Chapter 4 Part II

The courier chuckled, "Don't take me seriously, I'm just being facetious." 

The parcel wasn't heavy so I instantly knew that he was joking.

The joke came out lame, hence I stared at him without forming any expression.

"You just look so mundane, so I wanted to see you panic a little." he said. "But I guess I distressed you… Sorry for bothering, Ima bounce, see ya. Have a great day, sir!" he sprinted across the corridors to the elevator and vanished.

I've never seen a delivery man talk informally and accommodating at the same time. He's not quite annoying, but couriers tend to place parcels in the front door and leave it there. 

There's no reason for him to knock on the door and hand it in person, unless the thing inside this package is something very important. 

I locked the door and went back to the reception room. 

The Netflix series I was watching earlier is still playing on the TV. 

I flumped in the couch and placed the white box atop the glass-table in front of me. 

I was currently alone in the room and Jillian wouldn't be returning until tonight. Basically, I have the power to look at what's inside the parcel.

But there's one problem—the parcel was sealed with tape. It was quite thick and difficult to tear, forcing it open would destroy the seal and Jillian may recognize that I peeked inside when she noticed a damage on the box.

I was gazing at the parcel, imagining what could be inside it. 

Observing the structure of the box, an iPad is a possibility since the length and width of it matches to some extent. 

~Or it may be a brand new laptop? Or perhaps a cake? Or even possibly a dildo. 

All of my presumptions are incorrect. The parcel is as light as a paper, so guessing what's inside is nearly impossible. 

However, if I think outside the box; what could be a thing that is as light as paper?

There's nothing coming to my mind, I don't have even a least of an idea. 

My phone began perpetually vibrating in my pocket. 

Perplexed, I took my phone out and it was an incoming call from an unrecognized number. 

My phone was on vibration mode so it constantly vibrates instead of ringing when receiving a phone call.

~Should I answer? In any case, this could be a prank call—but what if it's urgent? 

After gazing at the green and red buttons in my phone, I decided to click the green one. 

I put it in speaker and waited for the caller to speak first. 

"Hello, Leo? It's Aaron." 

So it was him. But I didn't give him my number. 

"How did you get my number? I can't recall I gave it to you." I asked. 

"That's not important. Anyways, did you receive the letter?" 

"Which letter?" 

"The letter I slipped inside your locker." 

"Huh? I see no letter." I lied. "I waited for you in the comfort room after Friday's class just like we planned, but it seems like you ditched me." 

"You waited in the comfort room after the class on Friday? But I thought you were with Ge-" he paused, then tittered. "Never mind… Back to the reason why I called, we have to discuss about the Independent Human Project. We made a covenant that we'll work together when I burn down the storage building." 

"Yea, I'm a man of my word. So what do you want me to do?" 

"Nothing yet, but I just want to inform you that the person behind the Independent Human Project could be someone in the academy." 

"The only person that has a power in the academy was the Principal, are you inferring that he's the orchestrator?"

"Perhaps. But that's just a theory, let's not surmise that he's the person we're after." 

~He said in the letter that he already figured out who's the orchestrator, but now he's saying that it's only a theory. He's being capricious. 

"That's all. I'll reach out to you sooner. Remember to delete your call history when the call ends. We can't afford to get caught." he said and instantly dropped the call

I was still contemplating at the parcel when the call ended. I'm just too curious on what's inside this box.

I'm pondering things too much. Anything that is unrelated to me is beyond my scope of concern.

And so, I put the parcel in front of Jillian's bedroom door, just as the registrar said. 

I resumed watching the netflix series until night came.

The snowfall has stopped at this point. An engaging detail I noticed was that the night sky looked much brighter after the snow. 

Various constellations of stars are shining through the balcony. The full moon is mesmerising, in contrast to the glittering stars. The moon greedily stole all the attention from the countless stars in her vicinity and made them look like dead fossils.

I'm not a selenophile, but I've developed a fondness for the moon—I'm prepared to unalive myself if it helps to close the distance. Unfortunately, the boundaries are embedded in concrete, and the endless space separates me from the unreachable fantasy I desire.

Later that night, Jillian returned. She snuck into her room and avoided running into me. 

Tomorrow is the vacation everyone was thrilled about. It got hyped as it was announced that we're going to stay there for over a month. 

At any rate, my camping backpack Sir Santiago gave was already prepared; I brought some vital survival equipments such as, lighter, rope, compass, water filtering device, binocular, bear spray, insect repellent lotion, canned foods, spare clothes, gloves, gas mask, knife, night vision goggles, smoke grenade, and etc… 

Some may say I'm overly cautious, but who knows~ 

It's just a vacation. Nothing catastrophic will occur… Hopefully.

~~~~~

Monday 6:30am.

I left the dorms and headed to the cemented courtyard where numerous red school buses are lined up. 

Everyone was wearing a coat, jacket, or hoodie as the cold snow lingered. 

A guard who was supervising the students ordered me to come inside one of the buses, and I reluctantly followed. 

I sat on an empty seat and the bus slowly filled with students. 

And so, all buses were dispatched and soon arrived at the private airport owned by the academy. 

We disembarked from the bus and went inside the terminal. Few students formed in a straight line towards the counter. There's only one counter and they can't handle 153 students all at once, so only a few went first while the others sat down on the airport lounge or gaze at the runway through the window glass.

On the runway were nine ginormous private planes arrayed in a line with numbers displayed next to the plane's doors. 

I was gazing out the window when a familiar voice called out my name. 

"Leo, hey!" Marco shouted. 

I roamed my eyes around to find where the voice came from and saw Marco, Clyde, and Liam coming out from the crowd. 

They walked over to me and struck up a conversation. 

"I've heard that the island we're going to stay on has a nice beach—I'm excited to witness fresh fap materials." Marco said in a salacious tone. 

"But that's impossible, Marco. It's freezing cold." Clyde said. 

"Here you go again…" Marco sighed. "You know what, Clyde, I'm tired of your negativity—it's a tropical island so of course there's no snow there you dumbass pussy."

Marco then noticed Liam sobbing in exhilaration. 

"Yo, Liam, get a grip! You're getting delirious again." Marco said. 

"All I care about is to see Gena in her swimsuit. ~ehehehe." 

In an impulse, Marco leaned closer to my face while rubbing his chin. "You've been awfully quiet, Leo. Did you get dumped by your crush?" 

He was too close so I shuffled back. 

"No, I'm just thinking over something." I said. 

"Ooooh… I see." Marco smirked. "You're also thinking of girls in bikinis, right?" he playfully elbowed my side.

"No, not that." I said. 

"Then what're you thinking?" Marco asked. 

Before I could answer, a voice in a microphone stated that the line was empty. 

"It seems like it's our turn. Let's hurry guys." Marco said. 

We then hurried into the line. The line slowly flowed and we eventually made it to the counter. The counter clerk inquired about my ID and gave me my plane number afterwards. 

Our backpacks were carried by the staffs to our designated plane. 

After a while of waiting, we walked together through the gate and went different ways as we're assigned in different planes. 

Marco and Clyde were on plane 2, Liam was on plane 8, and I got plane 9.

At the end of the gate, a male steward guided me inside the plane.

He was walking in front of me as I followed him in the airstair. 

We entered through the cabin to the lounge. This is a first class plane, each plane fits 17 students at most and every seat was privately secured. Each seat was sealed in a tidy compartment which seemed to look like a room. 

This is a luxurious plane, after all.

The steward slid open the sliding door, revealing a reclining seat, pullable table, broad porthole, and a smart TV attached on the wall. 

The steward outstretched his hand, gesturing for me to come in. 

I went inside the room and ethically sat down on my seat. The seat has enough room to fit two people, it was like having a mini bed that can turn into a chair. 

"My name is Charles, I'll be your personal butler on this flight. You can adjust the position of your seat to your liking by pressing the buttons on the remote attached to it. If you wish anything, you can call me anytime using that airfone next to the table." Charles handed me the plane's layout, "Here's a map that can guide you around the plane. Please let me excuse myself, sir."

Charles went on his way and gently slid the door close. 

He seemed to be too formal, I've never been in a first class plane before, but I can tell that this room is comfortable. I have wide legroom and a perfect view through the window, but the thing that gives me shivers is that I have privacy in this room—no one would see me, hear me, nor bother me. 

I stretched my legs. Then, I clicked the sloping button from the remote of my seat and it tilted into a slanting position, giving me the comfort to rest in a lying posture. 

I unfold the map that my personal butler gave me and observe the plane's layout.

Based on what I saw, the rooms are positioned in the front section of the plane. On the back sections was the on-board bar with bartender service and spacious lavatory where it's possible to take a bath.

As I looked more carefully at the layout, I noticed an empty cabin in the middle section of the plane. It indicates on the map that the area has an oval long table with 17 chairs. 

It's unoccupied at the moment so I can't perceive any use of it—I wonder, what's the purpose of those seats?

After several minutes, my personal butler returned. He's carrying a plate with plate cover and a champagne on his other hand. 

The pullable table automatically slid out of its hidden compartment. And then, Charles laid out the foods. 

He then uncovered the plate.

In the plate was a can of caviar and buttered crackers. It also has some well-presented garnish on its side. 

With all the food presented in front of me, the steward continued by placing a champagne glass on the table then poured it with blood red wine. 

He then took the seat remote and clicked a button, turning my sloped seat into an upright position. 

He gently laid a napkin on my lap before saying, "Enjoy the food, sir."

I grabbed one of the buttered crackers and put a scoop of caviar on it. 

Charles was watching me as I was about to take my first bite. He's serving me like an expert so I must at least act that I know some ethics about fine dining. 

I added some garnish on top of the crackers on my hand and swallowed it in a single bite. 

I looked at Charles and he smiled at me. 

"All of these are complementary foods. If you have any questions, sir, feel free to ask." Charles said. 

He then turned the TV on and handed me the TV-remote. 

"There's plenty of movies you could watch. I'll leave you for now, sir." 

"Pardon, would you mind if I ask something?" I said before Charles could close the door. 

"I would be grateful to answer it." 

Being straight to the point, "How long will it take to reach our destination?" I asked. 

"We will arrive at the island at precisely half past 2, it will take 7 hours of flight before we reach the land." 

If we're arriving at 2:30pm, then it will mean that the island we are going to isn't too far. 

Charles was meticulous about answering in detail—I need to seize this opportunity and learn more information. 

"And… How many passengers are on board?" 

"Exact 17, sir. Including you." 

"Can you tell me more details about the other passengers?" 

"Sure. Two students from class-D are on board—seven from class-C, four from class-B, three from class-A, and lastly, one from class-F; that's you sir. That's all the information I could give at the moment." he paused. "I forgot to mention, all of the other passengers are females," he added. 

~Is this every man's dream? a harem?

"I understand, thanks." 

"My pleasure, sir." Charles replied. 

He went on his way, leaving me alone in my room.

Although the caviar on the table is an extravagant snack, I refused to took another bite as it has a strong aftertaste.

It's not the caviar, it's me. I just don't have an expensive tongue, and have never tasted this fishy eggs before.

~And I'm sure I'll never eat this again.

Since I'm alone, I decided to browse through the available movies and stumbled across a Japanese movie called "Friends Game". Curious about the show, I selected it and pressed play. 

I watched the show for over an hour. It has a compelling story and good pacing which kept me interested in watching. 

In the middle of the show where things are getting heated up, the TV forced shut down. 

The screen turned completely black. 

~Did I break it?

I haven't done anything to damage it, so it can't be broken. 

Suddenly, the screen lit up, projecting a text with a white background. 

"Special Test: Find the Rat" the text stated. 

Bewildered, I mused to myself, "A test?"

I kept my eyes glued on the screen to not miss a detail.

Then, the TV continued explaining the rules and objectives of the test. 

The TV began projecting images alongside the text to help the students understand the test easier. 

"All students on this flight are Clubs students—except for one. One among you is a Heart student in disguise." 

So all of us are first-years except for an anonymous one who is a third-year. 

It continued explaining the rules. "Everyone is a pawn and a single person will be the King."

In short, there will be 16 pawns and one King, but the imposter is posing as either a pawn or the King . 

"The main objective is to eject the escaped rat. The King has the power to kick out the impostor who's imitating to be a pawn, but just like how democracy functions, pawns can vote for whom to eject. If pawns all pawns vote to eject the King, then the King will fall in despair and be executed because the people he onced sincerely served revolted against him."

"However, this will only work when all pawns betrayed the King—If at least one of the pawns sided with the King, then the person the King choses to eject will be executed."

~Does being executed means execution to death? 

"If the rat was ejected, all Clubs students will complete the test with a perfect grade. Likewise, if the King failed to distinguish the Rat between the pawns and kicked out the wrong pawn, Then the pawn who was executed will be banished from the academy. The same punishment applies to the King when he was abandoned by his pawns he once cherished."

"A meeting will take place every 2 hours at 'cabin 42'. You can find it in the middle area of the plane. Everyone can discuss in or out the meeting area." 

~If students can communicate outside the meeting area, then what's the purpose of having a meeting place at all?

"You have until 2pm to decide who to vote—at exactly 2pm the final meeting will commence and one or more of you will be ejected."

"One more scenario may occur; if all pawns voted to eject the King and the King also voted to eject himself, then all pawns who voted for the King will be ejected except for the King himself. But, if someone sided on the King and the King voted to eject himself, then the King would be eradicated alone. However, if the King was the rat, then all pawns who vote either side will be ejected."

The test is getting more complex as more rules are set. Being a pawn is the best role to play due to an easy blending with the crowd. But being a King is the riskiest role since all the attention will be pointed at him. 

"Now, for your identities!" "All of you are pawns and the king will be…" 

A photo of every student appeared on the TV-screen in roulette. Then, the roulette rolled over our pictures at a fast pace and gradually slowed down until it stopped at one of the pictures. 

The picture that the roulette stopped was displayed on the screen with a name below the picture. 

"The King will be Jillian Ramos." the text stated with a picture of Jillian on the screen.