High school students set up for Halloween Party where trick or treats happen..

The story takes place at Advanced Nurturing High School, a leading prestigious school with state-of-the-art facilities where nearly 100% of students go on to university or find employment.The students there have the freedom to wear any hairstyle and bring any personal effects they desire. The said high school is a paradise-like school, but the truth is thst only the most superior of students recieve favourable treatment.

The protagonist Kiyotaka Ayanakoji is a student of D-Class, which is where the school dumps its "inferior" students in order to ridicule them. For a certain reason Kiyotaka was "careless"(wrote exam badly on purpose) on his entrance examination, and was put in D-Class. After meeting Suzune Horikita and Kikyo Kushida, two other students in his class, Kiyotaka's situation begins to change.

Haoran and Emma did not talk about Allan Wu at all. They discussed each other's tests and the chances of the five boys moving to class A.
"If you are so impatient, tomorrow I will hack into the school system and find out your test scores," Emma said with a smile. "I want to try my hacking skills."
"Are you serious?" Haoran asked.
"I will not change anything, don't worry. I will only find out what your grades are like. Surely, the results have come out by tomorrow. There are only a few students who take summer classes like you," Emma said. "Besides, I have checked, our school doesn't have sophisticated cybersecurity measures. I don't yet dare to hack another organization."
"I'd love to know the results..." Haoran finally said. "I am worried about whether I would be in the same class as you or not."
"All right. I'll tell you the results tomorrow," Emma said.
They had fun on the ship while waiting for Eric to arrive. The teenagers enjoyed snacks and drinks while chatting. At 5 pm, after Eric came with more food, they then decided to go sailing.
This time their trip felt more fun because Dinh brought his guitar from home. He played his guitar while the boys loudly sang whatever song came to mind. Emma was so happy to see their antics and smiled a lot at that moment.
When the night became late, they finally rested and stopped singing and chattering. Emma occupied the cabin alone, while the boys slept on the deck.
***
The kids spent all day Saturday by swimming, eating, and drinking to their hearts' content. Before sunset, they finally returned to the land and went back to their respective homes. Haoran did not tell his friends at all that Emma would hack into their school system to find out their test scores. He wanted to surprise them.
After dinner, he got so impatient that he immediately called Emma to find out the results. "Have you done it? Did I make it?"
Emma, who had just plopped herself on her bed and opened her laptop, rolled her eyes when she heard his impatient tone.
"Iissh... I'm just about to get in. Don't disturb me so I can focus ..." she scolded him.
"I keep thinking about it..." Haoran confessed. "I can't wait to know whether we'll be in the same class or not."
"Let me get in first. Later, when I get the results, I'll call you," Emma said, hanging up.
She hurriedly opened several programs on her laptop and worked to get into St. Catherine high school system. Very carefully, she erased her tracks and entered quietly into the school system.
After researching a few files, she finally found a list of test scores ​​she was looking for.
Ahh ... Emma looked at her laptop screen and widened her eyes in surprise.
"Haoran, I've found your total grades and final rank in school ..." Emma picked up her cellphone and called Haoran. "You won't like this."
"Ehh .. what happened? I don't make it??" Haoran's voice instantly turned panicked. He really didn't believe that he failed to improve his grades to enter class A.
Last semester's final exam, his test scores placed him on rank 25th out of 180 students ... and he had also improved his grades from the previous semester by taking summer classes and another exam... He truly believed in his abilities.
Haoran was actually very smart, so if he tried hard, he was sure he would succeed in achieving whatever he wanted ... So this failure was beyond his expectations.
"Do I need to ask my father to force the school to transfer me to class A? Ahh ... that would be embarrassing ..." Haoran was in conflict with himself.
Suddenly a small laugh came from the other end of the phone. The young man immediately glared.
"You are laughing! Are you deceiving me?" Haoran said. "Stardust ... please be honest with me. Do I get to transfer to class A or not? Do you want to make me die of curiosity?"
Emma no longer tried to hold back her laughter. She then burst into full laughter.
"Hahaha ... this is my payback because you almost gave me a heart attack by pretending to get a low test score before the summer holiday," Emma said in a happy voice. "Yes, I was just pulling your leg. You managed to get very good grades, and in the final student ranking, you came out at number 29. You can move to class A."
"Ohh ... thank God." Haoran immediately breathed a sigh of relief. "Then what about the boys?"
"Only David can enter class A. Alex and the others only made it into the top 50 and 70. They will likely move to class B or C," Emma said. "How will we tell them about this?"
"Hmm .. at least they have tried their best. There is no shame in trying and not making it than never try at all. I think we just started late in improving our grades." Haoran tapped his finger and thought. The truth was, he didn't expect all his friends to transfer to class A. "I don't think they will be okay. Later, they can try to improve their grades to enter a good university."
"All right. I hope they won't be sad."
"No. Anywhere is better than Class F," Haoran said.
"By the way ... congratulations, Haoran. You did it," Emma finally said. "You are indeed smart."
"Ahahaha .. thank you."
***
Early September, there was a commotion at St. Catherine High School. When the student list was announced, and two troublemakers from class F were successfully transferred to class A, suddenly there was an uproar.
"Jeez ... how could this happen ... I've been in class A for two years in a row ... And now I have to move to class B? Whyyy???" Mary burst into tears as she looked at the student list on the bulletin board. Nadya, who stood next to her, looked confused and sad. She did not know how to console her best friend.
"Is it possible for Class F students to really move to Class A?"
"Did something happen at school? Could it be that their parents bribed the teachers? I know there were six students from class F who took summer classes to improve their grades."
"But how can they immediately move to class A? If they are transferred to class D or C, it is still understandable."
"Ahh ... there must be something fishy going on here."
Whispers were quickly heard among the students who were checking the bulletin board. There were two class A students who were out of the top 30 and forced to move to class B, namely Mary and Leonard. And two class F students who were famous as troublemakers suddenly entered rank 29 and 30 respectively, and now they moved to class A.
"This is so strange... how could this happen?" Sandra asked Bianca, who had just entered the classroom.
"What happened?" asked the beautiful girl.
"Two class F students got transferred into our class. Haoran and David. This had caused an uproar among all the other students," Sandra said.
Bianca frowned and looked at her friend in surprise. "Is that so? Well ... we'll see if they can survive in the class full of smart kids like us, or not."
"Well ... I don't think they will survive," Sandra agreed. She narrowed her eyes and pointed at the beautiful hairpin on Bianca's head. "The hairpin is cute. Where did you buy it?"
Instantly Bianca's face beamed. She smiled broadly and touched her hairpin. "Hmmm ... this is a gift from Allan. Nice, right? He has good taste."
"Wow ... how lucky!! So ... does this mean that you guys are now.. uhm... an item?" Sandra looked at Bianca attentively. "How is it? Are you officially dating now?"
Bianca just chuckled while covering her lips with the back of her hand, not willing to answer.

"A man should have a bucket list, don't you think? It'd be nice to see 24 sunsets with you one day." - Haoran Lee

"Do you want to see how I would light up the sky for you?" - Crown Prince Therius

"I will be there till the stars don't shine." - Xion The Time Master

>>>>>
On her 17th birthday, Emma Stardust suddenly woke up on top of the Eiffel tower, completely oblivious of how she got there.

