A New Turn [2]

The second week at the academy had begun with the only real difference being the fact that the campus was now filled with a lot more people as the older students had now officially started their terms.

Mr. Folm, as well, was his normal self as he began homeroom after taking attendance. The only strange thing was that two other students were standing next to him. One was a pretty tall man with a buzzcut who wore a pretty harsh expression, and the other was a shorter, very curvy woman with her almost golden hair neatly put up in a bun who in contrast wore a very welcoming smile. 

"Good morning. As this is your second week at the academy, I hope that all of you have gotten used to what kind of life you will be living for the next three years to come. Now, the only thing that we have planned for homeroom is to let these two students introduce themselves. Go ahead."

Being just as straightforward as always, our teacher didn't waste any time talking about unnecessary things and instead gave way for the two students to speak, of which the woman was the first to open her mouth. 

"Good morning, everyone! I am Clara Solace, the president of the student council at AH! We are here to talk a bit about what we do at the student council as well as to try and encourage some of you to join us."

Her face was practically beaming as she spoke and she was also bouncing a bit as she spoke, making it so her womanly features also bounced with her, making for a very captivating show, more than enough to charm innocent, testosterone-filled young men. 

"At the student council, we are primarily responsible for acting as the chain between students and the principals, making sure that the students' opinions are not only heard but also respected and reviewed appropriately. This also means..."

And that's where my mind drifted off as I had no interest in the student council. I had more than enough trouble getting by as it was, after all. Therefore, I instead used this time to review the practice for the skill that I was working on, trying to figure out how the mechanics of it should work. 

"...and so, please do think about joining us as it will be a great help for everyone. However, also be aware that if you end up doing something inappropriate at school, we are the first line of correction. Thank you for your time, everyone!"

****

[Cerus' POV]

"Huff... huff..."

During the QCQ training, where our teacher had now upped the intensity a fair bit as we had now begun our second week, my mind was still stuck thinking about the student council, and more specifically, Clara Solace.

'She isn't going to let go of her position until she graduates, is she?'

The student council might sound like a simple student organ but, in reality, it was a very potent political tool and the student president had a lot more influence than just 'being the chain between the students and the principal'. 

No, being the president of the student council meant that you held a position prominent enough to be able to decide the fate of a lot of students unless they were from a major family. So even though she wanted to portray herself as a cheerful young woman who only wanted to do good, Clara was absolutely not in the dark about the power she had.

Having been born in Jonum, the western nation famous for its great forests, with a commoner background, Clara was currently making sure that she would have a great future after she graduated.

How did I know this? Simple. Because I had to know these kinds of things if I wanted to succeed with my own goals. And those goals required me to be able to identify useful people.

A lot of people thought that I was striving to revive my fallen family, to raise the Hale name to the sky yet again, but that was not it.

'Because if I fail, there won't be a family name to speak of. No, if I fail, there won't be anything left...'

****

[Ray's POV]

'My arms feel like jelly...but it's not as bad as last week.'

After yet another intense session of QCQ and a shower, I was surprised to feel that in just a week, my body had grown a lot more resilient, enough to make the training feel not quite as torturous at least. 

"-Hey, did you see the news about the expedition?"

"-Elise! Over here!"

"-Man, the teacher is as strict as always..."

The whole dinner hall was crowded now that the older students had returned and their voices filled the space completely. Yesterday I had to sit with some students that I had never met, but as they seemingly understood that I just hadn't found anywhere else to sit, they had simply just ignored me. 

Today, however, I say that there was a table in the corner of the room which was only occupied by a single student, a student whose snow-white hair shone brightly underneath the ceiling lights. So without further notice, I took a seat in front of her, ignoring the looks she was giving me, and began to eat.

"...you don't look as bad as last week."

"Thanks."

Her clear blue eyes were as mysterious as always, making it very much impossible to deduce what she was thinking, but somehow I had begun to learn that the girl didn't say harsh things on purpose. It was likely just part of her way of speaking. 

So, as we had concluded our, as always, short conversation, we both began to eat in silence, with neither of us feeling forced to speak as it served no purpose.'

"Greetings, Zoe Damaris!"

Yet, despite neither of us talking, a voice still pierced through the silence coming from an, to me, unknown student who together with a couple of other students had made their way to our table. With his flowy, blonde hair and egregiously big smile, I immediately didn't like him, and from the looks of it, neither did Zoe. 

"...yes? Do you need something?"

"Oh no, it's nothing like that. I just wanted a chance to introduce myself to the jewel of the Damaris family, although you have probably already heard of it. I am George Strad from the Strad family, after all!"

"...okay."

Even I felt a bit of pain overseeing the interaction between them as Zoe went back to nibbling on some vegetables after completely stunning the pompous man whose mouth was now wide open. However, after a couple of moments of surprise, George got himself together again showing a surprising amount of tenacity.

"So, Zoe, would it be okay to join you for lunch? Me and my friends here would all be glad to get the chance to..."

"No thanks."

Another mental attack struck George and even the fact that he stayed on his feet was pretty impressive. This time, however, it was clear that Zoe's harsh words were beginning to drain his patience.

"Don't you want the chance to develop a deeper relationship with someone from the Strad family? You do realize that we are one of the wealthiest of all the families in Abas?"

"I had no idea. But I also don't particularly care."

"You...!"

This time he couldn't stop his hands from turning into fists as his eyes burned with anger.

However, just as he was about to open his mouth again, obviously wanting to shout curses from the top of his head, a chilly wind suddenly emerged. The cold aura instantly made the temperature around the table drop several degrees and from the petite lady in front of me came a bone-chilling voice.

"...do you really want to do that?"

A small staring contest arose between George and Zoe but it didn't take long for one of them to crack and needless to say, it wasn't the ice queen. 

"Gh! Shit! Let's go! Both of you, I'll remember this!"

Strangely enough, when George and his entourage left the table, it wasn't Zoe that he had given his last mean look, it was me. At this point, I was getting pretty used to people sending sharp looks at me, but I was still a bit confused as to why I was getting dragged into this. 

Ultimately though, neither of us truly cared. Therefore, we both went back to finishing our meals without giving it much thought. 

****

[3rd person POV]

Standing in between two of the buildings on campus, sheltering him from being seen, George wasn't particularly happy about getting embarrassed by Zoe in the dinner hall.

*BAM!*

"Damn it! Who does that bitch think she is?! I am the fucking heir to the Strad family, one of the wealthiest family that exists in the whole world! And that guy who looked at me as if I was trash as well!"

*BAM!*

Once again he kicked the wall to release his frustrations. 

"But I'll show them! I'll show them both what happens when you mess with me!"

The unfortunate part was that he knew that even if he wanted to, he couldn't do anything to Zoe. However, there was someone else at the table whose life he could make absolutely miserable, and as it was Zoe's friend, she would undoubtedly be affected as well. 

"Let's start by finding out who that guy is!"