✧ First Time Reader? Comment here :D

✧ Re-reader? Comment here <3

"What's your darkest secret, Yuki?" Tea trickled from the pot into a ceramic cup, grey stoneware with pink cherry blossoms painted on it. Era poured with a skilled hand, not even looking to see when the tea reached the brim. Perfect. Everything about her, from flawless gold winged eyeliner, to a 5.0 GPA, screamed it.

"Thank you," Yuki said, accepting the cup. She lowered her eyes to puff gentle breaths and cool the tea. This classroom exuded a sense of calm. All the décor had Era's special touch. As the creator and president of the Asian Cultures Club, she'd obtained permission to use and remodel the old storage room three years ago as a freshman.

Not to mention she funded the operation out of pocket. Everyone knew the Wang family was made of money.

The incense sticks smoked on the table, reminding Yuki of time burning away while she'd left Era's question unanswered.

"If we tell our darkest secrets, they aren't so dark then, are they?" she whispered into her tea cup.

Era lifted a manicured finger in warning. "You're evading. You're lucky I like you, otherwise I'd have exposed your lies a long time ago."

Yuki didn't react. Rule three—be the picture of calm. She set her tea down and met Era's eyes. "What lies?" she asked evenly, though her heart hammered in her chest. There's the after-school job, the homework side hustle, the riding the bus, the—

"That's the thing. I don't know." Era steepled her fingers—long, delicate fingers designed to charm music from piano keys, or perhaps hold a violin bow. "There isn't much I don't know. Your grandparents give away more than you. They don't talk about your parents."

"There isn't much to talk about," Yuki said.

There wasn't. Her parents were dead. Siblings too.

She didn't understand why Era asked, but she was determined, she vowed—

She would not tell Era how they died.

"Well, that won't do." Era smiled, with it being both disarming and dazzling at once. "I'm determined to know everything about you, Hime Yuki. It doesn't matter if you're a stubborn clam; that only makes it more fun."

Yuki felt the corner of her eyelid twitch. A small thing, but she'd marked it as her tell, suppressed it. Era, with her light brown eyes glowing like embers in the paper lantern light, had struck a nerve using a dead surname.

"I'm Kobayashi, like my grandparents," Yuki corrected.

Era smiled again, though this time in a predatory manner. "Of course you are. But wouldn't you rather be a princess? Inherit an empire?"

"Depends on the empire, I suppose." Yuki replied offhandedly, taking another sip of tea. Inside, she trembled. It was nothing more than a rumor and even she hadn't been able to determine where it originated.

Rumor said that since this was Era's senior year, she was looking for someone to replace her as president of the club.

But intuition told Yuki that Era started the rumor, and Era spoke the truth.

Era could ruin her. Era could put her on a throne, all with a snap of her fingers.

Era laughed and hugged an embroidered cushion to her chest. "Don't play coy!" She tilted her head, golden earring catching the light. "I'm going to call you 'Hime' from now on. It suits you."

Yuki nodded, though her heart burned like she'd swallowed a dragon's breath chili pepper.

Someone knocked on the door and Era gestured at Yuki to let them in.

A boy with dirty-blond hair and stormy hazel eyes poked his head through the opening. "Madame President, we're all assembled for the meeting." He took in a stony-faced Yuki holding the door and his tone immediately turned chilly. "Kobayashi."

"Tudor." With a terse nod, Yuki let go of the heavy door and let it smack him in the face.

Following a cut-off curse, Rhett rubbed his nose and glared daggers but didn't retaliate further.

"Hime and I will finish our business and the meeting will begin in ten minutes," Era replied, waving her hand in dismissal. "Go over the club rules with the new members, Rhett."

"Hime?" Rhett raised an eyebrow.

Era rested her chin on a hand and looked up at him, hair so black it appeared blue styled in goddess waves. They spilled like mini waterfalls over her shoulders and set off the soft cream of her uniform. "I gave Yuki a nickname that means princess. Like it?"

"Hate it. She's not a princess. She's a pain." The door slammed behind him.

Yuki averted her eyes, willing the tears away. It was her fault he hated her. After the accident, with her grandparents paying money left and right to have the matter hushed up, he'd been too much of a danger. Calling her at all hours, trying to find out why she was in the hospital, to ask if she was alright.

He was all sunshine. She was midnight rain. His kindness would've only been repaid with tears and pain.

So she'd done what she needed to and she hated herself for it too.

Shaking her head, Yuki took her seat to find Era weighing her with a considering gaze.

"You like him, don't you?" Era said.

The first rule of lying—don't lie when it's obvious what the truth is. Make it believable. Make it a half lie.

"Liked. Past tense." Yuki took her seat at the table and sipped the jasmine tea, though it had already gone cold.

"You were thinking about him just now."

Yuki didn't miss her beat. Rule two—distract, but don't jump subjects without reason. Use logic. "Actually, I was wondering where you got your nickname from."

"A friend." The motion remained smooth, but Era crossed her arms and leaned back, something Yuki couldn't recall seeing her doing. Era preferred to engage, to be on the offensive during a conversation.

