Part 01: The Executive Council Meeting

“Ma’am, I have President Kobayashi and a Mr. Thapthim Nontanakorn here to see you” Annette said, holding the phone receiver on her ear as Aiden and Min stood in front of her desk.

“Yes ma’am, right away” Annette responded before hanging the phone up, she then led Aiden and Min in front of the Vice Chancellor’s office. Anette knocked on the door before entering, leaving Aiden and Min outside. As they waited to be called in, Aiden glanced at Min, who looked uneasy and nervous, fidgeting as they stood outside the office.

“Stop fidgeting!” Aiden whispered as Min continued to fidget.

“I can’t, I’m too nervous right now” Min whispered back as his hands started getting cold, his heart racing, not knowing why he was summoned to the Vice Chancellor’s office with Aiden out of the blue.

“Breathe and calm down. I don’t know why you’re so nervous” Aiden whispered again before Anette emerged from the office, carrying folders and paperwork on her arm.

“You can come in now” Anette said as she gestured for Aiden and Min to enter as she stood close to the office doors. Aiden and Min walked into the office before Anette closed the door behind them. When they entered, they saw Vice Chancellor Gutierrez signing paperwork and documents, which was literally piled up on her desk. Aiden and Min just stood in front of the circular mat that bore the logo of MJU, waiting for the Vice Chancellor to say something.

“Well, don’t just stand there, come closer” Vice Chancellor Gutierrez said as she continued signing the documents on her desk. Aiden and Min walked towards the Vice Chancellor, standing in front of her desk as they arrived. After signing one more document, she finally placed her pen down, taking her glasses off before looking at Aiden and Min.

“You both can take a seat” The Vice Chancellor said as Aiden sat on the armchair to the Vice Chancellor’s right-hand side, and Min to her left-hand side. Min was still nervous at this point, he looked at Aiden, and was surprised to see him so calm.

“The Executive Council meeting won’t start for another 20 minutes” Vice Chancellor Gutierrez said as she started the conversation.

“We could use this time to explain everything to Min, he looks like he’s about to die of nervousness” Aiden commented as Vice Chancellor Gutierrez looked at the other boy, who was clearly looking anxious and uneasy just by being there.

“Don’t be nervous Mr. Nontanakorn, you’re not in trouble or anything” Vice Chancellor Gutierrez told Min as she tried to reassure him.

“May I ask why I was called in here?” Min asked, still feeling nervous. Vice Chancellor Gutierrez was surprised, as she assumed that Aiden already told Min why he was called over to her office.

“Aiden, don’t tell me you didn’t even inform Mr. Nontanakorn?” Vice Chancellor Gutierrez said, looking at Aiden who was just sitting nonchalantly.

“I may have forgotten to tell him” Aiden replied sarcastically as he kept his eyes on Min.

Vice Chancellor Gutierrez sighed, “You shouldn’t tease people like that Aiden”. Min looked at the Vice Chancellor first, and then shifted his eye towards Aiden, confused as to what they were talking about. The vagueness of their conversation wasn’t helping Min one bit, who was feeling more uneasy and nervous.

“Fine, fine. I’ll tell him” Aiden reluctantly conceded, ending his psychological torture on Min, which in every aspect was uncalled for and somewhat mean.

“You were summoned here today because you’re going to help me with the presentation of my proposals to the Executive Council meeting” Aiden explained.

“Proposals? You mean your proposal to expand the Student Council, and inclusion of the International Student Representative as an official member?” Min responded as he remembered what was talked about at the end of the Student Council meeting at the beginning of the week.

“Not just that, but the proposals for the university events, and the re-allocation of the funds from the ISO to the Student Council” Aiden added.

“What do you need me for?” Min asked, curious as to what part he would play in all of this, “I’m not wholly familiar with the proposals you will talk about”.

“You’re not talking about the proposals, you’re merely there to support the proposals I will be presenting today at the meeting” Aiden responded as Vice Chancellor Gutierrez listened on.

“That’s good, I thought for a second I was in trouble” Min said as he was able to breathe a sigh of relief.

“You will be if you mess this up for me” Aiden wittingly remarked, his right brow raised.

“Aiden!” Vice Chancellor Gutierrez embarrassingly exclaimed, “Apologies Mr. Nontanakorn, Aiden can be cold and insensitive sometimes”.

“Oh, it’s okay. I’m a little used to it” Min chuckled, “That’s what makes Aiden “Aiden” if you ask me ma’am”

“That’s true, but still, he needs to work with his socialization skills” Vice Chancellor Gutierrez replied as Aiden pursed his lips.

