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THE SCHOOL BELL RINGS, and everyone starts running back to their classrooms. Today was a special day, not because there weren't any classes, but because today was their monthly re-ranking.

    A Monthly Reranking Announcement is an awaited event that takes place in the Great Hall. During this announcement, the white uniforms will see their updated rank and standing. Students can usually check their ranking any time by going to the Elites' office to check the system computer, but the white uniforms would rather find out about it during this announcement.

     The rankings will be flashed on a big screen during lunch break, and the list will be projected from lowest to highest.

     The top 10 highest-ranking students will then be announced by the leader of the Kings, Viktor Stepanov. But since Viktor has been on leave for a while now, their second highest-positioned member, Tanis Hendrix, will announce the names one by one.

     The student council, also known as the Elites, consists of the Top 5 highest-ranking students in J.S High, but the students who are ranked 6-10 are already trained for the positions of the Elites as they have the highest chances of replacing the members. If they surpass the ranks of any existing member of the Elites, they must immediately take their place and assume the role that is equivalent to their new rank.

     As rankings are important in all houses, students do everything they can to get more points, especially students who rank 6 to 10. There are even rumors that those students buy points from other students at the last minute. It's that important.

    "If I end up getting demoted and become a dweller, I'm definitely going to get in a lot of trouble, especially with Hans. He might even take my underling title away," Ari says with a worried tone while he was walking down the hall with Ervin.

     "I doubt it. There are only two gaffers in our entire year and that's you and vice president Gavriil. I don't think you'll fall short," Ervin replies, trying to encourage his friend.

     "I don't know man, last time I checked I was in rank 292. I'm literally eight students away from dropping to 300 and becoming a dweller. The ranking is very unstable after all. You can get lower and higher even just by ten points," Ari explains, still worried despite ranking high.

     As the two reach their building at the Hall of Caelus, Ervin glances at his underling brooch and says, "Well I don't really know about you but I'm pretty sure I'm ranking up. I've been sent to two local competitions last month, and I also sent my own dissertation paper to Cambridge about the importance of wellness activities in school. It's not much, but it's enough to pull me up."

    "If I remember correctly you're rank 337, right?"

     "That's right. But I have to rank even higher and become a gaffer like you. I have to do it for Master Joker and the rest of the members of Jokers. Everyone has always said that Jacks are just a bunch of bullies with nothing to prove, so I want to change that," Ervin explains, surprising Ari because he never thought that Ervin would even consider something like that.

     "Wow, look who decided to be a big boy now," Ari teases while draping his arm around Ervin. It felt like it was only yesterday when he was bullying Max and now here they are.

     "Anyway, how about our little friend, Felix?" Ervin then asks when he remembered that Felix is actually the only serf in their class now since Max was able to rank up and become a dweller.

     "During the time we were given our armbands, Felix was at rank 408. There are literally eight freshmen students who rank higher than him. How is that even possible?" Ari asks before putting his arm down from Ervin.

     "They must have had brothers who graduated here. Some seniors transfer their points to their younger brothers when they graduate, but it's a practice that's shamed by others so not a lot does it. Why would you even be proud of how many points you have if you only got them from your family? It ruins the essence of this school," Ervin explains, suddenly making Ari remember a rumor that he heard last year.

     "Oh yeah, about transferring points; I don't know who told me, but I heard there's a rumor that seniors sell their merit points and the lower years would auction it. I don't know how you can get an invite to that auction, but I heard bets range from a hundred thousand to millions. Isn't that crazy?!"

     Ervin was surprised by the newfound information, but at the same time, he wasn't that shocked.

     "Crazy for us, but not for them. This is a school filled with elites and heirs after all."

     While the two were finally getting closer to their classroom, a swarm of students suddenly ran in their direction. One student even bumped into Ervin hard and didn't apologize, instantly making Ervin grab the student's arm to stop him.

     "Hey! What the fuck do you think—"

     Just when the white uniform was about to lash out at the person grabbing his arm, his eyes widened from shock when he saw that it was actually Ervin. He then flinched and got scared even more when he realized that the man standing beside him was Ari.

     "Is the word sorry a foreign language to you?" Ervin asks, gripping the student's arm tighter.

     "I-I'm sorry. I wasn't looking where I was going. I didn't mean to hit you...sir," the student defends, finally making Ervin let go of him because Ari started laughing when he addressed Ervin as sir.

     "What the hell are guys even doing? The bell already rang. You should be heading to your classroom," Ari says like the class representative that he is while glancing at the student's armband. Apparently, he's a second-year student like them, but they're from Class C.

