In the central cafeteria, Cappuccino Power and Grace just finished eating their lunch and was hanging out, waiting for their next class to start. There were still students eating, but it wasn’t as hectic as it did earlier during the lunch hour rush, which filled the enormous central cafeteria with students, faculty, and staff from all over the university.

“Aaaaaah! That was so good!” Mingyu commented as he sipped the last of his mango shake, burping loudly as he placed the empty cup on the table where they were siting. His burping antic earned him a slap on the back of the head from Katrina who was sitting beside him.

“Why do you always have to be so rude!?” Katrina fussed as Mingyu rubbed the back if his head.

“Mingyu might end up having multiple lumps at the back of his head at this rate” Angela commented to the laughter of everyone.

“He might, it feels like Katrina has been hitting his head every day ever since classes started” Aaron added, garnering another round of laughter from everyone.

“Well, he did bring it unto himself, who knows, it may help jolt his brain a little” Grace added before drinking the bottle of water she has in her hand.

“This is bullying!” Mingyu countered as he looked at Grace who nonchalantly rolled her eyes while she was drinking from the water bottle.

“It isn’t bullying if it’s the truth, right?” Jasper interjected as he gave a chuckle to the disappointment of Mingyu.

“Come on man, I thought we were on the same team!?” Mingyu complained as Jasper laughed at his reaction to his comment.

“Got to go with the flow Mingyu” Jasper laughed again as he gave Aaron a fist bump, Mingyu giving a childish pout in response.

“Hey Min, why did Aiden summon you to his office earlier?” Moira asked, holding a piece of turon in her hand, taking a quick bite as she waited for Min to respond.

“Oh, that. He just asked me if I was doing okay” Min replied with a straight face, causing Ball to turn his head towards Min, who was sitting on his right side, giving him a teasingly weird look.

“Really? That was it?” Katrina said in a surprised tone as Grace and Moira looked at each other in confusion and disbelief.

“What’s with that reaction? Grace, Moira?” Mingyu asked as he saw their facial expressions.

“Well…” Moira paused for a bit, looking at both Grace and Katrina before continuing, “Aiden ordered us to clear out of the Student Council room, and summoned Min to his office”

“Oh, is that what happened earlier?” Angela asked, nodding as she got the gist of why Moira frantically pulled her out of her office.

“Yeah, pretty much. It honestly surprised us earlier when Aiden told Min to go to his office after we all left” Moira added, explaining what happened after the conclusion of the meeting with Oscar and Prince.

“You’ve been going to Aiden’s office a lot lately Min. The first week isn’t even over yet” Ball teased as a huge grin started forming on his face, seemingly to tease his friend.

“You have us beat, Aaron, Jasper, and I haven’t been to Aiden’s office yet” Mingyu interjected as Jasper and Aaron nodded at the same time.

“I haven’t been to Aiden’s office as well, as far as I know, Min is the only one who have been to Aiden’s office out of everyone here” Katrina added.

“I’ve only been in there twice, still, Min has us all beat” Moira joked as Min gave a forced laugh.

“I’ll be honest, I think Min and Aiden has an unusual relationship” Aaron commented.

“Oh? In what way?” Ball asked out of curiosity as he looked at Aaron, “It seems normal to me, I think?”

“Katrina, Mingyu, and Jasper would probably agree with me on this, but Aiden doesn’t usually interact with someone new as much as he is interacting with Min. That’s why I think it’s unusual” Aaron explained.

“I agree” Katrina interjected, “Aiden has had a lot of subtle reaction and expression changes when he’s interacting with Min” Katrina added, concurring with Aaron’s earlier statement.

“Is that for real? I thought that was pretty normal, at least from my point of view” Ball responded.

“Just so you know, in all the years we’ve known Aiden, he’s never had so many subtle expression changes. It only happens when he’s mad, annoyed, or impressed by something” Mingyu continued.

“It seems like you’re special Min!” Ball said in amazement as he turned his attention towards Min and started poking his side teasingly.

“It’s not a bad thing though” Jasper laughed, “It’s a refreshing sight to see different reactions from Aiden, however subtle it may be”. Mingyu, Katrina, and Aaron snorted as they smiled.

“It still amazes me how all of you notices his subtlest expression changes!” Grace said in awe.

“Aiden had several different reactions this week. I think the most obvious one was after Aiden changed Min’s cold pack in his office. I think that’s the first time I saw him embarrassed” Mingyu laughed as he remembered the awkward situation that transpired in the Student Council office.

“Definitely” Katrina concurred, her face slightly red as she remembered that awkward night, “I was surprised to actually see Aiden change expressions in such a short period of time”

“Really? I couldn’t even tell” Ball said in amazement.

“You-“ Katrina started to speak, but before she could continue what she was about to say, Grace, Angela, and Moira said in unison, “You kinda have to get to know him to be able to tell”. This surprised Ball, Katrina, Mingyu, Jasper, and Aaron.

“Don’t act so surprised guys, you’ve said it multiple times already, so we already know what Katrina was about to say” Grace added to the surprise of Ball who was looking amazed and impressed by how Grace, Angela, and Moira said that at the exact same time.

“That’s awesome though, it looks like you guys practiced it or something, right?” Ball said as he looked at Min who didn’t seem surprised at all, “Wait, Min. Are you not amazed by that?”

“Not really? They did that during my first Student Council meeting” Min responded, surprising Ball who seemed like he was the only one actually amazed by what he just heard.

“I’ll be honest Ball; I’m still surprised by it” Mingyu chuckled.

“I don’t think I’ll get used to that” Jasper added as Aaron nodded in agreement.

“What do you think Bank?” Ball asked as he turned around, looking at Bank who was sitting on another table, focused on the binder that Aiden lent him yesterday, “Bank!” he called out again.

“Leave him be Ball, he’s studying for the quiz tomorrow” Min interrupted as he placed his palm on the top of Ball’s head and slowly turned his head back towards the others.

“You guys have a quiz tomorrow? Bank seems like he’s really focused on studying” Katrina commented as he looked past Ball and could see Bank hunched over the table diligently reading Aiden’s notes. As Katrina was observing Bank from where she’s at, Jasper got up from where he was sitting.

“I’ll be right back” Jasper said as he walked away from the table, Aaron just followed Jasper with his eyes as he walked off somewhere.

“Where’s Jasper going?” Mingyu asked Aaron as the latter shrugged in response, not knowing where Jasper was headed off to.

“So you guys want to hang out this afternoon after classes?” Ball suddenly asked, causing Mingyu and Aaron to look at Ball.

“I can’t, we have a meeting with the International Student Council tonight” Katrina responded. Moira almost immediately reacted, clicking her tongue before giving an exasperated sigh.

“What’s wrong Moira?” Angela asked, curious as to why Moira reacted the way she did at the mention of the International Student Council.

“Here we go” Grace remarked as she readied herself for Moira’s imminent rant. Min just cringed, knowing what Moira’s reaction was going to be. Katrina lowered her head in anticipation for Moira’s outburst.

“Oh God! I really hate the International Student Council President!” Moira raised her voice as she started her ranting, “She got on my nerves really quick this morning!” she added, her face quickly turned red as she started fuming again.

Ball nonchalantly leaned towards Min, whispering in Thai, “Did she meet Monica?”. Min nodded slightly, his attention still on Moira. Ball cringed as he slowly moved away from Min, his eyes also focused on Moira, who was getting redder by the second.

“I don’t even feel like going to the meeting tonight, just seeing her face makes me want to strangle someone so bad” Moira continued as she flipped her hair back, Angela rubbing her shoulder to try and calm her down.

“Is the International Student Council President that bad?” Mingyu asked, looking at Ball and Min who only turned their heads away, not wanting to comment about Monica.

“With those reactions, I’m guessing she probably is” Aaron deduced as he saw Ball and Min’s reaction in response to Mingyu’s question.

“You guys have no idea” Moira said as she looked at Mingyu and Aaron, her eyes were so wide it looked like her eyeballs were going to pop out of her eye sockets.

Grace sighed before she facepalmed, “I don’t know how tonight is going to go with Moira so incensed with the International Student Council President”.

“I guess we’ll have to find out later” Katrina added as she rubbed her right brow with her right index finger, her head a little bit lowered as she looked at Grace.

“It seems like you’re in a dilemma Moira” Min suddenly spoke, getting the attention of Katrina and Grace who were stressing over the probable outcome of the meeting.

“Hah? What do you mean?” Moira responded as she looked at Min who was sitting on the table across from her and Angela.

“Remember what Aiden said this morning? I think it would be best if you try and hide your hatred for Monica during the meeting, unless you want to be on the receiving end of Aiden’s ire” Min told Moira in the nicest and calmest way possible, trying not to agitate her more than she already is.

After hearing what Min said, Moira slowly lowered her head as she suddenly remembered what Aiden told her that morning in the Student Council Room,

“This is my problem me how? Whatever happened between the two of you is none of my concern. My concern here is that my Chief of Staff is throwing a fit and making a ruckus so early in the morning. You need to calm down!”

Moira froze on the spot as she remembered the coldness of Aiden’s voice and his stoic expression when he berated her that morning. She also recalled when Aiden snapped at Min after the first Student Council meeting, thinking back at those moments, Moira’s exasperated expression suddenly turned grim. The very thought of suffering the same fate that Min did that night was enough for her exasperation to dissipate and snap her back to her rational senses.

When Moira slightly lifted her head up, Ball and Min nearly jumped out from where they were sitting when they saw Moira’s face. She looked like Sadako from the Japanese horror movie “The Ring”, which goes to show the extent of how much Moira stressed over what Min just told her.

“I’m okay now, you’re right Min” Moira said, her voice sounding raspy, further adding to the terror that Min and Ball were already feeling.

“What’s wrong with you guys?” Mingyu asked as he saw Min and Ball’s reaction. When he didn’t get any response, he got up from where he was sitting and walked towards Moira, whose head was slightly tilted up, the side of her face was covered with her hair. When Mingyu stood beside her, he leaned forward and took a peek at Moira’s face, which caused him to jump backwards towards Ball’s knee, hitting his back.

“HOLY SHIT!” Mingyu shouted at the top of his lungs, causing everyone in the cafeteria to look towards their direction, “Wha-What the hell happened to you Moira!?” Mingyu continued, disregarding all the eyes that were looking at them.

“Jesus Christ Mingyu!” Katrina fussed as she glared at Mingyu who was pushing his back unto Ball, the latter using Mingyu as a shield, hiding his face behind his back to avoid looking at Moira’s face.

Aaron , Grace, and Angela, who was sitting next to Moira, started getting curious as to why Mingyu, Min and Ball looked so terrified. Before anyone could say or do anything, Moira fully lifted her head up, and slowly looked towards Angela who was a mere inch away, giving Angela, Grace, and Aaron, who moved right next to Grace, a glimpse of her face.

Angela quickly jumped out from where she was sitting when she saw Moira’s face, backing into Katrina who was still glaring at Mingyu, her face looked shocked and surprised. Grace’s eyes widened as she covered her mouth with both hands, Aaron cringed as he slowly backed away from Grace.

“What the-“ Katrina reacted as Angela bumped into her, “What’s wrong Angela?” Katrina asked as she looked at Angela who’s eyes were focused on Moira. When Katrina noticed Angela’s eyes were fixated to where Moira was, Katrina turned towards the same direction. When she saw what Moira looked like, all she could say was “HOLY SHIT!” as she moved away from Angela and backed into Mingyu, who then used her as a shield like Ball was doing with him and hid his face behind Katrina’s back.

“I fucking told you!” Mingyu told Katrina as he buried his face on Katrina’s back, trying to avoid seeing Moira’s face again.

“What’s wrong with you guys?” Moira asked, her voice still raspy as she noticed the rest of Cappuccino Power, with the exception of Bank and Jasper, move away from her in terror.

Grace slowly removed her hands from her mouth, “I-I think we need to go to the restroom for a little bit and freshen up Moira” she stuttered, smiling awkwardly as she mustered enough strength to respond.

“Ye-yeah, what she said” Angela followed up, “I think you could use a little powder here and there”

“I don’t think just a dab of powder would cut it Angela!” Mingyu interjected, his face still buried on Katrina’s back, “I think a plastic surgery would do it”

“Wh-what he said!” Katrina stuttered as she pushed her back further into Mingyu’s face.

“Ah, shit. It’s my face isn’t it?” Moira said, her voice raspier than ever, “There’s a perfectly good explanation for this, I promise. But I think I should head to the restroom first”

“That’s a good idea” Mingyu responded while Ball quickly nodded his head on Mingyu’s back.

“I’m with Mingyu on this one” Min concurred as he slowly inched closer towards Ball.

“I’ll go with you” Grace volunteered as Min, Katrina, and Aaron looked at her, “I’ll go with Moira”.

“I’ll go too” Angela added as she slowly inched backwards towards Grace.

