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"MR. BRAINS AND BRAWN?!" Ari, Ervin, and Felix ask in unison as soon as Max revealed to them the conversation he had with Jokers earlier during their PE class.

     The four of them were walking their way to the Great Hall after a tiring run. And as they were walking, the students couldn't help but stare at the peculiar group of friends. One was an aggressive gaffer who originally didn't have any friends, then an underling who bullied targets but ended up becoming the target of bullying himself, and then an innocent serf who secretly has a bad personality, and of course, the white uniform who conquered the barons. Max wanted to stand out, and he knew exactly how to do it after recruiting his new friends.

     "I don't even know what Mr. Brains and Brawn is about. I was a student president in my old school, but all I did was hold the title and look cool. The other events were handled by the other officers since they don't really include me in anything," Max reveals, making both Ari and Ervin laugh.

     "You must have been an amazing president then," Ari teases.

     "Give Max some slack. I bet he didn't have a choice," Felix then defends.

     Max smiles and pats Felix's head, making Felix look like a puppy who happily wagged his tail every time his master would praise him.

     The four eventually arrive at the noisy Great Hall. The students were loud, while some were running around like grade-schoolers, especially when the brotherhoods haven't arrived yet. Max and the rest of his friends walked in the middle of the aisle to head to their usual seats. But as they were walking, someone suddenly calls out for Max.

     Max sighs in frustration. Apparently calling out for him from behind is normal now.

     The four of them turn back around, only to see Cigarettes walking towards them. As soon as they made an entrance, the loud cafeteria instantly transforms into an abandoned hall.

     Their leader Charles Justin "Cj" Mills, who was walking in the middle, approaches Max with a serious expression on his face. As soon as he stopped a meter away from him, Max bows his head and asks, "Counts...how may I assist you?"

     Cj sneers and takes a step closer. "Krist is a fool for submitting to a white uniform like you." He tells him.

     Max doesn't react. Unlike Jokers, Max does not see anything in them. Jokers have passion and love for their brotherhood and the system, but Cigarettes are nothing more than assholes who selfishly enjoy their power as counts. Saying something that would piss them off would be the last thing that Max needs right now.

     "What a disgrace. A white uniform should know its place. I don't know what you did to force the barons to side with you, but let me tell you that it will never happen again. So you better enjoy the little victory that you have now," Cj says, leaning close to Max as he said it. But as Cj gets a little too close, Ervin suddenly pushes the leader away out of instinct, making the students watching gasp from shock. Even Felix and Ari got shocked.

     Cj stumbles a little, but he laughs it off and faces Ervin. Without saying anything, he lifts his hand and gets ready to punch him, but thankfully Max immediately pushes Ervin away from the leader's view, causing Cj to punch the air instead.

     "What the fuck do you think you're doing!?" Cj angrily asks as he looks at Max.

     "It is against the rules that you hurt a white uniform, let alone an underling. You made the concept of underlings, so you should know the rules regarding them," Max bravely lectures, and that made Cj grab his collar like he didn't hear a thing that Max just said.

     "Don't try to act smart on me. Even if I shove your face in shit, no one will be able to do anything about it because no one gives a damn about a dirty serf like you," Cj mocks.

     "Are you sure about that?" A voice then asks.

     The rest of the members of Cigarettes move aside, revealing Jokers who made their unexpected entrance.

     "I don't know about you Mills, but I do give a damn about that kid. So if you don't let go of him within five seconds, things will get messy," Krist warns as he stares at the Cj's hands that are holding onto Max's collar.

     Cj laughs at the master joker's threat. "Oh my god, have you thrown all your pride away Mj?"

     "Let go of him," Krist continues to say, unbothered by the insult.

     "You've seriously lost your mind."

     "Let go of him now!"

     Trumpet sounds were suddenly heard before Cj and Krist could even do anything drastic. But thanks to that, Cj finally lets go of Max's collar. Without saying anything, Cj glares at Krist and walks his way towards the balcony with the rest of the members of Cigarettes.

     Max and his friends step aside as the princes made their entrance, making everyone, even the members of Jokers, bow to them. PHD walked past them without making a scene and then followed by Busters who also directly went to their own balcony without saying anything, which honestly surprised Max.

     The students, who were rowdy earlier, calmed down a little thanks to the presence of the Royals. Thanks to that as well, Max, Ari, Felix, and Ervin finally sat down on their seats in peace.

     "Sometimes I wonder if we'll ever get to have a single day where we're not getting caught up with these brotherhoods," Felix tells them.

