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REALITY FELL ON EVERY student of J.S High when every one of them had to wake up early in the morning to finally start another day in school.

     After a month of relaxation, the students of J.S High were now going back to their beloved campus. Christmas and New Year came by so fast that it's hard to believe that it's already the year 2024, and everyone was now going to begin their 2nd term.

     "I can't believe you've been in J.S High for almost four months now. Times really do come by fast," Marcus comments as he looks out of the car window, watching commuters move in a hurry so they wouldn't be late for wherever they're supposed to be heading.

     "Classes are up till the first week of July so there's still a long way to go," a voice says, and Marcus slowly turns his head to look back at his little brother, Maximilian Leigh Sinclaire, who's sitting beside him with a perfect posture while reading a book that Marcus couldn't possibly understand.

     Despite only taking a break for a month, Max's presence felt different. Compared to their first day of school, Max looked more in-command of himself. He was more confident and intimidating. Even Marcus who has been with him the entire break is still shocked by his brother's immense growth.

     "Well, I thought you'd leave earlier so it's still shocking. Who would have thought that you actually have the guts to stand up for yourself," Marcus teases, and Max finally looks away from his book so he could look back at his brother with complete annoyance.

     "Please remind me again why I'm still riding the same car as you to school while I constantly endure the torture of conversing with you like this?" Max sarcastically asks, and Marcus just laughs at off, playfully hitting Max's shoulder right after.

     "You are so not cute anymore. Don't you agree, Étienne," Marcus then complains before looking at Étienne who was silently driving in front of them.

     Étienne doesn't say anything, but he just nods his head to agree to Marcus's sentiment. Max got ready to bicker with the two but lucky for Étienne, they finally arrived at the campus.

     Dozens of guards who were waiting at Gate 3 started inspecting their car from top to bottom. There was even a K9 with them, which was something that they didn't have before.

     "Looks like uncle doubled up his security," Marcus comments as the guards finally opened the door for them.

     "Well, after the incidents that happened in our last term, I would be even more surprised if he didn't," Max adds, and Marcus nods his head in agreement.

     Étienne stops at the Hall of Janus so Marcus could head out first. "We have our morning assembly today so I'll see you at the stadium later," Marcus says before heading out of the car. "Thanks for the drive Étienne!" He then adds, slamming the door shut right after.

     Étienne then drives towards the Keep where the other students are being dropped off. When he stopped right in front of the building, the white uniforms who were there couldn't help but stop and look. The white car with the Lemieux emblem was no doubt eye-catching, but what was more eye-catching was the person who was going to come out of it.

     Without even asking, Étienne heads out of the car and opens the back door for Max. Max takes a deep breath and grabs hold of his necklace before finally stepping out of the car. As soon as Max was outside, the students couldn't help but whisper at each other. Only after a month, the students could also see how different Max looked and felt now.

     "Enjoy your day, master," Étienne says with a bow, and Max nods his head to acknowledge him before finally walking up the stairs toward the Keep.

     Unlike the first day of school, Max didn't trip and fall. He didn't come across a brotherhood member either who almost hit him with his car. Max was very much prepared for whatever comes his way, especially during their second term.

     "Look who's finally here! The infamous Max Sinclaire," a voice suddenly announces when Max arrives inside the main building.

     Max turns around and sees a familiar face, and in an instant, the serious expression on Max's face turned into a bright smile.

     "Ari...Ervin..."

     Max's two close friends, the Rose, Aristotle Faulkner, and the Jack, Ervin Walker, approaches Max with equally bright smiles. When the three of them were finally facing each other, Ari suddenly grabs them for a hug, which the two gladly accepted.

     "I can't believe I'll say this, but I missed you guys!" Ari exclaims, making Ervin and Max laugh.

     "Missed you guys too," Ervin then adds as the three of them finally let go of each other.

     "Well, I'd say the same but we practically talk with each other in our group chat," Max points out, but Ari immediately shakes his head and defends, "It's different when we physically see each other okay?"

     "Alright alright," Max says before looking around the area. "By the way, where's Felix?"