And then she realized that she could fly. Suddenly all her senses became enhanced and she could also control the earth's elements? 

She finally realized that her powers were the secret to her past and her missing parents, a royal princess, and a formidable general from a planet called Akkadia who escaped their home planet because they loved each other. 

Emma was resolute in finding them even if it means she had to go to the end of the universe. Will she meet her parents again? Will she find Akkadia? Will her powers bring her friends... or foes? 

Follow Emma's journey as she unravels the mystery surrounding her past and her future, and finds true love in the process.

If you like strong FL, space, astronomy, magic, science, and slice-of-life.. You will be spoiled by this book! 

Warning: Chapters with mature contents will be marked with R-18

Videos for my novels:
You can check "Finding Stardust" here:
https://www.tiktok.com/@missrealitybites/video/6830409183678958849?

This one is for "The Alchemists":
https://www.tiktok.com/@missrealitybites/video/6830041014657355009?

>>>>>
Winner of the WPC #102 "Secretly Overpowered Daily Life"

My other novels:
* The Alchemists
* The Prince & The Lost Heiress
* Ludwina & Andrea: Till Death Do Us Part
* The Donor (And Other Stories)

Talk to me on Discord: #Missrealitybites#3499 
Instagram @Missrealitybites

It was a hot summer when the college entrance examination results were released.
The examination results of 2014 weren’t very different from previous years. Chang Liu checked his grade online the moment it was released—519. A grade like that would only get him into an average college. In a small town in northern China, such a standing was neither good nor bad. It wasn’t worthy to show off, but it wouldn’t be made fun of either. It was ordinary, just like he was.
Seeing the result, Chang wasn’t pleased nor saddened. He quietly clicked the cross on the upper right corner of the web browser, and then subsequently threw himself onto his bed.
Ring ring ring ...
The phone rang. Chang didn’t set any fancy ringtones like his peers would usually do; he was just a person as boring as his ringtone.
He saw that the call was from his mother as he answered.
"Hey son, I heard that the results come out today. I just saw Wang’s son from the convenience store. He got a score of...."
"519." Chang didn't wait for his mother to finish the sentence. He emotionlessly reported his score, interrupting his mother's lecturing. Then, he casually said a few words, and then hung up. Without a second thought, he turned off his phone.
July and August were the hottest months of the year, and even though the room cooled down by the air conditioning, the heat seemed impossible to drive away. Tossing and turning on his bed, Chang couldn’t fall asleep, so he got up and turned on his computer to watch a movie….
It seemed like nothing could excite him; even the movie that he used to enjoy was now a tedious task for him to watch. "My life is monotonous and passionless," he thought. He muted the computer and stared at the stained ceiling. For a moment, he couldn’t tell whether he was tired or just bored, and slowly, he fell asleep.
The sky was slightly dark when Chang was awakened by someone’s footstep. During the summer, there were more hours of daylight, so the slight darkness in the sky meant it was just past 7 o’clock.
His parent came home from work. This meant that a family meeting was about to begin.
On the table.
"It won’t be a problem for you to go to an average college with this grade, but what you can do in the future after graduating from there?" Apparently, Hua Wu–Chang’s mother–was very attentive toward her son’s education and knew the cutoff line for the renowned universities before anyone else in the family.
"Your dad and I…we respect your decision. Tell us what you are thinking. Do you want to just go to an average college and be an ordinary person for the rest of your life, or do you want to repeat a year in high school to improve your grade so that you can go to a prestigious university?"
"Any college is fine." Chang took a bite of broccoli, and then put down his chopsticks.
"Think about it carefully." Hui Liu, Chang’s father, waved his hand, and with that the meeting ended in silence.
Three days later.
"You know, our family has always been democratic. We never thought of interfering with your decisions and we respect your choice. But knowing the pressure and competition in finding employment, if you’re a graduate from an average college, I know you can imagine the difficulty of finding a job. Your dad and I aren’t resourceful either…."
Hua kept mumbling, "Tell me, which one you would rather do, repeat a year or go to any college that accepts you?"
"I told you, any college is…"
His mother interrupted him, "Think about it again."
...
Two days later.
"The fact is, you have nothing to be afraid of when you’re young; few people are successful in their first attempt. You know that kid from our neighborhood? He’s 5 years older than you and didn’t get a good grade on his first try, so he repeated a year and ended up in a famous university. Now that he has graduated, jobs are hunting for him. What I mean is that the reality of this society is cruel, and having a diploma from a famous college will gain you access to everything. Think about it again, whether you want to repeat a year or go to a random college to…"
"I’ll go to any college."
"Think about it again," his mother sighed.
...
The day after.
"Son, you may think that I’m being annoying, but sometimes a decision you make will determine your life. Whether it’s heaven or hell is a very thin line…"
"Mom, I want to repeat a year of high school!" Chang clenched his teeth, ending his mother's rant.
"Well, well, well, this is what you said; we didn’t force you!" As if she didn’t understand her son’s current mood, Hua finally cracked a smile.
"You know, our family has always been democratic. Since you chose you own path, you need to study hard this year. In order to support your choice, we have contacted a boarding school for you. There are fewer students in each grade, so it’ll be less chaotic. We figure that the time you wasted on commuting to school could’ve been used to study. Since you chose to pursue this path, every second is important. Some students who’ve repeated high school already have a head start..."
...
The next day, Chang packed his luggage, grabbed some utensils and a few sets of clothes and arrived in Xing Zhi, a small boarding school. As all the students there had repeated high school, their motivation to study was erased by the summer heat. After just 3 days, old habits were restored.
Three days were enough for the boarding students to get to know each other. After night class, Chang took a shower and laid on his bunk bed, chatting with his roommates.
"Hey, did you guys choose to repeat a year?" Chang said as he looked at the other three.
One man wore glasses and seemed like he never cared about his hygiene. His hair was always greasy. Most of the time, he held a thick book. Judging from his appearance, it looked like he was a hard working student, but apparently he went in the wrong direction – the book he read wasn’t a textbook. So obviously, he didn’t choose to come here.
"I'm not sure, I didn’t even pass the examination. I wanted to go to an engineering school or something, but my dad disagreed." The man wearing glasses responded; his gaze never left his book.
"Hey kid, what do you read every day then?" A voice came from the upper bed. Pang Zi was a chubby man and also a fan of web fiction, but he didn’t like whatever that man was reading.
"Apocalyptic fiction."
"Come on, let me take a look," Pang Zi took the book away swiftly. Within a few glances he said, "Zombies again? Why does all apocalyptic fiction mention zombies? It’s such a joke!"
Pang Zi returned the glasses man’s book while ranting.
"It’s been more than 10 years since the release of the Resident Evil series, yet everyone still thinks that zombies are a key element of apocalyptic fiction. They have no creativity at all! If viruses aren’t transmittable through the air, then zombies can’t be considered a threat to humans."
"Breathing heavily, walking slowly, mental retardation and those stupid ‘ah, ah’ sounds they make. For any normal human, it’s impossible to be bitten by such a creature. Think of our ancestors from ancient times. Facing all kind of predators who were way stronger and more flexible than humans, humankind still managed to thrive."
"I’m not bragging, but even if all the students in our school turned into zombies one day, I could still run out of here safe and sound, if you know what I mean."
Pang Zi shook his belly while talking.
The last person in the dorm interrupted Pang Zi’s lecture as he became arrogant.
"In fact, the zombie theme didn’t originate from Resident Evil series, but rather from European Medieval Literature. In 1968, the American movie ‘Night of the Living Dead’ set the tone for apocalyptic novels and movies. The concept of killing zombies by shooting their heads and viruses being contagious through zombie bites…that movie basically proposed everything we know about zombies today."
Tao explained calmly. Within the four of them, he was the only one with a good academic standing. Tao was really close to getting into Peking University, which was one of the best universities in the country. Unsurprisingly, not only was he good at studying, but he also had extensive knowledge in different disciplines. From time to time, Tao loved to show off his mastery of all kinds of knowledge.
"Hence, the zombie theme has been boring ever since it was popularized four or five decades ago. And Pang Zi, your opinion is correct; we don’t need to fear zombies. As long as they aren’t intelligent, their chances of being a threat to humans is infinitely close to zero."
"Hey, I was asking whether or not you came here voluntarily. Stop changing the topic." Chang interrupted the "good student" and brought the conversation back on track.
"Obviously no one came here voluntarily aside from me," Tao concluded everything with a single sentence.
"Ah, these days, we never really get to make our own choices, even though our parents insist that they respect our decisions. From my viewpoint, it’d be better for me if they just said things straightforwardly." Chang laid on the bed and recalled what happened a few days ago.
Right after he spoke, the door opened and a teacher wearing a pair of rimless glasses came in.
"Stop chitchatting and go to sleep, you have classes early in the morning." He shut the door upon leaving the command, but his last statement snuck through the door, "In the history of evolution, small and medium sized predators who made heavy footsteps became extinct, not to mention those who moved slowly. There’s no significance in discussing this issue, so go sleep!"
____________________________________________________________________________
Chang Liu - Chang means fast, fluent, carefree.


