A few shades of rays peeked into the room through the window, as a girl faced her mirror with a sullen look.
"Should I really stay in this school?" Aurene contemplated, but hands still diligently working on her uniform. The girl sighed one more time as she gazed upon her own reflection in the mirror. "And now I miss Arlene.. I should've persuaded father better."
After leaving the apartment, Aurene was met with an annoyingly familiar face, as she swiftly turned around, trying to erase his image from her mind.
"Oi, aren't you going to school?" Eduan walked up to Aurene, grabbing her wrist.
"Why are you here?" Aurene responded with another question, one that she kept asking to the blue haired male since yesterday. "Don't you people from S Class always arrives at school with those typical fancy cars?"
Courtesy of her old blabbering classmates that worship the S Class, Aurene had obtained a lot of unnecessary information of those from the S Class. But no, that wasn't the important thing now.
'That's why Eduan somewhat looked familiar.. I remember one of my classmates showing his picture before,' Aurene inwardly grumbled.
"I had my driver send me here. The school's not that far from here," Eduan cheekily replied, his smirk getting wider. "Aren't you actually happy to see me?"
"No," Aurene instantly answered, not wanting the male to get the wrong idea. "Let's just... get to the school."
Aurene already feels exhausted even though school hasn't even started yet.
Walking side-by-side, Eduan suddenly asked a question, turning Aurene's attention from the sidewalk to the male. "Did anybody visit you yesterday?"
Raising her eyebrow, Aurene answered back. "No? Why do you ask?"
'What a weird question.'
"Nothing really. What were you supposed to do after this, again?"
"I'm supposed to meet this Mr. Shin this morning. Wait, don't you already know about it? You were with me when I heard the details from the principal yesterday."
"I was bored hearing halfway-through," Eduan mumbled, making sure the girl didn't hear what he just said. "Anyway, Mr. Shin's pretty scary in his own way. So you better watch out! He's the only teacher that can handle us, so he's basically the only teacher we've met since the start of the year."
'It sounded like he was avoiding the topic.'
"So, he teaches you guys every single subject?" Aurene wondered. Wasn't every subject had a specific teacher teaching it? "Why?"
"The other teachers were too scared to even enter the class."
'Seriously, why?!'
But Aurene held back her thousands of questions and settled on the thought that the S Class may have their own reasons. She just had a misunderstanding with them, after all.
Reaching the school, Aurene noticed some awed stares being thrown to their way, as the two made their way towards the faculty office, to meet the ever-so-mysterious Mr. Shin.
'The stares are so prickling! Ugh, this is all because Eduan!'
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"So, you're the one they've chosen?"
Aurene swallowed a lump in her throat as she replied with a nod. She can't help but stare at the bulky man, whose long, blonde hair was flowing freely behind him. The white shirt that stretched due to his muscles even seemed to scream for help.
'H-he looks intimidating..'
"Ah Eduan, come here for a bit," Mr. Shin gestured Eduan closer, which the male questioningly complied. Only to receive a flick in the forehead in a snap.
Aurene barely muffled her surprised gasp. 'That sounded hurt..'
The girl could hear the shocked gasps from the teachers around them, as Eduan painfully clutched on his dear forehead while crouching to the floor.
"What was that for?!"
"That's for giving V headaches by not attending classes. As much as I don't want to see your face everyday, you still have to be in the class instead of lazily lounging around the school. Even Blossom is better than you," the teacher nonchalantly replied, all the while organizing his files on the desk. He looks pretty relaxed for someone who just flicked the heir of an international company.
The female made a mental note to not to mess with the man that will be her homeroom teacher from the day onward. 'I can see why Eduan calls him scary..'
"So, I've heard the situation from the principal," Mr. Shin started, when the three walked towards the classroom. "You've really got it tough there, young lady,"
"Well, pretty much.."
'Not as much as Eduan there though,' Aurene side-glanced the said male who was still rubbing on his forehead.
The older man glanced at Aurene for a while, before turning back his eyes forward. "You don't have to worry 'bout my class. They're pretty much are still brats, but they're good people. Just... unique in their own way," Mr. Shin took a short glance at Eduan.