“Yo-you should go too Katrina!” Mingyu suggested as she gently pushed Katrina forward.

“I-I’m good” Katrina responded as she backed into Mingyu again, closing her eyes to avoid getting another glimpse of Moira’s face, “Angela and Grace got this!”

“I’ll go too” Aaron said, prompting Angela, Grace, and Min to look at him, “I can wait outside the restroom until Moira, Grace and Angela finishes”

“Right” Moira said with her raspy voice as she stood up from where she was sitting and slowly made her way towards the restrooms. Angela, Grace and Aaron followed a few feet behind her. As the four of them walked off, Jasper came back with a mango shake in his hand.

“Where are they going?” Jasper asked as he saw Moira, Katrina, Grace and Aaron walking off, “Did I just miss something here?”

“Are they gone?” Mingyu asked, his voice muffled as his face was still buried on Katrina’s back.

“Who?” Jasper asked, confused as to what was going on with everyone.

“Yeah, they’re gone” Min responded as Katrina opened her eyes and moved away from Mingyu, giving out a deep sigh, a few seconds later, Mingyu moved away from Ball.

“What the hell happened?” Jasper inquired again as Mingyu walked up to him, placing his hand on his shoulder, “Trust me Bruh, you don’t want to know” before walking towards where he was sitting earlier.

Jasper looked at Katrina after Mingyu walked by him, only getting a cringy expression and head shaking. He turned towards Ball who looked traumatized, he then looked at Min who finally said something in response, “Believe me when I say just trust Mingyu on this one”.

“Alright then” Jasper reluctantly accepted what Min had to say before he walked towards Bank, who was still slouched over, laser focused on the notes that Aiden lent him. When Jasper was just a feet way from Bank, he noticed that the other boy has earphones in his ears, even though Jasper was standing beside him, Bank didn’t notice Jasper as he was too focused on studying.

Jasper smiled before pressing the plastic cup that contained the mango shake on Bank’s left cheek. The coldness of the plastic cup surprised Bank as he tilted his head on the opposite direction from where the coldness was coming from. Bank took his left earphone off and turned his head towards the source of the sudden coldness that caressed his cheek.

“P’Jasper!” Bank said, obviously surprised by what Jasper just did. He sighed a little before putting the wireless earphone down next to Aiden’s binder, “Do you need something?”

Jasper smiled, finding Bank’s reaction adorable, “I’m just checking up on how you’re doing, you’ve been sitting here all by yourself being quiet”

“Sorry. I have to study, quiz tomorrow, history” Bank responded, his English a bit broken, though his voice sounding adorable like a little kid in Jasper’s ears.

“Don’t study too hard” Jasper chuckled, Bank looking at him confused.

“If I don’t study hard, I fail quiz” Bank responded, not getting the joke behind what Jasper just said.

Jasper chuckled again, “I didn’t mean it literally. You should study, but not too much, it’s bad for you”

Bank was even more confused as to what Jasper is trying to say, “Study, but don’t study?”, he responded, scratching the back of his head. Bank was a little embarrassed that he couldn’t understand what Jasper was trying to tell him.

“Oh, I feel like I’ve confused you even more” Jasper said, at loss on what to do or say next. Bank was just looking at him with a confused expression, waiting for him to say something else.

“I know” Jasper said, “Hey Min, can you come here for a bit” he called out as he gestured for Min to come over. Min playfully pushed Ball’s head as he got up from where he was sitting to head over where Jasper and Bank are.

“Yeah, what’s up?” Min asked as he reached Jasper and Bank.

“Can you explain to Bank what it means when you tell them ‘Don’t study too hard’ I feel like I’ve confused him with that saying” Jasper explained the situation to Min.

“What do you mean by ‘Don’t study too hard’, what’s the context?” Min inquired further.

“Oh, Bank looked like he was studying too hard for his quiz tomorrow, so I told him ‘Don’t study too hard’ but I think he took it literally, and he got confused by it” Jasper further explained.

“Ah, I got what you’re trying to say, most of my friends in Iowa always tell me that, more so because I’m Asian, and in the United States, Asians are stereotyped for always studying” Min said before he looked at Bank and started explaining what Jasper meant in Thai. As Min finished his explanation, Bank responded with an “Ahhh” finally understanding what Jasper was trying to say. Bank looked at Jasper, his eyes sparkling and nodded his head, finally comprehending what Jasper was trying to tell him earlier.

“Thanks Min” Jasper said as Min nodded his head before walking back to where Ball was sitting. As Min walked off, Jasper handed the mango shake to Bank, “This is for you”. Bank was caught off guard, he wasn’t expecting Jasper to get him anything, he was at loss and all he could say was “Eh?”.

“It’s a reward for studying so hard” Jasper smiled as he moved the mango shake closer to Bank who seemed hesitant to take it from him. Bank softly bit his lips, trying to decide whether or not to take the mango shake that Jasper was offering him. Before he could come to a decision, Jasper suddenly grabbed his hand and placed the mango shake in his hands.

“Just take it. I bought it for you” Jasper said as he gave another smile, ruffling Bank’s hair before he walked back towards where Mingyu and Katrina where sitting. Bank just looked at Jasper as he walked off, he then focused his attention on the mango shake in his hand as Jasper sat beside Mingyu. Bank smiled, blushing a little bit before taking a sip of the shake in his hand.

“It’s sweet, like P’Jasper” Bank said in Thai, smiling, before putting his earphones on and resumed reading.

After a little while, Moira, Angela, Grace and Aaron returned. Mingyu, Katrina, Ball, and Min were surprised to see Moira’s face back to normal, completely different from what she looked like before she went to the restroom.

“How!?!?” Mingyu exclaimed, pointing at Moira who was walking towards them, his face was confused and in utter disbelief. Min, Ball, and Katrina sharing the same reaction as Mingyu when they saw Moira. Mingyu, Katrina, Min, and Ball who were now sitting on the same table just followed Moira with their eyes until she finally sat down across from them, Angela, Grace, and Aaron sitting close to her.

“Sorry about earlier” Moira apologized to everyone, “I guess I owe you all an explanation” she chuckled as everyone’s attention was on her.

“So what did I miss?” Jasper, who was sitting next to Mingyu asked, “Was it that bad?”

“Somewhat” Aaron replied as he laughed awkwardly, scratching the back of his head, giving Jasper an extremely vague explanation.

“You definitely owe us an explanation. That was extreme Moira!” Mingyu said, his face still somewhat terrified and shaken.

“Was that a medical condition?” Katrina followed up, looking a bit more concerned than she is terrified, unlike Mingyu and Ball.

“No, it’s not really a medical condition, although sometimes I think it’s hereditary or something. In any case, this rarely happens, and the only trigger I know is sudden extreme stress and heightened emotions. I usually use the Marie Antoinette Syndrome, since it’s the closest thing I could think of, however, instead of my hair turning white, my face seems like it catches all the stress, and it turns me into someone who hasn’t slept for days, and my voice also gets raspy and stuff. As all of you could probably tell by now” Moira explained as he glanced at Jasper, “Well, not everyone since Jasper and Bank didn’t witness it”.

“I hope they don’t” Mingyu chimed in as he gave a sigh of relief, “I’m surprised your face went back to normal so quickly though”.

“Oh yeah, I just need to calm down and splash some water on my face, it helps, but it usually takes a day or two for my face to completely return to normal. The relaxing and washing part helps to the point where make-up can take care of the rest” Moira chuckled as Angela placed her hand on her shoulder.

“I’m just glad it wasn’t something that needed medical intervention” Angela commented after hearing Moira’s explanation.

“For real though. That was probably the most disturbing thing I have ever seen in my life” Grace added as she scratched her cheekbone.

“Well, at least there’s a silver lining to all of this” Moira slowly grinned as she looked at Katrina, Mingyu, Ball, and Min. The look that Moira was giving them sent shivers down to both Mingyu and Ball’s spine.

“Oh? There is?” Jasper asked before Moira’s grin turned into a full-blown smile.

“Now we know that Mingyu, Katrina, Ball, and I guess to a certain extent Min, are scared of horror movies” Moira laughed teasingly, “That’s a weakness we could exploit in the near future”.

“I’m glad you’re back to normal!” Angela said as she grabbed Moira’s arm and leaned her head on her shoulder, her face showing a smile.

“By the way, what triggered your face change?” Jasper inquired, Grace and Katrina also voicing out their curiosity as they looked at Moira.

“It was more than likely what Min said earlier” Moira responded.

“What I said?” Min responded as he pointed to himself, “The one about Aiden?”

“Yeah, that one!” Moira quickly replied, confusing everyone who was listening in on the conversation.

“How did that become a trigger?” Min asked, his face looking curious as to why his comments earlier triggered Moira’s sudden facial change.

“Well, as you all probably know, I was already fuming about the International Student Council President, but then, when you told me what you did earlier, I realized that angering Aiden was a lot more stressful than Monica – and frightening if I’m being honest” Moira explained.

“Have you seen Aiden angry?” Mingyu asked, “The most that I’ve seen was borderline frustrated and angry, but not full-blown angry”.

“Well, I got a mouthful from him this morning. That was scary enough for me, just imagining how scarier he could be when he’s really angry” Moira replied as Mingyu nodded his head in agreement.

“I’ll be honest. I think that’s also something I wouldn’t want to see” Katrina concurred with Moira.

As Cappuccino Power continued on with their conversation, some of the remaining students at the cafeteria started walking towards the exit. Their movements weren’t that noticeable, given that there were only a few students left in the cafeteria at that time. Since everyone was preoccupied with the conversation that they were having, no one noticed the students leaving, nor the current time.

As everyone conversed with each other, Min noticed the almost-total silence, with the exception of their group, which was basically the only source of noise in the cafeteria. Min scanned their surroundings and noticed that they were the only students left, “Hey guys, I don’t mean to interrupt, but I think we’re the only students left here”, Min interrupted, causing everyone to check their surroundings.

As everyone was looking around, Mingyu suddenly said, “Shit!”, causing everyone to look at him. “Guys! It’s already 13:50!” Mingyu added, prompting everyone to look at their phones to confirm what Mingyu just announced.

As they were checking the time, Mingyu had already put his backpack and on and started running towards the exit, waving his right arm in the air, “I’m going on ahead, I’ll see you guys later!”, before he pushed open one of the doors that led to the Student Center.

Just as Mingyu was exiting through the doors, Angela, Katrina, Grace, Jasper, and Ball got their backpacks on and scrambled to leave the cafeteria, they were in such a hurry that they didn’t even say a word to Min, Moira, Jasper, and Bank – who was still studying.

“There goes the neighborhood” Aaron commented as he sat and watched everyone make a mad dash out of the cafeteria.

“I guess the four of us are the only ones that doesn’t have a class at 14:00” Moira commented as she leaned her back on the table.

“It seems like it, but I think Bank has a 16:00 class though” Min said as their suddenly became eerily quiet.

“So are you done for the day Min?” Aaron asked as he moved closer to where Moira was sitting.

“Yeah, all my classes are done for the day. What about you guys?” Min responded before asking Moira and Aaron.

“Yeah, I’m done. I’m practically free for the rest of the day. That is until we start practicing for soccer again next week” Aaron replied.  

“Seriously? You play soccer?” Min responded excitedly, “I didn’t know that!”

“Yeah. I’m the Captain of the soccer team this year” Aaron replied, to Min’s surprise and delight.

“Hey! We should hang out and play soccer sometime, Ball and I used to play soccer in Thailand” Min suggested. Aaron liked the suggestion, giving Min a fist bump in response.

“That would be sweet. Maybe I should invite you guys to one of our drills once we get started with our practices” Aaron suggested.

“Oh wow, that would be awesome. I haven’t played in a while” Min responded as Moira listened on their conversation, “Ball and I used to be in the soccer team when we were in middle school and high school”.

“Really? You and Ball don’t look the type though” Moira chimed in.

“Well, he did say that they haven’t played in a while. So I guess it’s natural they don’t look like it” Aaron responded to Moira’s comment, his face making a weird expression.

“So, what do you all plan on doing for the rest of the day? Moira and I have to be in the International Student Council meeting later, but what about you Aaron?” Min asked, changing the topic of their conversation.

“Nothing really. I guess I’ll hang around until Mingyu and Jasper finish their classes, I bet they would want to do something after they finish their classes” Aaron replied, “I’ll probably go to the library and sleep”.

“You serious about sleeping in the Library?” Min asked, not sure if he was being sarcastic or not.

“Yeah, we can sleep in the library, as long as we’re not disturbing other students who are reading or studying. We can also bring food and drinks in there if we want, some students even have food delivered over there” Aaron explained to the amazement of Min as he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket.

“Wow, MJU is really laidback in a lot of things. We can’t bring food or drinks in the library in our home university” Min replied as Aaron and Moira looked at their phones, “Something up?”.

“We’ve just been summoned by Aiden to the Student Council Room” Moira replied as she and Aaron put their backpacks on, “Sorry to suddenly leave like this, we’ll see you later Min”.

“Sorry Min, we’ll talk about soccer later” Aaron said as he gave Min another fist bump, “Say bye to Bank for us” Aaron added before he and Moira started walking towards the cafeteria exit.

As Aaron and Moira left, Min walked over to where Bank is, sitting across from him before taking his phone out and started playing games on it.

Meanwhile in his office at the Student Council room, Aiden just finished reviewing and approving the revisions his officers have submitted to him, compiling all of them into a binder which he would bring to the Executive Council meeting the next day. After compiling the necessary proposals, he placed the binder in his drawer along with the other binders he will bring to his meeting the next day. Aiden then proceeded to clean and organize his desk, clearing all the papers and notes scattered on his desk, neatly compiling them and placing them on the side of his desk, topping it with his clipboard to prevent the papers from flying off his desk.

“Is it just me or has it gotten a little warmer here?” Aiden told himself as he got up and walked towards the thermostat, which is mounted on the wall above his printer. Aiden, being hot natured lowered the temperature of his office from 21°C to 12°C. As Aiden sat back down, air started blowing out of the vents in Aiden’s office, allowing Aiden to relax a little bit as the cold air touched his skin.

“That’s more like it” he commented as he leaned back on his chair, trying to get himself more comfortable, his eyes starting to relax, “Maybe I’ll nap for a few minutes”.

Just as his eyes closed, Aaron, Moira, and Amy ran into each other in front of the Student Council room. Moira and Aaron were surprised to see Amy, not expecting to see her there.

“Amy? What are you doing here? Did you need anything in the Student Council room?” Moira asked Amy, who was just standing in front of the Student Council office.

“I got a message from Aiden telling me to report to the Student Council room ASAP” Amy replied as Aaron and Moira stood in front of her.

“So he summoned you too huh?” Aaron asked, Moira was about to grab the doorknob, when she heard what Aaron just said, she turned and faced him.

“Aaron, that’s what Amy literally just said” Moira sarcastically teased before grabbing  the doorknob and opening the door. Amy chuckled as Moira entered the room, following her inside a few seconds later.

“One moment she’s a horror character, now she’s a comedian” Aaron snorted as he low-key chuckled before following Moira and Amy inside.

“I wonder what Aiden needs us for?” Moira asked as she placed her bag on top of the conference table, as Amy approached the conference table from behind

“Who knows” Aaron responded as he sat on the couch, his backpack still on his back.

“Where is Aiden anyways?” Amy asked as she pulled out one of the chairs at the conference table.

“Probably in his office, let me check” Moira said before walking towards Aiden’s office, knocking on the door twice before entering. When Moira opened the door, a gush of cold air greeted her, causing her to screech loudly. This jolted Aiden out of his nap, quickly opening his eyes to see what was happening.

When his eyes adjusted, he saw Moira standing in front of his office shivering, “Jesus Christ Moira!” Aiden said in a surprised tone, as Amy and Aaron came running from behind Moira.

“Moira you okay!?” Aaron asked, his voice sounded concerned, “What happened!?” Amy added as she and Aaron flanked Moira from behind.

“I-It’s cold in here, the cold air blew right at me” Moira stammered as she started shivering from the cold air coming out of Aiden’s office.

Aiden, Aaron, and Amy simultaneously facepalmed as Moira continued to shiver. Aiden lifted his head and gave out a deep sigh, his eyes wide open, “You scared the hell out of me”.

“So-sorry Aiden, I-I didn’t mean to wake you up, bu-but we’re all here” Moira reported as she rubbed her upper arms trying to warm herself.

“If you’re that cold Moira, just move away from the door” Aiden responded as he got up from his chair, walking towards where the others were standing. Aaron and Amy gently pulled Moira out of the way as they led her to the conference table, Aiden following them as he closed his office door.

“Right, I didn’t expect to be woken up like that” Aiden said as he leaned on the conference table, while Aaron, Moira, and Amy sat across from where Aiden is.

“Sir” Amy said as she prepared to salute Aiden, Amy’s arm was half-way up when Aiden gestured her to stop, before nodding her head, acknowledging Aiden’s order.

“Did something happen Aiden? You summoned us out of the blue” Aaron said as he pulled himself closer to the conference table after taking his seat.

“I wanted to go over the crowd and traffic control for the Student Organization Fair this Friday” Aiden responded, his eyes still looking sleepy.

“Which companies are being deployed on Friday Amy?” Aiden asked, still leaning on the conference table.

“Sir, I have requisitioned the 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th ROTC Companies for the Student Organization Fair. The Battalion will be under my command, Cadet-Colonel Belarmino has already approved their deployment” Amy reported, her voice serious and stern.

“Who’s the commanding officer of the 3^rd and 4^th again?” Aiden further inquired.

“That would be Cadet-Major Alexis Montanillo, sir” Amy replied.

“Have him take command of the Battalion; I need you to be at the control booth for the duration of the Student Organization Fair” Aiden ordered as Amy responded with a “Sir”.

“Moira, make a rotation list for the members of the Student Council that will man the control booth, make it so that each member has a 30-minute shift” Aiden instructed Moira as she took a notepad out of her bag, writing Aiden’s instruction down.

“Aaron, I want you to oversee the crowd and traffic control operations out on the floor, make sure that it’s running smoothly, have Cadet-Major Montanillo patrol the venue with you” Aiden continued

“Will do Aiden” Aaron said, nodding his head, “Also, I received word from the Office of Student Relations, they will be lending us at least 30 laptops for the check-in during the event”.

“Good. That should suffice. We’ll have some of your cadets’ man the check-in table Amy, normally members of the Freshman Council would be tasked with that, but I haven’t heard anything from them since the semester began” Aiden said as he stood upright.

“Do we have an update on the music selection for Friday?” Aiden asked as he looked at Moira who seemed unable to answer. Aiden sighed, as he pulled a chair and finally sat down.

“Where on we on that” Aiden further inquired.

“I was going to bring that up with the International Student Council President this morning, but unfortunately she didn’t seem interested in what I have to say and basically shooed me away” Moira explained as Amy and Aaron shifted their eyes towards Moira without moving their heads.

“She did what?” Aiden’s tone went higher than usually, sounding surprised by what Moira just said, though his expression didn’t change, he seemed like he was keen on knowing what transpired that morning when Moira met with the International Student Council President.

Aiden looked at Amy, then Aaron, before looking at Moira again, “I take back what I said this morning, I want a full report on what happened with your meeting”.

“Are you sure Aiden?” Moira asked, a little hesitant to share her somewhat rough experience with the International Student President.

“I wouldn’t ask if I wasn’t sure. This would be a good opportunity to gauge the character and personality of the International Student Council President before we meet her later this afternoon” Aiden responded with a hint of sarcasm in his voice, “Also, control your anger when you give your report” Aiden added as Moira took a deep breathe before narrating what transpired that morning.

As Aiden, Aaron, and Amy listened in on Moira’s report, Aaron could not help but feel a little annoyed and pissed at what Moira was telling them, especially the way Monica was treating Feng Mian, and the way she was talking to her own officers. Amy for her part felt a bit embarrassed by the fact that one of his company commanders did not even recognize the Student Council Chief of Staff, but like Aaron, she felt infuriated and also appalled by how Moira describe Monica’s treatment of her own officers. Aiden for the most part did not react whatsoever, even Aaron didn’t notice any subtle changes in his reaction while Moira was giving her report.

Although Aiden wasn’t reacting in anyway, he was listening intently on what Moira was saying, at the same time, he was analyzing what Moira was telling them and coming up with necessary countermeasures and approach in regard to dealing with Monica in his head. Although Aiden won’t say it, he feels like Monica would be a troublesome person to deal with, if he was going with Moira’s statement and description of her.

“…and so I just left the folder on her desk and went back to the Student Council office. I ran into Min in the elevator and we both headed here, that’s when you heard me ranting” Moira concluded her report about her encounter with the International Student Council President.

“Just hearing about it annoys the hell out of me. I mean, who does that to their own officers!?” Aaron vented his frustrations, “I mean, Aiden can be cold and sarcastic at times, but hell, that Monica person seems like she’s in a whole different level of rude”.

“First of all, I would like to apologize on behalf of my officers for not being able to recognize you. Secondly, I agree with Aaron, she seems like a dictator than a duly elected President of the International Student Council, I find it appalling and horrifying” Amy said as she gave her thoughts and opinions about the matter.

Aiden was quiet even after Moira concluded her report, he was still finishing up his strategy for dealing with Monica, to ensure that the meeting later that afternoon wouldn’t go south like it did with Oscar and Prince earlier in the day. Though he already had come up with an appropriate approach should the meeting go south. Aiden suddenly leaned back on his chair, making it creak, prompting Aaron, Moira, and Amy to look at Aiden whose expression remained the same.

“I know Aiden is always expressionless and all, but I can’t believe he didn’t even react to any of what Moira just told us” Amy though in her mind as she looked at Aiden.

“She sounds like a major pain to deal with” Aiden finally spoke, Moira nodding her head in agreement, “You know what, I take back everything I told you this morning Moira. The International Student Council President sounds troublesome based on your report”.

“Very well, change of plans” Aiden announced, “Moira, message all Student Council members, let them know that their attendance in tonight’s meeting is mandatory. Amy, I need Cadet-Major Montanillo and four of your cadets to attend this meeting as well, I’ll leave it to your discretion who those four would be”.

“I’m on it” Moira responded as she took her phone out and started typing her message for the Student Council Members.

“Yes sir, will do!” Amy responded as she also took her phone out and sent a message to Cadet-Major Montanillo and MJU-ROTC Command.

“What are you planning Aiden?” Aaron asked, wanting to know why there was a sudden change of plans for the meeting with the International Student Council.

“This will be a show of force to the International Student Council, more specifically to Ms. Sawyers. I will not tolerate her behavior towards my officers and the gross disrespect to the authority of this body, letting this slide would only embolden her to continue with her disrespectful attitude” Aiden explained his train of thought to Aaron.

“Amy, assign an additional company for security operations around the International House” Aiden ordered as Amy nodded in acknowledgement, altering her original message to reflect her new orders.

“Moira, call the International Exchange Program and confirm Director Guerrero’s attendance, and get Min here as soon as possible” Aiden continued as he expanded his original orders.

“I want everyone to be at the Gazebo Field HQ at 16:30 sharp. I’ll be in my office; I need an update as soon as anything new comes in. Amy, you’re dismissed. Aaron, assist Moira with anything she needs” Aiden instructed as he walked by in his office.

“Will do Aiden!” the trio responded in unison as Amy immediately got out of her chair and left the Student Council room and return to ROTC-HQ.

Back in the cafeteria, Min was playing PUBG mobile while Bank studied in front of him. The cafeteria was still void of students, except for a few staff and faculty members who were having a quick break or grading papers and conducting work related to the university. It was pretty quiet, except for the occasional sounds of keyboards clacking from the faculty members’ laptops, and the ruffling of papers. Min silenced his phone as to not disturb the calm and quiet atmosphere in the cafeteria, and not disturb Bank who is studiously studying in front of him.

As Min was playing, Bank ended his study session, even though he still had time before his 16:00 class. He closed the binder in front of him, taking his earphones out before stretching his arms out. After stretching, he waved his hand in front of Min who lowered his phone down.

“Oh, Bank. You done studying?” Min asked in Thai as he exited his game and placed his phone down on the table.

“Yeah. It was pretty hard to understand some of the words that Aiden wrote in his notes, I had to use the dictionary to look up some of the words” Bank replied in Thai as he grabbed his half-empty mango shake that he got from Jasper earlier, taking a quick sip of it.

“It’s part of the learning process. Do you feel confident about the quiz tomorrow?” Min asked, still speaking in Thai.

“I think so. I’ll probably go over Aiden’s notes again tonight, but I pretty much got the gist of it” Bank replied as he packed the binder in his bag.

“That’s good, I’ll probably study with you and Ball tonight after our meeting tonight” Min replied as Ball placed his wireless earphones in its case.

“You have another meeting tonight? Have you at least started studying for the quiz tomorrow?” Bank asked, concerned that Min might not have been able to study for their quiz.

“I skimmed through the book last night, I’ll probably do some proper reading tonight” Min replied as his phone vibrated

“I’m not too worried about you. You’re pretty smart” Ball commented while he put his backpack on as Min looked at his phone.

“Anyways, I’m going to go on ahead. I going to go ahead, I want to be early today so I could read my notes for this class” Bank told Min as he typed something on his phone.

“I’ll walk with you” Min said as he placed his phone in his pocket before putting his backpack on.

“Where you heading to?” Ball asked as he stood next to Min, holding the mango shake in his hand.

“Moira just messaged me, I’m needed at the Student Council room” Min responded as he stood up and lightly slapped Bank’s shoulder as he started walking, as Bank walked beside Min.

“Another meeting?” Ball asked as they walked towards the exit.

“I don’t know, Moira didn’t say. All she said was that Aiden wants me in the Student Council room as soon as possible” Min replied as they neared the cafeteria exit.

“Anyways, I’m heading this way. I’ll see you later Bank” Min said as he split up with Bank.

“See you later Min!” Bank called out as Min walked off in another direction before walking to the opposite direction and head to his class.

Back in the Student Council room, Moira just concluded her phone call with the International Exchange Program as Aaron stood in front of her desk. “I understand, thank you ma’am” Moira said as she hung the phone up, her hand still on the receiver.

“What did they say?” Aaron asked as Moira gave out a sigh, before she got up from where she was sitting.

“Director Guerrero called in sick today, he thought he would be better this afternoon, but apparently not. Assistant Director Nicole Sarmiento will attend in his stead” Moira explained before she started walking towards Aiden’s office to give him an update.

When Moira reached Aiden’s office, she knocked twice before opening the door, “Oh, the temperature is back to normal”.

“Did you just come in here to comment on my office’s temperature?” Aiden said sarcastically as he turned his attention from his computer to Moira.

“Errr.. No, not really?” Moira replied, sounding unsure as Aaron appeared from behind her, “I actually have some updates to report”.

“You should’ve said that first, anyways, what is it?” Aiden asked as Moira and Aaron entered his office.

“I haven’t heard anything from the Student Council members, I imagine they’re still in class. I did receive a reply from Min, he should be here any minute. Also, I just got in touch with the International Exchange Program, they said that Director Guerrero won’t be in the meeting, Assistant Director Sarmiento will be attending in his place” Moira reported as Aaron flanked her.

Aiden looked at the time on his computer – 15:45. “Everyone should be replying soon, let me know their responses, and send Min in here when he arrives” Aiden instructed as Aaron and Moira nodded their heads in acknowledgement as they turned around to leave Aiden’s office. As Moira and Aaron were leaving, the door to the Student Council room opened and Min walked in.

Moira stopped and turned back around to face Aiden, “Min just walked in”. Aaron then gestured at Min to come to Aiden’s office, which prompted him to canter towards where everyone was.

“Hey, what’s going on? Did you need me for something” Min said as he entered the office, Moira and Aaron, still standing inside Aiden’s office.

“Yes. Inform Monica Sawyers that the entire Student Council will be attending tonight’s meeting” Aiden ordered Min who quickly got his phone out and started writing an email to Monica.

As Min was composing his email, Moira’s phone started vibrating back-to-back. She took her phone out and saw a notification banner showing her that Grace, Katrina, Angela, and Kobe responded to her message. She opened LINE and all the members said that they were going to make it to the meeting tonight with the International Student Council and agreed to meet at the Gazebo at 16:30.

“Aiden, the other Student Council members said that they will make it to the meeting” Moira reported as Aaron leaned towards her.

“Did you send those messages individually?” Aaron whispered into Moira’s ear.

“Yeah, why?” Moira replied, curious as to why Aaron would ask something so random.

“You do know we have a group chat, right? Wouldn’t it have been easier to send it there?” Aaron asked.

“I mean, half of us already know the change, besides, if I sent it on the GC, it might blow up Aiden’s notification” Moira explained defense of her actions.

“Touché” Aaron responded as he returned to his original position.

“Email has just been sent to Monica, Aiden” Min reported, “Did something happen? What’s with the change of plans all of a sudden”.

Before Aiden could respond, Aaron spoke first, “Moira gave us a report of what happened with her and Monica this morning. Aiden decided to bring the entire Student Council and some members of the ROTC as a show of force”, Min could only cringe in response to Aaron.

“Moira, prep the talking points and agenda for tonight. Min and Aaron, help her with what she needs. We’ll head to the meeting place in 15-minutes, be ready by then” Aiden instructed as the trio in his office immediately complied. After 15-minutes Aiden walked out of his office, Moira, Aaron, and Min were waiting by the door.

“Everyone ready?” Aiden asked as he walked towards the trio, the three nodded as Aiden opened the door and exited the Student Council room, Moira, Aaron, and Min followed suit in that order. There were a number of students in the corridor when Aiden and his group left the Student Council room, as usual they had their phones out, taking pictures and/or videos.

“Aaron, assume delta formation when we exit the Student Center, take the rear, let Moira and Min know where they should be” Aiden instructed as they walked towards the elevator. Min and Moira looked at Aaron, confused as to what Aiden meant by “delta formation”.

“It’s a three-person formation to cover Aiden. Basically, there will be two people walking at least a few feet in front of Aiden, one to his right and the other to his left, the third person would cover the back” Aaron explained as they reached the elevators. As they waited for the elevator to arrive, Aaron continued his explanation.

“Aiden asked me to cover the rear, Min take up the position on the right, Moira will take the left. Aiden can walk pretty fast, so make sure he doesn’t end up walking beside you or in front of you. You have to make sure he’s in the center of the formation at all times” Aaron further explained as the elevator doors opened. When it opened, there were four students inside, who screamed as soon as they saw Aiden.

Aiden closed his eyes for a second and opened them again in response. Aaron then asked the students to immediately vacate the elevator as they were heading to an important meeting, to which the students complied, but not before taking a picture of Aiden, then Min, and Aaron as they walked out of the elevator. After the students vacated the elevator, Aaron entered first, followed by Aiden, then Moira and Min.

As the elevator descended, Aaron spoke again, “Once we exit the elevator, assume delta formation immediately, and keep that formation until we reach the International House. We’ll probably encounter a number of students, and probably some AGs as we head towards the International House, no matter what happens, stay in formation, especially you Min”. Min turned around and looked at Aaron, “Me?”.

“Yes. After the Gerry’s Grill incident, your face has become well known throughout campus. Expect students to take pictures and videos of you, some may even approach you. Try to ignore them as much as possible and just keep walking” Aaron explained.

“I understand” Min responded before returning to his previous position.

“Once the doors open, start walking, make sure to move fast, don’t run or jog though” Aaron added before the elevator doors opened. When the doors opened, there were a number of students waiting in front of the elevator. Just as Aaron has instructed, Min and Moira quickly walked out, going to their assigned their positions as most of the students around them gave muffled screams, taking their phones out to take pictures and/or videos.

When they left the Student Center, Aiden spoke, “The AGs already know my location, keep your eyes peeled for students that have a black and blue armband, keep your formation tight”.

Just as Aiden said, students with black and blue armband started appearing from different directions as they walked towards the International House. A number of students were also starting to line their path towards their destination, most have their phones out, and some were just looking on. Further ahead, there were a group of students clumped together wearing the black and blue armband, their screams could be heard even from a distance.

“Hey, the AGs can’t approach us because of the collective rule right?” Min asked, his eyes focused in front of him as he and Moira tried to keep their formation.

“The collective rule only states that they cannot interact with Aiden, it doesn’t say anything about not approaching him” Aaron responded from behind Aiden.

“Shiaa!” (เชี่ยย!) Min loudly exclaimed as his face started looking distressed and panicked. Moira and Aaron looked at Min after he exclaimed something that they didn’t understand. Aiden though, in an extremely rare moment, lowered his head a little bit to hide his face from everyone, biting his lips to prevent himself from chuckling at Min’s predicament. Lucky for him, Min, Moira, and Aaron were too distracted with their surroundings to even notice his almost-explicit reaction – a complete break from his usual persona. Aiden though, almost immediately dismissed Min’s reaction and returned to his normal stoic face, tilting his head up after ensuring that his face was expressionless again. After they passed the clumped AG members that were screaming like deranged fans, a handful of students tried to approach their formation.

“Aiden, one student approaching from 11:00 o’clock, three students from 2 o’clock” Aaron announced, “Min! Three students inbound coming from your direction. Moira you have one student coming from your end!” Aaron called out as Moira and Min started to panic, not knowing how to effectively respond to the oncoming students without breaking their formation.

“This is bad, Moira and Min have no experience in this” Aiden thought to himself, his external expression still the same, masking the worry he was starting to feel. Just as the three students got close to the formation, Mingyu, Jasper, and Ball appeared from the crowd. Mingyu immediately intercepted the three students and prevented them from breaching the formation, while Jasper took care of the other student approaching from Moira’s side, Ball walked up beside Aaron as he walked beside him. After taking care of the students, Jasper and Mingyu joined the formation, the former walking beside Moira, the latter beside Min. Seeing Mingyu and Jasper enabled Aiden to subtly breathe a sigh of relief.

“Mingyu! Jasper! Aaron! Elongated dipyramid formation. Mingyu take point; Jasper, take Moira’s position; Min stay where you are; Moira move to the back; Aaron, take care of the rear formation, you’re rear guard” Aiden ordered as everyone moved in accordance to Aiden’s instruction. Mingyu walked a couple of feet in front of Aiden, a few feet from the other two up front while Min stayed in his position, Jasper taking Moira’s place. Moira moved to the back and was instructed by Aaron to walk behind Aiden on the left-hand side, while he placed Ball on the right-hand side, while he walked a few feet behind Ball and Moira.

As they neared the International House, the number of students started getting thinner thanks to the presence of the ROTC around the vicinity. When the number of students went down from lines and clumps to a few scattered, Aiden ordered the formation to be loosened, assuming the delta formation again with Jasper and Mingyu up front, with Aaron remaining in his original position. Ball walked beside Aaron on his right-hand side, while Moira and Min walked on his left-hand side.

Katrina and Angela were already by the Gazebo in front of the International House, conversing with Amy as Aiden’s group arrived. When they passed by the formation of cadets in front of the Gazebo, they were greeted by a loud thud from the clicking of their boots, followed by a salute to Aiden, “Stand at ease” Aiden ordered as he walked past them. Ball looked so amazed by what he just saw that his mouth was wide open as he walked passed the formation of cadets.

“Angela, hold these for a second” Moira said as she passed the binder and folders that she was carrying, before putting both her hands on her knees, catching her breathe. Min on the other hand, held unto the railing of the Gazebo to do the same, as Ball, Mingyu, Jasper and Aaron stood behind Aiden.

“Oh my God Moira, Min, are you guys okay?” Angela asked as she looked at Min and Moira.

“Jesus, what the hell happened to you guys?” Moira commented, looking at Aaron, Mingyu, and Jasper.

“It was Moira and Min’s first time in delta formation” Aaron chuckled responding to Moira’s question.

“It was also Moira, Min, and Ball’s first time on elongated dipyramid formation, though it was on the latter half of the journey though, so Ball wasn’t as drained as Moira and Min” Mingyu smiled as he placed his hand on Ball’s shoulder.

“They did good though, given that they didn’t drill for it” Aaron added as he walked over to Min and patted his shoulder.

“Thanks” Min said as he normalized his breathing.

“Katrina, I don’t know how you do it” Moira said as she caught her breathe, with Angela patting her back.

“Well, we’ve been doing it since our senior year in high school” Katrina said, looking at Moira who looked like she needed a ventilator to help her breath.

“You three did exceptionally good, considering that was your first time” Aiden chimed in surprising everyone who was present, a rare compliment coming from Aiden. His face remaining stoic as Amy passed him a clipboard that contained the situation report regarding the security perimeter. He skimmed through it before he and Amy walked into the Gazebo, where the NCOs and officers of the two ROTC companies currently deployed in the International House vicinity were.

As Aiden was meeting with the officers, Aaron called on Ball who was chatting with Mingyu, “Hey Ball, I have a question for you”.

“Hmmm? What is it?” Ball responded as he and Mingyu turned towards Aaron.

“What does ‘Shiaaa’ mean?” Aaron asked, trying to pronounce the word just as how he heard Min say it earlier, surprising Min and Ball.

“Where did you hear that from?” Ball asked his face was borderline smiling and laughing.

“That was my fault, I accidentally said it while we were headed here” Min chimed in, speaking in Thai, causing Ball to laugh.

“What did Min say?” Aaron asked.

“Oh, he said that it was his fault, and that he said it by accident” Ball said as he translated what Min just said, “Anyways, it means ‘Fucccccccccckkkkkkkkkkk!’, ‘Say whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat’, or ‘Shit’, depending on the context and situation” Ball explained before laughing again.

“That’s the first time I’ve heard Min cuss” Aaron laughed as Min, Jasper and Mingyu listened in on their exchange, at the same time, Kobe and Grace arrived at the Gazebo.

“Have you all waited long?” Grace asked, as she walked towards Katrina, Kobe fist bumping the guys.

“No, everybody pretty much just got here” Katrina replied as Grace looked at Moira whose breathing was just now starting to normalize.

“What happened to Moira?” Grace asked as she walked towards where the girls were.

“She helped with Aiden’s defensive formation earlier” Katrina replied, “It can be rough”.

“Aiden’s defensive formation?” Grace asked, “What is that?”

“It’s similar to the ROTC’s protective formation, like what they did during the Gerry’s Grill incident, though It’s mainly formulated by Aiden for me, Mingyu, Aaron, and Jasper”, Katrina explained.

“What does that entail?” Grace further inquired.

“Basically, we maintain a formation and make sure no AG or other students could get close to Aiden, he’s very particular about his personal space, especially with random people” Katrina said.

“It doesn’t sound difficult” Grace responded confidently as Moira gave Grace the “look” in response.

“It’s not as easy as it sounds you know” Moira responded, now standing upright, her breathing normalized, “There’s more to it than keeping the formation and preventing students from getting near Aiden”.

“It seems pretty simple to me” Grace responded in an arrogant tone, the atmosphere between Moira and Grace suddenly turning tense.

“Hah! I’d like to see you try, you’re always all talk, but when it comes to it you fail to deliver” Moira responded in an equally arrogant tone.

“I’m not the one out of breathe here” Grace shot back as Angela, Katrina, Aaron, Kobe, Jasper, and Mingyu looked on.

“Woah, what’s happening between them?” Min asked in a worried tone, “Should anyone intervene?”

“Nah, let them be. I wouldn’t worry too much” Kobe casually dismissed Min’s concern, to the surprise of Ball, Jasper, and Mingyu who were standing close to him.

“It looks and sounds like they’re about to fight though” Ball shared his concern as he watched and listened to Grace and Moira who was talking back to each other. Min turned his attention towards Aiden, who was merely a few feet away from Grace and Moira, and he didn’t seem concerned about what was going in, flipping through the papers on the clipboard as if nothing’s happening.

“What’s going on here? I don’t understand. Why are the Student Council members so calm about this?” Min asked as he looked at everyone present. The cadets in formation, although seemingly at an at ease stance, were obviously watching as their eyes were all focused on Grace and Moira as they exchanged heated words between each other.

“Grace and Moira have had this rivalry between them since we were in the Freshmen Council, they’ll stop at some point” Aaron explained the situation to Min, Ball, Jasper and Mingyu.

“Really? They seem like they’re good friends though. I’ve never seen them argue like that before” Min commented as Aaron placed his hand on Min’s shoulder again.

“It’ll be fine, they’ll be talking to each other later as if nothing happened. Just think of it as a semi-friendly rivalry between them” Aaron said as he tried to reassure Min.

Katrina and Angela seem to have their own rivalry, in the form of betting who would blink first between Grace and Moira. Katrina have always bet on Grace, while Angela always placed her bet on Moira, so far the count has been tied between Grace and Moira ever since Katrina and Angela started betting.

“Who do you think would blink first?” Aaron asked Kobe, “Want to bet 200 pesos on it, Kobe?”

“Not a chance, lesson learned after what happened during orientation” Kobe responded confidently, “I’m not falling for that one again”

“Alright, no bet. Who’s your pick?” Aaron rephrased his question to Kobe.

“I’ll go with Moira on this one” Kobe said, placing his hands on his hips as he chose his fighter.

“I’ll go with Grace” Aaron picked with confidence in his voice. Jasper, Mingyu, Min, and Ball just looked at each other, watching as things unfold between the Student Council members.

As Katrina, Angela, Kobe, and Aaron watched the war of words between Grace and Moira, five silhouettes coming from the east, appeared - it was Cadet-Major Montanillo and four other cadets behind him. As they approached the Gazebo, Cadet-Major Montanillo turned his attention to where Grace and Moira were, confused, but curious as to what was happening between the two. He quickly shook his head and focused his attention on the Gazebo, stopping in front of the steps the led inside the FHQ.

Cadet-Major Montanillo and the four cadets clicked their heels as they saluted Aiden and Cadet-Major Del Rosario who were in the Gazebo, “Cadet-Major Montanillo reporting as ordered!” he announced as Amy and Aiden looked at them, Amy returning the salute while Aiden only nodding his head in acknowledgement.

“At ease” Cadet-Major Del Rosario ordered as Aiden read through one final page of the report before handing it over to Cadet-Lieutenant Policarpio before walking out of the Gazebo, Amy walking beside him.

“You could stop your petty fight now” Aiden called out in a loud voice, referring to Grace and Moira who immediately complied as Aiden stood a few feet from Cadet-Major Montanillo, Amy flanking him on his right-hand side.

Angela and Katrina simultaneously rolled their eyes, knowing that it was a tie between Grace and Moira. Kobe was confused as to who won that round until Katrina made a gesture similar to tying a necktie to inform Kobe and Aaron that it was a tie, to their disappointment.

“Mingyu, Jasper, and Ball you all can go. This is a Student Council matter from this point on” Aiden announced as Mingyu and Jasper gave Ball, Min, Aaron, and Kobe fist bumps. After they finished fist bumping the guys, Jasper and Mingyu called out to Katrina, Grace, Angela and Moira showing them the peace sign as they both walked away from the Gazebo.

As Jasper and Mingyu walked off, Aiden started walking towards the International House, Cadet-Major Montanillo and the four cadets followed, with Grace, Moira, Katrina, Angela, Aaron, Kobe, and Ball behind them, Cadet-Major Del Rosario stayed for a little bit, handing command of the Battalion outside the International House over to Cadet-Lieutenant Policarpio, instructing him to radio in should anything happen while they are in the meeting, before following the Student Council members.

As Aiden approached the entrance, the two cadets on the base of the steps clicked their heels and gave a salute. When Aiden started walking up the steps, the two cadets by the door clicked their heels before giving a salute, one of them immediately putting her arm down to swipe a keycard into the card reader to unlock the door, pulling it open, allowing Aiden to walk inside without stopping as his retinue followed closely behind. The cadets on the base of the steps ended their salute after Cadet-Major Del Rosario passed them, as did the cadets by the door. The cadet holding the door open, released her hold after Cadet-Major Del Rosario entered, allowing it to slowly close before returning to her initial post and assuming the “Parade Rest” stance like the other three cadets at the entrance.

There were a number of International Students in the lobby when they entered, all of which were looking at Aiden. Some even had their phones out as they took pictures of the group, mainly Aiden and Min for the guys and Moira and Katrina for the girls.

“I’ll see you back in the room later Min, good luck with the meeting!” Ball said in Thai as he broke off from the group and walked towards their suite.

“We’ll take two separate elevators. Cadet-Major Montanillo, you and your cadets take one, Kobe, and Angela with them. Amy and the rest of you with me” Aiden instructed as Alex pressed the “up” button on the left-hand side elevator, while Moira clicked the “up” button on the middle elevator.

“What floor?” Cadet-Major Montanillo asked as Kobe and Angela walked towards his group, while Amy walked towards Aiden’s group.

“10^th floor” Min responded as Cadet-Major Montanillo nodded his head in thanks and acknowledgement. The elevator in front of Aiden’s group was the first one to open, allowing them to enter the elevator first. Cadet-Major Montanillo and his group waited close to a minute before the elevator arrived. Aiden’s group waited until the other group reached the 10^th floor before proceeding to the International Student Lounge. When the other group emerged from the other elevator, Aiden started walking towards the glass doors of the lounge. Before Aiden could get close to the doors, Amy gestured for two cadets to head to the door and open it for Aiden and the retinue before they reach it.

As the two cadets ran past by him, Aiden turned his head slightly towards Amy’s direction, who was walking at his right-hand side, “Amy, have those two cadets stand guard outside, no one gets in other than the members of the International Student Council and Assistant Director Sarmiento” he ordered just as the two cadets reached the doors and opened it for Aiden and his retinue.

“Min!” Aiden called out as they neared the doors. Min came jogged to the front of the group where Aiden was, walking on his left-hand side between him and Grace.

“Yes?” Min said as he caught up to Aiden.

“Wait outside with the two cadets, and only let in the members of the International Student Council and Assistant Director Sarmiento” Aiden instructed him to which Min nodded in acknowledgement of Aiden’s instructions, “Join us inside once all of the International Student Council members have shown up”, Aiden added as he entered through the doors, the cadets clicking their heels and saluting as he walked by. Min and Cadet-Major Del Rosario stayed behind as the group converged in the lobby of the lounge.

“You two, no one gets in except for the members of the International Student Council and International Exchange Program Assistant Director Sarmiento” Amy ordered her cadets as she stood in front of the glass doors that her cadets were holding open.

“Also, this is the International Student Representative and member of the Student Council, he will identify the members of the International Student Council” Amy continued, gesturing to Min as she introduced him to her cadets before giving a salute and walking inside the lounge. As Amy entered, the two cadets gave a salute before releasing their hold on the glass door handle, allowing it to slowly close.

“Hey! I’m Min. I’ll let you guys know if any of the student who approaches the lounge is an International Student Council member, okay?” Min introduced himself with a smile. He didn’t get any verbal response from the cadet, but he was responded to by the unison clicking of their heels and a salute, before assuming the “Parade Rest” stance, one cadet each side of the glass doors.

After entering the lounge’s lobby, Moira and Grace immediately walked towards the front desk, now manned by three desk workers, one of them was the desk worker that Moira met that morning. All three seemed surprised by the sudden and early arrival of the Student Council members.

“Ms. Moira Sato, is that correct? Student Council Chief of Staff?” the desk worker from that morning greeted Moira.

“Yes, that is correct. You remembered” Moira replied as she and Grace stood on the other side of the desk where the desk worker was, now sitting at the center, her colleagues manning either end.

“This is Grace Manalo, Vice President of the Student Council” Moira continued as she introduced Grace to the desk worker.

“Nice to meet you Ms. Manalo” the desk worker looked at Grace to acknowledge her before turning her attention back towards Moira, “The members of the International Student Council are not here yet, you could wait here in the lounge until they arrive”. Moira and Grace turned their heads towards Aiden who was standing a few feet behind them, seemingly awaiting instructions.

“Are there any International Students in the lounge right now?” Aiden asked the desk worker, his stoic expression and cold tone reinforced with decisiveness.

“Yes, sir, we do have a number of International Students in the lounge as we speak” the desk worker responded, recognizing the person who just spoke.

“Have all of them clear the area in preparation for our meeting with the International Student Council” Aiden instructed as Moira and Grace looked at each other first, then the desk worker, her two colleagues on either end of the desk also looking at her, awaiting whether she would comply with Aiden’s order. After a minute, she nodded her head and picked up the phone and pressed “page” before making an announcement over the PA within the lounge.

“Attention all International Students currently in the lounge, due to a planned meeting that will be taking place here this afternoon, we kindly ask our International Students to please vacate the lounge immediately; I repeat, all International Students please vacate the lounge immediately” the desk worker paged before hanging up the phone. She then looked at Moira and gestured towards her left, where the couches and arm chairs were located and invited them to seat down while they wait for the International Students to vacate the lounge.

Grace and Moira then looked at Aiden again before he started walking towards the desk, prompting Moira and Grace to take a step on the left and right respectively to make room for Aiden. As Aiden stood between Moira and Grace, he looked at the desk worker, “Thank you, the Student Council appreciate your cooperation” before he walked towards where the armchairs and couches were located, followed by Moira and Grace, then the rest of his retinue. Aiden sat on one of the armchairs facing outside of the lounge’s lobby. Grace then sat on the arm chair on Aiden’s right-hand side.

Moira and Amy stood behind Aiden to his left-hand and right-hand side respectively, while Cadet-Major Montanillo stood at attention on Grace’s right-hand side. Katrina and Angela sat on the couch to Aiden’s left, while Kobe and Aaron sat on the couch to Grace’s right. The two cadets that entered with them positioned themselves, on Cadet-Major Montanillo’s order, on the opposite side of the two cadets, their backs facing each other, divided by the glass wall.

As they were waiting, Moira handed Aiden the binder that she was carrying, which contained a detailed version of the meeting agenda that were in the folders. Aiden was in the middle of reviewing the contents when something caught his eye, he slightly lifted his head up to adjust his line of sight, this caused him to do a double take when he saw what Min was doing outside.

“What the hell Min” Aiden exhaled, his voice sounding like he had just given up before facepalming, causing everyone to look at Aiden first, then outside, where they could see what Min was doing. Amy and Cadet-Major Montanillo looked with surprise and amazement when they saw what Min was doing, while the rest of the Student Council members chuckled at the sight.

Outside, Min was standing in front of the cadet standing at “Parade Rest” stance on the left, from the perspective of the people inside. Min has his face a few inches away from the cadet, doing a peek-a-boo in front of her, trying to get some reaction of some sort to no avail. He tried scaring the cadet, to see if she would flinch, also to no avail. He then started a random staring contest to see who would flinch fist, again to no avail. The immature and comedic antics Min was doing looked hilarious to the people inside, garnering some chuckles and muffled laughter, though it did not seem that Min was aware that everyone inside was watching as he was fully focused on what he was doing to even notice.

