16 Appearance of a Big Shot

As much as Courtney and Maxine want to talk back and defend their pride, they can't help but be affected by the blizzard that Winter is bringing forth with her bitterly cold expression.

When the other members of their groups took notice of how they came to a standstill all of the sudden, they also got themselves a timeout and turned in their direction. That's when they find the brunette looking somewhat menacing as she mourns for her fallen ice cream and scares the heck out of their leaders all at the same time.

If looks could kill, they'd be dead meats by then.

"Hmm? Why did they stop?" Xander blurted out, puzzled by how the tension died down earlier than he expected.

"What's happening?" Ace seconded his confusion until he and his companion eventually caught sight of another classmate of theirs.

"Hey, isn't that... that ice queen-"

"It's Winter, you dolt."

"Right, Wintry-"

"I said Winter. Cut that out."

"They sound the same, though!"

Back to where the girls are, the tension is only getting thicker despite their presumption.

All that Winter wants to hear here is what they are planning to do about her ice cream. She was not even halfway done with it, and she did not care if they thought that it was childish of her to be upset about something as small as this. They could mess with her and everything, but they should never dare mess with her sweets.

That ice cream was the last one and the only kind out there. She had to wait for tomorrow to buy another one again.

"G-Geez... I get it, I get it..." Courtney managed to say and roll her eyes despite the shivers that kept running down her spine.

"Maxine will pay for that-"

"Like hell I would! You're the one who bumped into her!" Maxine hollered indignantly.

"That's because you pushed me!"

While they get on with another round of their squabble, the others remain still in their respective spots. Winter is still not letting up with her petrifying display of frustration - and she is only starting to look more frightening as their leaders proceed to blame each other. They don't even know her, but she is already leaving a massive impact on them. With that, they decided to stay silent in fear of getting to her bad side.

That's until they notice how Winter suddenly tenses up a moment later, much to their bewilderment.

'W-W-W-What the heck...?!' she bolted out inside her head at the exact same time her mood took a drastic turn.

It just happened that she caught sight of something from a distance - something that had her taking her turn to stiffen and get thrown into panic. With her eyes bulging wide in surprise, she watches how this all-too-familiar figure pulls up their imposingly grand limousine right in front of their school and steps out of it. It's only a matter of time before everyone else notices this as well.

Marcellus is now about to grace their school grounds with that incongruously godly presence of his, much to her shock and perplexity.

'The heck is that jerk doing in my school...?!' Winter grimaced and paled at the sight of her future husband coming their way.

'This is bad, bad, bad...! I wasn't expecting that he'd actually drop by! Having the amount of attention I'm getting now is already bothersome. He can't just walk around this place and show himself up to my classmates as someone I know! This is a wrong setting and a wrong time.'

Frantic, she then thinks of a plan to make her escape.

---

Earlier that day, Marcellus is sitting behind the desk inside his office, but as usual, his mind seems far from there.

Claude is used to that expression of his by now. It's not the one he uses whenever he is thinking about work - it's the look of someone scheming something. He's probably thinking about his clandestine undertaking. However, as for what it is in particular, he has to remain standing from the side, observe him in silence, and wait for whatever it is before he gets to hear about it.

What Claude did not expect was that he would come up with quite an unusual idea this time.

"Claude, there is this public high school that I want to go to. Can you take over for now and cover for me? Don't let anybody know where I am," Marcellus started, propping his chin over his folded hands and regarding his secretary with a ponderous gaze.

"A public school...?" Claude repeated, blinking in bafflement.

"Perhaps, you're going to meet up with one of the teachers there? Or maybe the principal?"

"No. Not really."

"Then... Don't tell me..."

When he only kept silent about his intention, he also decided to keep what he thought of to himself. He trusts that he knows what he is doing. But then, he still could not help but make a comment about it.

"I thought you're only into older women, President. Did your standards change?" Claude asked confusedly to which Marcellus only smirked mischievously in return.

"Rather than a target, I treat this one as a foreign subject."