Chapter 4

   During the holiday, the first years of Politiea Academy assembled at the school's large hall. It was about two weeks before the beginning of the second term. With a piece of paper in hand, the students council president walked to the podium.

        "Good day esteemed students. I am here to bring to your attention the upcoming special exam. It will test your knowledge and skills which will be essential for your growth and development as future leaders in the field of governance. It will challenge you to think critically, analyze complex issues, and demonstrate your proficiency in various subject areas.

     I wish you all the best. Thank you and good luck to all of you."

    Before dawn the following day, the first years were taken to a harbour, where a large cruise ship awaited them. A sense of excitement buzzed through the first years as the ship left the harbour.

       "This is such a great view." Eloise said.

    "It's good, I guess."

        "We shouldn't get too comfortable. This is just a cover up for what the school actually has in store for us."

     "Obviously. Let's go to our room."

     "You know Rae, you've become a lot nicer to me compared to when we first met. You seemed like you didn't trust anyone but now," she turned to her. "I think you've taken a liking to me." she said, patting her head.

        "Maybe but could you stop patting my head? It's demeaning."

       "But you're so cute."

    "How on earth did you become class rep?" Rae muttered.

       "My personality did most of the work."she smiled.

     "I advise you stop walking backwards."

         "Or wha-" she bumped into someone and fell on him.

    "I warned you."

         Eloise got up and apologized.

    "It's okay, Harrison."the person said.

       "Travis, I thought you said you'd stop calling me Harrison."

     "Well like anything in life, it didn't work out. Anyway, when are we playing again?"

        "I'll think of a date."

    "Okay, I'm looking forward to our date."

        "It's not a date!"

  "Forget him, let's go."

    (In their room)

    "We need to strategize how we'll survive on the island." Eloise said.

     "How do you know it's an island?"

         "Where else do you think they could take us?"

      "True. It's most likely we'll be separated since we've been spending too much time with each other."

      "So I came up with this plan." She told Rae about it.

     "That's fine by me."

      The following morning, the ship arrived at its destination an hour after daybreak. The students got off the ship and lined  themselves up before a stage with a large screen on a deserted island. The vice students council president, a brunette with stunning green eyes climbed up the stage with a microphone in hand.

    "Good morning all and welcome to the special exams. Here, you have one goal: find the V-tag in five days. Don't worry, this isn't an individual kind-of-thing. You will be grouped into ten teams with eight members in each. Each team will choose a captain but the catch is, the losing team's captain will be expelled while the members' allowances will be reduced."

     The students murmured softly until a student asked, "What about the winning team?"

      "Everyone in the team will be given 50 000 vines each. There are also some factors that would determine a team winning. They are teamwork, composure and leadership. Now each group members will be shown on the huge screen behind me."The students began to search for their teams.

     Rae was right, Eloise thought. The school would separate us. Eloise was in Team C while Rae was in Team E. "Now that's done, each team should produce a captain. Be careful with your choice."

      "You must be Eloise."a boy from her group said. "Let's meet the others."

     "Oh okay. What's your name?"

   "Michael. It's so nice to meet the girl who put Andrea in her place."

      "Wait, how did you know about that?"

    "Everyone in our class knows about it. You should have seen the look on her face the following Monday."

       "She hates me?"

  "Yes."             "Then we aren't going to last in this team."

       They arrived at the place where other members were. "Hey guys!" Eloise said. Andrea rolled her eyes.

      "Before we pick a captain, let's get to know each other. I'm Jonas from Class C."

     "Yanda  Foxx, Class A." After everyone had introduced themselves, Eloise concluded that the school has put two members of each class in each group.

     "So who's gonna volunteer to be captain?" Yanda asked. No one spoke up. "I will." Eloise declared.

    "Anyone but you Eloise." Andrea said.

       "Why not?" Michael asked. "You're not willing so why can't she be the leader?"

    "She's only a gambler, not a leader."

  "Not this again."he sighed.

          "Don't bring the problems in your class here, black hair." Jean, a overly confident(almost arrogant) Class A student said.

       "Guys, stop fighting. We'll be on an island for five days so we have to put our differences aside." Yanda said

      "Yanda should be captain." Andrea said. "Does anyone oppose?" No one objected.

     "Then it's settled."

