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"ALRIGHT EVERYONE, PASS YOUR papers. Time is up," a professor announces, making the entire class groan in frustration since most of them weren't confident about their answers.

     "Stop complaining. Pass you papers now so you can go."

     The students finally dropped their pens and started passing their papers. When the professor got all of the papers, he congratulated the students for surviving their dreadful examination week, causing the students to start cheering in exhaustion.

     After passing the paper to the student in front of him, Max looks behind him and sees Ervin packing his things. Since it was their exams week, they were arranged alphabetically, and luckily for Max, Ervin was assigned right behind him.

     "How'd you do big guy?" Max asks.

     Ervin puts his pencil case inside his bag and says, "I don't know the demon who created the exam for advanced geometry, but I think I did pretty good."

     "Really? I kinda had a problem with item number 8. What was your answer there?" Max then asks.

     "Is it about the shaded semicircles?" Ervin looks through his scratch paper and showed it to Max. 16x2(Pi/2 - 1) 

     Max stares at the answer and sighs. "Fuck, I think I did it wrong. How did you solve it?"

     Ervin moves closer to Max and starts explaining his solution. "The length of the sides of the square is 4x right? So the shaded part is a quarter of a disk, while the area that's not shaded is..."

     While Ervin was explaining the solution to Max, Ari and Felix approached them and looks at the paper. Ari then leans closer and says, "Oh, is that the problem where you have to know the area of the shaded region in terms of x? Isn't the answer around 16?"

     Max sighs and slams his head on his desk. "Great, I really fucked it up. I think I made an error in the middle part of my solution."

     "For someone who's a genius with business, you're not a mathematical genius huh? I guess god really is good. You can't have everything after all," Ari teases, making Felix slap the back of his head.

     Ari glares at Felix, but he doesn't say anything anymore.

     "Don't worry about it Max, it's just one item right? You'll do fine," Ervin comforts, and Max finally looks back at his friends. The four of them stare at each other, but after a while, Max started laughing, making Ari and the others laugh too.

     "I can't believe the great Maximilian Leigh Sinclaire is getting depressed over his math exam," Felix teases, and Max and Ervin finally fix their things so they could leave their classroom.

     "All the other exams were easy but I had a hard time with my foreign language exam," Felix shares as he and his friends walk out of their classroom.

     "You chose Chinese right?" Ari asks.

     "I did, so the entire questions were in mandarin. I thought I was going to faint," Felix answers, making Max and the others laugh.

     "Well, I chose French so it was way too easy for me," Max then says.

     "That's unfair! You're part French!" Ari complains, and Max just shrugs his shoulder.

      When they got out of their building, Max looks at his friends and then asks them, "You guys wanna eat lunch at the Great Hall before going home?"

     "Well I don't really have any plans anymore so let's go," Ari answers, and Felix and Ervin nod their head in agreement.

     So the group of four friends walked their way to the Great Hall where the other students are. Not like regular classes, the hall wasn't as crowded since some of the students already decided to go home. Even some of the brotherhoods decided to leave early, including BND, Cigarettes, and the rest of the Royals.

     "Little Toy!" Krist shouts when he sees Max and his friends approaching their usual table.

     "Wow, you guys are still here?" Max asks as he and the others took their seats.

     "BND said they're having lunch with their Roses while Cigarettes went to a bar early to celebrate. We'll catch up on them later tonight," Brave explains, and then Max, Felix, and Ervin immediately looked back at their friend Ari.

     "Don't tell me...you didn't get invited?" Felix asks with a mocking and sarcastic tone. Even the members of Jokers were shocked when they realized that Ari was with them and not with BND.

     Ari angrily looks back at his friends and defends himself, "I got the message too okay, so don't make it look like I'm an outcast. I just didn't want to go. All the Roses are in higher years. I'm not good at interacting with them."

     "Oh yeah, I forgot you didn't have any friends before you met us," Felix then adds, and Ari finally kicked his leg under the table.

     While the two were bickering with each other, Krist gestures at Ervin and says, "You should learn from your underlings, after all, you guys are like a brotherhood too. Look at Ervin here, he gets along with the other underlings despite being the only Jack in your year."

     Ervin - who was flattered by their leader's kind words - nodded his head in agreement and adds, "Master Joker is right. You get to learn a lot from your upperclassmen, especially in your academics. And besides, the Elites' secretary is a Rose too right? If I were you I've been asking tips from him all day long."

     "That's right," Max immediately says, realizing it too. "Richard Young is a Rose. You should be able to ask how he gets his points. After all, I'm planning to make you a member of the Elites, did you forget?"