     "He texted me and told us to wait for him here," Ari answers.

     "Oh, that's good. I actually have some souvenirs from Japan that I was hoping to give to the three of you," Ervin says.

      "Really? I love souvenirs!" Ari then exclaims as he suddenly grabs Ervin's bag so he could take a peak.

     While Ervin tries his best to make sure he doesn't let go of his bag, another dear friend of theirs finally arrives at the scene. It was the two-faced Felix Campbell who had the height of a ten-year-old.

     "Max!" Felix shouts, running to Max and suddenly grabbing him for a hug. "I missed you so much!"

     Max was caught off guard, but he smiles eventually and pats Felix's head like how he always does. But while the two were hugging each other, Ervin clears his throat and says, "Excuse me, but we're also here you know?"

     Felix immediately lets go of Max in embarrassment, but he then turns to face Ervin and gives him a hug as well. "Of course, I missed you too," Felix tells him.

     Ervin was a bit conflicted since he was more used to Felix's mean persona, but the cute persona is nice too, so Ervin didn't say anything and just patted Felix's back before pulling away from each other.

     "What is this? You still look so plain. I thought you'd transform into a badass after winter break," Ari then comments, and the sweet smile on Felix's face changed to irritation in an instant when he turned to face Ari.

     "And I thought you'd at least have the time to visit a salon to fix that shitty red mess you call a hair but we can't have everything now can we?" Felix sarcastically asks back, and Ari didn't say anything anymore.

     "And there's the Felix that we all know and love," Ervin says, and Max couldn't help but chuckle and agree.

     "Looks like we're all ready now so let's go back to our classroom first before the bell rings," Max then suggests, and his three friends nod their heads as they walk back to their classroom.

...

Class II-A was as noisy as ever even though there were only seventeen of them in their class in total. When Max and his friends arrived at the room, they were expecting to be ignored like usual, but to their surprise, some of them started greeting them.

     "Morning Faulkner," one of their classmates greeted, surprising Ari since they never really greeted him before even when he's their class representative. Ervin was somehow used to it since he did have a few friends here before he became close with Max and the others, but what shocked them the most was this...

     "Good to see you back Sinclaire," one of the guys who were seated at the back stated, surprising not only Max but also Ari, Felix, and Ervin.

     Max wasn't sure if the guy was being sarcastic, but when Max looked back at him, he wasn't being sarcastic at all. He wasn't making fun of him either. He simply just greeted him.

     Others might see this and say that it's not a big deal, but for Max who has been seen as nothing but a son of a powerful household with nothing to prove, this was everything.

     It could be because he's a gaffer now, or because they just got tired of making fun of it. But regardless, this was a big improvement, especially when he's running for president.

     "Good to see you too, Theo." Max greets back with a charming smile, and the student named Theo was surprised because he wasn't expecting Max to remember his name at all. This surprisingly made him look flustered, his cheeks all red like he was blushing.

     "And that's how you get trapped in his clutches. Good luck with that," Ari manages to joke, and he and Max finally walk their way to their seats, Felix and Ervin heading back to theirs too.

     "Can't believe they're actually greeting you now," Ari says with a soft voice before throwing his bag on the floor so he could take a seat. "It may not look like much but getting your classmates' validation first will greatly help you when you enter the Elites."

     "Wow, you're talking like a responsible student now," Max teases, making Ari hit his shoulder, which Max just laughed off.

     When Max was finally seated, he moves his chair closer to Ari and tells him, "Since we're already in our second term, do you have any plans on getting more points? What rank are you now anyway?"

     "And why would you want to know that all of a sudden?"

     "Didn't I tell you? I'm bringing you to the Elites with me."

     "I haven't agreed to that yet though."

     "As if you have a choice," Max then says, making Ari sigh in defeat.

     Well, he's not really against the idea of becoming an Elite member. After all, being a student council officer in a school like J.S High would look really good in his credentials, it just never crossed his mind since a second year entering the Elites has not happened before. Except for Gavriil of course but he's a different case.

