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"IT'S BEEN A WHILE, Jontell. After all these years, you still look like shit," a commanding voice says, making everyone look at the guest with their eyes and mouths open in shock.
The strong figure in front of them gave such a shocking appearance that none of them could even say a single thing. But as soon as the guest stepped inside the room, everyone immediately stood from their seats to give a respectful bow. Even the princes bowed down as well.
Jontell looks away from Gavriil to check who this person is. He wasn't expecting anyone in particular, but as soon as he saw who it was, an annoyed expression instantly appeared on his face.
"Cindy..."
Cindy Lin, the only daughter and heir of the Lin family, who runs the biggest investment company in the world, as well as the third largest bank in the world, is undoubtedly the richest heir among the members of Crème de la Crème. As mentioned before, the ranks aren't arranged based on who has the most money, but if it did, Cindy would be at the very top.
But you might wonder why Cindy isn't ranked 1 in the said group despite their insane riches. Well, the answer is simple—other families also govern their businesses. Unlike the Lemieux and the Stepanov Clan, whose business is only within themselves, Lin's company branches out from other families who have been with them through generations. The Lin family might be the head family, but there is a system within them, which is why their power is divided. You may as well call them a dynasty.
And in this dynasty, one of the families who are under them...
Is the Rosario family.
"My apologies if we weren't able to attend the morning assembly yesterday. I heard the kings and the princes battled each other. I would have enjoyed watching it," Cindy says, walking towards the princes, who bowed even deeper as she approached them.
"Killshot, it's been a while. I'm glad you haven't killed Blade yet."
"We are delighted to have you, my queen."
Cindy smirks and looks back at Jontell.
"We didn't see each other yesterday because our houses had a general assembly. But if I knew that you were going to be one of the guests, I would have come sooner," Cindy says, reaching out to fix Jontell's necktie for him.
Jontell pushes Cindy's hand away and takes a step closer to her so their faces can be inches away from each other. "You're not supposed to be here."
"And who are you to decide that? Your daddy?"
Jontell clenches his jaw in irritation, but instead of saying anything else, he pushes her away and surprisingly takes a seat on the chair that Ari assigned to him earlier.
"What the hell just happened?" Keigo whispered to Felix, who was standing in front of him, and Felix could only shrug his shoulder because he didn't know what had happened either.
The entire class was quiet as they stared at their second guest. It never crossed their minds that their sister school would attend the convention as well, let alone a queen. Out of everyone, they never thought they'd see someone like Cindy in their classroom.
Cindy was a well-behaved heir, but as a member of a sisterhood, she had an aura that was almost similar to Viktor's and Ian's. She had a commanding presence, and to top it off, she looked really good in her black uniform, so some of the students in the class didn't know whether to blush or look away in fear.
"I wasn't a big fan of J.S High because it always felt so gloomy, but now it feels a bit more like a castle and not a prison," Cindy comments before walking towards Max. Max doesn't say anything, but after a couple of seconds, the serious expression on Cindy's face changes and turns into a bright smile.
"It's good to see you, Leigh," Cindy says, hugging Max tightly.
Max smiles and hugs her back, glad to see her childhood friend again. "I can't believe you're here," Max then tells her. "I wasn't expecting to see you in our classroom, out of all places."
"Well, president Janet only announced yesterday that we'll be participating in this convention. We're as shocked as you are, but I'm really glad I was chosen to represent the House of Queens," Cindy explains before turning to the vice president.
"And Gav, you've done well as a member of the Elites. I'm very glad to see you too," Cindy says, hugging Gavriil as well.
The entire class was quiet as the three childhood friends had their reunion, but before things could escalate further, Gavriil pushed the queen away and told her, "I would love to further chat with you, Ms. Lin, but classes will start soon, and I request if you could take a seat first."
Cindy doesn't retaliate and nods her head instead as Gavriil leads her to her temporary seat, making the rest of the class take their seats as well.
Max stares at Cindy and takes a deep breath. Ari notices the worried expression on his face and asks him, "Max, aren't you glad that Cindy is here? It looks like we don't have to worry about Jontell anymore."
"Ari, Cindy is here as a guest, correct?"
"That's right."
"And she's a sisterhood member."
"Well, obviously she's—" Just when Ari was about to finish his sentence, Ari realized it too and immediately covered his mouth in shock. He immediately moves closer to Max and whispers to him, "Are you telling me that there could be other brotherhood members here from other houses?"
Max didn't want to admit it, but he took another deep breath and massaged his temple before finally nodding his head in answer.
