago, finally tipped his iceberg.

     Max was about to grab him, but the student who got hit by his chair earlier immediately stands from his seat to stop him. "I won't do that if I were you. He's an underling."

     "And I'm not feeling merciful," Max answers as he pushes the guy aside to face the student who spoke of his mother so bravely. "I've been receiving crap ever since I arrived in this school. I swore I'd go along with the principles that J.S High embodies; that everything I am will be nothing if I step foot on its grounds."

     The student wanted to say something back, but Max's growing dominance was consuming him. He took a step back every time Max got closer. He was starting to feel scared of him.

     "I can endure the insults, but the moment you mention my mother, heaven will fall upon you," Max tells him. 

     When the boy finally reached a wall, Max grabbed hold of his collar and notices his brooch that looked like a clown mask. This must be a symbol that he's an underling like what that other guy mentioned earlier. Max chuckles when he sees it."Underling you say? How pathetic." He lets go of the guy's collar and looks at him straight in the eye. "Mention my mother one last time and you will never be able to go out of the walls of this school again. I am a Sinclaire, and I can ruin your life without even lifting a finger."

     The man who's pinned against the wall looks back at Max with complete horror. Everyone is silent. If any other student said such a bold statement, they would have just laughed it off and thought of it as a bluff. But Max isn't just any other student. Everything he says can become a reality in front of their very own eyes.

     "That's enough." Someone commands, his voice echoing around the room because of how loud it was. 

     Everyone looks at the doorway to see a man wearing a teacher's uniform. He's surprisingly lean compared to his low voice, and his hair is perfectly waxed back. It's obvious he's covered in tattoos too since everyone can get a glimpse of it on his neck and hands. If not for his uniform, the students won't even be able to guess that he's a teacher at all.

     "Sit down. All of you."

     The students were too surprised to even move. Their surprised reactions and terrified expressions confused Max for the hundredth time now.

    "That's sir Barron right? Why is he here?" A student standing near Max whispers to the guy sitting beside him.

     "Who the hell is this man now?" Max mumbles to himself as he stares at the teacher like how the rest of the class did. When everyone didn't respond to what they were instructed to do, the teacher walks towards the platform that was placed at the front, placing both of his hands behind him like he was some kind of general in the military. He doesn't say a word and just stares down at them, but that was enough to finally make everyone take their seats.

     The room was dead silent that Max couldn't help but be impressed by how this man singlehandedly calmed the entire class down without even lifting a finger.

     "That's sir Kai Barron. He's a teacher in one of the special classes." The student sitting beside Max suddenly tells him. He's also the same student who almost got hit by his chair earlier.

     "And I'm assuming that's a big deal." Max answers without looking back at him.

     The student smiles, glad that Max even responded to him. "I'm Ari Faulkner by the way." The student whose name is Ari introduces with a shy smile. Ari is only a few inches taller than Max. His hair had different shades of red, almost like he colored it himself for the first time, which explains how bad the outcome was. And every time he smiled his dimples would show. He's no doubt a charming fellow.

     "Max," Max says back, and Ari's smile widens.

     The two look back at sir Barron who's looking at the students with complete disgust. He's looking at them like they're some kind of germ. "It's the first day and what do I get? A bunch of animals running wild like it's an open zoo. What a disgrace. And you call yourselves A-Class students." He tells them.

     Sir Barron starts walking around the room. Every student that he got close to would either freeze in their seats or avoid making eye contact with him. It only made Max even more curious about why they feared such a man like him.

     "To those who don't know me yet, I am Kai Barron, one of the special class teachers in J.S High. And for those who do know me, well congratulations, I will be your new homeroom teacher." Sir Barron reveals this when he stood in the middle of the class. The students practically gasped upon hearing about the news.

     "What's going on here? Sir Barron never took the job as a homeroom teacher before." Ari says in shock. He didn't directly say it to Max, but Max was surprised by the information as well. Because if that's the case, then this class is important enough to have him as their homeroom teacher.

     "Now, as your homeroom teacher, let me share with you all the three things that I truly hate." Sir Barron says next as he walks towards a small and fragile-looking boy sitting near the window. "One. Weak students." He says while looking straight at the student's face. "I don't need students who will act as the weak link in my class. If you ever fall into that category, I will remove you."

     The small boy gulps in terror. He couldn't even move. But when their homeroom teacher walks away from him, he exhales, hinting to everyone that he held his breath the entire time sir Barron was looking at him.

     Sir Barron then walks toward the student that whom Max had an argument with earlier. "Two. Students who cause trouble."

     The student grits his teeth, but he doesn't dare say a thing.

     "You may be one of the best students of your year, but don't get too cocky. If you ever make unnecessary trouble, and if your grade in the 1st term drops even at the slightest, I will kick you out of here with no mercy." Sir Barron tells him, and the anger on the student's face only became more obvious.

     "That goes for all of you. There are a lot of reasons why you're placed in this class, and one of them is because the school takes pride in your achievements. But I'm your homeroom teacher now, and it is stated in Section 20 of the students' handbook that students in an A-Class can be removed if they do not meet the standard that is set by their designated homeroom teacher." Sir Barron reminds them, and you could hear some students groaning in the background because of how displeased they were from what they heard.