Aurene shortly stopped in her tracks, realizing that the teacher might have been trying to assure her, instead of saying 'everything's going to be alright'. Why are everyone associated with the S Class so kind?
"I know. I've pretty much seen everything yesterday.." Aurene smiled a bit at the thought, remembering Yurin and Hana's warm welcome. V and Han's assurance. And even Gustang's hot and cold attitude. Jahad- no scratch that.
"Good then."
As they reached the classroom, Eduan (unwillingly) entered with a fidgety Aurene following close.
"Aureneee!!"
The female almost fell down when Yurin tackled her into a hug, not noticing the teacher behind Aurene.
"You're here! I was worried you might not have come!" Yurin exclaimed, holding tight onto the brunette's shoulder.
"Wait, Yurin. Can you slow down a little?" Aurene brought her hands up, already surrendering.
Thankfully, the girl was saved when Mr. Shin cleared his throat, catching the attention of the excited Yurin.
"Whoops, Mr. Shin's here. Guess we have to sit down."
Once again, Aurene prayed for the safety of her wrist which was roughly grabbed by Yurin towards a certain spot in the class. The girl couldn't help but sweat-drop at the messiness, until the two stopped in their tracks, Yurin slightly pushing her towards a desk.
A clean, new looking desk.
"Here is your seat," Hana gently led her towards the seat, not forgetting to smile at the flabbergasted Aurene. "Please, make yourself comfortable!"
"T-thank you."
All of them settled down, as Mr. Shin calls on their respective names for attendance. "So, as you all have known, from today on you'll joined by a new classmate that most of you have voted for. Make sure to not cause her any trouble."
Murmurs and answers of 'yes' resonated through the classroom.
"Especially you, Jahad."
"Tch."
Aurene mentally took note to apologize to the golden haired male later.
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During the free period, or break period as Mr. Shin would call it for himself, Aurene found herself being surrounded by familiar faces around her seat.
There's V, Eduan, Yurin, Hana, Han and a cute, petite girl that she hasn't come to see yesterday.
"Ah, you haven't met Blossom, right?" V gestured to the sleepy-looking girl that slumped on Aurene's desk. "This is Eurasia Blossom. You can find her sleeping all the time, but she can be useful in times like this."
"Times like this?" Aurene slightly tilt her head.
"Don't you remember? We still have to search for the culprit that targets you," Eduan, whose legs were crossed on the desk beside Aurene's remarked.
"Eh? But there's no need-"
"Shush," Yurin silenced Aurene by pressing a finger to the female's lips. "This is just what we want to do, okay? It's been a long time since such interesting thing happened, so we can't let this chance pass by!"
"Just make sure you don't resort to violence," Mr. Shin casually commented from the front, fanning himself with a file.
"So, Aurene. You got anyone on your mind?" Yurin asked, her chin rested on her hand. "Like, someone that got a grudge on you or something?"
"Hmm.. I don't particularly interact really much, so there's really no one that comes to mind.." Aurene slightly looked down, not wanting to face the curious stares of her new classmates. "I can't even think of doing anything that would make others hate me, since I tried to keep a low profile all the time."
For Aurene who had never really interacted much with someone her age, she finds it hard to fit in a society that literally fangirls over someone every second of their life. Heck, she was quite sure that a lot of people hate her now that she's part of the esteemed S Class.
"I think I can see why someone would have a grudge against you," Gustang suddenly piped in after a short silence, surprising Aurene and the others. "It's still a hypothesis, though."
"Really?! What is it?" Yurin slammed her hands on the table, which Aurene noticed that the abrupt actions from the female are a normal thing in the S Class since no one flinched at the very sudden thud.
Gustang quietly walked beside Aurene, pulling the female closer towards Hana, who also gave the glasses male a questioning look. "If you put her beside Hana, what resemblance can you make out?"
Yurin stared at the two females with a serious look before answering, "They're both females!"
"We all know that, stupid," Jahad retorted, as Yurin pouted at the remark. Aurene was actually surprised he even bothered to hear the discussion.
"Hmm.. They're both beautiful?" V guessed, a hand on his chin.
Aurene could feel her cheeks reddening at the comment.
"Exactly," Gustang sighed. "For a school that is filled with many wealthy heirs, looks are one of the most important things. As such, for a commoner like Aurene-" Gustang gestured to Aurene "-whose presence is noticed by her beauty, it would be humiliating for some other people."
Once more, Aurene blushed
"If I'm not mistaken, your previous class president was Hwang Vino, was it?" the glasses male interrogated Aurene who swiftly nodded to hide her blush.
"What of it?"
"How was your first time meeting him? Your first day here, I mean."
The brunette wasn't very sure at the sudden question, but she answered it either way. "He was.. pretty nice, I guess? He showed me around the school and told me various things about the school."
'Including you guys.'
Gustang pulled out a random notebook, before scribbling something it. "And that is the first evidence."
"What? Why?" Eduan asked, looking more interested by the seconds.
"Hwang Vino is an heir to a conglomerate, thus his status in this school is quite high I must say," Gustang said, as his hand quickly writing notes about the said male. "And one thing, he is a well-known playboy for having numerous beautiful girlfriends. There's also the fact that he's rude to 'plain-looking' girls."
"What?!" Yurin burst out, clearly taken aback. Hana was also covering her mouth in disgust by Aurene's side.
Aurene shuddered, thinking back of the kind attitude Hwang Vino had shown her before the order to eliminate her.
"So you're saying that this Hwang guy was interested in Aurene because she's pretty and tried to make her one of his many girlfriends?!!"
"Yurin, I didn't elaborate that much, but yeah, I think that is the case."
Aurene held back the urge to gag as the others also joined in to insult the conglomerate heir.
"But, wanting to eliminate Miss Grace just because Hwang Vino noticed her charm is a little..." Han muttered with a confused expression.
"A little too much, yes. But that's the reality of our society," Gustang continued to scribble something at the notebook. "Erasing any threat to success is a norm in our whole life, don't you think?"
No one dared to retort at the statement, as only the flapping noise from Mr. Shin's file could be heard.
"Anyway, this is what I've deducted so far, looking back at what we just discussed."
Possible culprit
-female
-is jealous of Aurene's beauty
-probably had other motives in mind
-noticed about Hwang Vino's interest in Aurene
"Are you really sure it's a female, Gustang?" V looked over the notes.
"Pretty much. That person is probably insecure about Aurene's sudden presence in the school."
"Insecure people only eclipse your sun because they're jealous of your daylight and tired of their dark, starless nights," Blossom suddenly commented from her sleeping form, making others to look at the girl with surprise.
...
Gustang cleared his throat, recovering from the surprise. "Anyway, we will know the culprit soon, so all you have to do-" he turned to Aurene "-is to never be separated from Yurin, Blossom or Hana."
Aurene's eyes widened in surprise. "Why? I can pretty much protect myself, if that's what you're talking about."
"Just do it, will you?" Eduan demanded.
That was the first time Eduan raised his voice at her "...alright."
'It won't do any harm, right?'
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The atmosphere in the S Class was tense after the girls left for lunch at the cafeteria, much to Aurene's protest who was currently being dragged by Yurin.
"Why didn't you just tell her about yesterday?" Jahad voiced out, irritation clear in his voice. "She should know about it after giving us so much trouble."
"No one asked for your help anyway. You're just upset that she beat you," Eduan retorted back, starting to get impatient with Jahad's childish attitude.
"Come on, you two. This is no time to be fighting," Han sighed.
Gustang looked over to his notes, still deep in his own thoughts. "Tperie, what about the thing I asked you earlier?"
"Still working on it," Tperie replied, hands typing on his laptop in a fast pace. "I think they hired a professional hacker here."
"That means that person is a very cautious person, aren't they?" V deducted.
"Or just like to waste money."
V chuckled at the snide comment, glancing outside the window to the cafeteria building. "Either way, if they're desperate enough to hire people to get rid of Aurene like yesterday, I don't think it's a good idea to make this case longer than it should take."
"Once again I remind you, don't resort to violence," Mr. Shin called out from his desk.
"We won't," Eduan answered back, muttering the last part. "Probably."