“I would agree” Min said concurring with the Vice Chancellor as they started chuckling, Aiden just rolled his eyes in response.

“In any case” Aiden raised his voice, drowning out Min and Vice Chancellor Gutierrez’s chuckles, “When I present the proposal for the expansion of the Student Council, I would need you to stress the importance of the need for us to be able to efficiently and effectively do our duty, and to safeguard the safety, and well-being of our students, and the reputation and credibility of the university. You have to stress and underscore the importance of our image, both the students and the university in the eyes of the international students on campus, as well as our partner universities abroad”.

“I see now. You needed an international student to put credibility and weight on your proposal” Min responded, as he understood Aiden’s reasoning for bringing him to the Executive Council meeting. Aiden and Vice Chancellor Gutierrez were both surprised and impressed on how fast Min was able to catch on with what Aiden was trying to do.

“So why me? Why not any members of the International Student Council?” Min asked, curious as to why he was the one chosen to participate in the meeting.

“First off, you’re technically part of the Student Council, hence you already have insights and knowledge of the body’s inner workings; secondly, last night’s meeting exposed the inadequacies of the International Student Council President, not to mention that most of their officers seems to only act and move on Monica’s orders, showing their lack of drive and initiative – though I could be wrong, we’ll see; thirdly, you’re extremely sharp, and catch on to things rather quickly, just as you have shown a few seconds ago; lastly, you seem like the person who excels in both academics and extracurriculars” Aiden explained as Vice Chancellor Gutierrez gave him a teasing look after his last reasoning, although Aiden didn’t notice it as she did it discreetly. Min was able to accept and comprehend Aiden’s reasoning as he gently nodded his head after Aiden concluded his explanation.

“If you put it that way, it does make sense. I’ll will do my best to assist” Min responded confidently, his initial nervousness and uneasiness finally disappeared.

“Well, now that everything has been explained and smoothen out, let’s lighten the conversation a little bit, shall we?” Vice Chancellor Gutierrez suggested as Aiden and Min looked at her.

“So, Mr. Nontanakorn, how are you liking Mount Juliet so far? I saw you on WNN the other day” Vice Chancellor Gutierrez added.

Aiden immediately facepalmed, as he remembered the “Gerry’s Grill” incident. Min looked at Aiden before looking back at Vice Chancellor Gutierrez, “So far my stay has been enjoyable, I find the student and university culture of Mount Juliet to be quite interesting and unique, far different from what I’m used to back in Thailand, ma’am” Min responded with a smile on his face.

“That’s good to hear. You’ve heard this a lot already, but this is the first time Mount Juliet is accepting international students, and so the administration is particularly interested on how the university body is reacting and interacting with the new changes. This is also a learning opportunity for us to see how we can cater and improve our accommodations for our future international students” Vice Chancellor Gutierrez added.

“Yes, and I can say with confidence that the Student Council has been responsive with the needs of the international students. As you’ve said, you saw me on WNN the other night, the Student Council was able to resolve that matter within 24 hours, which is quite impressive, ma’am” Min replied as he commended the efforts of the Student Council.

“I’m not surprised, Aiden is in charge of the Student Council after all” Vice Chancellor Gutierrez responded as she gave a chuckle, “I can imagine that Aiden has had his hands full the past couple of days”.

“That’s an understatement at best” Aiden quipped as he rested his left cheek on his left fist.

“By the way, I do have a question. You don’t have to answer ma’am if you think I’m overstepping” Min asked the Vice Chancellor.

“What is it?” the Vice Chancellor responded, curious as to what Min wanted to ask.

“From what I heard from the Student Council meeting; their budget for this year is ₱2.5 million. How does Mount Juliet have so much budget for school activities? And where does MJU get such funding” Min asked the Vice Chancellor as Aiden looked at her as well, wondering whether she’ll answer Min’s question.

“I didn’t think you would ask such a complex question” Vice Chancellor Gutierrez responded, obviously surprised at the question Min asked.

“Are you going to answer that?” Aiden asked, curious to know whether the Vice Chancellor was going to answer something that’s considered confidential, given that it’s a university related matter, even to the President of the Student Council.

“I can’t give you the details of it, but I can give you information that’s already public knowledge, does that work for you?” Vice Chancellor Gutierrez said as he looked at Min.

“Yes, of course” Min immediately replied, his curiosity already getting the best of him.

“Basically, 20% of Mount Juliet’s income comes from the tuition fee that our students pay” Vice Chancellor Gutierrez started before Min interrupted.