     "Last time I checked I was still in rank 289 with about 4100 points. If I aced the exams, it might help boost my rank a little bit, but I don't think that would be enough to bring me to top 150," Ari seriously explains, immediately making Max bring out a pen and his trusty notebook that contained all the notes he gathered ever since he enrolled here.

     "Let's say you're the third-highest scorer in the exams, then that would give you an additional one thousand points. Based on the ranks that were announced last time at the Great Hall, that many points would at least bring you to rank 200," Max says as he writes it all down.

     Max stares at the numbers and starts tapping his pen on the notebook. Ari was staring at him with furrowed brows, but then Max suddenly slams his hand on the table and says, "That's right! You're a rose. You can ask for points from Hans."

     "W-What?"

     "A brotherhood can give a certain amount of points to a white uniform per year right? BND has only given you points last year, so you can ask for some again this year. If Hans gives you BND's maximum point limit, which is 2000, then that would be enough to bring you to the top 100!" Max excitedly says, making the rest of their classmates look at them.

     Ari clears his throat and glares at his classmates before leaning close to Max again. "Max, I'm BND's underling."

     "Yes, I know. I just said that."

     "No, you don't understand. Being BND's underling is the hardest thing a white uniform could ever achieve because of how high their standards are, which is why there are like only fifteen of us. Hans even evaluates them every term to check if they're still worthy to become a rose. Now let me remind you, Max, I only became a Rose because your uncle wanted you to have a bodyguard. Why on earth would Hans give me more points when he's been dying to kick me out?" Ari explains in one go.

     Max, who listened to every word that his friends just said, didn't even look bothered by it when he told him, "Then let's prove to Hans that you're worthy to be a Rose like Richard Young and the others."

     "Are you fucking crazy?!"

     Just before Max could even give him an answer, the school bell rings just in time.

     "Good morning and welcome back to J.S High dear students. Today we will have our morning assembly, so please head to the stadium immediately. Thank you." A voice announces, which actually belonged to their Elites' president, Ian.

     "We'll continue this discussion later," Ari says before standing from his seat so he could stand in front of the class.

     "Alright dimwits, form a line outside and let's go," Ari instructs, and everyone did what they were told, heading out of their classroom to join the other sophomores who were waiting outside as well.

     "Come on guys," Ari then tells Max, Felix, and Ervin, so the four friends went out of their room to stand behind the class. Class II-A starts walking down the hallway first, followed by class B, C, and then D. Eventually, the four classes arrived at the stadium, joining the other years who were already waiting there.

     Like the first day of classes, the middle of the stadium had seats for the brotherhoods of their house, and in the middle of the stage were two thrones for the leaders of Busters and PHD.

     "It feels like the first day of classes again," Max honestly says as he and the rest of his class took their seats on the bleachers.

     "Well there's a lot of activities this term, like the school convention, the spring dance, and the most awaited event of all, the Annual Brotherhood Reranking where all the houses will be competing against each other," Ari explains, excitement present in his eyes.

     "Hopefully the brotherhoods here don't change. Imagine if Busters lose and we'll end up having a different king. That's just going to be crazy," Ervin then adds.

     "There's also the clubs too. The month of January focuses on our club activities, but we still have regular classes so our schedule will change a little," Felix explains further, surprising Max because he wasn't expecting to have so many activities this term.

     While the peculiar group of friends continues their conversation regarding their classes, Mr. Vincent Coleman, the host for their assembly, finally heads to the stage to warm the students up.

     "Good morning House of Kings!" Mr. Coleman shouts, and in an instant, the white uniforms started cheering like they were watching a basketball game.

     "Glad to see everyone doing well after the Winter Break," Mr. Coleman says, walking around the stage while looking at the bleachers. "Our first term has finally ended so why not give yourselves a round of applause," he says, and the students did start clapping.

     "Since you all just finished your exams, our morning assembly will be different today. After the assembly, we will be announcing the top scorers of each year, and then we will proceed to your reranking announcement. Isn't that exciting?" Mr. Coleman says, and everyone started talking amongst each other.

     Another reranking announcement. After everything that Max did the last term, how high up could his rank be now?

     "Okay, before we officially start the assembly, let us first welcome...the Elites!"