Ari couldn't say a thing. Some unknown person has been threatening their school. Last time, at the great hall where the brotherhood flags were vandalized, everyone knew that someone out there was declaring war against them.
It looks like Jontell isn't the only problem they have now.
"Good morning, class," their first professor—Ms. Virgil Macy—announces as she finally enters the room. The class greets her as Ms. Virgil places her laptop on the desk. She then faces the class, and her eyes instantly fall on the students sitting in front.
There were the three princes, Ren Adachi, Blade, and Killshot. And then, on the other side were Jontell Rosario and Cindy Lin. Ms. Virgil couldn't help but swallow the lump in her throat so she wouldn't look too nervous. She couldn't believe that she was assigned to this room out of all the places she could be assigned to.
"W-Well, before we begin, let me just once again welcome the guests and the other students who will be joining us today," Ms. Virgil says as she looks at the students in front with a nervous smile.
When Ren and the others didn't give much of a reaction, Ms. Vigil could only clear her throat and proceed with the lesson, hoping she won't end up fucking it up. After all, she's just an ordinary professor, and most of her students are still very much powerful heirs.
...
The bell rang, and everyone stood from their seats. Somehow, their morning classes went well and ended with no worries. Jontell didn't pay much attention, but the professors were just too scared to scold him. Cindy, on the other hand, was a good sport, gracing the class with both her beauty and brains. She was the type of Royal that was very different from the princes and the kings, which surprised them.
"Finally, lunchtime!" Ari celebrated, standing from his seat and stretching his arms.
Max smiles at his friend's enthusiasm as he puts his notebook and pen back in his bag. While doing so, Max couldn't help but glance at the front where Cindy and the others sat.
Ren and the rest of the members of PHD approached Cindy and invited her to sit with them in the great hall. Cindy looks back at her dear friend Max, hoping to eat lunch with him, but Max just nods his head toward her, so Cindy puts on a serious expression and follows the princes out.
Gavriil—the vice president—also went out in a rush after receiving an urgent message from Ian, so half of the class was already out of the door.
"I'm so excited to see the other guests at the great hall. Do you think they'll eat there, or will they be in a different area?" Ari asks as Max finally stands from his seat.
Keigo and Felix approach the two of them, but Ervin, who dropped his pen, stands and tries to pick it up, accidentally bumping into Jontell, who was standing from his seat as well.
Bumping onto him was an accident, but for some reason, Jontell got pissed off, suddenly grabbing Ervin by the collar and almost lifting him off the floor despite their size difference. It seems like Cindy's surprise appearance has angered Jontell; this was his way of letting out some steam.
The students who were still in class were surprised to see what was happening, and as soon as Max and his friends saw what was happening too, they immediately went to the scene.
"Hey! What the fuck do you think you're doing?!" Felix shouted, not caring who Jontell was. Keigo and Ari were both terrified, but they didn't run off and joined their friends in the ambush.
Ervin tries to push Jontell off him, but the jerk is too strong, so Max aggressively pushes Jontell away, giving Ervin the window to shove Jontell off, successfully making the heir let go of him.
Jontell angrily looks at the group of friends, but before he can say anything, Max's expression changes, and he grabs Jontell by the collar, looking straight at him with no fear.
Ari looked at the rest of his classmates who were still in the class and asked them to leave, so without any complaints, the others ran off while Keigo and Ari locked the doors to their room so no one would be able to get inside.
Max continues to look at Jontell, and this time, his eyes are fiery. The same set of eyes that Jontell was used to seeing when Max still hasn't remembered anything about his memories. It was an expression that both scared at satisfied him.
"Fucking touch my friends again, and I will kick you out of this school before you can even realize it. If you can use your name as your shield, then two can play that game. This school still has my surname on it, Rosario. Don't test me," Max threatens, sending chills down Jontell's spine, which only makes him smirk.
"That's the Leigh that I missed," Jontell says, causing Max to let him go.
Ari, Felix, Ervin, and Keigo thought that they were just going to leave Jontell alone, but as soon as Max lets go of him, Max balls his hands into a fist and punches Jontell, surprising his friends.
Jontell was surprised too, but before he could even stand back up properly, Max punched him for the second time. And then another on his stomach until blood started oozing out of him. Keigo couldn't help but cover his mouth in shock because he had never seen Max like this, while Ari and the others couldn't help but just turn their heads away.
Unlike Keigo, they've seen Max in this exact state when Cj became his homeboy. It was a terrible memory, but it was something that none of them ever talked about again.
After one last punch, Jontell falls to the ground and touches his aching stomach. But instead of getting mad, the heir was laughing.
