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"MY DEAR FRIENDS, WELCOME to The Mask. A pub exclusively built for the students of the five brotherhood houses," Ervin reveals surprising Max and the others.

     As soon as they got inside, everyone suddenly becomes quiet, making it even more awkward for them. But after a second, someone at the back suddenly cheers and shouts, "It's Max! Congratulations on winning Mr. Brain & Brawn yesterday man!"

     "You were amazing!" Another unfamiliar man shouts.

     Max, who doesn't really know how to react, was suddenly pulled by Ervin so he wouldn't have to stand there like an idiot anymore.

     "Come on, let's look for a table," Ervin says, draping his arm around Max's shoulder and pulling him away from the staring crowd; Felix and Ari walking behind them.

     Max notices that the bartenders and waiters were all wearing masks. And while they walk their way to an empty table, more unfamiliar faces from other houses congratulated him. Someone from the House of Rooks even approached him and thanked him for being kind to their representative, Lennox Connery. It was a strange yet fulfilling experience for Max.

     "How come I haven't heard of this place before?" Ari asks as they finally arrive at their table.

    The four take a seat, and Ervin answers Ari's question. "First and second-year students usually don't know about this place, but I heard about it from my senior Jacks."

     "No wonder. You're not cool enough for this place Ari," Felix comments, making the two bicker with each other again.

     "Who built this thing anyway?" Max then asks while the other two continue fighting with each other.

     "Heard the owner was an alumnus at J.S High and then he became friends with other students from the other four houses, so they made this. But no one really knows the real story," Ervin reveals.

     As they were talking, a waiter wearing a mask arrives with the menu. Felix and Ari finally stop fighting, and the four ordered a bucket of beer and some side dishes.

     "The pub is called The Mask because even though we're outside our Houses, we can still talk about school matters here. This is the only place where we can still act like how we act in J.S High and not be called out by it," Ervin then adds.

     "Oh good, you can act cute and innocent here Felix," Ari continues to tease Felix so he could take his revenge on what Felix said to him earlier. But before Felix could even say something back, Max glares at the two, automatically making them stop.

     "Can't we get in trouble here? Wouldn't the Elites suddenly just barge in here and suspend us?" Max asks, and like karma came crashing down on him, two members of the Elites suddenly enter the pub, leaving Max's eyes wide from shock.

     "You got to be shitting me," Max says as he stares at president Ian Rothman and vice president Gavriil Alexeev. Max thought that they were going to do something crazy, but to their surprise, the other students who were there started greeting them like they were regular customers.

    "Oh, Max! You guys are here too?!" Ian suddenly greets when they spot him.

     "Wait, why are they walking towards us?" Ari asks while looking at Gavriil with an angry expression.

     The two Elite members approach Max's group. And when they got closer, Max noticed that they were actually with another man with who Max was also not familiar. But obviously, Ari and his other friends knew who he was because they instantly stood up to show their respect.

     "We were just talking about you," Ian says, and then the tough-looking guy beside him - who has a ton of piercings on his ears and even on his eyebrow - suddenly extends his arm towards Max and shows him his hand.

     "It's nice to finally meet you, Max. Asahi said so much about you," the man says.

     Max stares at his hand, not because he didn't want to shake it, but because he was staring at his face with a confused expression. Max felt like he's someone that he should know, but he just doesn't know who he is.

     The man notices the confusion on Max's face, making him laugh. He puts his hand down and slightly bows his head at Max and introduces himself, "I'm third-year student Justice Thorndyke, the president of the student council in the House of Bishops called the Saints. Heard you're running for Elites, so we might work with each other in the future."

     "Third year?" Max unconsciously asks out loud.

     "That's right, Justice here is the first none senior student who became a student council president in their house," Ian answers for him. He then looks back at Gavriil and says, "I guess we should order our drinks at the bar and—"

     "Why not join their table here? It would be fun if there were more of us. And besides, aren't they Gavriil's classmates too?" Justice suddenly suggested.

     "Well, I'm okay with it, if it's okay with you guys?" Ian asks while looking at Max.

     Ari practically sent mind messages to Max, mentally telling him to make them leave. Ervin was awkward with the entire situation, while Felix didn't really care. But as Max wanted to say no, he felt like it would leave a bad taste if he declines not only one but two student council presidents, and a vice president.