     The students start cheering again as the Elites enter the stadium one by one. The first want to appear was the Elites' school representative, Dustin Griffiths, followed by the new student council treasurer, Heaven J. Carter, who was happily waving at the crowd.

     "Look at him, enjoying the spotlight. It's almost like he's been an Elite from the very beginning," Ari comments, and Max instantly remembered his conversation with Cj. Max couldn't believe that Heaven would betray Cj like that, especially when trust is very important to the count.

     "I couldn't disagree with that," Max then says as the Elites' secretary, Richard Young, entered the stadium right after, looking posh as ever.

     Soon after that, the next council member made his entrance, and that member was none other than the Elites' vice president, Gavriil Ivanovich Alexeev. The crowd wasn't cheering as loud compared to when Richard and the other members made their appearance because the students were conflicted on whether or not they should shout. They didn't want to get scolded again like before.

     "And then we have Mr. Perfect," Ari says with a sarcastic tone, practically glaring at Gavriil.

     Max doesn't anything as his eyes follow the vice president. Gavriil was wearing the serious and cold expression that he always has on whenever he's in school, yet he walked in the middle of the stadium with grace and confidence.

     After their moment with each other during Christmas Eve, Max and Gavriil ended up finishing their bottle of wine, talking about whatever popped into their heads, and then Gavriil eventually had to head back home before Marcus got back.

     As strange as it may seem, the two didn't act indifferently. They didn't send sweet messages to each other every day like others would normally do. In fact, they didn't even meet up the entire break since both were busy doing their own business.

     Some might wonder what's the point of the confession if nothing was going to change between them anyway. Well, the truth is, something did change. The thought of knowing that you have someone who will tightly hold your hand is enough for them. Acting sweet and going on dates isn't the only way you can express your feelings for someone.

     "Look at him, walking like he owns the place," Ari continues, making Max chuckle.

     "Ari, why do you hate him so much?" Max asks.

     Ari, whose eyes are still glued on Gavriil, answers, "It's not that I hate him, I just find him irritating, that's all. Other than having no feelings, I can't pinpoint anything bad about the guy. He's careful and very precise, almost like making a mistake is out of the question."

     "I'm not sure if you're complimenting him or if you're dissing him," Max says with furrowed brows.

     Ari was about to elaborate his answer when Felix suddenly joined the conversation. "What this scumbag is trying to say is that he's too careful, and that trait is what makes him strange. Like, why is he so careful? What is he so worried about?"

     "It's like he's too scared to let people know his true intentions, and that shit is fucking scary," Ervin then adds while the four of them continue to stare at Gavriil.

     "I actually agree on that," Max says as Gavriil finally joined the other Elites. Right after that, the last member made his appearance. It was none other than the Elites' president, J.S High's very own rank 1, Ian Rothman.

     Ian smiles at the students, waving his hands to the crowd like he was a celebrity. His charisma was oozing, and everyone could tell that he was the president even if no one announced it. 

     When the Elites were finally standing below the stage, a white uniform runs to Ian's side to hand him a microphone. Ian takes the mic and then takes a step forward. Ian then puts the microphone close to his mouth, and in an instant, the students stop talking so that their presidents could speak.

     "I am glad to see that everyone is doing well. The winter break gave us the opportunity to think about ourselves and what we truly wish to accomplish. We were also able to enjoy our time with our family and friends, which helped us unwind even for a little bit. But now that you are back in school, I hope you can double your efforts in your academics, as well as your other school activities to boost your rank. Now, as the president of the Elites, welcome back to J.S High."

     The students start clapping as Ian bowed to them before handing the microphone back to the white uniform.

     Max was clapping his hands too. Ian was someone that he respected, and he was the president that he'd call his role model, of course, next to Helena from the House of Queens.

     "Now thank you very much to our Elite president for giving us his introductory speech. One's again, let us welcome the Elites," Mr. Coleman says, and everyone started clapping again.

     "Alright! Looks like everyone is ready. So without further ado, let us officially welcome back the House of Kings' pride...the brotherhoods!"

- END -