     "What?!" The members of Jokers shouted in disbelief. This was new news to them.

     "This guy? Princess Ariel? You mean...you want him to be an Elite?" Rome asks with a shocked expression. "Do you want J.S High to fall?"

     "I can hear you, you know?" Ari asks in irritation, but no one minded him as Max explains, "The Elites have the most power in this whole school. They're supposed to work as a team yet they fight each other to be on top. If I enter the Elites alone, I don't think I'll be able to work effectively. The only person I really trust at the moment is the vice president, so I need at least one more and Ari fits the position. He has the attitude to be a member of the Elites."

     Everyone at the table was quiet and was contemplating on what Max just said, but then Krist puts his fork down and suddenly agreed to his statement.

     "Can't really say much about the attitude, but you're right. If you want to be the president, you need someone under you who fully supports and trusts you too. If their intention is to take your place then there's no point for you in becoming an Elite," Krist explains, and everyone finally agrees to it.

     "Fine, I'll try and talk to the other Roses when I have the time," Ari says in defeat, and soon after that, their lunch was served.

     While they continued their meal, Toni, who was now eating his dessert, looked at everyone and asks, "Looks like we won't be seeing each other for three weeks for our winter break. Any plans?"

     "My family and I are planning to go to a warmer country and stay there for the time being," Felix answers.

     "We're staying in Japan for two weeks. We're planning to spend our Christmas there," Ervin then answers.

     "How about you guys?" Toni asks, looking at Krist, Brave, and Max.

     "Probably just gonna stay at home," Krist says with a disinterested look on his face, especially since Krist wasn't the type of person who enjoyed Christmas.

     "Probably just gonna stay at Krist's home," Brave says next, making Krist glare at him.

     "You do this every year man. Don't you have anything else to do?" he complains.

     "Shouldn't you be glad that I'm spending time with you on Christmas?" Brave asks with a baby voice, annoying Krist even more.

     "You make it sound so patriotic. How about you tell them your reason for staying at my house," Krist then says.

     Brave happily agrees and shares, "My family goes back to our home country every year. I'd come, but the aunties and the uncles are too much for me to handle so I just tell them Mj doesn't have anyone to spend Christmas with, and they'd pity him and let me stay," he explains. "Oh and their chefs cook the best meals so that's another reason."

     Everyone at the table laughs as Krist reaches out to grab Brave by the collar, but Brave instantly dodges it and asks instead, "How about you Max? Any plans?"

      Max, who was just enjoying listening to his friends while eating his meal, looks at everyone and says, "I'm actually going to be busy at the company. This break is perfect for me to work on some paperwork and some things I need to handle since our hotels are always packed during Christmas."

     "Boo!" The members of Jokers shouted.

     "Seriously Max. I work at our company too but I get to take a break. It's called a winter break for a reason," Krist explains, and Felix and the others couldn't help but agree.

     Max takes a deep breath and takes a sip of his tea. "As much as I feel your sentiment, I can't just...take a break. I'm turning 18 next year. Once I arrive at the right age, I'll be able to legally take what the Lemieux family gave to me, and when that time comes, a lot of things may happen. I have to be prepared."

     The table becomes quiet as they look at Max, almost like they realized something bad.

     "I forget that Max is different from us," Ari says with an almost sad tone. "The heirs in Crème de la crème are actually a different breed. It's pretty selfish to assume that you guys can do normal things like us."

     Max stares at his friends and sighs again. "You guys are making it sound so depressing," he says before giving out a reassuring smile to everyone. "It's fine. I love working at the company and I am enjoying my life like everyone else, just in a different way. Besides, I'm not going to work on Christmas eve itself. I'm not that crazy yet."

     "Oh, so you're spending your Christmas eve with someone?" Ervin then asks.

     Max shyly smiles to himself before looking back at his plate. "If I were to spend my time with someone on a special occasion like Christmas, this person would be at the very top of my list..."

     Everyone looked at the table before looking back at Max with confusion and immense curiosity. "Who?"

...

Max cools his freezing hands with his breath as he waited outside a restaurant. The streets were packed with people that some were even bumping into him. It was finally Christmas Eve, a special day that a lot of people are waiting for.

     During his entire winter break, like what he told Krist and the others, Max was busy with the company, attending meetings and checking some papers and data that will help improve their hotels and casinos. But of course, on Christmas eve, he made the decision to actually take a break and spend the night with someone very important to him.

     For the past two years, Max has been spending his Christmas at the office with his butler, but he wanted to change things up a bit. Of course, he's not spending Christmas with Étienne again. As close as the two may be, Max actually told his loyal butler to spend Christmas with his family, so he surprised him with a plane ticket and some pocket money.