Five hundred million years ago, an epoch of extraordinarily fast evolution and mutation took place. It is said that all ancestors of today’s species on Earth derive from those that appeared in the “Cambrian Period”. 

Unfortunately, nothing gold can stay. After the brief “Cambrian Period”, life on Earth entered a period of stagnation. Humans came out on top, becoming the most powerful species on Earth.

A second age has come.

During the first “Cambrian Period” humanity was kicked off of the throne of the food chain quickly. Now, during the second “Cambrian Period”, what will happen to humanity?

The real end of the world is not the tale of brainless zombies. 

It is paradise.

Summertime Blues

It was summer break of my second year in college. I needed to find a part time job to help my miscellaneous fees for the next semester. Marie and I accidentally met in the bus station going to B city just after we concluded the school year. She has just graduated from high school while I just finished my two year vocational course simultaneously taking up a four year degree. The school we attended was a government school but it has been famous for its outstanding results in school competitions and even in Bar and Licensure exams. It's one of the pride of the Northern Region of P country. It's no doubt that students here are humble enough knowing that they are fully subsidized by the government. Only minimal miscellaneous fees were asked during enrollment time but offcourse, there will be numerous projects and researches to spend for once u got in this school. Seems that "no such thing as free lunch" was originally from the government itself.
Marie and I chatted all throughout the two-hour rough bus ride. We came up to an agreement to check with her sister's boss in the city if they could arrange a temporary job for us during this summer break. Once we arrived there, we were met by Marie's sister. Dressed in a waiters uniform of a prestigious Restaurant in the city. 
"Hi sis, we saw this ad posted in front of the restaurant, are they still available?" I asked Fely who was holding a pen and a paper apparently ready to take orders from costumers.
"Hi Fem, nice to see you here. Are you sure you are applying for that?" Fely's eyes got wider as if ridiculed by my inquiry.
"Offcourse, why do we waste time when all we need is a place to stay and a work to keep us busy for the whole summer!" Marie answered ignoring the ridicule in her elder sister's face.
"I'm really not sure if that ad is still available, that was posted more than a month ago, I wonder why they did not take it down!" Fely said with lips curving downwards as if dismayed by that certain ad. "Well anyway, why not take a sit and wait for my boss to arrive. She has gone to the other site to check how are things going over there." Fely gesturing us to an empty table with two vacant seats. It was only then that we realized we were tired from the trip and were feeling a bit hungry. We just helped ourselves with water as we waited for about two hours for that boss to arrive.
Fely's boss arrived, she was a huge lady and a bit boyish in her actions and she talks loud and straight. 
"Ma'am, these two ladies are my relatives in the province. They are here to look for any job for this summer. They want to inquire if that ad infront is still available." Inquired Fely as she went behind the counter to check who knows what.
Lady Jane looked at us from beside the counter with a stare like scrutinizing what we are capable to do.  "Well..." she matter of factly said, "that wasn't actually for me, but for a friend who runs a bar along L Road. Would you want to try working in a bar?" She looked a bit sorry for us but still had to ask.
Marie and I looked at each other. I whispered, "Shall we try that?" Marie raised her brows at me in disbelief. She can't believe that I would dare to try a job like being a waitress ... and in a bar?  And once again I didn't wonder why her sister's reaction was exactly the same when I inquired earlier.
"It's okay for me, it's still a job. As long as we don't indulge ourselves in what those people do." I assured Marie. We stared at each other for some 30seconds before mutually saying same word. "Okay"
Lady Jane smiled to us, "Are you sure? Do you guys have any idea what you will be doing there?"She looked concerned maybe because we were looking so innocent. just fresh from the province.
Being the elder, I said, "We can try it ma'am, after all, it will only be a summer job so its about just a couple of months."
"Okay then, let's go! I'll introduce you to your boss. Hope you can work well with her. She's so damn strict you know, " Lady Jane said as she lead us to the next block of road next to her Restaurant.
"Shane! how are things going with your life? Haven't seen you since last two months!" Lady Jane stopped just infront of the counter where that Shane was sitting like waiting for someone to order around.
"You know how things are hard for me these days, I cant find some workers to help me here. Good and loyal workers these days are hard to find." Shane was saying to Lady Jane.
"That's because you are too strict and cold to your workers, Shane! If I were you, you better ease up and give more concern to the welfare of your workers. They're the ones making the money for you!"Lady Jane was lecturing her friend.
"Well anyway, seems your stressful days are over, I brought with me these two ladies two work for you! See? They're quite pretty and not bad looking, they dont need to wear high heels or needing some platforms to climb if they need to reach out something up there! " Lady Jane pointed at the stocks of wine glasses on behind the half hidden compartment.
Lady Jane seemed to have done the "salestalk" introduction for us so we were instantly hired by Lady Shane.
"One thing you should know first," Shane seemed to have remembered something."Im on my second month of pregnancy and I get easily irritated. I am also very particular with hygiene and personal discipline. I don't expect you to flirt with costumers! All you need to do is get their orders and serve them politely. Are we clear with that?" Lady Shane looked at us. Her eyes shifting from Marie and me.
"Yes ma'am, we are glad that your standards are for our own good!" I said smilingly. She didnt notice Marie's facial reaction when she twisted her head at my side winking like she didn't like this lady's standard.
"Well, you can start tomorrow then. I will open at 10 AM and we will be closing at 10 at night." Lady Shane dismissed us.

