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ARI, FELIX, AND MAX approach the Great Hall, also known as the cafeteria. They haven't even gotten to the exact hall but they could already hear the noise coming from inside.

     "We should hurry before they arrive," Ari says, once again pulling Max with him while his arms are still around his shoulders. Max may think of it as a normal gesture, but Ari is actually doing it so that no one would bother Max, especially when the entire student body is in the Great Hall, which is the perfect place to humiliate someone.

     The Great Hall is large enough to accommodate all the students of the House of Kings. The hall is surrounded by long tables, and each table is assigned to specific groups of students, even though no one assigned them to it. There are also two opposite balconies, one at the entrance, and one at the end of the hall. For visualization, imagine a basketball court. But instead of hoops, place balconies instead.

     "Those are brotherhood flags," Max instantly notices when the three arrive at the noisy cafeteria. Students who spotted them instantly whisper at each other, probably because they finally get to see Max in the flesh, and he even has a serf's armband on.

     Max stares at the banners that are hanging on the balconies. Four were on the other balcony, while the king and the prince's banners are found on the other.

     "I'm guessing these four are friends while the kings and the princes are like the popular kids that you can't sit with at lunch," Max says while his eyes continue to stare at the banners with awe.

     "Okay, here's the thing. The Kings (Busters) and the Princes (PHD) are old friends. They're the only brotherhood here where all the members are seniors, except for Dangerous Five who consists of third-year students, which is a subunit of PHD. But of course, that's another story," Ari explains.

     "Then there's the Dukes (BND) and the Marquis (Crazy 8). They're the classy ones and are the most respected brotherhoods in all the houses. They aren't exactly friends, but they're on good terms with each other," Felix explains next.

     The three then arrive at an empty table, which is the seat where Ari usually takes. And since he's a gaffer, no one dares to take it.

     "And then there's the Counts (Cigarettes) and the Barons (Jokers), right? After the stunt they did during the assembly, it's safe to say they're close," Max says as soon as Ari lets go of him.

     The three take their seat as the students around them continue with their business; Max sits beside Felix while Ari sat in front of them.

     "Jokers and Cigarettes don't have any beef with each other, but that doesn't mean they're friends either. Most of the time their underlings fight with each other, and that's when trouble arrives," Ari answers.

     While the three continue talking, waiters arrive with pushcarts that are filled with dishes that you can only find in five-star restaurants. They hand the food out to each table, while some try to avoid the students who are running around the hall.

     "This is seriously an interesting school. Who would have thought things like brotherhoods would be possible. And look at the students. Imagine the power a single rule could do to a person's class," Max points out as a waiter politely places their food on the table.

     "Well, can you blame them? The rules of the houses free us from the standards that society forces upon us. It's only expected that they'd act this way because of that," Ari explains, and both Felix and Max couldn't agree more.

     The three finally start eating amidst the noises that the surrounding students were making. But as the three try to find their inner peace, the noise slowly starts dying down, and a faint melody could be heard in the background. Eventually, the entire cafeteria becomes silent.

     Max slowly puts his spoon down and looks at Ari and Felix with a confused look. "What the hell is that?" he whispers to them.

     Ari excitedly grins. "Looks like we're about to begin," he says as he points at a student standing in front of a table. Max moves a little to get a closer look, and to his surprise, the student was actually staring at a jack-in-the-box that's on top of the table.

      Students start stomping their feet and banging their fists on the table so they could match the sound that's coming from the box. When the song finally came to an end, Jack pops out of the box with a note attached to it. The student slowly takes the note with his shaking hand and reads it.

     "N-No, this can't be happening. What did I do?!" He shouts in a full panic right after reading the note, making the students laugh at his reaction.

     The white uniforms who were sitting close to him were actually Jokers' underlings. So when they started to stand from their seats, the trembling boy who received the box didn't even hesitate. He instantly ran for his dear life.

     "What was that about?" Max immediately asks, looking back at Ari and Felix.