“Only 20% from the students!? How is that possible!?” Min asked, both surprised and confused about the low percentage that Mount Juliet was getting from its students.

“If you let her finish, maybe you wouldn’t be so surprised” Aiden interjected, his face looks uninterested in the topic they were currently discussing.

“Right, I’m sorry for interrupting your explanation ma’am” Min apologized to the Vice Chancellor.

“It’s okay. I don’t mind, it’s a pretty normal reaction for someone hearing that information for the first time anyways. As I was saying, 20% of Mount Juliet’s income comes from the students, 15% comes from the government, and the largest chunk 65% comes from the private sector, namely large and established companies, both domestic and abroad” Vice Chancellor Gutierrez explained.

“Of course, those companies don’t give us the money for free, there’s a catch” Vice Chancellor Gutierrez added to which Min reacted, “Which is?”.

“In exchange for their generous donations, these corporations are given the privilege to recruit our best and brightest students even before they graduate from the university. Of course, the highest donor always gets to choose our best and brightest first, for that reason, Mount Juliet doesn’t have any shortages when it comes to financial matters, the highest donor changes annually, hence our annual budget increases every year. That’s the reason why Mount Juliet is able to invest heavily in state-of-the-art technology, modern facilities, recruitment of experienced and prominent faculty, generous benefits and salaries for our employees, massive funding and investments to our students and all their extracurricular activities, and of course materials and resources for a high-quality education for our students.” Vice Chancellor Gutierrez further explained.

“You probably noticed that our Student Council is very powerful, and acts with full independence and autonomy. That’s because Mount Juliet was founded with the vision of allowing our students to handle positions that are similar to actual jobs in the real world, to give them experience that would greatly benefit them after graduation. By allowing our students to sort out matters that relates to them and their peers, it hones their skills in leadership, intrapersonal communication, recruiting skills, diplomacy, marketing, broadcasting, management, organization, customer service skills, and other relevant and much-needed skills in today’s workforce. As you probably already know, our media outlets here in the university such as the MJU Times, MJU Radio, and MJU TV are almost entirely run by students with minimal to no university faculty or staff involved. This also includes the entirety of the student government, which includes the Student Council, Student Congress, Student Supreme Court, and the Student Courts, this is to allow for our students to receive experience in a variety of real work environments without them having to do much internships outside the university. What makes Mount Juliet a favorite for large companies and corporations for recruitment is that our students already possess experience, relevant, and vital skills within their field of study which allows for employers to integrate them into them their ranks without much guidance or training, this makes them highly effective, proficient, productive, and efficient in the work place” Vice Chancellor Gutierrez added.

“That is an extremely efficient system, no wonder some major companies in Thailand always seek Mount Juliet alumni whenever they recruit workers from the Philippines” Min commented as Vice Chancellor Gutierrez’s explanation answered a lot of questions that Min had.

“Of course, this is not to say that anyone and everyone can enter Mount Juliet University, our entrance examination is extremely selective and rigorous, and is considered as the toughest here in the Philippines and in Southeast Asia, on par or exceeds the entrance examination offered at University of Tokyo. Our Admission staff are experienced and well trained, any form of bribery or cronyism is expressly forbidden by the university board, and could result in termination for employees, and probably lawsuits from the university. All of our students here at Mount Juliet are the smartest and talented individuals that comes from the different corners of the country; hence our student body is extremely diverse, hailing from different backgrounds and classes within the Filipino society” Vice Chancellor Gutierrez responded as Min reacted with amazement and awe.

“Of course we tweaked our requirements and criteria for our international students, since we can’t apply our rigorous standards to our foreign students just yet. The university plans to implement the same standards we apply to our domestic students in phases, to ensure that the university maintains its standards and prestige that have been built since its foundation” Vice Chancellor Gutierrez added.

“I never knew that Mount Juliet University has such stringent criteria and requirements” Min commented as he tried to absorb the information he just learned.

“So don’t get fooled by the outward appearance and personality of our students, most may not look like it, but everyone here is smart, or some sort of genius” Aiden chimed in as Vice Chancellor Gutierrez and Min looked at him.

“Did you know about all of this, Aiden?” Min asked, to which Aiden replied with a cold, “Obviously”. Just then, they heard a knock on the door, before Anette walked in.

“Vice Chancellor, the Executive Council members are gathering in the Chancellor’s conference room” Annette announced before stepping out of the office. As soon as Anette left the office, Vice Chancellor Gutierrez, Aiden and Min got up from where they were sitting and walked out of the office. Before they headed to the Chancellor’s conference room, Aiden and Min grabbed their backpacks that they left on the couch at the waiting area outside of the Vice Chancellor’s office.