A poor but exceptionally brilliant girl, with an adventurous spirit meets the man who caught her attention in the bar. 
She caught his attention with her mischievous smile and lazy eyes. He caught her attention by his thunderous commanding voice.

The hard and poor upbringing made her strong and mature early.
His wealthy and distinguished family didn't spoil him.

She was a topnotch student of a government school located far away from the city.
He was building his career as the most reliable intelligence agent in the entire police force of B City.

They had exchanged letters as was the only means of communication during that time. It seemed beautiful and all was well planned. He strived to visit her but never got the chance to meet her there.
She digged herself to her studies with him as her inspiration.

The pressure of hard life and busy student life occupied her. Then the preparion to start a career.
The demand of work that takes most of his time and energy. Then the woman that distracted him, his plan, his dream...

Then when they finally met.....

"Would you leave your wife for me?" she coldly asked him.

He shook his head and his lips trembled. "I... I  don't know. All I know is that....this is all your fault." He said wiping away a tear from his blurry eyes.

:Ajax|

Few months have already passed.

"Are you sure you are okay now, Aj?" Xander welcomed me at the school gate, he has still that kind of dimples on his face that every girl would fall for… and plus a vexing grin that would be a good start to ruin your day. He took my hand, "Welcome to Roseville. It's your first time to be here right?" he smiled and gave me a hug instead.

Xavier came in, he was running like crazy. He was sweating a lot. "I'm glad, I am not late! The school president is crazy though!" he said while he was getting back the air he just lost in running. "She's very tyrant and tough. She can beat guys!" he added.

Xavier and Xander are twins. They both have the same exact identical face… not to mention the hair, the hair colour, the height and structure of the body… the stance and the way they talk. Name it… if you know them for the first time, you would get confused which of them is Xavier and Xander. But since we are friends for so long, I could easily figure out the difference between them. And it's a secret.

I have a terrible nightmare in the last few months. That old Duke really tortured me… he won't keep his calm not unless I would return his son… Logan. I have no idea where that guy is! But thanks to the Griffins, I was saved again and I was under their protection for now. Duke still wants me to be punished but what can he do? I don't know where his son is! Until now, there was no update about Logan's whereabouts. It all ends in the university where he was in. Even his professors didn't know about the reason why he left. He was in the several headlines of the newspapers, 'A Shocking Moment Of Duke Lewis, The Only Heir Was Gone.'. The police disclosed that he wasn't kidnapped… or taken by the bad guys, the photo of him being strangled in a wire was just edited. The Lewis family is in a great uproar right now because they lost their only heir. After that man died, I'm sure his wife, Victoria Lewis would be gone crazy once Leonardo Lewis would take the company if the board elected him as the new founder of Lewis Incorporated.

"Make sure you have your own freezer account. It's very important to hot guys like us." Xander guided me to the entrance gate. I just nodded. 

I was already done in my senior high when I was in Livingstate. My real standing in education is a fourth year college in Computer Science. I am specialized in hacking. I couldn't graduate in March because I haven't finished my thesis project because of that old Duke who locked me in a closed room for the whole month of March. 

And it was such a waste for me. And I don't think the Griffins would allow me to continue my course, they want me to take up a business course. Since I was accelerated in my educational programs back when I was living in Livingstate… my age right now would be still the exact requirement here in Roseville to enter a senior high program.

"Yeah, and be friendly to girls, Aj. You need to use your face to graduate here. I tell you, they gave us services where you can't find in Livingstate. You need to smile a lot." he reminded me.

"Don't lecture me like you are my aunt." I wiped them off. Xander just shrugged it off. "But you have to listen to us. The School President hates delinquents and handsome boys. She's a great threat and a real big deal." Xavier continued on. "Whatever, I will figure it out on my own." I said while thinking of ditching my class later… since I have learned everything already. I guess it's such a waste for me to be here, to sit in the class and pretend that the lesson is new to me. "Come on, the president might be in the hallway… inspecting for late students. I don't want to be punished by her!" and he hauled us in.

.
.
.

Rhian Maechila Serrano is the new president of the Sky High Academy. She is one of the students who got the first place in the last month's assessment test. Well… the other one is Daisy Jane Gonzales, a brilliant young student who has a serious problem of her personality. Despite that she's having a pretty face, who could easily enter a modelling competition, her attitude is the opposite. She's not kind… and she often looked down on others, especially to those who aren't in her level. Her family is rich, her mom was a lawyer and her dad is a head doctor in the orthopaedics department in a prestigious hospital of Roseville. And there's a bonus, she lives in Sky High Village… an exclusive village for rich people.

Well back to Rhian… whom her friend, Lily, call her 'Remae'. She's a strong president. She maintains her average grade as per requirement of her scholarship granted by the school itself. Her family is not rich… in fact her father left a burden to her young mother who was forced to work despite of her illness. She's resilient and have a strong foundation of courage that whatever will happen to her life, she won't give up.

And now as she waited for the clock to turn the long head one stick ahead of the '30' mark, she got out of her small office with her arnis stick and heads to the building to arrest the late students who was trying to get in and avoid her notice.

Xavier and Xander… together with their friend, Ajax, was shocked to see her face. She really had borrowed one of the dragon's wrath and maybe she can memorize a curse too.

.
.
.
.
.

"You two are late again…" she said and played her sticks.

"Pres! We are only late for a minute! Could let us pass? Please?" Xander tried to ease her with a smile but Remae was a cold hearted lady… and plus she hates boys the most, she even remember her father in them that's why smiling like that would do no good for her. "No. It is stated in the school handbook section 1.2 that whoever is late even just a minute shall be put in a severe punishment. That's the rule of our school. And you are late for three consecutive days… enough for a severe punishment." she added… like she was a walking library.

Xavier hissed in Ajax's ear, "She's scary… she's not even cute."

"Are you saying something, Xander?"

"I'm Xavier."

"Whatever."

"And you… Xavier…" she pointed the wrong one, which is Xander. "You did a very serious offense in the library the other day. You turned the library into a dating area! You have no respect to this institution at all. I can't forgive you! You are in mandatory, you need to clean the whole gym for the whole week and attend a committee service in the weekend. Do you understand that?"

Xander turned to Xavier, "Hey… you heard that. Your cooperation is requested." he smirked. Xavier reacted, "I did not do that! Don't grease on me, Xander!"

"So… would you let us in now?" I talked and she just stared at me. She really has a boyish aura… I wonder if she's a girl or not. But whatever… as long as I keep my promise with the Griffins… it's fine.

And her expression changed, this time it was strong as she stepped forward and pinched my clothes, "Why are you not wearing the uniform?" she strictly asked. I answered her naturally, "I am a transfer student. It's my first day here." she still kept on playing that solid stick in her hands, "You can get it for free after you enrolled. I don't accept your reasons so…" and she raised her voice, like she was the commander in-charge of the huge battalion joining in a world war three, "The three of you should sit on the air for two hours!"

Xander and Xavier were already shaking in fear. Why they are so afraid of this girl? She's just a woman with a stick! I raised a brow at her, challenging her to put that stick down, "And why would we do that in front of you?"

"I am the school president here… I have the school rules and I intend to make all of you follow and obey it… like you are all going to lose your lives. Follow the school rules or else, you three would be beaten up by this stick."

"I won't let you do that. You are only the school president. You can't beat a student."