Aiden was about to order Amy to deal with Min when scattered chatters and laughter came from the corridor that led to the interior of the lounge. The chatters and laughter become louder as the International Students emerged from the corridor, prompting the two cadets posted in the interior to open the doors for the International Students walking out of the lounge. Some of the International Students thanked and nodded at the cadets that opened the door for them, while some looked at the direction where Aiden and his retinue were sitting. The sudden appearance of the International Students forced Min to stop what he was doing, greeting some of the people leaving the lounge.

As the International Students exited the lounge, Aiden took his phone out to check the time – 16:38. “Moira and Alexis, once the International Students have cleared the lobby, head inside the lounge and see if you can find an appropriate place where we can hold a large number of people” Aiden instructed before placing his phone back in his pocket and resumed looking at the binder that Moira handed him earlier. It took another minute or two before all the International Students was able to clear the lobby, once the glass doors closed again, Cadet-Major Montanillo and Moira started walking towards the direction of the corridor, the former gesturing to the two cadets inside to follow them, clicking their heels before walking towards the same direction.

As Cadet-Major Montanillo, Moira, and the two cadets scouted the interior of the lounge, two silhouettes emerged from the elevator. It was Feng Mian and Emily, the Secretary of the International Student Council and the International Student Council President’s assistant. As they exited the elevator, they noticed Min and the two cadets standing outside the lounge’s entrance. They briefly looked at each other, confused, before proceeding to walk in their direction.

“Feng Mian, Emily!” Min called out as the two girls got close to the lounge entrance.

“Hey Min, what’s with the ROTC cadets?” Emily asked.

“Oh, Aiden posted them out here, he doesn’t want anyone else entering the lounge except for the meeting participants, he already cleared the lounge of all the International Students” Min explained.

“The entirety of the Student Council is present for the meeting; they’re waiting in the lobby” Min added as Feng Mian replied with an “Oh”.

“Something wrong Feng Mian?” Emily asked.

“Nothing, it’s just I was under the impression that only a select few members of the Student Council would be in attendance” Feng Mian responded looking confused.

“Wait. Did Monica not inform you guys?” Min reacted in surprise.

“Inform us about what?” Emily asked.

“I emailed Monica earlier, telling her that Aiden was going to bring the entire Student Council members to the meeting tonight” Min informed Feng Mian and Emily who looked like they weren’t informed about it nor that they were aware of the change of plans.

“We haven’t heard from Monica all day” Feng Mian said as Min scratched his forehead in frustration.

“You may have to explain that to Aiden and the other Student Council members” Min said before giving a thumbs up to the cadets, as they pulled the door open.

“Right. I’ll leave that to Feng Mian, she is an officer of the International Student Council after all” Emily said as she gently placed her hand on Feng Mian’s shoulder.

“I might as well” Feng Mian sighed at Emily’s comment.

“You’ll be fine, I don’t think the Student Council President is anything like Monica. Come along now” Emily said as she grabbed on to Feng Mian’s arm as she gently pulled the other girl towards the entrance. As the pass by the cadets, they clicked their heels and gave a salute, which startled both Emily and Feng Mian before entering the lobby. As they entered, Moira and her group emerged from the corridor. Upon seeing Moira, Emily released her hold from Feng Mian’s arm and called out to Moira.

“Moira!” Emily called out, her British accent resonating within the lobby”

“Oh, hey! Emily, Feng Mian” Moira greeted back, “We’re going to have to move our meeting to a larger room, I was just about to report back to Aiden”.

“Oh, that’s perfect. Feng Mian has something to tell Aiden as well. Maybe you could introduce us” Emily said as Feng Mian listened on.

“Right, follow me” Moira said as she walked towards where Aiden is, followed by Emily and Feng Mian.

“Aiden, we found a suitable location for the meeting that could hold the increased number of participants. I took it upon myself to go ahead and re-arrange the tables to a more suitable setup” Moira reported as Aiden skimmed through the pages of the binder he was holding. Moira continued as she introduced Feng Mian and Emily to Aiden, prompting the rest of the Student Council members and Amy to look at the two International Students.

Aiden didn’t say a word, he just skimmed through the final pages of the binder that he was holding before closing it and passing it to Moira as he got up from the chair he was sitting on. He acknowledged Feng Mian and Emily, introducing himself and exchanging pleasantries with them before Feng Mian broke out the news about the International Student Council members being unaware of the changes in the meeting attendees that was made.

“Excuse me?” Aiden reacted to what Feng Mian just told him, his face a little bit irked at the fact that Monica failed to inform his staff about the changes that he had made for the meeting.

“If Min didn’t inform us about it, we wouldn’t have known that there were any changes to the meeting” Feng Mian added as she apologized to Aiden.

“No need to apologize. What’s done is done, we’ll just have to deal with it” Aiden told Feng Mian, reassuring her that the Student Council doesn’t blame her for Monica’s incompetence.

“Moira, lead the way to our meeting room” Aiden ordered as Moira led their group to where they would be holding their meeting. Aiden gestured to Feng Mian and Emily to go with them.

The new meeting room that Moira has chosen was a room right next to Monica’s office, accessible using the first hallway between the open area and the restrooms. It was also accessible through the glass door beside the couches in the waiting area in front of Monica’s office. The room where they are moving their meeting to is an audio-visual room, the wall that faced the hallway is a glass wall where the door was also located, the other three sides of the room was an actual physical wall.

The room was equipped with a 75-inch flat screen television which was mounted on the wall across from the glass door, there are four long tables which were moved around by Moira and her scouting group to form a U-shaped conference table, placing the extra table against the physical wall on one side of the room. In front of the flat screen television was a table that was placed vertically, facing the door, the two other tables where placed horizontally on either side of the table in front of the television.

When Aiden’s retinue entered the audio-visual room, he designated the table on the left as where the Student Council would be sitting and the table across from it, the International Student Council. The table in front of the television was reserved for the Assistant Director. After Aiden designated where each group would be sitting, he instructed his officer to start prepping the room. He then ordered Amy to post the other two cadets outside the audio-visual room.

Moira and Katrina started placing the folders on the tables, placing seven folders on the Student Council table, and five on the International Student Council table. The binder that Aiden was reviewing earlier was placed on the table where Assistant Director Sarmiento would be sitting. Aaron and Kobe started arranging the chairs on each table, the number of which corresponded to the number of folders placed on the tables. Feng Mian and Emily were at awe on the speed, efficiency and coordination of the Student Council members in converting the audio-visual room into an improvised conference room.

“Do you all happen to have water bottles here?” Grace asked Feng Mian and Emily while the other Student Council officers prepared the room for the meeting, with the exception of Aiden who was talking with Amy and Cadet-Major Montanillo on the side.

“I believe we have some in the pantry” Feng Mian replied.

“Do you mind showing me where it is?” Grace asked as Feng Mian and Emily showed her the way. Grace motioned to the two cadets outside the room to follow them as they exited the audio-visual room. As Grace and the two cadets went with Feng Mian and Emily to get bottled waters, Cadet-Lieutenant Policarpio radioed in to report that Assistant Director Sarmiento was on her way up, escorted by a cadet.

“Alexis, go ahead and meet them by the elevator and escort the Assistant Director here” Amy ordered as Cadet-Major Montanillo walked out of the room. Amy then turned to face Aiden who looked like he was in deep thought. “Something on your mind sir?” Amy asked.

“How do you think this meeting would go Amy? I want your honest opinion” Aiden asked as he looked at Amy who seemed surprised at Aiden’s question.

“Permission to speak freely sir?” Amy requested who was standing at ease, Aiden nodded in response, granting Amy’s request.

“I’ll be honest sir, if we’re going by Moira’s report, you probably could expect some resistance from the International Student Council President. Personally sir, I don’t like her attitude, based on what Moira has told us during her debrief” Amy responded bluntly.

“You think there’s a chance this could go south?” Aiden further asked as Aaron and Kobe finished arranging the chairs they need before walking towards the unused table where Moira and Angela were.

“I’ll put the probability at 95% at best, sir” Amy confidently replied.

“That’s what I thought, I guess we’ll see once we actually meet her face to face” Aiden said just as Grace, Feng Mian, Emily and the two cadets returned with bottles of water.

Grace instructed the cadets to place one bottle in front of each folder, which they promptly carried out. After they placed all the water bottle where they needed to be, Grace dismissed them, returning to their post outside the audio-visual room. Feng Mian and Emily just stood by the door as they received no instructions whatsoever from Monica, other than to show up to the meeting early.

“Grace, go ahead and grab the laptop over there” Aiden instructed as he pointed at the laptop charging station right behind the International Student Council table, “We may have to use visuals when we present the Gang of Eight. Also, let Min know where we are”.

“Will do, Aiden” Grace replied as she made her way to the other side of the room to grab one of the charging laptops, messaging Min as walked to her destination.

As Grace was walking towards the other side of the room, Aiden instructed his officers to take their seats. Angela sat at the very end of the table, close to the television, followed by Kobe, Moira, Aiden, Katrina and Aaron. Amy stood at ease behind Aiden’s chair to his left-hand side. The seat between Aiden and Katrina was left empty for Grace, and the last chair to Aaron’s right for Min.

Just as the members of the Student Council took their seats, Cadet-Major Montanillo entered the room with Assistant Director Sarmiento. Aiden immediately stood back up as the Assistant Director entered the room, Aiden’s officer following his lead.

“Assistant Director Sarmiento, thank you for taking the time to attend this joint meeting between the Student Council and the International Student Council” Aiden greeted the Assistant Director as she walked to where Aiden was and shook his hand. After they exchanged pleasantries, Amy escorted the Assistant Director to her designated seat, before returning to where she was standing earlier, Cadet-Major Montanillo standing at ease beside Amy on her right-hand side. At this time, Grace just finished setting up the laptop, having already connected the HDMI cable from the laptop to the television, leaving Angela as the operator since she was closer to the television, before taking her seat next to Aiden.

You know, the two of you could sit down right?” Aiden told Feng Mian and Emily who was still standing next to the door.

“Would that be okay with you?” Feng Mian asked, hesitant to just take seat without the Student Council President’s permission.

“Yes, it’s fine. You don’t need my permission to sit down” Aiden replied as Feng Mian and Emily sat across from the Student Council. Just as Feng Mian and Emily sat down, Aiden saw Min walking down the corridor, with four other people following him. When the cadets outside saw them approaching, they opened the door and clicked their heels and gave a salute as Min walked past them and entered the room.

Min was followed by Monica Sawyers, Emeline Marcelle Cailteux, Justin Rivington, and Shin Lee in that order. When Feng Mian and Emily saw Monica, they immediately got out of their chairs and walked towards her. As Feng Mian and Emily stood in front of Monica, she immediately removed her back pack, followed by her cardigan and dumped it on Feng Mian’s hands.

As Monica threw her stuff on Feng Mian, Aaron gestured over to Min to let him know that the seat next to him was his. Min then walked over to where Aaron is seating and sat on the empty chair beside him. Monica’s action slightly incensed Moira and caused Aiden to raise his left brow at Monica.

Feng Mian immediately left the audio-visual room to place the cardigan and backpack in Monica’s office. “Tea, Emily” Monica ordered as she walked towards the empty seats, followed by Emeline, Justin, and Shin, as Emily left the room to fetch Monica a cup of tea. Monica took her seat first, three seats away from the television. Shin Lee sat on the chair closest to the television, followed by Justin Rivington, with Emeline sitting next to Monica to her right.

“Assistant Director” Monica said, nodding to acknowledge her presence.

“Monica” Assistant Director Sarmiento replied, giving her a nod.

“Right. Let’s get started” Monica announced as she opened the folder in front of her, which irked Aiden.

“Ms. Sawyers, not all of your officers are here yet. You also seem to forget that the Mount Juliet Student Council members are sitting across from you” Aiden coldly remarked as Monica forgot to even greet or acknowledge them, she slightly tilted her head up, making eye contact with Aiden.

“That’s President Sawyers to you, President Kobayashi” Monica scoffed.

“I’ve seen nothing so far to indicate that you deserve the title” Aiden hit back as tension between them started to fill the room. Assistant Director Sarmiento only watched as the two exchanged salvos.

“Really now? Considering this is our first meeting, I’m not sure how you can come to that conclusion” Monica responded, her Kiwi accent becoming more pronounced.

“The report that I received from my Chief of Staff provided sufficient substance to allow me to come up with that conclusion” Aiden responded his posture and tone of voice showing confidence and authority.

“Hardly any substance, if you ask me. If it came from your Chief of Staff, the possibility of biased and one-sided opinion can’t be ruled out” Monica pushed back.

“True, there is that possibility. However, your own council secretary’s statement earlier just provided more substance and credibility to the report my Chief of Staff” Aiden scoffed before continuing, “Your failure to even inform your own officers of the changes in regard to this meeting shows your inadequacies as President of the International Student Council”.

“The changes that the International Student Representative sent by email earlier was hardly worth mentioning to my officers. It doesn’t really affect the core agenda of this meeting now does it?” Monica shot back at Aiden, bothered by the fact that Feng Mian mentioned something to Aiden.

The meeting hasn’t even started, but Monica was already getting on Grace, Katrina, Amy, Angela, and Aaron’s nerves. Moira has been mostly quiet, controlling her emotions as to not say anything that she couldn’t take back, undermine Aiden’s arguments, or worse, derail the entire meeting before it could even start. Assistant Director Sarmiento for her part was just observing the back and forth between Aiden and Monica, not daring to get involve in the argument – unless she absolutely needed to. Monica’s officers looked like they’re on edge. They’ve never seen nor met anyone who was able to openly talk back to Monica like Aiden has been doing, and it was making them nervous, given that Monica could lash out at them after the meeting has concluded.

“No, it doesn’t. But as the head of the International Student Council, you have the duty to inform your officers of any changes not only as a form of courtesy, but also to provide them information that could prove critical in discharging their duties” Aiden responded as he observed Monica’s officers.

“How I run the International Student Council is none of your concern. As long as my council discharges its duties and purpose, the way I run it has no bearing on anything” Monica replied, her right brow raised.

Before Aiden could reply, Feng Mian entered the room, followed by Emily who was carrying a teacup placed on top of a saucer. Feng Mian sat on the empty chair beside Monica as Emily walked behind Monica and placed the saucer in front of her. Monica immediately gestured for Emily to go away, without saying thanks or appreciation. Emily stepped a few feet backwards, standing behind where Monica was sitting.

Assistant Director Guerrero, Amy, Cadet-Major Montanillo and the rest of the Student Council with the exception of Min and Moira reacted to how Monica just treated Emily. This further irritated Aiden who could now understand why Moira was so incensed that morning. At that moment, Grace slightly leaned towards Aiden and whispered to him, “We should get the meeting started before things get out of hand”. Aiden nodded his head as Grace returned to her previous position.

“All of my officers are here now President Kobayashi, I don’t see any more reason we should continue to delay this meeting” Monica announced as she lifted the saucer, grabbing the teacup and taking a sip.

“We might as well, I rather not drag this meeting longer than it should be” Aiden concurred with Monica.

“Finally, we agree on something, for once” Monica said with an attitude before putting her teacup on the saucer and placing the saucer back on the table. Aiden turned his head slightly towards Grace’s direction, signaling his Vice President to officially start the meeting in regards with the Gang of Eight, Outcast System, the itinerary for the International Student Outing, and Music selection for the Student Organization Fair.

Grace officially started the meeting before she handed it over to Moira who explained the agenda and topics of discussion for the night. Katrina, as like with Min, was placed in charge of explaining the Gang of Eight and the Outcast System of Mount Juliet University. This was also a great opportunity for Assistant Director Sarmiento, as she only started working for Mount Juliet prior to the beginning of the semester, and so, Katrina’s detailed explanation, coupled with visuals greatly helped her understand the student body culture at the university and gave her more insight that would prove beneficial in doing her job properly and more effectively.

After Katrina concluded her presentation, Aiden opened the floor for questions, surprisingly, Assistant Director Sarmiento and Monica’s officers asked a lot of questions and clarifications on certain parts of the presentation, which was gladly answered by members of the Student Council. Monica on the other hand, didn’t ask anything and looked like she was bored and uninterested with the matter they were all discussing, preferring to continue sipping on her tea as the Student Council provided critical knowledge to everyone who wasn’t familiar with the topic.

Prior to ending the agenda in regard to the Gang of Eight and the Outcast System, Aiden asked everyone in the room if there were any more questions or if anyone wants to bring anything up that pertains to their topic. When no one raised anything else, he concluded the current topic, and moved on to their next topic  - the International Student Outing.

Min was placed in charge of explaining the topic, supported by Moira who initially proposed the locations for the outing. During this discussion, Assistant Director Guerrero, being part of the International Exchange Program Office, offered her feedbacks and advice in regard to the draft proposal, which resulted in the amendment of one of the proposed locations, from Tagaytay to Batangas. Assistant Director Sarmiento volunteered her office to provide the informative materials and visuals that the International Student Council will use when they present the proposal to the entirety of the International Students, this was to sufficiently inform the International Students about the proposed locations, what those places have to offer, and to take some pressure off from the Student Council, which was appreciated and welcomed by its officers.

Aiden tasked Moira and Min to closely coordinate with Assistant Director Sarmiento and the International Exchange Program Office in regard to the outing and start working on the draft itinerary and other details once the International Students approves the said proposal. Everyone in the International Student Council, except for Monica, seemed to be excited and keen about the proposal for the outing.

Notwithstanding the heated exchange between Monica and Aiden before the meeting started, the entirety of the meeting went smoothly and extremely well, that is until they moved on to the last topic of discussion – the music selection for the Student Organization Fair.

“If there’s nothing else in regards with the proposal for the International Student Outing, we’ll move on to our last topic for the night, the music selection for the Student Organization Fair” Aiden announced.

“Has the International Student Council prepared a list of international songs that will be used for the Student Organization Fair on Friday?” Aiden asked as the International Student Council members looked at each other, confused as to what Aiden was talking about.

“I’m sorry, but we have no idea that we were supposed to compile international songs” Emeline replied, her French accent resonating, “We thought we were going to go over the songs, but we didn’t know we were supposed to choose the music”.

“Min?” Aiden called out, his focus still towards the International Student Council as Min looked at him, “Did you not inform them about the music selection for the Student Organization Fair?”

“I mentioned this to Monica-“ Min explained before Monica interrupted him.

“With respect Min, you only mentioned talking about the music for the organization fair, I wasn’t informed that the International Student Council was supposed to provide a list of music” Monica said in a condescending tone. Min wasn’t able to responded, he felt bothered and guilty by the fact that he had messed up.

“Well, you would know if you took the time this morning” Moira spoke sarcastically as everyone in the room turned their attention to Moira, Aiden only shifted his eyes to Moira’s direction.

“What was that!?” Monica asked, irritated by Moira’s sarcasm.

“If you actually let me speak this morning, I could have informed you about that. That’s the whole reason for me going to your office, so I can go over the topics of this meeting, including about compiling the music list” Moira shot back, trying to control her emotions, as she defended Min from Monica.

“It’s funny you said that I could go over it with you before the start of the meeting, but you were the one who arrived barely on time, and you have the audacity to blame your incompetence to the International Student Representative. It’s ironic that someone who claimed this morning that they were ‘very much aware of what the topics that are to be discussed…” seems so clueless right now” Moira continued.

This infuriated Monica who was basically humiliated by Moira in front of everyone. As Grace, Katrina, Angela, Aaron, Min, and Amy bit their lips to avoid smiling at how Moira just burned Monica in front of everyone, including her own officers.

“You never mentioned that this morning!” Monica raised her voice as she slammed her hand on the table, startling the International Student Council officers.

“I tried to, on multiple occasions, but every single time you interrupted and dismissed me. Also, if you took the time in reading the paper in the folder I left you, you would know as well, obviously since you’re sitting there looking incompetent and clueless, you didn’t read the summary I left you” Moira responded, “That’s all” she added, imitating the way Monica says it. Emily gave Moira a discreet smile and thumbs up.

“Mind your tongue, you’re only a Chief of Staff, keep in mind I outrank you!” Monica furiously replied.

“I suggest you mind yours, it’s true that within the Student Council, the President outranks the Chief of Staff. But between the Student Council and the International Student Council, the former has a higher rank than the latter. Regardless whether you are the President of the International Student Council or any other officer, all of you are subordinate to any members of the Student Council” Aiden interjected as he explained the difference in rank between the Student Council and International Student Council.

“That’s stupid, my title and rank is equal to yours no matter what you say” Monica responded, insistent on the equality of hers and Aiden’s rank, “Who do you think you are to make that differentiation? You’re just the Student Council President!”

Assistant Director Sarmiento cleared her throat, causing everyone, except for Aiden, Amy, and Cadet-Major Montanillo, to look at her direction, “Well, Aiden Kobayashi is one of the founding members of the International Exchange Program, it was also under his direction that created the International Student Organization, and the International Student Council”.

“The International Student Council, under the provisions which created the body, states that during the first two years since its inception, it would be a subordinate body to the Student Council under the supervision of the Student Council President, although the International Student Council has some independence and autonomy to handle the affairs of the International Students, they still fall under the purview of the Student Council” Assistant Director Sarmiento continued. The revelation came as a shock and surprise to everyone in the room, even Aiden’s closest associates were caught off guard.

“So technically Ms. Sawyers, you report to Mr. Kobayashi” Assistant Director Sarmiento added.

This silenced Monica for a bit, having been further humiliated and embarrassed by her own actions, “Still, it doesn’t give the Chief of Staff the right to talk to me in the manner that she did!” Monica said, breaking her small moment of silence.

“Ms. Sawyers, the way my Chief of Staff spoke to you was equal and proportionate to the manner in which you speak to your own officers. I imagine you do the same to other International Student as well. If you want to be talked to with proper decency and respect, I highly recommend you do the same to the people under your leadership and guidance” Aiden responded.

“I don’t have to change my personality to suit the needs of others!” Monica replied.

“Let me share a little something to you Ms. Sawyers. Personally, I’m not too keen on serving as the Student Council President, nor did I have the intention of running for office. The democratic process of this university basically placed me in this role, although I’m not too keen on serving in this capacity, I had to adjust and do things I usually don’t do, or even things that I’m not particularly fond of in order to properly discharge my responsibilities and duties as the Student Council President. Yes, I admit, when I interact with everyone, I do so with a cold and uninterested attitude, but not once have I talked anyone down or treated them with disrespect. If I did, my officers and ROTC cadets would not be serving me like they do nor would I generate such a large fanbase” Aiden said as everyone on Aiden’s side of the table were staring at Monica who looked cornered and humiliated.

“Furthermore, in accordance to the same provision that Assistant Director Sarmiento mentioned, I have the authority to remove you as International Student Council President at my discretion, all of you in the International Student Council serve at my pleasure and can be replaced. While I’m not considering it, as I would like to avoid perverting the voice of the International Students and the sanctity of the democratic process, the option is not off the table, and I will not hesitate to invoke that if necessary. Your actions and attitude so far, Ms. Sawyers are not particularly pleasing and up to the standards of the position and title you are so proud of. Tread lightly Ms. Sawyers” Aiden continued.

“To that end, the International Student Council will compile a list of international songs and will submit that list no later than 12:00 PM tomorrow. Min will be the point person on this, given that he is the International Student Representative” Aiden added.

“Don’t act so superior because of your position, I find it distasteful. So long as I’m the International Student Council President, my officers will answer to no one except me!” Monica declared, “Isn’t that right?” she added as she looked at her officers, who remained quiet, their positions unchanged.

“Say something! Am I talking to a wall here!?” Monica added, her voice infuriated. Her officers were hesitant to answer, since they were in a dilemma; agree to Monica’s claim, and they would be going against the Student Council President, who they’ve just learned is their superior, or break with Monica and suffer the consequences and her ire later.

“If all of you can’t answer because you fear any repercussions from Monica later, don’t be. Ms. Cailteux was it?” Aiden asked as she looked at Emeline.

“Yes, that’s correct” Emeline answered nervously.

“Starting today, any and all retaliatory actions taken against any officers by Monica will be reported to the Student Council. Moira will be your contact person for this. Not just any retaliatory actions, any actions, whatever form it may be, of harassment or inhumane treatments carried out by Monica will be reported as well” Aiden announced, reassuring Monica’s officers and giving them a sense of relief and security.

“Yes sir, we will have the list completed before the deadline tomorrow” Emeline replied as the other officers on their table nodded in agreement. Monica was taken aback; she didn’t think that her officers would openly support Aiden over her. It was an open rebellion against her leadership and found it offensive and insulting.

“Ms. Sawyers, I’m placing you under a 30-day probation period, if I sense, or even hear that you’re making the lives of the International Student’s stay here miserable, I will immediately remove you from your current post. All affairs and activities of the International Student Council will now be reported to the Student Council for oversight and approval” Aiden ordered as Monica was left speechless. She moved her mouth, about to respond, when Aiden interrupted her before she could speak.

“I would ask you to consider your response, in light of the respect that my rank and my office deserve, not that which my personality nor my individuality might suggest” Aiden continued as Monica glared at him.

“Fine, it’s not like I have a say on anything anyways” Monica scoffed.

“On the contrary, a lot of unpleasant things have been said by you, no?” Aiden responded.

“Be grateful that I’m even acquiescing to your draconian demands!” Monica shot back.

“I’m on my knees with gratitude” Aiden sarcastically responded, to Monica’s further annoyance, “Before we end this meeting, I would like to inform everyone that the Student Council and the ISO will hold a welcome party to all of the International Students on Saturday, details will be sent out soon”.

After making his final announcement, the joint meeting was finally ended, allowing everyone to breathe a sigh of relief. Monica was the first to leave the room, heading to her office to grab her cardigan and backpack before returning to her room. The next one to leave was Assistant Director Sarmiento who thanked Aiden for the productive meeting before being escorted by Cadet-Major Montanillo out of the International House. The members of the Student Council and the International Student Council stayed and returned the tables and chairs to their original place, Monica’s officers thanking and showing their appreciation to Aiden for giving them reassurances and practically protecting them, even though they are not directly his constituents, and Moira for her Monica takedown. Everyone walked together until they exited the International Student Lounge, before everyone went home for the night. Aiden, however, returned to his office in the Student Council room to grab the binders he needed for the Executive Council meeting the next day, before heading home.

When Min returned to their suite, he found Ball sitting on the couch in the living area, eating some snacks as he watched some YouTube videos on his laptop.

“Hey Min! How did the meeting go?” Ball greeted Min in Thai as he entered their room, chewing the chips he just placed in his mouth.

“It went good actually. Aiden and Monica really got into it” Min replied in Thai as he sat next to Ball, grabbing some chips from the bowl on the coffee table.

“Really!? Who won!?” Ball asked, surprised at what Min just said.

“Who do you think?” Min responded after he swallowed the chips he was chewing, grabbing Ball’s drink before taking a quick sip.

“Aiden!?” Ball smiled as Min nodded his head, causing Ball to start laughing and clapping his hand due to  excitement.

“Where’s Bank at?” Min asked as he placed the drink on top of the coffee table.

“He’s sleeping in his room; did you want to wake him up again?” Ball grinned before Min slapped the back of his head, already guessing what he had in mind.

“No, actually, it’s perfect. I want to talk to you alone” Min said, his face looking serious, as if something was in his mind, “Let’s not talk here though”.

“Alright, what is it about though?” Ball asked as Min got up from the couch and walked towards the door.

“I’ll tell you in a bit” Min said before he opened the door, as Ball got up from the couch, putting his shoes on before cantering towards where Min is standing.

Min and Ball decided to talk at the Mount Juliet Student Center Fountain, which was located on the east side of the student center. The fountain had a large basin with jet nozzles continuously shooting water to the center of the fountain, where the 4-level tiers where the water fell down was located, the fountain also has a jet nozzle that continuously shoots the water high up. The fountain was also equipped with underwater lights that illuminates the central tier of the fountain.

Min sat on the side of the large fountain, as Ball sat next to him, the sound of water falling reverberated around them. “So what did you want to talk about?” Ball asked in Thai, looking at Min who looked serious and conflicted about something.

Min was silent for a couple of seconds, thinking on how to say what he wanted to tell Ball. He lifted his head up and looked Ball straight in the eye, “I like Aiden”. There was silence between them, Min and Ball did not break eye contact, the only sound that could be heard was the sound of falling water.

Ball gave out a sigh, “You finally admit it. Took you long enough” Ball said with a smile on his face, placing his hand on Min’s shoulder, “Just go for it. I’ll support you with whatever you want to do”.

“Yeah, but, I’m still conflicted. I want to, but I’m hesitating for some reason” Min admitted.

“Is it your first love?” Ball asked, already knowing the reason for Min’s hesitation, “It’s been what? 10 -11 years? You need to move on Min”.

Min gave a deep sigh, he reached for his back pocket, taking his wallet out, and pulling a small photograph. It was a picture taken 12 years ago, the summer of 2010 in a park near Min’s house. In the picture were two kids sitting on a park bench, one of the kids was holding a lollipop. The other one, which was a younger Min, giving the kid with a lollipop a hug from the side, Min’s head resting on the other kid’s shoulder as they both were looking at the camera.

“This is the only picture of Yu-Yu and I together” Min said, holding the picture in front of him as he reminisced the past, “I don’t even know Yu-Yu’s real name” he smiled as Ball gently grabbed the picture out of Min’s hand.

“You told me the story before, but it still surprises me even to this day, that your first love is a boy” Ball smiled as he looked at the picture, “Is he the reason why you haven’t fallen in love all these years?”.

“For the most part, yeah” Min responded, looking at the picture that Ball was holding.

“I guess that’s also the reason why you only crush on people every time” Ball added as he looked at Min, “So this thing with Aiden, is this another one of those temporary feelings or is this for real?”.

“I don’t know. Every time I remember Yu-Yu, I lose interest” Min admitted.

“You said it yourself Min, Yu-Yu died because of an illness or something. You need to move on, I’m sure Yu-Yu would want you to be happy too. You have to at least realize that” Ball said as he tried to convince his friend to move on from the past.

“Maybe it’s time to finally let go. It’s been over a decade since I last saw him” Min told Ball. As he looked at the photo again.

“But you know” Ball said as Min looked at him, “There’s one thing about your story that still doesn’t make sense to me, even now”.

“Which is?” Min responded as Ball looked at him.

“You said you only saw Yu-Yu once a year for 2 – 3 weeks, and it’s usually in the same month” Ball said as Min looked at him confused, “I find that weird in a way”.

“What’s weird about it?” Min responded, “His parents probably travel a lot for work”.

“Yu-Yu could have probably stayed with relatives or something. I mean, I live with my grandparents” Ball replied, “If you’re going to Bangkok for that period of time, surely you must have relatives in the area”.

“Now that you mentioned it, I think I forgot to include the fact that Yu-Yu isn’t Thai” Min replied to the surprise of Ball.

“Wait. What!?” Ball exclaimed, reacting to Min’s revelation, “You think Yu-Yu’s parents are tourists? Or could they be visiting relatives in Bangkok? You must’ve asked him?”

“I couldn’t speak English back then, my nanny was pretty much translating for us, besides, we were kids, all we did was play. We never really talked about our family or anything else” Min replied as he returned the picture in his wallet, “But, I think you’re right. I should move on”

“Yeah, you should! Now let’s head back, I’m hungry again, plus I need to study for tomorrow’s quiz!” Ball said as he and Min started walking back to the International House.

The next morning, Aiden got up early after falling asleep on his couch, staying up all night going over his talking points and the proposals he’s going to present to the Executive Council later in the morning. Looking at his phone, he saw the time – 5:57 AM. He had barely gotten two hours of sleep, but he was already up and started getting ready for school. It was about 6:25 when he finished getting dressed, he went back to the living area to collect the binders he was going to need for the meeting, placing them in his bag before leaving his condominium.

On his way to the train station, Aiden made a quick stop at a nearby Café he always frequent. When he entered the café, the barista called out to him, “You want the usual Aiden?”, his only response was a thumbs up as he walked towards the counter to pay. As he got his wallet out, his phone started ringing, he took it out of his pocket and saw the caller ID “Aurea Gutierrez”, Aiden sighed, not wanting to talk to anyone before he got his cappuccino. But knowing Vice Chancellor Gutierrez, she would keep calling until he answered his phone. He reluctantly answered the call as the barista prepared his cappuccino order.

“What is it, Old hag?” Aiden greeted as he answered his phone.

“You’re up early? Vice Chancellor Gutierrez said over the phone, “In any case, don’t forget the meeting this morning okay?”

“I appreciate the heads up” Aiden responded sarcastically, “Just don’t forget that favor I asked you”

Vice Chancellor Gutierrez laughed, “It sounds like you haven’t had caffeine yet, you sound grouchy. Go and get yourself some cappuccino”.

“That’s what I was doing before you called” Aiden replied, annoyed at the prospect of being laughed at.

“Right. I’ll see you later” Vice Chancellor Gutierrez said before hanging up. Just as the call ended, the barista finished the cappuccino. Aiden returned his phone in his pocket before opening his wallet which he laid on top of the counter, in front of the cash register.

“It’s good Aiden. It’s on the house. Enjoy your cappuccino” the barista said to the surprise of Aiden.

“You sure?” Aiden asked for confirmation.

“Yeah. You’re probably our most loyal customer around this area, it’s natural we give you a reward” the barista replied as Aiden grabbed the coffee cup.

“Thank you. Have a good day” Aiden said, his face looked so satisfied, albeit remaining stoic as he left the café, making his way to the train station.

Meanwhile, in the International House, Min actually woke up early even though he and Ball stayed up all night studying for their World History quiz. As he sat on the side of his bed, he realized that Ball  fell asleep on the floor, beside his bed. Min teasingly poked Ball’s face with his toe, trying to wake his friend up.

“Hey, Ball. Wake up, I need to get ready” Min said as he kept on poking Ball’s face with his toe. Ball groaned,  pushing Min’s foot aside as he turned on the opposite direction. Min reluctantly gave up as he got up from his bed, walking over Ball to grab his towel, before going to the bathroom to take a shower. As Min was in the shower, Ball’s phone started blaring as his alarm went off, he pressed the snooze button before going back to sleep.

After a little while, Min came back to his room, wearing only a towel around his waist. He grabbed an underwear from his closet, before removing the towel around his waist, and throwing it on his shoulder. Just then, Ball’s alarm went off again, this time, Ball opened his eyes, and was shocked to see Min standing in front of him naked.

“Shiaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!” Ball screamed out loud, startling Min, who dropped his underwear on the floor, his scream reverberating inside Min’s room.

“What the hell Ball? Why are you shouting so loud early in the morning?” Min complained as he picked up his underwear.

“Why are you naked!?” Ball asked as he looked at Min.

“Why are you acting so surprised? We used to get naked in front of each other in the locker room when we played football in middle school” Min said as his door suddenly opened.

“What’s with that scream!?” Bank said as Min turned around, shocking Bank when he saw Min’s elephant trunk, Bank immediately closed the door without saying a word.

“What the hell Bank” Min commented as he put his underwear on.

“Anyways, as I was going to say. It’s different back in middle school, at least I was aware you were going to be naked! I wasn’t expecting to see your dick after waking up, and so early in the morning!” Ball explained as he got up from the floor, scratching his forehead, “Save that for Aiden” Ball added jokingly, as Min grabbed the towel from his shoulder and slapped it on Ball’s face.

“Shiaaa!” Ball cried in response, Min laughing at his response, “Anyways, I’m going to take a shower, I want to go to class early, so I could study a little bit more” Ball added as he left Min’s room.

Min, Ball, and Bank arrived at their classroom 15 minutes early. When they got there, Professor Chua was already setting her things up, and the room only has a handful of students. After taking their attendance, the trio walked towards where they sat the last time. To their surprise, Aiden was already there, his cheek laying on his left fist and facing the window. There were three binders piled up on the table in front of him, and a large coffee cup beside it. When they got close to their seats, Bank pulled his backpack in front of him and took Aiden’s binder out, he passed it to Ball, who then passed it to Min, before sliding it next to Aiden’s coffee cup. He didn’t move or react when Min slid the binder, leading him to deduce that Aiden was sleeping. Min then placed his index finger on his lips, signaling Ball and Bank to be quiet. The trio then took their seats and started studying again, this time, Bank used his book to review.

When class was about to begin, Min slightly elbowed Aiden, who immediately woke up. A few moments later, Professor Chua instructed the people on the front row to pass the quiz to the back. When the last student received the quiz, Professor Chua informed everyone that they could begin the quiz, and that they have a 30-minute limit to complete the 4-page quiz, which was mostly multiple choice, true or false, and essay questions. Aiden was the first to finish the quiz, and it only took him at least 12 – 13 minutes as he breezed through everything and took most of his time doing the essay portion of the quiz. As Aiden walked up to Professor Chua, she said, “I’ve heard stories from my colleagues, and it turns out to be true”.

“What stories would that be?” Aiden responded as he handed his quiz over.

“That you’re the first one in class to finish the quiz and exams, and still manage to get the highest grade. But we’ll find out the latter part after I grade the papers” Professor Chua responded as Aiden walked back to his seat. Min was the second to finish the quiz, followed by Ball; Bank was among those who finished at the 20-minutes mark. Close to the time limit, Aiden opened his bag, placing all the binders in front of him in his bag, zipping it close and putting it on. He then took his phone out and placed it on his thigh, looking at the time – 8:29 AM. “Min, put your stuff in your bag and put your backpack on” Aiden whispered to Min as he followed Aiden’s instructions without question. When the time limit was up, Professor Chua told the remaining students still taking the quiz to bring their papers to her, just then three chimes rang out, indicating that an announcement through the PA system was about to be announced.

“Aiden Kobayashi and Thapthim Nontanakorn from CGS3. Report to Vice Chancellor Gutierrez’s Office immediately; repeat,  Aiden Kobayashi and Thapthim Nontanakorn from CGS3. Report to Vice Chancellor Gutierrez’s Office immediately” the announcement said as another three chimes rang, indicating the end of the announcement. Aiden immediately got up, Min following behind him as they left the classroom.