Vice Chancellor Gutierrez, Aiden, and Min were one of the last ones that arrived in the Chancellor’s conference room. The large conference table was already occupied by the members of the Executive Council, and Vice Chancellor Gutierrez was the last one to take her seat, sitting on the right-hand side of Chancellor Gazmin who was sitting at the head of the conference table, Aiden was sitting on the other end across from the Chancellor. Min on the other hand, was sitting on one of the armchairs inside the conference room. Among those present were the executive assistants of the Chancellor, as well as videographer, a stenographer, a photographer, and assistants to the other Executive Council members.

The conference room was an enormous room, the walls are made out of walnut and were decorated by multiple portraits of former Chancellors of Mount Juliet. There was also a large looking bookshelf that was filled with a mixture of books, decorations, and photos. As with other important rooms in the university, the conference room was equipped with a kitchenette and a restroom. The conference table is large enough to fit twenty people at one time, the center of the conference table has a speaker which allows for conference calls, and charging ports built into the table itself.

The entrance to the Chancellor’s conference room are in the form of hand-carved wooden double doors, a couple of feet from the doors is a wall that covers the interior of the conference room. The wall in front of the doors bears the logo of Mount Juliet University, illuminated by lights attached to the ceiling, either side of the small hallway leads to the interior of the conference room, and inside that is where the large conference table is located, situated in the middle of the room. At the right side of the room, there is an opening that leads to another small hallway that connects to the kitchenette and restroom. Behind the wall that bears the Mount Juliet University logo is a 75-inch flat screen television, a few inches in front of the television, located on the ceiling is a drop-down screen, the drop-down projector is located directly above the speaker on the conference table.

The other end of the conference room is where the desks for the Chancellor’s executive assistants and stenographer are located. The wall where the small opening that leads to the kitchenette and restroom has multiple armchairs that are placed against it, were the other assistants and Min were seated. Across the room from where the armchairs are is the bookshelf that’s built into the wall, beside that is a laptop charging station and a coffee table, equipped with a Keurig machine, a large selection of tea, and a tiered plate stands that held different kinds of pastries, expensive looking white china cups, saucers, dessert plates, utensils, and napkins placed beside it.

Unlike the previous meetings that Aiden has attended so far, this is the only one that he takes with utmost seriousness, and the only one that he feels a shred of anxiousness. This was evident by the fact that Aiden has meticulously prepared the materials he was going to present for this meeting, as well as the fact that he has gone over his talking points and proposal on multiple occasions leading up to this point. Of course, Aiden’s anxiousness was not explicitly showing, given that his expression has remained stoic, even in the presence of the top echelon of the university.

Since Mount Juliet considers its students as the core foundation in which the university was founded, it has been the tradition of the Executive Council to grant the Student Council President the honor of officially starting the meeting and presenting their agenda first, a symbolic gesture that highlights the importance that the students hold in the eyes of the university. Since this was Aiden’s first Executive Council meeting, he was not aware of this tradition, hence he was caught completely off-guard when Chancellor Gazmin asked him to officially start the meeting by presenting his agenda. Although caught off-guard, Aiden masterfully and professionally started the meeting, surprising Vice Chancellor Gutierrez who knew about the tradition, but purposefully did not inform Aiden about it - for amusement’s sake.

Meanwhile, Ball and Bank’s world history class just ended and were heading towards the cafeteria to grab some breakfast. However, halfway to the student center, Ball realized that he forgot his wallet.

“Shiaaaaaaa!” Ball exclaimed as he and Ball were walking towards the student center, startling the other students around them, which caused some to take their phones out and take pictures and/or videos.

“What’s wrong Ball?” Bank asked in Thai while Ball patted his pockets, as if looking for something.

“I can’t find my wallet” Ball replied as he checked his backpack, going through his stuff to see if his wallet was stuck between his books and binders, to no avail, “I think I left it in my room”.

“I need to head back to the International House” Ball added as he put his backpack on.

“I can go with you” Bank offered but was immediately refused by Ball.

“Go on ahead to the cafeteria, save us a seat, and I’ll meet you there” Ball suggested.

“Are you sure? I don’t mind going back to the suite with you” Bank insisted, but Ball was adamant.

“There are a lot of students heading to the cafeteria, it would be bad if we can’t find anywhere to sit” Ball said as he tried to persuade Bank to go ahead without him.

“I mean, if you want to. I don’t mind going on ahead” Bank finally conceded before Ball ran off in another direction to retrieve his wallet.