And Xander tried to hush me down, "Don't talk back at her, Aj. She would really beat you up. The school officials granted her to do that since we have so many delinquent students here. She is tasked to discipline everyone."

"Since you want to challenge me. I challenge you in a battle of combat. If you can take this stick from me, you win. And I won't punish the three of you for the rules you've disobeyed. But if I win, you will deserve your worst punishment." she declared confidentially… have she already trained in martial arts too? I wonder… even she acts like boy, her body cannot deny that she's really a girl. As I say, her vital stats are not bad.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"I wonder if you can defeat me. You have big boobs and small waist and your arms are thin too. Are you sure you want to challenge me, President?"

Because I was extremely confident that I would win against her.

Ajax... is trying to find the truth about the death of his mom but he ended up finding something else. Love? Wealth? (...)

Lucas Dow's POV

Fucking Edmond that needs my savings. If I don't show up on time, I believe his beautiful wife will be dead by now. Diana, Lyana, Juliana? I even forget her name. She was beautiful nonetheless. I smiled after leaving them when I shot one of Alan Craig's servants in Europe. France, checked. Now, I need to get more information from my informant about his other around the globe. 

The first servant that ever caught my real name was the man that attacked me when I was teaching (faking) in Italy in one of the prestigious university. How does security let people in just like that? Moreover, on finals week. I came to think about it, probably because the guards were restless as the students were trying to catch on everything that they tried to remember for the whole semester.

I worked in the Department of Behavioral Science at the University of Verona. Since I have been learning Italian during my youth, I was able to speak that love language fluently without any trace of my Scottish accent, or with the fact that I am an undercover agent that was assigned to take out Alan Craig's man.

Alan Craig. I disgusted at that name. Once upon a time, there was a time that we were close to each other. Conall Reid, Edmond Lattone, Alan Craig and there's me. We were inseparable during our youth as we attended the same high school. The only differences were that Conall is a nerd, Edmond was a jock, me as a popular guy and Alan was a musician. He played the perfect tune on the piano and violin. His parents were the popular violinist and pianist. 

That change until one day, they were kidnapped and they were killed in the sight of the kidnapping as they were trying to escape from their abductor. Alan was frustrated. He lashed out his anger at people in the school. He would distance himself from us as he has befriended from the bad crowd. Alan would skip class and changed girls like they were clothes. 

But that tragedy did not end there. Once the year of his parent died, he dropped out of the school and was gone out of trace. During that period time of the year also, our parents, one by one, were killed in an accident that took place. First, it was Conall, then Edmond and lastly me. We were beyond shock. As it was planned after all. I believe that someone planned these incidents and make it look like accidents. I knew in my guts that it was the truth.

We were out there, trying to console our rage, anger, and the broken heart. then, the god sends us an angel, or more like a devil in disguise. His name was Raphael Addington and his wife Megan Addington. They were like the surrogate parents that we shared. I remembered well the first time I saw him in my home, or should I say my parents' mansion. 

"Good morning, lad. How are you feeling?" Raphael asked. Me, as usual, ignored him as I passed by to go to the kitchen.

"What do you want, Addington?" I asked uneagerly.

"I was told that you're not attending school anymore. Why is that, young lad? Have you learn nothing from there?" he asked, trying to get an answer from me. I just ignored him even more.

"I see this summer you have nothing planned. I thought you might be interested in joining a summer camp. It will be good for you to make new friends. That is if you're tough enough," he said while putting the pamphlet on the table.

"See you then, lad, if you dare," he said before making his exit. I stared at the pamphlet that he left behind. It said that the summer camp was for recruiting interesting teenagers that want to be good to the country. It seems fun but I remembered that Raphael just challenged me to stay there for the whole 6 weeks. He thinks that I will not survive as he thinks I was a pussy. Well, not this young lad.

I told my trusted butler that I will be going to summer camp. He was surprised at first but agreed to me anyway. He sends me away for that summer, and it was the worst decision of my life. Even though I did make friends who I am still friends with right now, the memory of that tortured place was horrifying to remember. But 1 thing that I learned from that camp was that you can never trust anyone anywhere, even they were your family members.

After I graduated from high school that they sent me too, with Conall and Edmond, I was assigned to work abroad all over Europe. They want me to be the ears and eyes of the government for any suspicious activity of terrorism since I was the top student to get out of any situation alive or without setting the radar on. 

I immediately agreed as my first assignment was in Italy, the current University right now. My looks don't strike me as a TA but almost as a student as I have that boyish look. As I was on my way to get out of the exam hall, I went to get the exam papers to the real professor and I had the time to take all my belongings to get out of there without a trace or before I set someone off. But, unfortunately, I was caught by one of the English professors on my way to get out of the university. I forget her name already. I only met him once.

"Hey, are you going somewhere? Do you need some help?" she asked as she looked at me as I was carrying a big old box of my files and books.

"Ah, no I'm good, thanks for asking. I'm sorry. I was late, I need to go now. Bye, sorry" I said trying to get out of there as quickly as possible. She was about to say something before her friend called her at the end of the corridor.

"Stella, what are you doing there? Come,l et's get lunch. I m starving already," her friend called her as Stella was trying to go after me. So, her name was Stella, as the star. I took that chance to dash out of the office and went to my car. I quickly stopped behind one of the walls to see if anyone was following me. 

I got a few glances from the students that were walking by. I smiled before went over to my car. I took the keys and opened my Toyota Corolla and put the box inside the backseat. I got in and started the ignition before sped off from that place. I knew that my extraction team will come and clean all my traces there.

The memory of my first assignment was flooding through my mind right now as I was walking to get out of the abandoned warehouse. I saw some familiar figures across the building and in the air as they were trying to get to Edmond. I was about to speed off when I saw a familiar face from afar that was approaching me.

"Megan, so nice to see you this evening. What can I do for you today?" I said.

"Where have you been these days, Luke? Raphael has been worried sick," she said.

"You know me, here, there, everywhere. Any leads?" I said with seriousness in my voice.

"Only one, Greece. Her name was Arianna Contos. She was being abducted by the terrorist that developed the serum that was supplied by Alan Craig. Interested?" Megan said before handing me the file. I took it and opened it to read. Her picture was pinned at the top of the file. She looked even gorgeous now than the last time I remembered her. I closed it before looking at Megan.

"What's her deal?" I said, trying to be calm as usual, even though my heart was racing like fucking crazy right now.

"She accidentally ran into their website as she was putting up the Firewall in one of the offices in the place that she worked. She reported it to the police. Turns out, the police were controlled by the terrorists that were working for Craig. She was abducted three days ago. Her last known location was Corinth. She was one of the leading experts on how to develop software to recognize a terrorist. She was an asset, Lucas. You need to save her," Megan said before sighing.

"Be careful, okay. These guys were the worst of Craig's goons. They can be dangerous so I need you to extract her as soon as possible." she said. I nodded.

"Affirmative. See you in Greece," I said before getting into the driver's seat and sped off to the highway.