"Do you like it better than Vera?" Yuki probed. Era's parents must have hubris aplenty, to name their daughter after a well-known fashion designer. Era wore it well though.

"I do. I loved my friend like a sister. She founded the club with me."

So was the friend older then? Otherwise, she'd still be attending, and Era had no close friends. Yuki had never heard of anyone leading the club but Era, as if anyone else had been...covered up.

And then Era did something unexpected—she broke lying rule four—she volunteered more information, let herself ramble. "Alcohol. Crashed her parents' car into a tree." She grimaced sadly at Yuki, almost like she knew something. "Flaws have a way of catching up to people. Ends their legacy prematurely."

Era reached across the table, claiming Yuki's hands. "You remind me of her. You know what?"

"What?" Yuki asked, wanting to pull her hands from Era's icy grasp. She couldn't afford to offend the queen of Zenith High though.

"I think your hair would look pretty in a hime cut."

──────༺༻──────

They went down the hall together, though any hallway became a red carpet when Vera Wang stepped into it. Even without a grand audience, the few students at their lockers paused to watch her, and Era didn't disappoint. She walked like Gisele Bündchen, all power and poise.

"You could be a model," Yuki complimented.

"I could, but I wouldn't," Era answered. "Not a passion of mine."

The original Asian Cultures room wasn't large enough to accommodate the club members, so it'd become a bit of a private retreat for Era. They stopped at a room marked 3C and Yuki opened the door.

No one ever ordered them to, but all the members rose from their seats when Era entered, the newbies quickly catching on. What they didn't do for the pledge in the morning, passed out as they often were for a couple extra minutes of sleep, they did for her.

Era sat down on the teacher's desk, legs crossed at the ankles and navy blue skirt fanning out around her. "You may all be seated."

Chairs scraped the floor, as Yuki realized with dismay that the only available desk was paired with Rhett's. She remained standing.

Era caught her eye and smirked. "Hime? Take your seat."

Yuki read it all in that simple command.

You may be a princess, but don't forget that I'm the queen here.

Gritting her teeth, Yuki dropped into the chair at Rhett's side.

"You all know I don't like to waste time," Era began. "We're busy people after all. So let's start by welcoming the freshmen. Following that, the council will be introduced. Please stand when your name is called."

"Sila Devi, freshman. Ethan Chaidee, freshman."

Down the list of names with applause following each one, though what impressed Yuki was that Era did it all from memory. She wasn't queen because of her family name or wealth, because of excellent grades or k-pop main visual worthy looks, though she had it all.

She was queen because of personality. She thrived at charming people into liking her.

"Yuki Kobayashi, sophomore treasurer."

Yuki stood and glowed with warmth at the louder thunder of applause that followed. She could get used to this.

"Since our dear secretary of four years, Rose Anh, has graduated, we will be voting in a new secretary today. Please raise your hand if you are interested in the position."

Next to Yuki, Rhett's hand went up in the air.

No one else's did.

That's odd. Yuki scanned the room, noting the new faces. Some secret hung in the air, one she wasn't privy to. But when she found Era doing the same, with her intense siren eyes, an inkling of what had happened struck her.

Rhett had somehow procured the position before it ever went to vote. That put them on even footing here. If she didn't watch out, he could be claiming her position as Era's right hand before she could blink.

Era shrugged. "Rhett Tudor, sophomore and secretary. Start taking minutes, Mr. Secretary."

"Of course, Madame President," Rhett replied with a grin, breaking out a pad of paper and fountain pen.

Era clasped her hands in front of her. "I believe you all are acquainted with the rules now, but let's refresh. You will be handed an assignment at the end of each month, which is what will be turned in to the teachers and board. You do your assignments or you'll be removed from the club. Other activities besides these are to be kept between club members." With another of her trademark smiles, Era continued. "Or you'll hear from me. Any questions so far?"

One of the freshmen raised his hand.

"Yes?" Era acknowledged.

"Why is there no vice president for this club?"

Sliding from the desk, their president started circling the room with that same confident stride but at half speed. "We haven't ever had one, but this leads to our yearly fortune."

Yuki sat back in her chair. Last year's so-called "fortune" had been a game of Era's invention, Written in the Stars. She'd made all the club members take a variety of personality tests and sealed the results in a safe. After winter break, each student had to give as accurate a guess as possible of every other participant's results. Some of them turned to researching all the personality models used, others resorted to less savory methods of extortion.

Yuki had willingly given her results to Rose, who won the prize, being voted in as prom queen and vacationing in Cabo for the summer with Era's family. Neither the fortune nor the prize had interested her, though Era had tried to convince her to play at the beginning.

"Maybe if you paid my way to university," Yuki had said with a laugh.

Which is why when she heard Era's next words, Yuki believed she was dreaming.

"Whoever wins this year's fortune, Truth or Lie, will be given the vice-president position, as well as becoming president of the club when I graduate. In addition, they will be granted the Era Scholarship, which is a full-ride to the college they decide to attend upon graduation with all living expenses paid."