     "Not gonna happen princess Ariel," Dhanin suddenly says. And to their surprise, the five members of Jokers sat down on the empty seats beside Max since the table they're on has a capacity of ten people.

     "What's going on?" Ari asks, dumbfounded by what was happening.

     Krist then walks towards Felix. He didn't even have to say anything before Felix immediately stood up from his seat and forcefully sat beside Ari instead so Krist could sit beside Max.

     Max looks at Krist who casually took a seat before asking, "What the fuck are you guys doing?"

     "Eating lunch," Krist answers. "Well, would you rather sit with us at the balcony instead? I really don't mind."

     "You want us to get killed?"

     "Then you better get used to this setup from now on little toy," Krist says, making Max sigh and give up entirely.

     Jokers don't want to admit it, but the truth is, the only reason why they're not planning to sit on the balcony anymore is because of the other brotherhoods. Before Krist even gave his crown brooch to Max, the brotherhoods, especially the Royals, have been treating them like they aren't a brotherhood anymore. Krist will admit that he was defeated by a white uniform with pride, but as a leader, he has to carry that burden.

     Krist doesn't want his brothers to feel like they're a failure just because of his defeat. So the best thing he can do for them is to remove them from a toxic environment.

     Sticking with Max is their best route, and assisting him to become the Elites' president is their best option. Because if Max becomes a president, Max won't be just a white uniform, making Krist's defeat something that isn't entirely shameful.

     "So, have you talked to BND yet?" Krist asks as the waiters arrive to hand them their lunch. And since Jokers is a brotherhood, their menu is a lot more special than Max's and his friends.

     "No, I haven't. I don't think they're even planning anything. Are you sure about that pageant thing?" Max asks.

     Krist doesn't say anything, but then he points at the balcony where the other brotherhoods are and says, "See that? BND isn't there, which means they're already working on the event. Mr. Brains and Brawn is the biggest event that BND handles. If you're chosen as a representative, then that's a pretty big deal. Everyone in this house will talk about it."

     "But they didn't really choose me. If I didn't ask for their favor-"

     "Thanks to you guys..." Ari suddenly mumbles to himself while eating his lunch, only to end up getting stepped on by Felix.

     Max then clears his throat and continues, "They wouldn't really be choosing me for this. I guess they didn't have a choice."

     "Oh, believe me, they do. I think Hans just doesn't want to admit it, but he knows how capable you are," Brave tells Max before taking a bite of his sausage.

     "And besides, Max is a pretty boy. I'm sure that's one of the reasons why they agreed to choose him," Toni then tells him while his mouth was still filled with food, making Krist throw a table napkin at him.

     "Anyway..." Rome suddenly says, leaning close to Ervin who was silently eating his lunch. He then points at the mashed potato on his plate and asks, "You gonna eat that? It's been a while since I've eaten actual cafeteria food."

     The Jokers and the rest of Max's newfound friends enjoy their lunch like regular students. As strange as it may be, this was the most normal thing that has ever happened to Max. He might not want to admit it either, but the smile that slowly crept on his face showed no regret. These moments will be some of the most unforgettable ones.

     "By the way, what's our next class going to be?" Felix asks, and just before anyone could answer him, a Duke suddenly heads inside the Great Hall. To be more specific, it's Max's big brother, Marcus.

     "Looks like big brother's here for you little toy," Krist tells Max with a soft voice before taking a sip of his energy drink.

     As usual, the students go wild as they watch Marcus approach Max's table. Max ignores his brother, but to his surprise, Marcus grabs Max's wrist just when he was about to grab his fork. Marcus then pulls him off of his seat and starts dragging him away.

     The students look at them with shock, not knowing the real reason why a Duke is even doing such a thing.

     "Aren't we going to do anything?!" Ervin asks as he immediately stands from his seat. But Toni, who was sitting beside him, grabs his arm and forcefully sits him back down.

    "Don't worry. I'm pretty sure Marcus wouldn't do anything bad to his little brother," Krist casually says before taking a bite of his dessert.

     Ervin calms down for a second, but when Krist's statement finally sinks in, he bolts up from his seat again and shouts, "What?!"

...

"Is this even necessary? Because being dragged all of a sudden while I'm eating lunch makes you look like a thug, and that might ruin your precious image." Max says, and Marcus finally lets go of him.

     "Sorry about that, but I have no choice. We're running out of time, and I don't want Hans to get pissed over this," Marcus says as he continues to hurriedly walk down the hallway with Max.

     "Seriously, is no one going to tell me what's going on here?" Max continues to ask, but Marcus doesn't answer him anymore as the two finally arrive at an unnecessarily large greenhouse, which Max soon realized was BND's brotherhood base.