Max stares down at him and pulls out his handkerchief to wipe the blood off his knuckles, his expression cold and almost lifeless. For his friends, this was something that they weren't used to seeing. Max was the ambitious young boy who wanted to climb to the top with his own strength. Max was a boy who cared about his friends and everyone around him. But this Max...this Max was different.
This was the Max before he came to J.S High, and that's a fact that the others wouldn't be able to understand fully. Well, except for Jontell, who knew exactly what type of boy Max was before he even met anyone in this school.
"Looks like you still haven't really changed, Leigh," Jontell says, wiping the blood off his mouth and slowly standing from the floor. "You say you have, but your eyes are the same. It's still empty. You can mask yourself all you want, but you're still the same."
Max looks at Jontell and tries to punch him again, but someone grabs his hand and stops him. Max slowly turns around and sees Ari holding onto him. He then saw the faces of his friends, and their terrified expressions finally made him realize what he had done.
"That's enough," Ari says, and Max swallows the lump in his throat and gently pushes Ari's hand away to look back at Jontell.
"Why are you here?" Max asks, now with a calmer voice.
"And why do you think I'll answer you that?" Jontell asks, looking back at Max with a more serious expression.
Max clenches his fist and tries his best to remain calm. "For the sake of the little friendship we somehow had in the past, what the fuck are you doing in J.S High, Jon? Is it to torment me? Is it to look for a victim and ruin their lives? Is it to remind people that president Janus is an idiot for denying your admission? What is it?! Because all of us here are tired of walking on eggshells for you."
Jontell was surprised by the way Max had called him because that was the name he used to call him in the past. Despite their strange relationship, Jontell really did have feelings for Max, whether it was an obsession or not.
Maybe Max is right. Maybe he really is just here to torment him. When Max enrolled in J.S High, he left him behind and never looked back. Jontell was pissed. He couldn't forgive him for what he's done to him. But at the same time, he couldn't really get mad. For the past two years they were together, Jontell cared. He knew Max was vulnerable, and he knew that Max forgetting his memories was the only reason why Max was even hanging out with him. But despite that, he still cared in the most fucked up way that he could care.
"You think I want to be here?" Jontell finally starts to say, making Ari and the others look at each other before looking at Jontell.
"Do you think I want to show my face to the school that didn't want me? Do you think I want to show my face to the likes of you?!" Jontell angrily shouts before laughing at himself. "Of course not! If I could, I would rather you disappear! I would rather die than see your face again, Leigh, but here we are. Here you are, standing in front of me. And here I am, standing in front of you."
Max didn't know what Jontell was trying to say, but then Jontell aggressively kicked one of the chairs, making Keigo flinch.
"That darn Cindy Lin. Why did she have to be here too? I don't have enough time. I don't have enough time..." Jontell then says, his last sentences sounding more like a whisper before finally walking out of the room.
As soon as he got out, the students outside gasped in shock because of the state that he was in. Ervin was about to follow him, afraid that this might backfire on Max, but Max stopped him before he could even take another step.
"Let him be."
Ari, Felix, Ervin, and Keigo stared at Max, who stood in the middle of the room in silence. Keigo told them to approach Max, but only Ari had the guts to do it. He held onto Max's shoulder and said nothing. Max kept quiet, but he held onto Ari's hand that was on his shoulder before letting go of it again.
"I would like to be alone. Please."
The four friends looked at each other, but despite wanting to stay by his side, they left the room as well.
When Max was the only one left in the room, Max slowly walked towards his chair and took a seat. While his eyes were glued on the board, Max slowly reached out to touch the brooches in his collar.
Ever since he saw Jontell, something inside him felt different. Was it because Jontell's family is connected to the Stepanov bombing incident, and may possibly be connected to what happened to his mother as well?
Is Max afraid that Jontell might have some answers that he's not really willing to hear?
Is it because, despite wanting to face his past head-on, there is something inside him that is still desperately trying to run away from it?
What on earth did Max even discover?
What was so terrifying about his past that his own mother wanted to kill him too?
...
The great hall was as noisy as ever, but as the white uniforms enjoyed their time together, the large door opened, revealing the guests who were there also to have their lunch. The moment they entered, the students of J.S High couldn't help but cheer. The guests didn't know if they were sarcastically cheering for them or if they were genuinely just very welcoming, but the best they could do was just ignore them as they searched for a seat.
"Wow! Look at this cafeteria!" Lennox Connery from the House of Rooks, better known as Nox from Mr. Brains & Brawn, excitedly says while he entered the hall with Kingston Creed (Westberg Academy), Magnus McKay (Westminster College), Li Gengxin (Lincoln Inter. High School). Nicolàs Vega (House of Knights), and Tsukumo Asahi (House of Bishops).