     The student uneasily scratches the back of his head and answers, "Heard Sinclaire was finally here and we just wanted to take a look."

     "And why the fuck would you want to see our friend? What do you think of him? Some kind of spectacle?" Ari angrily asks, making the student flinch again.

     "N-No, of course not. But who doesn't want to see him? He just challenged his family for his inheritance and won. No one has done that before!" The student enthusiastically tells them, making Ervin and Ari look at each other with their right eyebrow raised.

     "Whatever, just scram," Ari then says, but the boy doesn't move from where he's standing.

     Just when Ari was about to ask what his problem was and why he wasn't leaving, the boy awkwardly smiles at them before looking at Ervin and asking, "You aren't going to give me a Jack-in-a-box, are you?"

     Ari instantly starts laughing after hearing the question, while Ervin angrily looks at the boy and shouts, "I will if you don't get out of my sight!"

     The student eventually runs off, leaving Ari laughing and Ervin wanting to strangle his friend.

     When Ari finally calms down, he looks at Ervin and sarcastically asks him, "What happened to your declaration earlier? I thought you wanted to prove to everyone that Jacks aren't just a bunch of bullies."

     "How about you fix yourself first so others wouldn't doubt that you're a Rose and not a dollar version of a Disney princess," Ervin then fires back.

     "Ouch," Ari says, touching his chest and pretending like he was shot.

     "Anyway, looks like Max is back. We should head to our room before sir Barron arrives, I don't want to be late. As for our friend Max, I think he'll do just fine. It seems like the entire student body is getting ready to welcome him anyway," Ervin says as the two walk their way to their classroom while everyone else was running to the Keep, ready to welcome a boy who they were slowly starting to respect.

...

Max was a diligent student, but today he was late because of the reporters who were waiting outside their house all night. He and Étienne had trouble leaving that they were forced to call the cops on them, causing them to leave the house late since they had to settle everything with the police first.

     "Everyone is talking about it, my mom's talking about it, and even my seven-year-old niece is talking about it. Someone even leaked photos of the meeting last night. All of the directors were there, and the informant said that—"

     Étienne immediately turns the radio off and glances at Max to check if he looked annoyed. Surprisingly enough, Max looked relaxed. Too relaxed actually.

     "Did you receive any good news, master Leigh?" Étienne asks out of pure curiosity.

     Max, who was reading an international newspaper article on his phone, doesn't even look at his butler as he answers, "Not really. The old man didn't come home so I wasn't able to talk to him about going back to my office. I'm pretty sure he's comforting his devastated fiancé. I also haven't talked to the department heads at the company to ask them to give the projects back to me. I haven't done anything productive yet, so no, I did not receive any good news."

     "Then why do you look—"

     "Relaxed? Like I don't care? Don't worry, the news about my inheritance was something I already expected, and nothing good will change even if I complain. I'm simply just glad that everything is back to normal," Max honestly says, surprising Étienne because he wasn't expecting Max to act so maturely. Usually, he'd look annoyed.

     Étienne doesn't complain though and says instead, "I'll talk to the head of the marketing department regarding the projects. As for your things, I'll get them at the mansion and transfer them to your office. I'll also ask the new employees to meet with you. It's important that you deliberate them yourself."

     "Thank you," Max says without removing his eyes from the screen.

     When the car ride became quiet, Étienne glances back at Max through the rearview mirror. He clenches on the steering wheel, contemplating on whether or not he should proceed to what he was about to say, but when he finally made up his mind, he clears his throat and says, "Master Leigh, regarding the task you gave me, about finding things about your past, I have actually—"

     "Put it on hold," Max suddenly says, stopping Étienne from finishing his sentence.

     "P-Put it on hold? But I have the documents you need that might help you remember your past. I thought you needed it," Étienne confusingly says.

     Max finally puts his phone down and looks back at his butler. "I do want to know about it, and that's what I intend to do. But for now, I want to take things slow. I realize that I remember bits of my past as I spend my time in J.S High. It's as if it's the rewards I get when I conquer a boss. I'll remember my past on my own, so just hold onto those documents for me. If I really need them, I'll tell you."

    Étienne was once again surprised by his master's response, but he gives out a small smile and nods his head in understanding. For a second he was worried about him, but it seems like the thing that happened to Max helped him grow. He could see the changes in him little by little.

     "I understand, master."

     The two eventually arrive at J.S High's famous campus. When they got there, the students were rushing inside to get to their classes, but when they saw the white car with the Lemieux emblem, they couldn't help but stop to take a look.

     "Looks like they're excited to see you," Étienne says, making Max chuckle.

