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TRUMPET SOUNDS WERE HEARD, and the students cheered so loud their vocal cords could break. The lights turn off, and a spotlight was directed towards the main entrance of the stadium. No one even noticed how the red carpet in the middle got there. Soon after, a banner in the middle falls, and everyone couldn't contain their excitement anymore. Some were even standing from their seats. Max, Ari, and Felix were forced to do the same so they could see what was happening.

 The House of Kings (J.S High) is known as the Kings' Castle. The top 6 brotherhoods reside in this house, and out of all of them, the Kings are the most respected and most feared brotherhood since they have the power to rule over the other Houses. But other than the brotherhoods, the house also takes pride in the white uniforms. J.S High has the most outstanding heirs in the world. They are definitely a house to be reckoned with.

     Before the brotherhoods start appearing, vice president Gavriil Alexeev rejoins Ian on the stage. A white uniform runs to his side to give him a microphone of his own.

     "Good day everyone. I am Gavriil Alexeev, the Elites' vice president. I know that everyone is excited about this assembly, so let me remind you that this is the moment where you have to catch the brotherhoods' attention. Because this is the best opportunity to become their underlings." The vice president announces, making the freshmen students pumped up even more.

     The higher years started stumping their feet. It was a welcoming ceremony for the first year.

     "Underlings are given personal invitations by the brotherhoods. But students are still allowed to apply for their chosen brotherhood. They only have to go through an initiation." Ian explains, and Gavriil nods his head to agree to this statement.

     "So fellow white uniforms, watch your upperclassmen closely and decide what brotherhood best suits you. Thank you." Gavriil explains further before leaving Ian at the stage again.

     When Ian was once again alone at the stage, the host, Mr. Coleman, rejoins him. Ian gives back the microphone to him and pats his back before following Gavriil and joining the Elites.

     "The time has finally come. But before we begin, please take your seats. I repeat, please go back to your seats, everyone."

     The crowd was too hyped up at this point that they could barely even hear Mr. Coleman speak. Ian doesn't do anything about it, but Gavriil on the other hand walks in the middle of the stadium with no shame. The brotherhoods who were already sitting there were staring at him, but Gavriil didn't look intimidated.

     He stood out since he was surrounded by students who wore black uniforms. When the students saw him, the noise got quieter and quieter until nothing else was heard. Gavriil puts the microphone that he's holding near his mouth and asks, "Our brotherhoods are about to enter. Is this how you show your respect to them?"

     No one answers, so Gavriil scans the students in the bleachers and continues, "Let the MC speak, and cheer for your brotherhood when they enter. This is an assembly, not a brothel."

     Everyone doesn't say anything any further as Gavriil walks back to where the Elites were. Mr. Coleman awkwardly laughs it off and clears his throat before saying, "Thank you, vice president. But let's not be discouraged. Let's keep the heat up, shall we?"

     The students are now hesitating thanks to Gavriil's words. The excitement just plummeted down, and Mr. Coleman has to bring up the heat again if he wants the atmosphere to return to normal.

     Ari chuckles and shakes his head. "Seriously. The vice president really knows how to ruin a party."

     "I think he's trying to prevent them from getting hurt instead," Max says, making Felix and Ari look at him. "I mean, everyone was already standing up. And we're sitting at the bleachers. I wouldn't be surprised if they start pushing each other. It would have been too dangerous." Max explains, and the two finally understood what he was trying to say.

     "Alright, I think we need to feel the excitement again. Do you guys want to be entertained?" Mr. Coleman asks, and the brotherhoods who were already there cheered since the white uniforms were still too hesitant to do so.

     Mr. Coleman tries to salvage the situation. He calls for entertainment, AKA J.S High's very own band, the Monarchs. The Monarchs are a band known even outside the campus. Their frontman, Axel Dumont, is a third-year student from Class A who is a master of hyping up the crowd. Even after what the vice president said earlier, the assembly turned into a concert. The students eventually loosened up again, and after performing two of the Monarchs' original songs, the atmosphere returned to normal.

     "Alright! That's what I'm talking about! Thank you, Monarchs!" Mr. Coleman says as the band leaves the stage. "I guess we've been letting them wait for too long. Let us officially begin!"