Hang tight Arianna, I'll save you

School of Loxias.
A lot has happened in this prodigy school for talented musicians, composers, dancers, and singers. They are inspired by a Greek God of Music and Poetry, Apollo, and have dedicated their lives to pursue this knowledge to please him. Little did they know that the people that were responsible for bringing the name of the school to light were by one extraordinary family that went through their hardships here.
First, we have Hans von Graf, a prodigy in composing but a snobbish young man, until he met his match in a cheerful young woman, Lena Lattone.
Next, we have Karl von Graf, a passionate pianist that thinks he's better than anyone, have to match with a friendly young woman, Erna Fuchs.
Then, we have Klaus von Graf, a virtuous violinist that though he did not need any help until he has to partner up with Erika Schwarz. 
Last but not least, we have Kurt von Graf, a creative crythor but a proud musician until Emma Haas showed that he cannot beat her at his own game. 
Will they come out as the winner in the end or was there something more? Find out in this new series by your favorite author!

The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) was created for the efficient and effective law enforcement of all the provisions on dangerous drugs or its precursors and essential chemicals. It is the implementing arm of the Dangerous Drug Board (DDB), the policy-making and strategy-formulating body in the planning and formulation of policies and programs on drug prevention and control.
The Director-General, who was currently heading PDEA that year, was based in Cebu. Dino, his best friend's son whom he took into his home after he graduated in high school, had now passed his training as a police officer. Under his influence, he had him assigned as a challenge, in a special task force, the Anti-Illegal Drugs Special Operation Task Force (PNP-AIDSOTF).
The district of Kamelyo was already long reported as a drug den. There were already several attempts to trace down the powerful men behind these illegal trading, but all ended out as futile due to the strong protection from higher sources.
 Dino and his team got appointed to this great challenge of ending and clearing out the long-time illegal business in this place.
Inwardly, he was happy with the appointment. He had someone to help him discreetly in tracing down these trash of the society, which had already destroyed many homes and lives of those willing victims like the users, pushers, and the mules.
Allie became his best friend during his last year in high school since a teacher, who happened to be Allie's coach in writing, adopted him. She was not just Dino's teacher but was also his aunt. He came to live with her when his mother died in a vehicular accident when he was young.
He met Allie when she was still a freshman. Since she spent most of her weekends in their house for coaching, they became close to each other and became good friends.
After his graduation, his aunt became sick and eventually died. Her best friend, who was now the PDEA's Director-General, took him to his home. They sent him to college, and as a tribute to his kindness, he took up a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice.
Having known ahead of the wickedness of the district of Kamelyo through Allie, he rejoiced secretly. Her place was in the borders of Kamelyo, the direct route by the shoreline towards the factories that employ the people there.
During summer vacations, Allie regularly worked in one of these factories. Brilliant students like got privileges of special assignments as the company's program to help those aspiring students to have financial means during school days.
And because some workers were mostly Ate Elsa's relatives and some were her acquaintances through them, she knew the dark secrets behind the production of these companies. Her knowledge about these evil transactions in the whole district of Kamelyo was the bright hope of Dino to get a rank promotion. Most of all, to make his uncle, Director-General Alfonso, proud and happy for him.
___
Meanwhile, Leo and Ajie were shivering in fear as they sat down before the desk of an interrogation officer.
"Do you know that the total weight of these drug packets inside this bag is 80 grams?" The officer fixed his gaze firmly on the frightened looks of the father and son.
They both shook their heads vigorously. Anyone could tell through their expressions that they were innocent. Leo's face had already turned red. He wanted to cry, but he did not want to frighten his son more. He regretted the day he decided to send him here.
It was not enough. The next statement of the officer scared them to death.
"Do you know that the law stated it that a penalty of life imprisonment to death and a fine ranging from P500,000 to P10 million should be imposed upon any person, who, unless authorized by law, will be found possessing 50 grams or more of methamphetamines hydrochloride or shabu? "
Ajie almost fainted when he heard this. He was here to find success and build a good future and not to rot his dreams inside a prison cell. Leo could not hold his urge to cry anymore.
"I'm sorry, son. If only I knew that this would happen, we should not have come. We are here to find you the best university... "
Ajie did not say a word, but his tears were running fast down his face. His knuckles had already turned white in his effort to stop his trembling.
"Sir... " The tension in the atmosphere halted when Dino walked into the room. He gazed into the eyes of the two innocent victims who were crying silently and then to the interrogation officer.
"Please follow me," Dino said as he walked out of the room, leaving the father and son wondering what was happening.
Their forlorn figure made them look like desperate victims waiting for their verdict of capital punishment.
To the officer's surprise, the whole team of a special task force was already gathering inside a large function room. Officers of the higher ranks were there. What shocked him the most was the presence of the Director-General.
"We will be planning for a major operation tonight..." One of the officers answered his unspoken questions, seeing his bewildered look.
___
During that night of the commotion in Elsa's place, Dino and his team, together with the higher and major task forces with the presence of his uncle, Director-General Alfonso, were finalizing their execution plan in the arrest of the people behind this great drug syndicate. For many years they had ruled and employed the people of Kamelyo as their troops of drug mules under the cloak of their designation as factory workers and administrators. The plants which manufactured computer parts, electronic components, and metallurgical elements had a mega laboratory of illegal drugs, connecting one building to another, underneath its massive buildings. The protection of their passage routes along the shoreline, which the company owners asked, was only an act of pretense to drive away from the suspicion of the anti-drug forces.
Also, during that night, Allie sent Dino a message about her prediction that Ben, who held a high position in the company, would not delay in sending his revenge towards the man who reopened his old wound caused by a failure of winning the woman he loved before. Of course, Dino would value any of her requests. Not only as a friend who also desired for his success but as the main lead in pointing out the main culprit of the high crime which was long happening in their place.
While some of Dino's men were hiding beneath the thick rows of mangroves to capture the bearer of that bag of drug packets, Allie placed her spy camera into the hole.
...


Allyza lifted up her eyes to Hayri, her fiance who stood beside her on the deck. He looked back at her with those tender eyes, filled with so much love and admiration for her.

Little did he know, that the woman he loved and adored so much for five years was the one he was long haunting down to kill to avenge for his father.

The instant those words left his mouth, the class erupted into conversation, the teacher, for the most part, had been expecting this to happen and let it happen. Ace noticed that two students did not seem surprised at his statement, and surprise surprise, they were Amy and Sophia. They had probably been told already to expect him in their year group, but Ace wondered how much they knew about his situation. Samantha had tried to keep his illness a secret as much as she could, and for the most part, it worked, but some of the more influential people in the world probably knew about it, leaks were unavoidable after all, it was just a matter of making use of them to your advantage. 

The teacher asked for silence, and for the most part, people stopped talking, even if there were a few mutters here and there. "Ok, so the next task on the list is the selection of the class president. If you wish to ask for candidacy, please step forward." At this, Amy stepped forward, even if anyone else did wish to be the President, no one was well-suited to the role except for Ace and Sophie, so now that people knew she was not going to go for the candidacy, it was a matter of whether Ace would as well. However, before anything could be said, Amy stepped forward and said: "As I am sure you are aware, only a few other people could rival me in their suiting for the post, one of them will not ask for it.", at this,  she looked at Sophie, and Sophie nodded in response. "However, there is one more person, Ace, if you so wish,I will step down and let you be President, on the grounds that you take me on as an advisor."

Ace was not surprised, he had expected something like this to happen and already had a solution. "Do not worry, I have no plans on stepping forward and all my support will be with the person that is elected, in fact, if you so wish, I will become your advisor if you were to be selected." At this point, the President had already been elected, but as part of the routine, the teacher asked again, "If anyone else wishes for the post, step forward, otherwise, the post will go to Amy." And in this way, the most peaceful elections to ever happen in a first-year class were carried out, and for the most part, the students were happy with the outcome.