     "Where is he," Max whispered, regretting the decision he made a few seconds ago when he decided to wait here than outside his car. He could wait inside too, but he's waiting outside for at least a couple of minutes now so he felt embarrassed to go inside alone.

     While waiting, Max's phone suddenly vibrates. He pulls out his phone and sees a message from his dear friend Felix: Merry Christmas and advance happy new year Max!

     Max smiles as he scrolls through the other messages that he received from his other friends. Master Joker sent him a message and a photo with Brave who really did spend his Christmas at Krist's place, and then Ari and Ervin who were both in a different country. He received messages from the other members of Jokers and BND too, well, except for Hans who decided to send him a fancy basket of fruits.

     And then there's Cj's message where he asked Max if he celebrated Christmas first before eventually sending a Merry Christmas or whatever, and a gif of a dancing Santa.

     Overall, this was the most number of messages that Max ever received in all the years he celebrated the occasion. In a cold winter like today, he couldn't help but feel warm.

     "Max!" A voice calls out.

     Max looks to his right and a smile instantly appears on his face. "You're late," he jokingly says, and his older brother Marcus, who was still catching his breath, puts his arms together and starts apologizing.

     "I-I'm really sorry. I was trying to look for the right moment to escape. I didn't expect that there would be a lot of guards," Marcus explains.

     Marcus just came back from a Christmas party, specifically the Sinclaire Christmas Party. After Luna's death, Max was always invited to come but he only really attended it a couple of times. This year though, to his surprise, he wasn't invited. Max assumes that the reason might be because Denzel gave him his inheritance back, but as petty as that may be, imagine not being invited to your own family's Christmas party. That's just uncalled for, whatever the reason may be.

      Marcus didn't want to go when he found out that Max wasn't invited, but Denzel had to force him to come since Denzel doesn't attend such parties either so Marcus had to attend since he's going to be the only representative of their family.

      "Thank you for coming. I'm really glad that you made it," Max then says, and Marcus finally calms himself down to look at his brother with a sincere smile.

     "Why wouldn't I be?" He asks before draping his arms around Max's shoulder, "Let's go inside. It's freezing."

      The two finally head inside the restaurant. As expected, the restaurant was packed, but Étienne was thankfully able to leave reservations for them.

     Max gave his card to the receptionist, and the receptionist assisted them to their private room. While walking, Max couldn't help but notice the families that were there. Despite not being attached to his own family, Max couldn't help but be jealous of them.

     "Thank you for spending Christmas with me Marcus. After all, I don't like spending Christmas at home," Max says with a sad expression, remembering the times he and his mother had to wait for Denzel to come home every time but he never really did.

     Marcus noticed the change of mood, so he takes a deep breath and smiles at Max before patting his head like he always does. "Stop saying thank you like I went out of my way just to be here. I'm your brother Max, it's mandatory. And besides, I would have been very upset if I wasn't the one you'd spend this night with."

     Max doesn't say anything and just smiles at his brother until they finally arrive at their private room. When they got there, the two ordered their food and waited patiently.

     "So, how was the party?" Max asks.

     "It was pretty normal. Our cousins were boasting about their achievement, the same as everyone else. It was just a bit dull because uncle Janus didn't come," Marcus answers before taking his phone, surprising Max because even though their uncle isn't a big fan of the Sinclaire's, he never really skips any family gatherings.

     "Maybe he was busy," Max simply says, trying not to think much of it. But while he was waiting for their food, he suddenly remembered something. He was at a similar restaurant with his uncle Janus, but back then they were having dinner because Janus wanted Max to enroll in J.S High.

     "Marcus..." Max calls out.

     "Hmm?" Marcus asks while his eyes were on his phone.

     "When our uncle told me to enroll in J.S High, I told him that I didn't want to for your sake, but then he proceeds to tell me that you were the one who actually requested for my transfer. Is that true? The way you're always so cautious and overprotective of me whenever we're in school makes me doubt if you really were the one who wanted me in J.S High."

     Marcus, who heard of the question, slowly looks back at Max with a worried expression on his face.

     "I never thought you'd actually ask me that," Marcus says as he puts his phone down. "Don't worry, I was the one who asked uncle Janus to enroll you there, but it wasn't my idea."

     "What do you mean?"

     Marcus takes a deep breath and looks back at Max straight in the eyes. "I was told never to tell you, but can you keep it a secret from him?"

     Max, who wasn't sure who Marcus was talking about, furrows his brows and asks, "Who?"

     Marcus doesn't say anything for a few seconds before finally revealing to him, "The man who told me to enroll you in J.S High...Viktor."

- END -