She'd stunned the entire class into silence, Yuki included. One could have heard a pin drop in the room, where the only sound was the click of Era's Miu Mius.

Finally, Yuki worked enough saliva into her mouth to speak. "What do we need to do to win?"

"I'm glad you asked, Hime," Era said, reaching her spot in front of the desk at the prime moment to posture for full effect. "The rules this year are simple. Each of you will be given a fortune cookie containing the names of two people, your Truth and your Lie.

"Some of you will choose Truth. Through observation, I think this person is, to put things simply, the ideal match, romantic or platonic, for you. Anyone who wins the heart of their Truth will be given a prize of five hundred dollars at the end of the year, but more than that, they'll have found true love...if it exists. The person claimed by one with Truthful intentions will also win an equal money prize."

Yuki gripped the sides of her chair. And the Lie, Era? The scholarship?

Era held up a glinting piece of metal. "You will all be given rings engraved with your names. Whether you pick your Truth or your Lie, they must be wearing your ring for it to count. A person can't wear more than one ring." She slipped the silver piece of jewelry onto her forefinger. "Now for the Lie. Anyone who is able to claim their Lie will be eligible for the scholarship and presidency."

That's too easy.

"What in the high school drama on steroids is this?" Rhett muttered.

"If you choose your Lie," Era said, finger raised. "You will take your ring back in the final session and tell them everything was a deception. You'll tell them that you never meant any of it, that you didn't love them. You'll tell them that you loved Lady Fortune more, and then you'll cut off contact with them. Permanently. I'll rate you on how convincing you are, the passion in your performance. If you go back on the rejection later, I'll learn of it and the prizes will be revoked. Those are the terms of the game."

"What's the point of this?" the boy from earlier spoke up, the one who'd asked about the vice presidency. "Why put so much mistrust between people? Toy with their feelings like that?"

"You don't have to play if you don't want to," Era said. "I'm not forcing anyone." She reached behind the desk and took out a string of fortune cookies, all wrapped in individual packages. Ripping off the first one, she called out a name. "When I hand you the fortune, you're dismissed."

Yuki waited in her chair, numb. Maybe she wouldn't play this year either.

The dissenter took his fortune when called and threw it in the trash on his way out.

Smart kid.

But Yuki knew, she knew she'd play. Her family wasn't rich, not any longer, more like the farthest thing from it. She could get enough scholarships on her own to attend a local community college and make it by eating instant ramen every meal. But her dream university, an ivy league school, that would be attainable with Era's sponsorship.

She'd wanted the presidency, but she wanted this scholarship more. Enough to kill for.

Enough to lie for.

So when Era called her name with a conspiratorial smile, Yuki went up. She took her fortune and calmly exited the classroom, making her way to the girls' restrooms.

She checked all the stalls. Empty. Entering the last one, she took a deep breath then locked it.

Yuki tore open her fortune bag and snapped the cookie in half. The paper wouldn't come out easily—instead of a usual slip it looked like a wad—so she bit it out, pieces of cookie falling to the floor, and unfolded the small sheet with shaking hands.

Truth: Rhett Tudor
Lie: Ethan Chaidee

Dear Hime, I know you're too good a liar—you always win at Yakuza, do teach me how sometime—so let me make things more interesting for you. Either your Truth or your Lie will put you in the running for the scholarship, but there's a catch. If you choose Truth and Rhett rejects you, you'll lose, but you don't have to lie or reject him. It'll be an automatic win. Good luck—I think he'll be a tough cookie to crack.

- E

Yuki read and re-read the fortune half a dozen times, trying to understand the implications. Reading the name of the lie, a horrible suspicion washed over her.

She dashed out of the bathroom and down the halls to the parking lot outside. Amid the cars leaving the lot, she spotted Rhett in his black Dodge Ram. After narrowly missing being run over and while getting honked at, she arrived to him rolling down his window.

"To what do I owe the pleasure of her Royal Pain in the Ass chasing me down?" he said, propping his arm on the sill.

"You kept the minutes" —Yuki panted, trying to catch her breath— "what was the name of the kid, the freshman who asked about the vice president position?"

Rhett paused, appearing to be thinking, reaching for an appropriately snide response she'd guess, but his expression appeared to soften. The next moment, a smug grin replaced it, as if he relished doling out the piece of knowledge like a crumb to a beggar.

"Ethan Chaidee," he answered.

Yuki nodded before sprinting back the way she'd came, almost missing her chance to make it back into the building before it was locked by a grumbling janitor. She reached classroom 3C and rummaged in the trash can to pull out the fortune from its nest of crumpled papers and apple cores.

Breaking it open, she found a normal-looking slip.

Truth: Yuki Kobayashi
Lie: Sophia Lim

Your lucky numbers are 5, 7, 11, and 20.

Pocketing the fortune, Yuki tossed the plastic wrapper and cookie remnants back in the trash. There was only one way to win the game then.

She had to make Rhett Tudor, her greatest rival, fall in love with her.

Again.

Chapter Word Count: 2948