"Next on the list, we will give you availability to check the rankings, you will only be able to see your own, but I will give you time for a discussion. As most of you have already figured out from our student lineup, this class is Rank 1 in homeroom. Nevertheless, do not believe you are safe, some of you are placed in rank 2 classes, and the only reason why you are here is due to your family's influence. However, after this week, that will be over, you will have to show that you belong to this class. Every week, there will be changes to the class placements, but your rankings are updated to the nearest hour. If you think you will not be able to keep up with the frenetic pace, drop out.", Miss Judge stared at the class, sweeping her gaze over her students.
"Now, you will be wondering, why would I want to rank up? And that is a fair question, all of you have everything you would ever want, however, there is something you need. The higher your placement at the end of the year in regards to the whole year group, the more LAP points you will receive, as you well know, these will help you gain entry to the most prestigious private institutions for advanced learning, where money and influence just doesn't cut it." At this, students looked starry-eyed at the teacher, being able to gain these points from the start of the year would be a huge boon to them, and would most definitely make their families happy. They now fervently wished to check their rankings, but without pause, Miss Judge continued: "And last but not least, behavioural commentary, I am sure that none of you plan on using any problems, but do know that depending on the offence, various punishments could be doled out, from deduction of Ranking Points to the suspension of your club activities for you as an individual." This was big, lower-ranking meant fewer LAPs and not being able to participate in activities may cause you to be kicked out, and someone kicked out would probably have a hard time getting into another club. "Now that all is finished, you will be able to check your placements and due to the promptness of your selection of President, you will have the rest of the day as free time. Have a good day.", and with that, she left.

The class began talking excitedly, but the main action being carried out was checking the rankings. Ace looked at his:

Classroom: Rank 1
Year Group: Rank 1

It wasn't much of a surprise but he had hoped that someone would rank higher than him, that would make things interesting. As soon as he finished, he got up from his seat and walked towards Amy's desk, everyone turned silent, "Congratulations on the candidacy, you will have my full support for anything that you need." And with his practised grin, he left.


Amy POV

Amy now had a light blush on her cheeks and she knew it, Ace was by far the best looking out of the whole class, and he had directly declared his support for her. This was very good for her, their cooperation could dominate the first year and probably rival some of the onset of the second year. She now just had to keep up her ranking, she had no doubt Ace was rank one, and her rank 2 would also have to be maintained, if anyone else was to gain it, it would look bad for her.


     ***********************

Ace wandered around the halls, looking at as much of the school as he could, until he finally headed to the School Grounds, he had been walking for a good half an hour, and he assumed his classmates had already gone there, and would be meandering around, attempting to find the club that would suit their needs. He walked to the grounds, and walked around, looking at the various stalls. The biggest and most decorated were the biggest and most popular, but he found that some clubs were not there, he asked one of the Seniors, and he responded that some would be holding practises during the following weeks, and if you wished to try out, you would have to meet their standards. Some others were not here as they had no need to make any advertisement, students would wish to join up regardless. 

Ace asked were the martial arts club was and the student laughed, "It's not the martial arts club, a few years ago, all the various clubs that focused on fighting, but taught various disciplines, joined into one big club, it is now called the Fight Club, and in order to enter, you will have to beat a member, however, if you do beat that member, he will be kicked out of the club, and will have to beat another to join again. It works on a ranking base system, so you must fight the last one, in this way, they are able to always have high standards. It is almost impossible for a freshman to win a fight, so they have various programs that are available to all those that are interested in preparation for next year, when it will be more realistic for them to rank up."

Ace now became interested and asked for directions, they were located in one of the biggest gymnasiums, it was all covered with tatami, and to his surprise, despite the large number of people there, it smelt fine. He then remembered the gym's smell and laughed internally, yeah, it smelt more than fine. He looked up and noticed the large humidifiers, and assumed they and the open windows were the reasons for the good smell.

He walked up to the stands, and noticed quite a few people were there, but not all in school uniform. He asked around and found out that students did not have school today, it was only the freshman and those that were directly helping out that were in school, however, some seemed to enjoy watching the fights and so came to school to pass the day watching the people in the club partake in fights.

The story of a boy overcome with pain, that suddenly isn't.

                                      **********

The story is about a boy, Ace, who is suddenly healed from his pain. He decides to make the best out of his god (?) given gift.

You can expect politics, show business, videogames, sports, and much more.

I hope you enjoy the novel, Happy Reading!




The image does not belong to me, full credits to the creator, if you wish for me to remove it, contact me at: insidiouswebnovel@gmail.com

I felt a piercing stare from the back of my head as Luke tried to keep me in his sight for the entire day to check if I wasn't overexerting myself. 

I sighed as my studying wasn't efficient as before since I felt that jabbing gaze from Luke even after I wrote the exam few days ago. It wasn't like I didn't understand because I knew he an eye on me ever since I ended up going to the infirmary.

But still, it was too much! 

That was why I was happy to meet my classmates after the weekend was over. It was tiring to be stuck with only one person all the time even though he was like a mannequin doll.

But strangely, I stared back at a small group of four children in the wide classroom.

"I thought there were a total of twelve people in our grade?" I asked due to the small class.

"Yes, but in order to enhance the students' learning, we decided to split the class into two to make smaller classes" Christopher explained.

Twelve people already seemed small enough, but maybe it was too big for a kindergarten class. 

'Young children did indeed need more care in their early childhood.' The two girls who stood before us smiled as they started to introduce themselves while I lost in thinking about the class size.

"Hello, pleased to meet you! My name is said to be Michelle de Locast." The elegant girl with silken black hair curtsied. 

"And my name is Helena de Nicole." The lovely girl with platinum bronze bob gratefully introduced herself.

" My name is Allan de Krista and this is Alex de Monete." The boy with gleaming navy blue hair gestured towards Alex. 

"And as some may already know, I am Luke de Roselia and this is my partner Rika Shanes." Luke naturally replied back in the same formal setting.

I instantly noticed that everyone's names had 'de' before their last name. Did everyone in the first district have the same characteristic? 

"Why does everyone have 'de' in their names?" I subtly whispered into Luke's ear.

"Everyone from the first district has 'de' in their names if they're from a clan that has high status and power." Luke whispered back.

Everyone here were elites except for me. I wondered why I was here at this school with Luke as I now knew the partnering system wasn't a truly a lottery system like he had previously mentioned.

Although I would understand Luke attending the school as he seamlessly blended in with the group of highly educated children who had elegance ingrained within their bones. 

"Now that everyone has finished introducing themselves, everyone has free time for the rest of the day today to have time to interact with the new transfer students." Christopher announced to the class.

Since Luke didn't seem to be willing to explain the partner system anymore as he immersed himself with Alex and Allan, I decided to ask those two girls that were right in front of me.

"Will you be willing to drink some tea with me during our leisure time?" I tried to replicate their graceful manner of speaking to Helena and Michelle. 

"Of course," Helena answered.

"But how about we go to the cafeteria to have our discussion?" Helena suggested.

I nodded my head as I soon found myself holding a beautiful glass teacup alongside the doll-like children.