     Marcus takes a deep breath and pushes the door open, but when he turns back to look at his brother, Max was standing in his place with his arms crossed like a stubborn teenager.

     "I know I have to pay the price for the favor you guys did for me, but I am not going inside that thing if you don't tell me what's really going on," Max says, and Marcus suddenly messes Max's hair in frustration and says, "Why are you so suspicious? I'm seriously right here. Do you think I'm going to let them do something to you?"

     Max angrily pushes Marcus's hand away. "You seriously are a—"

     "What are you guys still doing here? Shouldn't you already be inside?" A voice suddenly asks.

     Marcus and Max turn around and see Khian - Marcus's closest friend - walking towards them with his hands inside his pocket. He then walks towards Max and fixes his hair for him, "You do know he has to look his best before facing Hans right?"

     "I know okay?!" Marcus shouts like he's about to lose his mind. "I forgot to tell him this morning that he should head here at 12:30. Now Hans is seriously going to kill me."

     "Well then what are you still doing here? Head inside now!" Khian says while pushing Max inside, Marcus following right behind him. The moment they got inside the greenhouse, Max was immediately greeted by the rest of the members of Boys Next Door. They were standing in a horizontal line like they were standing on stage for a pageant.

     "Welcome, Maximilian Leigh Sinclaire," the members of BND greet in unison. It was so dazzling that it almost looked like petals were flying around.

     Max couldn't help but bow his head to greet them back. There's just something about them that made Max feel calm and relaxed. For a moment Max starts to realize why this brotherhood is so well-liked by the students.

     "You're fucking late," Hans - their leader - suddenly says, shattering the perfect image that Max was starting to paint on them literally just a second ago.

     Marcus immediately moves forward and explains, "It's my fault. I forgot to tell him about this earlier. You don't have to get mad at him."

     Hans stares at Marcus before sighing and massaging his temple. Then another member leans close to Hans and tells him, "Are you sure about this Hans? I don't like this serf's attitude. He's too confident, and too much is problematic."

     Max glares at the member who spoke badly about him, but the duke didn't even look bothered, as if there's no reason for Max to get mad because what he said was true.

     "Besides...he looks like he hasn't eaten a full course meal and hasn't slept for weeks. Just look at those eye bags," the man continues, and Max finally steps in. There's only a number of insults he can take, and this wasn't one of them.

    "Well that's because I haven't you judgmental asshole," Max fires back, and the members of BND stop talking with each other and finally look back at Max with a serious expression.

     The duke that Max just called an asshole looks back at him without saying anything. But after a few more seconds, he smirks and says, "You said you wanted tough, so I guess you got that one right at least."

     Max looks back at him confusingly, so the god-like man approaches Max and bows in front of him like a real gentleman. "My name is Arjun Khan, and I will be the man who is in charge of your physical appearance."

      Max didn't know what to do, so he just bows his head slightly to acknowledge the greeting.

     Hans then stands beside Arjun and says next, "Don't need a formal introduction. My name is Hans, and I'm in charge of your physical strength training."

      "P-Physical strength," Max asks confusingly. He wanted to ask further, but then the main entrance suddenly opens. To be more specific, 14 white uniforms enter the greenhouse, all looking like they were competing in a pageant as well because of how dazzling they look.

    One of them was surprisingly the Elites' secretary, Richard Young, who just so happened to be the officer who helped Max during his battle with Krist. Now Max understands why he even helped him in the first place.

     "And these...are our Roses," another member - who hasn't been introduced yet - adds as BND's underlings lined up in front of Max.

    "They will be assisting you in—" Hans instantly pauses when he realizes that something was off. He stares at his underlings one by one before finally saying, "Fourteen...there's only fourteen of you."

     Max looks at the underlings and unconsciously counted them as well. And before Hans could even lose his temper, a figure arrives just on time.

     "Sorry I'm late," he says, and the voice alone made Max's eyes widen from shock.

     "Sorry I'm late? Is that all you have to say? Give me one reason why I shouldn't strip off your title right now you ungrateful snake," Hans says as Max slowly turns around to face the owner of the voice.

     Max couldn't help but be surprised as he stares down at his dear friend, Aristotle Faulkner. Not like how he usually presents himself, Ari now has his red hair perfectly waxed back, which looked amazing with his peak cap. His uniform looked neat, and a rose brooch could now be seen on his collar.

     Ari smirks at Max's reaction. And then he looks back at Hans and answers his initial question, "A reason you say? Well then, I've been taking care of this troublesome serf as you requested. Shouldn't that be enough reason to let me stay? Isn't that right, Marcus Thompson?"

- END -