     "When the news about my inheritance being rebuked was announced, the same students called me names and said foul things, but now look at them. They're like a piece of plastic following the waves...useless."

     Étienne parks in front of the Keep and heads out to open the door for Max. Max wears his cap and takes a deep breath before grabbing his bag and finally stepping out of the car.

    When everyone saw him, the crowd instantly starts whispering at each other. Even though outside matter shouldn't really matter on the campus, some still looked at Max like they were annoyed by him, while some were surprisingly amazed. They looked at Max like he was some sort of role model.

     Max wasn't going to lie; he liked the attention. I guess he always liked the attention, he was just good at hiding it. After all, he's getting attention for the right reasons so who wouldn't be proud?

    "I feel like I'm finally back," Max says to himself before walking towards the Keep.

     "Have a great day, master Leigh."

     The students would stop and stare as Max walked past them. It was like a scene in the movies where the popular kid walked down the hall with a proud smile. The only difference was that Max wasn't really the popular kid. In fact, when Max first started, he was just an ordinary white uniform trying to rank up like everyone else.

     Max is still a white uniform, a white uniform who wore a Sinclaire, Jokers, and BND brooch; brooches that he wore with great pride. It was evidence of his success.

     "Alright everyone, let's get your attendance so we can get this over with..."

     A familiar voice was heard when Max arrived at Class II-A. Max opens the door to their classroom and was expecting to see their homeroom teacher, but to his surprise, it was Ari who was standing in front holding the attendance sheet.

     As Max closes the door behind him, everyone immediately looks his way. Ervin smiles, while Felix's eyes instantly glimmer. Ari, on the other hand, almost dropped the attendance sheet when he saw him.

     "Max!" Ari shouts, running to Max and suddenly hugging him, almost lifting Max up from the ground.

     "A-Ari...that's...overkill," Max struggles to say, and Ari laughs and lets go of his dear friends.

     "What are you doing? Where's sir Barron?" Max asks.

     "Well, thanks to you I'm unfortunately still the class representative so I'm taking the attendance on his behalf. Sir Barron is having his final meeting with the Elites before the reranking later," Ari tells him.

     Max nods his head upon hearing the explanation. Gavriil mentioned the monthly reranking announcement to him last night. Apparently, when there's a reranking, the Elites are not allowed to check their ranks a week before the official announcement, so no one knows if they're still a member of the Elites or not.

    "Alright, go back to your seat. I'll write you on the attendance," Ari says.

     While Max walks to his seat, one of their classmates suddenly looks at Ari and complains, "That's not fair. Max was ten minutes late. He should be marked absent."

     "We can't have every fucking thing Hazik, now stop complaining, I'm the class rep here," Ari says, and their classmate didn't say anything anymore since he was too scared of Ari.

     As Max sat down, Felix and Ervin immediately went to him. Ervin sat on Ari's seat as Felix sat on his desk. Felix then smiles at Felix and tells him, "Congratulations on getting your inheritance back Max. We're really proud of you."

     Max looks at Felix and smiles at him before patting his head like he usually does.

     "You already sent me a message yesterday, but thank you," Max says, making Felix smile even more.

     "I'm not really into the business world, but I was watching the news closely too. Can't believe you pulled something off like that. You're really something Sinclaire," Ervin then adds.

     Ari - who was done taking the attendance - approaches his friends and suddenly tells them, "So, you guys ready for the reranking? I'll bet a thousand bucks that one of us will get demoted."

     "Why do you have to be so negative?" Felix complains, and Ari sticks his tongue out to him, making the two bicker with each other again.

    While the two were fighting, Ervin looks back at Max and tells him, "By the way, I also watched the Livestream with the Monarchs the other night. Heard from Master Joker that you were the one who planned it. That red cigarette smoke really made headlines."

     As Max pulled out the notebook where he writes everything he finds out about J.S High, he looks at Ervin and tells him, "Yeah, I'm glad things just worked out. I'm also glad that the Monarchs helped us out too. When they were following me around I thought they were just annoying, but they ended up being useful after all."

     "Well, speaking of Monarchs, I bet Heaven is nervous right now," Ari suddenly adds right after bickering with Felix.

     "Oh yeah, Cj mentioned that they're performing before the announcement," Max says, making Ari shake his head aggressively.

     "No, I don't mean that," he says before realizing that Max probably doesn't know. "Of course, you don't know about that too," Ari says, making Max furrow his brows in confusion.

     "What do I not know?"

     Ari was about to answer, but then Felix pushes him away and answers instead, "The Monarchs' bassist, Heaven J. Carter, is J.S High's rank 6. He's the closest to becoming a member of the Elites."

- END -