     Right on cue, a huge banner falls on the stage. It was the face of a joker.

     Ervin Walker - the guy who had a feud with Max and Ari earlier at class - suddenly stood up with at least a hundred other students around the stadium. It made Max realize that their brooch was the same as the logo on the banner.

     "Let us all show our respect to rank six brotherhood, the Barons, JOKERS!" Mr. Coleman announces, and the entire stadium roars. The students who were already standing starts making siren sounds as six men in black uniforms enter the stadium.

     The brotherhood made noises as they entered. Some have horns, and some have spray cans that sprayed a colorful string-like substance. To top it all off, they were wearing clown masks too. Max felt like he was watching a circus act.

     Other than the clown masks, their uniform was slightly different from the rest of the leaders of the other Houses as well. It's still the same black uniform, but they aren't wearing peak caps. They have leather gloves on too, just like Marcus and Adachi Ren.

      The Jokers are intimidating, but they have more of a playful vibe to them thanks to the clown masks. But since they have masks on, no one can recognize them, except for the man walking in the middle since he doesn't have a mask on. The exposed man is none other than the infamous leader named Krist Hyusen, also known as Master Joker.

     "That guy is one of the most awful people in this house," Felix tells Max with a soft voice so that the underlings standing behind him wouldn't hear him.

     "Then I'm not surprised Ervin Walker decided to join them," Max answers back with a loud voice. Because, unlike Felix, Max isn't afraid of the underlings hearing him or not.

     The six boys in black uniform have jester brooches like their underlings, but it was definitely bigger and fancier. Krist on the other hand has a joker-like crown on the other collar that was connected with a silver chain. Anyone would know he's the leader with that.

      Jokers are the lowest rank in the House of Kings, but it's already ranked as high as six, so when they approached the other brotherhoods from the other houses, some stood up from their seats to greet them.

     Krist smirks as he stares at the ones who didn't stand. And when he and his brotherhood were about to reach their seats, Krist purposely steps on someone, specifically the leader of rank seven brotherhood, Checkmate. The leader curses and glares at Krist who went to their seat like nothing happened. He could start a fight with him, but he knew that it was wise not to. This isn't their house. He's definitely in the losing end if he tries something now.

     "Now let's give it up for rank five brotherhood, the Counts, CIGARETTES!"

     When the brotherhood named Jokers got settled in, their underlings sat down as well, and a new set of underlings stood up to show their respect to the brotherhood called Cigarettes.

     While the other students were waiting, four white uniforms suddenly walk towards the entrance. They were four tough-looking students whose mouths were covered with black leather masks. If it weren't for their uniform, you'd think they're brotherhood members too.

     "Those guys are called Ashes. They're Cigarette's four strongest underlings. They're also rumored to replace the senior students as soon as they graduate." Ari explains.

     Max jots everything down in his notebook. At this point, he's sure that his notebook is going to be filled with information before this assembly ends.

     The four students called Ashes salutes, and students in black uniforms start entering the stadium one by one. There are seven of them, and each one looked confident, as they should be. But the man standing in the middle looked a lot more confident compared to the other six. The way he smiled and waved at the crowd looked friendly, but the fakeness was so obvious that you'd think he's doing it on purpose.

     Charles Justin Mills, Cj for short, is the leader of Cigarettes. His family owns the largest tobacco company in the world, thus the name of the group. Other than being cocky, Cj is also the most unsympathetic leader among all the leaders. It could be because of the nature of how he was raised.

     Like Krist Hyusen, Cj also has brooches. One collar has the brotherhood's logo, then the other one has a spiky-looking crown.

     When Cj and his brotherhood arrived at their seats, most of the other brotherhoods stood up to greet them, but Jokers were one of the brotherhoods who didn't. Cj chuckles and ignores the clowns. But when he was only inches away from their seats, Krist stretches his legs out, causing the Cigarettes' leader to stumble forward.

     The crowd gasps.

     The underlings called Ashes almost ran towards him too, but the other members of Cigarettes got to him first. One of the members assisted him, but Cj pushes him away and laughs it off before looking back at the Master Joker.