     "I mean...I don't think there's a problem with that," Max answers, instantly making Ari kick him under the table.

     "Awesome! Let's combine these two tables together," Justice says, and Ervin and Max immediately stand from their seats to help the two presidents while Gavriil ordered their food and drink.

     After combining the two tables together, Ari luckily ends up sitting beside the person he hates the most which is Gavriil, while Ian and Justice sit beside Ervin and Felix. The food and drinks that they order eventually arrive soon after that.

     "So, how does it feel to meet those preppy bastards?" Justice asks Max as Justice pulls out a cold beer from their bucket of beer.

     Everyone grabs one for themselves as Max answers, "I can't really say anything since I was one of those students before, but I think they have their own appeal. Yeah some of them look down on us, but there's a few who are kinda okay."

     "Well, they were chosen representatives so it's only natural that you'd meet good ones. But don't be fooled, most of them are literally assholes. There's still the Elite School Convention though. You'll meet all types of those guys there," Justice then explains. Max wanted to ask about what the convention was about, but he thought that he'll just ask about it when it was actually time for him to know about it.

     "By the way, how have Jokers been doing? Heard five potential underlings applied last week. Looks like the Jacks are growing in number again," Ian then asks while looking at Ervin.

     "Actually it was seven. There are a couple more applicants but Master Joker is still making background checks on them," Ervin answers.

     Ian continues to ask questions, and Ervin answers them diligently like a proper white uniform that he is. While everyone listens to the conversation, Max stares at the pizza in front of him. He stares at it for a couple more seconds before someone suddenly asks, "Haven't seen cheap-looking pizza before?"

     Max looks up and sees Gavriil looking back at him. His statement makes him laugh, but he grabs a slice of pizza and takes a bite of it. "No, I was just checking the toppings."

     "Oh yeah, you're allergic to seafood," Gavriil casually says.

     "Specifically shellfish, right?" he then adds.

     Max nods his head to confirm it, but as he was about to take another bite, he realizes what Gavriil just told him. He slowly puts the pizza down and looks back at Gavriil with furrowed brows. "H-How did you know?"

     Gavriil realizes what he said as well, but instead of answering, he grabs his beer and chugs down on it like he's hoping to get drunk afterward.

     Max wanted to interrogate the vice president for saying something strange, but then he remembers the birthday incident. He doesn't even know why he greeted Gavriil that day, so this just gives both of them another reason why they should be awkward with each other.

     "By the way, when are the exams again?" Justice then asks.

     Everyone continues with their conversation like normal. Though they're allowed to talk about their brotherhood houses, the two peculiar groups eventually started talking about other things like what movies are going to be released this week, issues about politics, and even the stock market.

     For the first time - disregarding the weird conversation with the vice - Max was enjoying his weekend without thinking about anything regarding both their school life and business life. Like how his brother Marcus phrased it, he's now enjoying the life of a normal teenager.

     "And then I saw this little fucker here and thought...is he still the Felix that gaffers usually pick on? He can literally kill you with his stare," Ari shares, making the boys on their table laugh, except for Felix of course.

     "Students outside will always have a different personality inside the campus; it's not uncommon. Even students from normal schools are like that," Justice explains, making Ian and the others nod their heads in agreement.

     The group has been talking for about two hours now and has surprisingly drunk cautiously since they're still holding up. Probably because they're student council members and they're trying to be good role models, or all of them are just really good drinkers.

     "I'll just smoke at the back," Gavriil suddenly says before standing from his seat.

     Max looks at Gavriil. He hesitates for a second, but before quickly drinking from his bottle, he stands from his seat as well and says, "I'll come with you."

     Gavriil doesn't react but walks away instead, so Max immediately follows beside him without saying a word.

     The two eventually arrive at a smoking area. There were about two other guys there, but when they spot Gavriil, they respectfully greet him and head out.

     Gavriil stands on the side and pulls out a pack of cigarettes. He takes one himself and puts a stick in his mouth before showing the pack to Max. Max declines the offer and pulls out his lighter that actually acts as storage that also holds three cigarettes.

