A/N: Hi there! Some of you may have been waiting for a PTK update, so let's start off with a prelude!
TRIGGER WARNING: References to suicide and self-harm.
ALARIC
I MOSTLY see people as investments. Of course, not everyone was worth investing in. The key was to have sound judgment. There would always be risks, as with everything, so one had to make a good call. Some people might prove themselves profitable, with their ROI exceeding the cost. Others could be profitable for a certain period, but then they would lose their value over time.
It's my job to invest in people, and it's their job to maintain or increase their profitability. Otherwise, I would rather cut my losses. I wouldn't want to waste time, money, and effort on people who could not or could no longer be beneficial to me.
Sometimes I could make exemptions. There were investments that—despite having no returns—I chose to keep. Their value might be low at the moment, but the day might come when it would rise again. It's like flipping a coin. Heads or tails, one could not know which side it would land on.
But me? I could.
"How are you, Bran?" I asked the person across the table in the café. We hadn't seen each other for months. He is a fellow tiger—well, he was. He hadn't enrolled in Elysian University this academic year. His reason? His mental health had taken a serious toll after his loss in the last student council elections.
"Still alive and kicking. Naghahanap pa rin ako ng mapagkakaabalahan habang hindi pa ako enrolled."
"How's Candice?" I asked.
He turned his head away and clenched his fists. The mere mention of that name was enough to cause him pain. Poor guy. He let another person be his weakness.
"She's still undergoing therapy sessions. She hasn't tried to do it in recent months. She's getting better, I believe."
"But not well enough yet?"
"Not yet."
Candice Delavin was the student council chairwoman of the College of Business and Accountancy. She was my predecessor while Brandon Cabrera was her vice chair. Both of them ran for positions in the University Student Council. Their victory was expected to be a landslide as they had made alliances with five colleges.
But someone played a card and stole their win from them. Any guess on who that person was? That's right—Castiel Seville, the incumbent chief-of-staff of the USC. I would not say that I did not expect him to pull that stunt because I knew he had it in him.
Because of a technicality, Candice and Bran weren't able to serve their term as USC president and vice president, respectively. Candice took her technical loss so seriously, she attemped to... end it all. Like Bran, she wasn't able to enroll again this academic year.
"How are they doing so far? Those guys?"
I sucked in a breath. "They're already preparing for their reelection run next academic year. They're pulling a stunt that could catapult them to the top of the polls."
"That should have been Candice and me . . . That should have been us, 'Ric!"
"I know." I nodded slowly. "You were robbed—"
"They stole her presidency, 'Ric! Those fucking bastards did! If they didn't, she would have been... she would have been..."
"Calm down, Bran. It will all be taken care of," I assured him. "Let me handle it. I won't let them get away. I'll steal back what they stole from her . . . and you."
Truth to be told, I wouldn't be doing it for him or Candice. I'd be doing it for myself.
"What are you planning, 'Ric?"
"I intend to run for USC president next academic year," I answered. "I'm close to finding my own running mate who can assure me of a landslide victory. And don't worry, I won't let them steal it away from me the way they did to you and Candice. There won't be any technicalities. The chairwoman of the Student Council Election Committee, the OSA director, is a good family friend. She won't let these usurpers exploit the loopholes."
"The USC elections? You serious? That's, what, six months away? I want justice now, 'Ric! Candice and I can't wait for half a year!"
"Don't worry, that's just the back-up plan just in case my current one would fail."
"And what's your current plan?"
"I will be filing an impeachment complaint against the president and the vice president. We found some dirt that we can use against them. Once they're impeached, I, as the chair pro tempore of the Legislative-Executive Committee, will assume the presidency."
"How long do you think it would take for you to kick those bastards out of office?"
"One to two months," I estimated. "I will file the complaint at the most opportune time."
"Two months? That's still long enough—"
"Trust me on this one, Bran. I won't fail you. Just sit back and get better."
"I can't just sit back and wait for a miracle—"
"Bran." A mention of his name was enough to silence him and calm him down. He's like a tiger so eager to tear a person apart. I had to quell his hunger for vengeance. Otherwise, it might affect my plan.
"Fine. Let's do it your way. But if your plan doesn't work, I'll do it my way."
"Deal."
It looked like every chess piece was in their proper places on the board. All I had to do was make the first move.
It's time shove more coal into the bonfire that was Castiel Seville.
♚
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