     "Were you having leg cramps? Did you have to stretch your leg right when I'm passing by?" Cj asks with a fake smile.

     Krist doesn't look at Cj and starts stretching his other feet. The rest of the members of Jokers try not to laugh at how their leader is acting. Cj on the other hand starts laughing, but right after, he stops and grabs Krist by the collar and pulls him up so he can forcefully stand and look at him.

     Jokers immediately stand from their seats too, but Krist stops them from doing anything further.

     Cj looks straight at Krist's eyes and says, "You think that was funny?"

     Krist smirks and answers back, "It was hilarious."

     Everyone at the stadium was quiet. Some thought that Krist must have lost it for doing something like that to a leader who ranked higher than his brotherhood, but when Krist starts laughing, Cj starts laughing with him. The two then hug each other, showing everyone their strange friendship.

     The freshmen students were confused, while their upperclassmen rolled their eyes in annoyance.

     "They always do this. They pretend like they're fighting to grab people's attention, but then they start laughing it off like that." Ari explains to Max who was equally confused like the others.

     "So they're friends?" Max asks.

     "Heard they've been close since they were in their first years, but I'm not exactly sure myself," Ari explains as everyone settles down to welcome the next brotherhood.

     "Up next, rank four brotherhood, the Marquis, CRAZY 8!"

     Cigarettes and their underlings went to their designated seats. Max thought that students were going to stand for the brotherhood named Crazy 8 too like what happened when Jokers and Cigarettes entered, but no one did. No one cheered either. The stadium was almost dead silent when eight men in masquerade masks make their entrance, just seconds before their banner was revealed.

     The vibe is different. It's obvious why they ranked higher than the last two, but not like Krist, everyone has masks on. Their brooches were the same as their logo, but the only difference that they have with the other brotherhoods is that they're wearing a cape that's waist-long.

     The student in the middle caught most of the attention since he has a model-like figure, and he's holding a cane that matched with their outfit. His brooch is also their logo, and a small catholic-like crown on the other side too. There's something about them that felt different than the rest of the students who are already there. Even the Jokers looked uncomfortable when they entered.

     "No one knows who the members of Crazy 8 are." Felix softly reveals.

     "They never removed their masks?" Max asks back without looking at the boy sitting beside him.

     Ari, who was also engrossed with the assembly, starts explaining on Felix's behalf. "Never. Jokers wear one, but only during battles. Crazy 8 on the other hand wears them all the time, but usually, you won't see them anywhere on campus. It's hard to get a glimpse of them on a regular basis, especially when they also have special classes specifically designed for them. That's why they don't have underlings either. But if given a category, they're the classiest brotherhood here next to BND."

     Max finally turns his head towards Felix after hearing what he just told him. "BND?" He asks. And before Felix or Ari could answer him, a familiar banner falls from the ceiling, and the announcer points at another entrance and shouts, "Rank three brotherhood, the Dukes, BOYS NEXT DOOR!"

     The crowd went wild. You'd think that the stadium would start falling apart because of how crazy the reaction was.

     Seven equally good-looking men appeared with smiles on their faces. It almost felt like they're watching a Mr. World pageant because of how international they are. They also wore the same capes as the members of Crazy 8, which helped charm them up even more.

     The boys are waving at the crowd like they're not students but guest performers. Amongst them is none other than Max's brother, Marcus Thompson. He's smiling and waving at the crowd like he didn't just have an argument with his brother earlier. Now Max understands why the others looked terrified of him. He isn't just popular. His brotherhoods ranked high too.

     "BND only has at least ten underlings, and most of them are third-year students. They only have a few underlings because they know that underlings abuse their status, so they choose their underlings wisely. They're like the idols to a lot of students here, which is why they're well-liked." Ari explains before uneasily looking back at Max. He knew about Marcus being Max's brother, but Max doesn't know how and why he knows it. 

      Ari knew that he messed up big time by revealing it to him too early. Now he's just worried that Max would start questioning him about it, but thankfully it seems like he isn't going to open up about it at the moment.