     "I try not to be a chain-smoker," Max explains even though Gavriil didn't really ask.

     Max lights his own cigarette and starts smoking. Gavriil doesn't say anything and hides the pack in his pocket before looking for his lighter. But when he realizes that his lighter wasn't inside the pocket where he usually puts it in, he immediately starts checking all of his pockets.

     Max notices what he's doing, so he pulls out his lighter again and shows it to him. He then exhales the smoke from his mouth and says, "Here."

     Gavriil stops and looks at Max. Without saying anything, he pulls out the cigarette from his mouth as Max lights up his lighter. Afterward, Gavriil thanks him and the two start smoking in silence.

     The atmosphere at the smoking area was different from the inside. The pub wasn't loud but you could hear the chatter of everyone there. But here, the sound was blocked, and you could only hear faint music from the inside.

     As the two try their best to ignore each other to avoid awkwardness, Max ends up glancing at Gavriil. Gavriil stood straight like how he usually does at school, but instead of seeing him in his neat white uniform, he's wearing a red-checkered flannel that was matched with black ripped jeans and high cut converse. His long hair is also tied up in a messy bun, making it possible to have a better view of the mole near his eye. Max was only glancing for a second, but he doesn't even notice that he was already staring.

     "Is there a problem, Mr. Sinclaire?" Gavriil asks as cigarette smoke escapes from his mouth.

     Max almost flinched, but he instantly looks away. He then clears his throat and says, "I apologize. I just have this habit of staring at people I find..." Max pauses for a second and instantly decides not to continue that sentence.

     Gavriil doesn't say anything about what Max was about to say, but he looks back at him and chuckles. "Can't believe you're the same guy who bravely asked me to guide you and help you enter the Elites. Where did all that confidence go?"

     "That request still doesn't change though," Max says, and Gavriil nods his head like he gave up on making Max give up on such an idea.

     "You told me that if I receive two more brooches you'll give me what I want. I have obtained BND's brooch, so I only need one more, right?" Max asks before throwing away his cigarette stick in the bin.

     Gavriil inhales the smoke from his own cigarette. He then moves closer to Max and opens his mouth as the smoke slowly escapes from it. With a serious expression, he whispers, "Have you thought of what you want to get from me then, Mr. Maximilian Leigh Sinclaire?"

     Max looks straight at Gavriil's eyes despite Gavriil being taller. He gulps, almost like he was trapped by the vice president's stare. But when Gavriil blinked, Max immediately says, "Other than the first day of school, I want you to tell me when and where we met before."

     "And what makes you think that we did?" Gavriil asks back.

     "Oh please, acting dumb doesn't suit you," Max says before finally looking away from Gavriil and pulling another cigarette stick from his lighter. Max was about to light it up, but Gavriil all of a sudden snatches it and throws it away in the bin.

     "I thought you didn't want to be a chain smoker?" Gavriil asks, throwing his own cigarette stick away in the bin as well before looking back at Max.

     "I'm not a child."

     "I can see that."

     "Then stop treating me like one," Max immediately answers, and Gavriil ends up looking away from Max this time.

     "When will you stop pretending like I'm a stranger to you?" Max asks, instantly making Gavriil clench his fist in anger. "When you stop acting like I'm a stranger to you too," he answers, a little louder this time.

     The two instantly fall silent. Max was surprised by what he heard from Gavriil, but Gavriil himself was shocked by what he said. How could he let something like that slip after being so careful all this time?

     "Fuck," Gavriil curses at himself and the beer that he chugged down earlier because he only realized that he is now very much drunk to the point where he ended up letting his mask slip. But before Max could even say anything back, Gavriil suddenly pushes Max and immediately walks away from him.

     Max curses underneath his breath too and follows behind Gavriil. When they got back to their table, Gavriil grabs his things and suddenly leaves without saying a word, surprising Ian and everyone else at the table.

     "What the...where are you going?!" Justice shouts, but Gavriil was already out of the door before anyone could even stop him.

     "What happened back there?" Ari asks Max with a confused expression.

     Max stares at the door that Gavriil used to make his exit. Without removing his eyes on that door, he unconsciously touches his suddenly aching chest and says, "Nothing. I bet he was just drunk. That's all."

- END -