♜

MAX WALKS DOWN THE stairs, yawning as he scratches the back of his bedhead. When he reached the living room, he catches the maids watching the news during their morning chores. Max wanted to ignore them, but then he spots his face on the screen. He then realizes that they were actually watching the news about the pageant yesterday.

     "What did I tell you about turning the news on while I'm here? May you please watch something else?" Max asks with a tired expression despite only waking up a couple of minutes ago.

     "W-we apologize master."

     One of the maids immediately searches for the remote to turn the television off while the other maids bow to him.

     "Master Leigh, sir Étienne told us not to wake you so you can rest," the maid says, but Max ignores her statement and answers instead, "It's a Saturday and I'd rather be productive than be in bed all day."

     The maid nods her head in understanding as Max asks next, "Where is he by the way? My butler?"

     "We are not quite sure master Leigh, but sir Marcus is at the pool area," the maid answers.

     "Then bring our breakfast there," he says before walking away. As he arrives at the pool, Max sees Marcus doing lapses. He doesn't call out for him, but instead, he heads to the patio to take a seat.

     A different butler arrives and places their breakfast at the table where Max is seated. And after Marcus did a few more lapses, he finally pulls himself out of the pool, a maid waiting for him near the ladder to hand him his towel.

     "Max," Marcus calls out while drying his hair.

     A topless Marcus approaches Max and takes a seat in front of his brother. "You're up early. Shouldn't you be resting?" He asks before taking a sip of the orange juice that was served to them.

     "When did I ever decide to just rest? I don't have the luxury to do that," Max honestly shares, and a maid walks to his side to pour him some tea. "Thank you," he then adds before taking a sip.

     "Well, Étienne is handling everything that you're supposed to be doing today so you could rest. He's actually at the company now so there's nothing for you to do today. That's why I suggest you rest," Marcus reveals, surprising Max.

     "And who gave him the permission to do that?" Max asks with his right eyebrow raised, and instead of answering him, Marcus shrugs his shoulder and butters his toast.

     Max sighs in defeat and massages his temple. "Well if that's the case then what am I supposed to do today? Study?" Max asks, almost as if he's offended by his own words.

     "Oh no, I have all the free time in the world and I don't know what to do," Marcus sarcastically says, instantly making Max glare at him.

     Marcus flinches at the sudden death stare and tries to change the subject. "A-Anyway, I seriously suggest that you take the day off. If you don't remember it's our grandmother's birthday tomorrow and we're heading to the Sinclaire's main household at 9 AM," Marcus reminds him, making Max grunt like a spoiled brat.

     "But she hates me," Max says.

     "Well, who doesn't hate you?" Marcus asks back, and Max almost threw the hard-boiled egg directly at Marcus's face.

    Marcus laughs it off and tries to change the subject for the second time. "But seriously Max, you just won fucking Mr. Brains and Brawn, and half of the white uniforms finally respect you; not just those in the House of Kings but the other houses as well. I think you deserve a little rest," Marcus says, but with a more genuine tone this time.

     Max takes a deep breath and takes another sip of his tea. "What happened yesterday is still too bizarre for me to take in so I honestly just want to busy myself so I wouldn't be able to think about it. I've always wanted to conquer BND, but now that I have, I suddenly feel the pressure."

     Marcus looks at his brother with concern. He might not directly say it, but Marcus somehow understands what Max feels. When they enrolled him in J.S High, Max only cared about himself. But as he dives deeper into the school and its story, Max starts feeling the burden. The mistakes that the people before him are suddenly passed down to him, and that responsibility can be overwhelming.

    "You know what..." Marcus looks back at one of the maids and says, "Can you get my phone, please? It's in my room."

     The maid nods her head and runs out. After a couple of minutes, she returns and hands Marcus's phone. Marcus thanks her and starts typing something down.

     "What are you doing?" Max asks, but Marcus continues to type something down before finally looking back at Max.

     "You don't know what to do today right? Then worry no more little brother, I just contacted someone that will help you with that problem."

...

Max stares at his cabinet with a focused expression on his face. He doesn't entirely know what his brother did earlier, but Marcus told him that they'll be going out this evening and asked him to wear casual clothes, which is something that Max has not worn for a long time now, so he isn't sure if it would look casual or if it would still look formal.

     "Why do I even have hundreds of suits?" Max complains before opening another cabinet in his walk-in closet.

     Max stares at his clothes for a couple more seconds before finally pulling out a black long-sleeved turtle neck and a denim jacket. He then grabs his black jeans, pairing them with black Chelsea boots.

     Max contemplates it for a while but wears the clothes eventually. He then heads his way to a full-body mirror to check himself. While flattening his clothes, Marcus enters his room without even knocking. The moment he sees his brother, he couldn't help but laugh.

     The reaction made Max glare at his brother, but Marcus immediately defends himself by saying, "Don't get me wrong, you look good. It's just strange to see you look like a normal seventeen-year-old."

     "I don't know if I should be thankful or be offended," Max says before looking back at his brother with his arms crossed. "So, where are you bringing me, Marcus Thompson?"

     Marcus crosses his arms too and smiles. "Actually, I'm not going to come with you."

     Max stares at his brother without an expression on his face as he says, "If you fucking set me up for a blind date I'll pierce BND's crown brooch in your eyes so you'd go blind yourself. I am not eating dinner with a stranger."

     Marcus laughs off the gruesome declaration. And before Max could even have a chance to actually do what he just threatened to do to Marcus, someone suddenly knocks on Max's bedroom door.

     "Looks like they're here," Marcus excitedly says, running to the door to open it for Max while Max just massaged his temple in frustration since he doesn't even have a clue on what's happening.

     As soon as Marcus opens the door, three familiar faces enter the room, almost making Max facepalm himself. Because the people who were in front of him were none other than his peculiar school friends, Ari, Felix, and Ervin.

     "Evening Max," Ari casually greets as he starts scanning Max's enormous bedroom.

     "So this is what the most powerful heir's bedroom looks like," Ervin then commented.

     Max stares at his friends with disbelief. Ari, as strange as it may be, looked like a proper nobleman thanks to his clothes that were even matched with round glasses. It was a strange sight considering how Ari always looked like a rebellious teen whenever he was at school.

     Felix on the other hand looked the opposite. Now that they're outside the walls of J.S High, Felix didn't have to keep up with the weak good-boy image that he has going on in school anymore. While Ervin on the other hand, as transparent as he is, has the same style and vibe no matter where he goes.

     "I always thought our house was too big, but this is just massive," Felix admits, both hands inside his pockets like he's some kind of thug. "It's as big as J.S High."

     "Don't exaggerate it," Max says before looking back at his brother. "This was your plan? So what now? Do we watch rom-com movies and have a slumber party after?"

     "Yuck..." Felix suddenly says in disapproval.

     Max ignores the comment and continues to look at Marcus with his arms crossed.

     The truth is Max isn't really mad. He's just really awkward about this whole situation so he's showing aggression instead. This is the first time he's been with any of his friends outside school. And as well-known as Max may seem, Max has never been invited by anyone to attend a party or to even go out except for that time when Felix asked him if he was free, which he, unfortunately, couldn't agree to since he was, in fact, busy.

     "Well, you were always blabbering about how you're 'not like other teenagers,' which is the most cliché thing that one person would ever say to himself, so here, I'm giving your the full normal teen experience," Marcus says with a bright smile that almost made Max slap his brother out of annoyance.

    "Now go! Do something rebellious for once. Go to a club and get high, I don't care. You're an heir for Pete's sake; you're practically untouchable. Just make sure the paparazzi doesn't catch you," Marcus continues to say.

     Max sighs in defeat and walks his way to the drawer to get his wallet, keys, his lighter, and his phone. "You are seriously a bad influence," he tells Marcus.

     "No, this is what you call a cool brother," Marcus says with a proud smile.

     Max turns away and flicks his brother off before walking out of his bedroom.

     The three peculiar friends follow behind Max while they ogle at the interior of the Sinclaire Mansion. While walking down the grand staircase, they spot the large painting of Max's family. Max was about seven years old in the painting. Sitting on the chair was his mother Luna while standing behind them was his father Denzel.

     It was only a painting, but Ari couldn't help but gulp at the sight of Max's father. There was just something about him that looked terrifying. Max's mother on the other hand almost looked like a doll. If her terrible personality wasn't a common fact, they'd think she's an angel.

     Max notices them staring, so without looking back at his friends, he says, "If you're wondering where Marcus is, he doesn't have a single photo in this house. It's cruel, I know, but it's the truth."

     "N-No...it's not really that," Ervin says before finally looking away from the painting. "I just remembered what I said to you on your first day. What I said about your mother was below the belt. I sincerely apologize for that."

     Max takes a deep breath and glances at the painting, staring at the almost empty eyes of every person in it. When they reached the first floor, Max looks at Ervin and tells him, "No need to apologize. My mother being a monster wasn't a rumor. Sadly rumors are loudest to those who have died because they're no longer there to defend themselves. But as a human, it is only decent to let the dead rest."

     Ervin nods his head, and the atmosphere instantly becomes awkward. But before things could get even worse, Felix clears his throat and asks, "So, is your butler going to be our chaperone or something?"

     Max finally smiles, and the atmosphere changes back to normal.

     "Well, you're already here so might as well have some fun," Max says before walking away again.

     The four of them head to the lower area of the house. As soon as they arrive at the location, the lights automatically turn on one by one, revealing an exclusive parking lot that houses about fifteen luxury cars.

     Ervin, who's actually wearing shades, slowly removes them as soon as he saw what's in front of them.

     "Holy shit..." Ari says with disbelief.

     "Alright, this is quite impressive," Felix then adds.

     The four starts walking around the parking lot, checking each car out to see them better.

     "Is that a black 1969 Ford Mustang Mach One?" Felix suddenly asks with surprise on his face before running towards the said car. "Black looks fucking sick. My dad has one at home but it's red. Black definitely looks better."

     "Rich bastards," Ari mumbles to himself before looking back at Max. "Please don't tell me these are all yours."

     "Don't be absurd, of course not. Most of these are my father's, while some are Marcus's. I only have three cars parked here since Étienne usually drives for me using the family car," Max says as they walk at the end of the parking lot.

     "You said three cars parked here. So are the other cars...parked somewhere else?" Ervin confusingly asks but Max doesn't answer it anymore.

     The four stops at three cars that they suspect are owned by Max.

     "These are the cars that I bought since I don't really like those sporty and flashy looking ones," Max says, making Ervin and Ari look at each other before looking back at Max with disbelief.

     "If a Bentley Continental isn't considered flashy then I don't know what is," Ari honestly says back.

     "Anyway, I only have one passenger car so..." Max approaches a white Jaguar before continuing, "You guys ready?"

     "I call shotgun!" Ari immediately shouts before running to the car and taking the passenger seat. Max chuckles, and he and the rest of his friends head inside the car before driving away from the mansion.

     "Where are we heading anyway?" Felix asks, sitting at the back beside Ervin.

     Max obviously doesn't know where to go since he usually just hangs out at the company. So Ervin, who's known to be the outgoing one compared to these three, leans at Max and suggests, "Head to Crossroad Avenue. I know the perfect place where we can hang out."

     Max raises his right eyebrow in suspicion, but he doesn't question it as he starts driving to the place that Ervin suggested.

     The drive took about twenty minutes, and when they got there, Ervin leans towards Max again and starts pointing him in the exact directions. Max then parks beside the pavement, and the four of them head out of the car.

     "Where the fuck are we?" Max asks as he stares down at the windowless building in front of them. The only thing that they could see was a neon sign that says "The Mask."

     "Are you sure you're not the owner Felix since you're always wearing a mask at school," Ari jokes, immediately making him regret it since Felix nudged him so hard his side hurt.

     "Ervin, I'm pretty sure when my brother said to go to the club and get high, he half-heartedly meant it as a joke," Max then says, but Ervin ignores their doubtful expressions as he walks inside the building first.

     Max, Ari, and Felix look at each other. Ari was still in pain, while Felix just wanted this to be over so he followed Ervin inside, making the two follow behind in defeat.

     To their surprise, the inside wasn't like a loud club that Max thought it would be. Instead, it was a peacefully luxurious pub. There were some guys at the bar area, some chatting at their tables, while some were playing billiards.

     "My dear friends, welcome The Mask. A pub exclusively built for the students of the five brotherhood houses."

- END -

Bonus Questions: You know the drill!

Question # 1 What does Max call his father?

Question # 2 What is the other name for J.S High other than House of Kings?

Question # 3 When is Gavriil's birthday?

- Answers here (Good luck) -