     Sir Barron continues his walk. And to finish up the top three things that he truly hates, their infamous homeroom teacher makes his final stop in front of a student named Maximilian Leigh Sinclaire.

     "And lastly, number three of the things that I hate. Students who think they're high and mighty just because of what they are outside the great walls of this school." Sir Barron finishes while looking straight at Max's eyes.

     "Sinclaire. You should know better than to threaten someone with outside matters." He tells him.

     Max was surprised by the accusation, so he tries to defend himself, "I didn't even know that I was supposed to—" But sir Barron doesn't even let him finish as he looks back at the student who was put on the spot before him. "You too Ervin Walker. I'll have to talk to you about that attitude of yours later." He tells him before heading back to stand in front of the class.

     "I'll be giving out the rules of this class after Brotherhood Week. For now, you're all expected to wait here before the House Assembly." Sir Barron finishes. He then heads to the door to leave, but before stepping out, he looks back at Max and says, "Sinclaire. Follow me."

     Everyone looks back at Max. Even Ari was surprised.

     Max takes a deep breath and stands from his seat. Without saying anything, he follows their homeroom teacher outside. When Max got out of their room, he spots sir Barron leaning on the wall with his arms crossed. Max approaches him, and sir Barron doesn't even look at him as he tells him, "Your uncle is too concerned about you that it's sickening."

     Max almost laughed, but he tries his best not to. Instead, he stands beside their teacher and says back, "I knew something like that would happen. Considering the fact that everyone was surprised about you being our homeroom teacher."

     "Being a homeroom teacher is the least of my concerns, but I am not a babysitter. You should know what to do and what not to do." He says, referring to what happened earlier.

     Max wanted to defend himself once more, but sir Barron doesn't even give him the chance to speak. "I also heard about what happened at the Keep earlier. It's a good thing your brother arrived before the situation got worse." Sir Barron adds, frustrating Max even more.

     "I don't need my brother's protection."

     "Put your pride down for once Maximilian." Sir Barron tells him, surprising Max because he called him by his first name, and not because of what he said about his pride.

     "So what? Should I be scared of those brotherhoods instead?" He asks, and sir Barron finally looks at him. 

     "You don't have to worry about the brotherhoods. Students in black uniforms always follow the rules. Their leaders are senior students with the highest form of ranking, which is why they are feared but at the same time respected. Most of them have underlings in lower years. Ervin was one of them. It would be a problem if they mention what you did to them to their leaders."

     "Well, I apologize for causing trouble. It's a little hard to adjust right now. Give me a day and I might get a hang of this brotherhood system." Max explains with no hint of sarcasm whatsoever.

     Sir Barron sighs and moves away from the wall. "I know president Janus didn't tell you about the brotherhood system so I'll let what happened earlier slide. I'll hand you the White Uniform and Brotherhood Handbook later as well. Study both and make sure you know each rule by heart. That's how you'll survive here." Sir Barron explains to Max, and the only thing that Max can do is nod his head as an answer. 

     Sir Barron then takes something out of his pocket. It's a black card that's similar to a credit card, but it has J.S High's logo, Max's full name, and his student number imprinted on it instead. He hands it to Max, and Max scans the unfamiliar item thoroughly.

     "That's your student card, which is also linked to your actual credit card. That is what you will use inside the campus. It will also show you your rank. If you don't know yet, ranks are important here." Sir Barron explains as he gestures at the card that Max is now holding.

     "Ranks? So what rank am I then?" Max asks before putting the card inside his coat's inner pocket.

     Sir Barron smirks and answers him, "From now on you should get used to being at the very bottom."

     Max glares at their homeroom teacher after hearing his answer, but before sir Barron could say anything else, a student wearing a white uniform arrives and greets him.

     Max stares at him from head to toe. He's already 178cm tall himself, but the boy still towered over him. He has shoulder-length hair and his gaze is calm and reserved, yet he has a strong aura that contradicted it. But his most prominent feature was the mole near his right eye. His presence is no doubt different from the others.

     "Sorry to interrupt your conversation sir Barron, but everyone is already waiting for you at the stadium." The boy tells him.

     "I see. Then let us not keep them waiting." Sir Barron says as he starts walking away without saying his goodbyes to Max.

     Max thought that the student was going to ignore him and follow behind sir Barron, but to Max's surprise, he looks at him and says, "It would be wise if you wear your complete uniform."

     Max looks back at him with a blank expression, but when the boy points at the top of his head, Max realizes that he isn't wearing his peak cap anymore because of the incident that happened earlier. "I would be a fool if I wear it now. It's covered with tire tracks." Max explains to him.

     The student standing in front of him looked like he didn't care even if it was covered in shit. "Wear it." He demands with his eyes fixed on Max.

     Max didn't expect to hear someone demand such a thing from him. He wanted to just ignore it, but then he remembers something important. He was about to check if he was wearing any brooch in him, but with such bad luck and timing, the boy turns around and walks away from Max before he could even look at his collar.

     Max wasn't able to see if he has any brooch that could help him identify what his stand is in this school, and he's an idiot for not being able to even notice it. But even though he wasn't able to see it with his own eyes, Max is a hundred percent sure that the boy was definitely not ordinary.

- END -