When half of my cup was empty, I started to ask some questions to break the silence, "Do you think the partner system is a lottery?"

"I think? We're matched with someone with a similar amount of mana and the rest is uncertain from what I know." Helena replied with abundant knowledge. 

"Why is there a partnering system in the first place?" I tried to figure out the origin of the concept. 

"I'm not sure. But I think it's because it's easier to form relationships with other people with similar status that way?" Michelle questioned herself. 

Hmm. These four-year olds had more knowledge about the situation than I thought they would. As expected from the highest-ranking school in the first district. 

"I'm sorry for asking. It's because Luke wouldn't tell me about these things because our relationship is strained lately." I flawlessly lied. 

Luke didn't answer any of my questions simply because I didn't ask him any. He usually answered every question I had quite simply. 

"It's the same with Alex as well. He just keeps on telling me to study to accumulate more points! Helena has it lucky with Allan. Allan doesn't tell her to do anything." Michelle complained while pouting. 

"It's more like I have to take care of Allan so that he doesn't get make us lose more points than he already has," Helena grumbled. 

Of course, points were everything to these children. Without points, you lived a miserable life where the way of living resembled the middle ages.

"Are children from the first district usually very capable like Luke?" I asked due to their highly-educated upbringing.

"The Roselia and the Monete family are well known in the first district for their strict upbringing in their children from a young age," Michelle answered. 

Ahh. Both Alex and Luke was special case in the first district as well. I figured. 

While we got closer to one another from talking about our partners, the day deepened into the evening.

Time quickly passed as I graduated from elementary with the same classmates.

I know that there's a huge skip from kindergarten to before middle school, but let me fill in the gaps. 

After getting close with Helena and Michelle. I eventually got more familiar with their pairs, which were Allan and Alex.

Another thing was that Luke and I eventually upgraded our room so that we got to live quite decently in kindergarten. Since I already learnt most of the things while studying for the SATs, getting more points wasn't a struggle as long as I didn't mess up on the minor details. 

We proudly passed smoothly onto the next grade and eventually graduated from kindergarten to enter a prestigious new elementary school with the same people from our class of six people.

At this rate, there was no way Luke and I would be dropping to a lower ranking school with Luke's capabilities and my motivation of earning more points after being dumped into a medieval-like room. After getting traumatized by that room, I obediently studied with Luke even without his bribes of stockpiles of luxurious desserts.
Sadly, I only ended up meeting the adolescence girl at the other side of the glass wall one more time where she would give me helpful tips about how to handle the life here. Surprisingly, she gave me lessons on how to "train" Luke. However, I never got to know her true identity as she was determined to keep it a secret.

After entering elementary school, our schedule remained the same as kindergarten except that we had longer classes that were more theoretical based. At this rate, I knew we were learning about stuff we would learn in university from my past life so my grades never went up after kindergarten. 

However, the worse thing about entering elementary was that the accumulated points that we piled up got deleted and we had to start from scratch. I almost cried when we started from that medieval-like room again except that this time we weren't provided any meals. I was shocked because this meant that we had to get our meals by using our points which left less room to upgrade our room.

This was when I discovered they were going easy on us before because we were 'young'.  After starving very occasionally to get a decent room again, Luke and I started to get a constant flow of points that led us to live peacefully for the next five years.

I felt really sorry towards Luke at first because I was making him starve since I didn't exactly get the decent grades ever since I started to learn the new material. However, I was feeling grateful towards him because he never once complained or got mad at me for bringing him down. Instead, he worked hard at tutoring me at the stuff that I was weak at to bring my grades back up.

At this rate, how would I survive without Luke? 

Today was the graduation ceremony at my elementary school. Last month, Luke and I got a decent mark to get into another prestigious middle school, so I wasn't worried about getting in a decent middle school anymore. 

However, ever since I came to this world, I was never able to take a summer break to accumulate more points (or else Luke and I would have the potential of losing points the next year). But, this year was a bit special! I was going to get a well-deserved summer break!

This meant that I would finally be allowed to go home! Ever since I entered that hell-like kindergarten, I never got to meet my parents. I was way too busy studying during my holidays! But now, I had an entire week of free time before entering middle school!

I bowed gracefully while retrieving my diploma from the elementary school dean. I elegantly walked back to my seat beside Luke ingrained from my etiquette lessons. 

I stared at Luke's familiar handsome face that was blooming into a beautiful flower as he grew older.

His ocean blue eyes sparkled from the sunlight with his silver hair swaying from the gentle breeze. As he lost more of his baby fat, his features started to get more distinct with his high bridged nose and slender jaw-line. His looks resembled a very good-looking child model from my previous life that would later on gain fame as an prominent actor in their life. 

A pure visual to feast upon the eyes.

Maybe it was because I was staring at his face for a long time, Luke asked in a soft tone, "Is something wrong Rika?"

"Nope. It was just that I was reminiscing about the old days," I reminisced about the old days.

The ceremony soon finished while I drifted off in a film of my memories from the long speeches. I greeted everyone their farewells as I soon got into the school's car where it would drive me back home.

When I arrived at the cozy house that I have missed for six years, I open the door with the keys that my mother had passed onto me before leaving me alone in kindergarten. "I'm home," I yelled. 

However, since both my parents were still working, I walked into the empty house to hear my yell resounding in the house.

'I guess I'll wait in my room until they come back.' I disappointedly thought. 

I opened the door to my room to see that it was left exactly the same as before. There was the same canopy red bed in the pink walled room with the pink furniture. 

I jumped onto my bed as I stuffed myself with the pillows on my bed and sighed. I wondered what I would do in the next few days as I eventually fell asleep with my tiredness washing over me.

I was captured and put onto a stake to be lit on fire as part of the ongoing witch hunt conducted throughout the land. I had to do something. But, this life really sucked. 

This all started when I was accidentally killed by God. 

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to kill you. It was just that I was overworked lately by my superior and I just wanted some time to relax and vent my stress out," he confessed.

"So, while I was snacking, I accidently dropped one potato chip into the human realm where the child tripped over the potato chip onto a den of steep stairs." God guilty admitted.

So I reincarnated into the most adorable girl with the largest orange-speckled eyes that contrasted her pale white skin void of any imperfections.

'How could someone look this pretty?' I thought as I admired my new appearance.

I was nowhere close to this pretty in my previous life. Did God put me into this new vessel as an apology?

But some things were too good to be true.
***
"We can do this the nice way or the hard way," My fiancé’s brother started off.
"The nice way is where you willingly come with us back to the first district and the hard way is where we forcibly take you back, which would be hard for all of us," Lucius gave me a warning.
Why was my life so depressing? He practically meant I didn’t have a choice! 
***
Few months later, I was at a party that I planned to escape from my fiancé’s family.
"I still get to continue with my naps on the weekends?" I tried to confirm with them.
No one answered as I almost cried from giving up my rare nap times from the mess I got involved with. This life was too bothersome!

prestigious summer programs for high school students

Personal Fanfictions: Halloween Edition

Classroom of the elite

Finding Stardust

Global Evolution

When All Was Done But Left Unsaid

Ajax: My Strange Hero

The Romantic Virtuosi [Coming Soon]

Will You Remember Then?

The Ace

My Bothersome Life

People search prestigious summer programs for high school students also like: