6 6. First Feud (1)

After 4 classes took place- English, which is taugt by Miss Smiths, Biology, Music and P.E- the class, except Noah, had secretly thought that she was undeserving of the scholarship- she was weak in everything, how could she deserve to be the first receiver of the Imperial's Hibiscus scholarship?

They just thought that she may seem impressive to the other 'peasants'- in front of them, her talents and smarts were nothing. Using the convenience of having an unrestrained network connection and access to social media, the school forum was soon buzzing with comments on a post made by class Hydrogen-11's beauty- Ling Yi- about this.

Ling Yi was, as well as many other girls who had witnessed how friendly Noah was to Luna, naturally jealous. Young Master Noah was known to only extend his much-coveted warmth to those who he truly held dear to his heart. Even she, the person who many speculated would be Young Master's other half had not gained acknowledgement from him.

She was a complete package- her beauty was voted number one in the whole school, her brain was one of the brightest in the class and her family sits at the 8th throne of the richest families in Grozeia.

Since young, she had envisioned herself and Noah together, in a blissful marital life. It was an idea ingrained in her mind since she was young, since the moment her parents knew she had a crush on him. It formed when she, a silly and chubby 4 year old girl, started running around with her friends during her birthday celebration held at the Lings' mansion, and as a result, fell to the ground and scraped her knee.

Her friends at that time was still unaware what had happened to her as she posessed a soft, demure voice and thus, her cries were barely heard. It was then that a handsome young boy, donning an imperial armor as it was a costume party her birthday celebration had been, gently pulled her up from the grounds after treating her wounds.

He, as an heir of a prestigious young family have had various trainings since he was young, including combat training and was experienced with dealing with wounds, much less one that was just a scrape on the knee. It was a clichè episode of the prince helping the damsel in distress, but nonetheless her heart had been his from that moment on.

As they grew up she saw his personality staying the same as that quiet and handsome boy she had held hands with in her childhood and she was certain she had been the only girl who had ever managed to be close with him before. Unfortunately he had alienated everybody else around him except his closest friends; the other 3 young masters and his family. Still, she convinced herself that it was a certainty she will be the only one qualified to stand beside him one day. After all, his parents liked her and many of her friends had swore that they saw Young Master Noah taking on a gentler tone whenever he was talking to her.

The fantasy she had grasped as reality, as belief, today-had been wobbling and crumbling bit by bit when she saw Luna.

Standing beside Noah, being protected by him and he was speaking oh-so-gently to her with that warm look in his eyes it was so obvious to the point she had to pretend to be oblivious about it! And he certainly had adapted a much, much colder tone when talking to her!

Her! The great Ling Yi!

Luna! The newbie, all-average, haughty, arrogant and mute Luna!

It should be obvious who the winner is.

(Luna: ... Sure.)

The post had climbed up the ranks to become the most popular post on the forum as of now.

It was now the morning break period, and many scampered off to the cafeteria for the sake of their grumbling tummies. Luna had just neatly organized her noted in her brand new iPad and was now listening to Cravity's Sunrise. She wanted to close her eyes for a bit, but then Noah just had to interrupt her.

She paused the music, pulled out her earphones before staring at Noah, hawk-eye style. The irritated look in her eyes flashed briefly before it disappeared, gaining back her tranquil-as-a-poem eyes.

Noah nodded before saying, "Umm, me and my friends wanna go to the cafeteria. Aren't you hungry? Want to come with me?" He was well-informed of the fact that she disliked loud noises and therefore had offered for her to have her a light morning tea with only him and his friends who had been entitled to a private room secluded away from other students who weren't deemed qualified enough to eat with the 4 Young Masters of Grozeia.

Within his expections she shook her head no and proceeded to take a thermos cup from the side of her bag. She opened it and instantly a calming scent of chamomile with hints of peppermint, peach and lemon wafted around her. She gave him a pointed look and gracefully took a sip of her brew.

Noah nodded after reminding her he will be back as fast as he could. He was worried other students would want to take advantage of his absence to exert the power their family held over Luna. He was certain she wasn't the type to cry when being bullied but he was nevertheless worried about her.

Both still hadn't had the knowledge of Ling Yi's post as both were totally uncaring about the gossips they knew would be spewed in the forum. It was a waste of time for them.

☆

Noah arrived at the room hidden securely at the end of the luxurious hallway. His eyes scanned his surroundings warily before pushing open the mahogany door quietly and he stepped in the dimly lit room.

Thud.

A ball was hit by the end of a cue stick which was held by a hand so beautiful it would make one unable to tear their eyes off of them. Clear, protruding joints, glassy, neat nails and with a smooth disposition- it was the hand of Young Master Emmanuel Vance of the Vance family, currently sitting on the throne of the 2nd richest family in Grozeia.