     Max knows that it isn't the right time to interrogate Ari, but he can't help but stare at his brother who's happily waving at the crowd too. He couldn't believe he fought with him at all. But what diverted his attention was the guy who had the lock and crown brooch.

     "Wait, isn't that Hans De Vries? He's the fourth son of the De Vries household, but he's already expected to inherit the Royal De Vries Oil & Gas company instead of his older siblings, right?" Max asks instead.

     Felix, who is an honorable heir who knows a lot of people, confirmed Max's speculations for him. "That's right. And just like you, news about Hans surfaced when he enrolled here."

     "Well, he is a speculated member of crème de la crème. What would you expect." Ari adds, making Max realize it too.

     The De Vries family is almost as powerful as Max's family. It's possible that he's the heir that his uncle mentioned before.

     "Hans is also the brains of the group. Don't be fooled by their looks. Their tactics and strategies are top-notch, and it's all thanks to him." Felix explains further as the three of them continue to watch BND approach the other groups.

     "Tactics and strategies? For what exactly?" Max asks, but Felix and Ari weren't able to answer because everyone starts screaming when Hans approached Crazy 8's leader.

     Max thought they were going to fight like what Krist and Cj did earlier, but to his surprise, Hans grabs the leader's hand and kisses the back of it.

     "Finally, someone with class. It's good to see you again Siren." Hans greets, and Crazy 8's leader - who is apparently called Siren - curtsies but doesn't say anything back.

     It would have been a harmless greeting between comrades, but Krist went in between them and ruins the moment. "What kind of gay shit is this? You're doing this right in front of the other brotherhoods, and you call yourselves the dukes?" Krist says with a disgusted expression.

     The white uniforms sitting on the bleachers couldn't quite comprehend what the two were talking about, but the brotherhoods who were surrounding them could hear them loud and clear. At this point they've gotten used to the fact that they'd start quarreling like this, but not like what happened between Cigarettes, they knew that this was real.

     The members of BND wanted to intervene, but Hans stopped them and confronted Krist himself.

     Everyone watched as the two leaders stare at each other, both trying their best to dominate the other, but it was clear who the winner would be. His dominance is evident, but at the same time, he doesn't try too hard. He embodied his high rank, and all he did was smile.

     "I apologize, Krist, I wasn't able to greet you properly. Should I kiss your hand too..." Hans pauses and moves closer to his opponent. He then lifts his hand towards Krist's chin. Others would think that he's touching him, but in fact, Hans's hand never met Krist's chin at all. He left a few inches so he wouldn't touch him.

     "Or should I kiss you somewhere else?" Hans finishes, and Krist instantly pushes him away.

     Hans smirks and walks his way towards their seats in victory; the rest of his members following behind him. When BND took their seats, unexpected trumpet sounds were suddenly heard, and everyone became quiet in an instant. Not a single soul cheered, and this made Max's curiosity grow even more.

     "What's going on?" Max asks in a whisper without looking at Ari or Felix.

     "No time to explain. Just bow when they arrive, you got it?" Ari answers, surprising Max since he never bowed at anyone his entire life except for meeting actual royalties, so he wasn't going to put his pride down and bow at someone he barely even knows.

     "Unless the man who's going to appear is the king of England then I'll bow." Max stubbornly says, making Ari sigh in frustration. But he didn't say anything to persuade him. Even though he's only known Max today, it's pretty obvious that you can't persuade him to do something that he doesn't want to do.

     When the trumpet sounds were over, a banner falls in the middle of the stage. The banner has a strange phoenix symbol that has a crown, and its sudden appearance made the crowd tense up. Everyone stands from where they're sitting. And when I say everyone, I mean the white uniforms sitting on the bleachers, and the brotherhoods in the middle of the stadium. Even the Elites stood up from their seats that Max is left with no option but to do the same thing.

     The stadium has three double doors. The middle door was always the door being used when the others made their entrance, but the door on the left opens for the first time.

     "All rise and give respect to the royals." Mr. Coleman instructs even though everyone was already on their feet when he said it.

     Max didn't know what to expect, but there's something about this that's making him realize that not bowing now...will become more troublesome in his future endeavors.

- END -