    Later, the team captains were called up to the stage and were given a sheet of paper. They were also given necessities before the vice president went back on the ship.

       "So how did Eloise do?" Travis asked.

    "She's not captain."

        "That's sad. She's the whole reason I'm here."

      "Do you like her or something?"the vice asked.

        "I'm fond of her."

    "You do the craziest things for the dumbest reasons."she sighed, walking away.

      "Bye!"he waved.

     Wandering through the forest, Eloise was in deep thoughts. ' A Class A students think low of Class D, Andrea has problems with me and as for Yanda, she probably doesn't want to be the leader, this won't be good ', Eloise sighed.

         Alex, her classmate put his hand on her shoulder. "Are you alright?"he asked.

     "I'm fine."        "Don't worry, we'll be okay."

    Eloise nodded before he went ahead of her.

    Even though it's not in my power, I need to help everyone.

     "Alright guys, we should set camp soon. It gets pretty dark in the forest." Yanda said.

     "We can't do it here." Alex disagreed. "Let's look for a safe place. Who knows what lurks in the shadows."

     "Okay."

          After setting camp, some students who were able went fishing in order to conserve their limited resources. While that was happening, Eloise went to talk to Yanda who was not too far from camp.

     "Hey. What are you doing?"Eloise asked.

  "Nothing. Can we switch post? I don't think I'm cut out for this."

     Just like I thought, Eloise said to herself. She sat next to her and asked her why.

     "Because I'm can't lead anyone, especially with the pressure of expulsion. Plus, the paper I was given doesn't mean anything. It looks like a map to a place but we're in a forest on a deserted island. Just how do they expect us to do this?"

     "Can I see it?" Eloise asked and Yanda gave it to her, along with a flashlight. The former turned it on and studied the paper carefully.

       "I see what you are talking about." She folded it and kept it in her pocket. "I'll look over it later. My mind isn't clear."

     "Thanks by the way."

     By the time she went back, there was a fallout between Jean and Michael. "The hell do you think you are?!"

      "Class D students don't have rights in this school. You barely passed the entrance exams, thereby puting you all at the bottom of the academic tier."

    'That's not entirely true. A class can become one lower or higher than its original status, like Class B becoming C or A.' Eloise said to herself.

      "And who made you god over class ranking?" Michael asked, obviously infuriated.

     "I don't need to be a god to tell you your place in this school."

     "Shut up already!" Andrea interfered.

  "You're no better than him, black hair. You lose one match and you hold a stupid grudge against someone else--"   She immediately  slapped him.

      "You arrogant son of a bitch! You don't have a single iota of who I am. You don't even deserve to be in this school."

      "That's enough, Andrea!" Eloise shouted. "Didn't you hear what the vice said? If we come last, not only would we pay a fine, Yanda will be expelled. Would you want that?"

      "I'm going to sleep." Andrea said and everyone went their separate ways.

***

      The following morning, Eloise had a second look at the paper. While studying it, Alex sat next to her.

     "What are you looking at?"he asked.

   "That paper that was given to team captains. It looks like a map of somewhere familiar but I can't just remember."

     "Eloise," he began, holding a side of the paper. "your mind is troubled, isn't it? You're thinking about how this group will turn out to be and you don't want to lose anyone so you are trying to find how to resolve this conflict. That's why you can't remember."

    "Yeah, you're right. I still care about the team but we have less than four days to find the V-tag."

       "Don't push yourself. You'll figure it out once you relax, after all we're not back in school."

     "School..." she muttered. "That's it! I need to tell Yanda." She sprinted to meet the latter, who was meditating.

      "I figured it out!"she said excitedly.

    "You did? What is it?"

         "Map of the school."

    "Oh that. I thought so too but the actual problem is where it is hidden."

      "I might have an idea of where but let's go to the shore."

     "Shouldn't we call the whole team?"

"I don't think so. Maybe two guys, also tell the others about it."

      "Okay, I'll get Michael and Jonas."

     "Alright so we've decoded the paper and it's a guide to finding the tag but we don't know where exactly it is. Luckily I have an idea. The island is roughly the size of the school so we'll check the area that could be the administration block, since important records are kept there."

     "That's better than aimlessly looking for it but maybe we should check the labs, it could be there."

      "We'll do that later. Let's go."