     "Maximilian Sinclaire, I present to you...the brotherhood customs," Ari says with excitement, which only made Max furrow his brow in confusion.

     Felix, who's busy slicing his stake, doesn't even look at the two as he explains it for him. "There's this code that protects the students, and that's the White Uniform Protection Code. That code protects us from getting targeted, bullied, or even harmed by the brotherhoods for no valid reason. The brotherhood custom gave them that reason."

     "Are they fucking crazy? How did that happen? How did president Janus agree to this?" Max asks. He couldn't believe that something like this is allowed in their school.

     Felix takes a bite of his food before looking back at Max. "The crazy person who proposed this is none other than Victor Stepanov. We don't exactly know when, but we heard he made an entire presentation in front of all the officers of the Brotherhood Association. He was that determined."

     "That's right, he slapped them with all the loopholes that he found in the brotherhood and white uniform handbook and proposed the customs. They couldn't say no after that," Ari adds after taking a sip of his tea.

     "Brotherhood customs reformed the entire concept of the brotherhoods. That's why Victor and his brotherhood are respected and at the same time feared. The only thing that's safe about it is that brotherhoods can't do anything that's outside their custom," Felix finishes, and Max was left with his mouth wide open. As much as he wants to deny it, Victor is no doubt an amazing person to be able to pull that off. Only someone with guts can propose such a thing.

     "So that box gig is Jokers's custom?" Max asks next.

    "That's right. That's what we call the Jacks-in-the-box custom. If you're on their bad side, Jokers will give you that box, and you'll be, quote-unquote, pranked, for an entire day. And it's not the Jokers who'll prank you, but their underlings, the Jacks. This is one of the loopholes that Jokers found. Since there isn't exactly a rule that protects white uniforms from each other thanks to our ranking system, they used their underlings instead," Ari explains as Max continuously nods his head like he's processing every word that's coming out of Ari's mouth.

     "Their leader, Master Joker, started this custom. It became a reason why Jacks act so privileged." Felix states, making Max remember Ervin Walker who talked bad about his mother on their first day.

     Soon after, brotherhoods started arriving at the cafeteria, specifically the Jokers, and Charles Justin Mills's brotherhood, the Cigarettes. Both Cigarettes' and Jokers' underlings stood from their seats to greet them while other students ignored them completely.

     "Speak of the devil," Ari says as the three of them watch the two brotherhoods happily enter the noisy Great Hall. White uniforms even start moving away from them as they head to the balcony.

    The atmosphere instantly changes thanks to their presence alone. They may be the two lowest-ranking brotherhoods in the House of Kings, but they're still part of the top six out of thirty brotherhoods.

     "Where the hell is Uriel Roberts?!" Someone suddenly calls out from the balcony, making everyone look at him.

     Charles Justin Mills - also known as Cj - was looking down at the students with an angry expression. Soon after, a boy wearing a dog collar runs up the balcony with a bunch of R-rated magazines. The poor boy looked tired, and he's almost covered in mud. Who knows what he's been through.

     "No way. Someone made a deal this early?" Ari asks, and Felix shakes his head in disappointment.

     One of the members of Cigarettes throws the magazines at the boy, and all the boy could do is pick them up on the floor. But as soon as he kneels, another member kicks him, and the two brotherhoods at the balcony start laughing.

     "What happened to him? Did he receive a cigarette this time?" Max seriously asks, making Ari and Felix laugh.

     "No, that's what you call the Tobacco deal, and these deals are usually as bad as cancer. Cigarettes make a bunch of deals for students. One popular one is related to grades. Failing your subjects will cause you expulsion, and unfortunately, not all heirs are smart. That's why they make deals with these assholes. They tweak things up and magically give you an A, but the payment is twice as much. They can also give merit points to students who cannot handle the pressure of their low rankings." Ari explains, taking a scoop of his mashed potato as he did so.