"I believe they call this the great hall," Gengxin then comments.
Kingston was also impressed, but he didn't want to show it, so he just shrugged his shoulders and pretended to be indifferent.
When Kingston and his group got inside, the other white uniforms couldn't help but look at them and start whispering at each other. Other than the fact that they're students with a strong presence, they're also all contestants of Mr. Brains & Brawn, so they're somehow well-known in J.S High as the students that Maximilian Leigh Sinclaire defeated.
Yes, it's not a very good way to remember someone.
"During the orientation earlier, it was stated that the students in black uniform occupy the two balconies. It's fascinating how they're not only separated by uniform but also by where they dine," Gengxin then adds, showing to the others that he really is a student council president for being so attentive during an orientation that most of the other guests didn't really listen to.
"Anyway, how were your classes earlier? I thoroughly enjoyed mine."
"It was okay. The professors were great, but the quality is similar to our school. I guess the way their subjects are scheduled is what's interesting to me."
While the six of them looked for a table to take, the entire hall suddenly became quiet when a distant jack-in-the-box could be heard. Most of the guests didn't know what it was, but then the white uniforms started stomping their feet.
Kingston and the others turn their heads to see what is happening, and so they spot a white uniform standing in front of his table where a decorated box is placed. The familiar melody plays, and as soon as the jack pops out of the box, the student starts running out in a panic, making the rest of the white uniforms start laughing.
"What on earth was that?" Magnus then asks.
"I just witnessed it!" Nox shouted, obviously excited over what went down. "You see, I'm an underling of a brotherhood called Jack of All Trades, under the captain named Benedikt Leitz. Jokers inspired Benedikt, so our ideologies are similar to theirs," Nox explains, which surprisingly interested even Asahi.
"That's the Jack-in-the-box brotherhood customs," Nicolás then explains so the others would know what it was about. "The barons, Jokers, will hand a box to a white uniform and prank them the entire day. Simple as that."
"That's just stupid," Kingston comments.
"Say that again when your bag's floating in the fountain that contains important documents and your chair is taken to a different building where the royals are," Nox then says, referring to the exact thing that happened to Max when Jokers first pranked him.
"Or the time when someone got tied in a toilet almost naked," Vega then adds, which surprised Kingston and the others more than the first prank.
"Okay, that's just fucked up," Magnus then says, and even Nox and the others couldn't help but agree.
"Anyway, let's just take a seat here," Kingston then says, walking towards two long tables that were aligned together. Kingston and the others are about to take a seat there, but then a white uniform immediately stops them, pulling back the chair that Kingston was about to take.
"Sorry, fellas, but you're not allowed to sit there," the white uniform suddenly says, making Kingston and the rest look at him confusingly.
"Oh, so this is a type of high school where tables at the cafeteria are owned. How cliché," Kingston sarcastically says, rolling his eyes and ignoring what the white uniform said. Nox and the others were starting to get skeptical about it, but Kingston still took a seat.
Magnus didn't know what to do and was just going to take a seat too, but then another white uniform grabbed Kingston's arm and forcefully pulled him out of the chair.
"Hey! What the fuck is wrong with you?!" Kingston angrily shouts.
"K-Kingston...I think we should just...look for a different seat," Magnus nervously says, pulling Kingston's uniform when he realized a lot of students were now standing from their seats and staring at them. Magnus and the others even noticed that the white uniforms had brooches on them.
"Those are Jacks and Lighters," Asahi calmly explains.
"Why are they acting like this? Who the fuck even sits at this fucking table?" Kingston angrily asks, and right on cue, four white uniforms enter the room. It was Ari Faulkner, Felix Campbell, Ervin Walker, and Kawanishi Keigo.
The white uniforms instantly start looking at them as the four friends walk to where Kingston and the others are. They obviously didn't know who they were and that they were connected to Max, but they could tell that they were very powerful white uniforms themselves, considering how three of them had gold armbands on.
"What the hell is going on here?" Ari—who was obviously in a terrible mood after what happened earlier—angrily asks while his hands are inside his pockets.
"And who the fuck are you this time?" Kingston asks back.
Ari doesn't answer him yet, but instead, he adjusts his armband and peak cap. And then he looked straight at the guests in front of him and fixed the brooch on his collar. When Nox, Nicolás, and Asahi saw what the brooch was, they instantly knew that they were in big trouble.
"I'm not really someone important. But if that door opens and you're still in the way...well, believe me, I will be the least of your concern."
- END -