     "The other thing that makes Cj powerful is because he created the concept of underlings," Felix then reveals, shocking Max even more.

     Ari eats the mashed potato on his spoon before pointing it towards Max. "Lighters, that's what they call them. Then the four best underlings are called Ashes. That's why Cigarettes take pride in their underlings, which is why their motto is..."

     "You cannot use a cigarette without a lighter," Felix and Ari recite in unison.

     Max takes a sip of his tea as well. He couldn't believe that almost everything that makes a brotherhood was created by the leaders of the House of Kings. No wonder his uncle is cautious of them.

     "You become their homeboy, and how long you'll be one depends on the deal you strike with them. I may be a serf, but I would rather receive the Jack-in-the-box than make a Tobacco Deal." Felix then adds, and all Max could do was sip on his tea because of amusement.

     After the commotion the Jokers and Cigarettes made, another brotherhood enters the Great Hall. The students near the entrance start cheering, getting the attention of the other students.

     The brotherhood who entered is none other than the Dukes, Boys Next Door. The members of BND enter the Great Hall with smiles on their faces. They wave to the crowd like they're there to have a fan meet, and not because they're going to eat their lunch. Students stand to get a glimpse of them, but Max didn't bother to look and continued eating his lunch.

     Krist, also known as Master Joker, approaches the balustrade and leans on the handrails. "Oh, Hans! You're so handsome!" He teases. And then Cj joins him too and shouts with him, "Let's take a picture, Hans!"

     Jokers and Cigarettes laugh at their leader, but Hans, who was with his brotherhood, ignores them and continues to wave at the crowd.

     "Other than being the third most powerful brotherhood, BND is also the most respected, especially their leader, Hans. They're also the only brotherhood that doesn't have customs. And their underlings, the Roses, are said to be well-mannered too, which is why it's rumored that there's only fifteen of them," Ari explains even though Max didn't ask about it. But even though Max looked uninterested, he wanted to know more about his brother's brotherhood.

     "They also only have one junior member. So when all six seniors graduate, it's expected that the chosen Roses will replace them," Felix then adds.

     Marcus spots Max amongst the crowd, but he doesn't say anything as he and the rest of BND joins Cigarettes and Jokers at the balcony. The noise coming from their area made the white uniform's noise quieter.

     "Alright, will that be our last commercial break, or are we going to meet Crazy 8 too? Because I don't think I can handle more of that." Max honestly tells them.

     "Like what I told you before, Crazy 8 is very mysterious. Usually, their leader Siren does all the talking, but no one has really seen any of their faces. Even at major events, they have their masks on. But even though they're mysterious, they do have a custom, and that's the Kiss Mark," Ari tells Max, almost Max hit his head on the table because of the amount of information he's receiving.

    "Jacks-in-the-box, Tobacco Deal, and now Kiss Mark. Don't tell me a random guy would suddenly approach you and kiss the hell out of you this time," Max says before shoving the peas in his mouth in frustration.

     "Actually, we don't know how it happens. A student will just randomly receive it. Light pink means good things will come to you, while red means the opposite. No one knows how Crazy 8 chooses their targets, but I think last year only three received a kiss mark, and all were dark red," Felix explains. And just when Max was about to ask another question, trumpet sounds were suddenly heard throughout the Great Hall.

     "What now?" Max asks in frustration. But instead of getting a reply, all the white uniforms stood up from their seats, including Felix and Ari. Max would be an idiot if he doesn't follow them, so he stood from his seat as well.

     "Let me guess, it's the royals?" Max asks in a soft voice as everyone faced the entrance. Only then did Max notice the red carpet that led to the other balcony.

     "Max, I don't really want to be nosey, but I think the main reason why your uncle gave you that brooch is because of one reason and one reason only..." Ari says as they continue to stare at the entrance of the Great Hall. Everyone doesn't say a thing. But as soon as a man in black uniform takes a step inside, Ari gulps and glances at Max, "It's because of them."

- END -