Bank shook his head as Ball ran off to the distance, he gave a sigh before he started walking towards the student center. When he got close, he noticed a large number of students, faculty and staff heading towards the same direction, more than likely the cafeteria, to grab something to eat. Seeing the number of people, Bank finally conceded that Ball was right about the possibility of not getting a table for them to sit and eat breakfast.

Bank picked his pace up, almost cantering at that point, so he could get to the cafeteria before the rest of the university gets to the student center. The central cafeteria was already crowded when Bank arrived, luckily there were still a lot of empty tables available, so Bank decided to head to one of the stalls to get some food and find a place to sit. Bank just stood in front of the stall he walked up to, as other students lined up to buy something to eat. Although he was hungry, Bank didn’t get in line as he was worried that his English was not good enough to be able to communicate with the vendors. Up until that point Bank has had Ball and Min with him to help him get something to eat.

At the same time, Jasper just finished buying his food and was looking for an empty table when he saw Bank standing in front of a stall as other students passed by him. He wondered why Bank was just standing there instead of getting in line like the other students. Curious, he decided to walk up to Bank.

When he got closer, Jasper called out to Bank, who immediately turned towards him, “What are you doing Bank? Why are you just standing there?” Jasper asked as he stood behind the other boy.

“P’Jasper!” Bank cried, his face looked so lost and frustrated, Jasper looked to see if Min or Ball was around, when he did not see Min nor Ball, he turned his attention back to Bank.

“Where’s Min and Ball?” Jasper asked wondering why Bank was all alone in the cafeteria.

“Ball get wallet in room” Bank explained in his broken English to the best of his ability, “Min don’t know”.

“So you’re by yourself?” Jasper said clearly and at a normal pace so Bank could catch what he was trying to tell him, trying to avoid a repeat of what happened yesterday, even more so now that neither Min nor Ball were around. Bank just nodded his head like a little kid, his face looked so disappointed, Jasper unconsciously chuckled at the sight of Bank looking so adorable.

“Sorry Bank, I didn’t mean to laugh” Jasper apologized, maintaining the clarity and rate of his speaking, “Are you trying to buy something to eat?”

Bank nodded again as Jasper figured out the reason why Bank was just standing in front of the stall and not getting in line, “Here, hold this for me” Jasper said as he handed Bank the tray he was carrying before getting in line. It didn’t take Jasper but a few minutes to order a plate of food and a mango shake, after paying, he walked back to where Bank was standing, “Follow me” Jasper said as Bank followed him quietly. The two walked for a little bit before they found and empty table, and they immediately headed towards it so other students wouldn’t take the spot.

When they arrived, Jasper and Bank placed the tray they were carrying on the table, “Here, this is yours” Jasper said as he slid the tray he was carrying towards Bank, before pulling the tray Bank was carrying towards him. Bank was taken by surprise, he didn’t think that Jasper was going to buy him breakfast, he just looked at the tray that jasper slid towards him, not sure what to do.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know what you wanted to eat, so I got you beef tapa, fried egg and garlic rice, since that was what you got the other day” Jasper explained normally and clearly, so Bank won’t get confused.

“This food is mine?” Bank asked as he pointed at the tray and then to himself to make sure he was understanding what Jasper said.

“Yes, it’s yours” Jasper replied as he took his backpack off, placing it on the bench before sitting down, smiling at the way Bank did the pointing thing, “You should sit down and eat” Jasper gestured as well to help Bank understand what he was saying. The gesturing seemed to work as Bank slowly took his backpack off and sat down across from Jasper.

Bank was still staring at the food on his tray as Jasper started eating. When Jasper saw that Bank wasn’t eating, he quickly chewed his food and immediately swallowed, “What’s wrong Bank?” Jasper asked, looking at Bank whose head was slightly tilted downwards. There were a few seconds of silence, then Bank lifted his head up, his face looks embarrassed, “No Philippine money, only WolfCard” Bank told Jasper, who was clearly embarrassed.

The “WolfCard” that Bank was talking about is the MJU ID. The “WolfCard” as it is colloquially known in Mount Juliet, is the official identification card of its students, it has the same dimensions as a credit card, and has a black magstripe on the back. The front of the card bears the official picture of the student, along with their name, ID number, major and college affiliation; unlike other universities, MJU students are not required to wear it around their neck, as long as they carry it with them at all times when on campus. It is a multipurpose card that can be used to pay for food or goods sold within the university; used as a key for students who live on campus to access their respective dorms, floor, and suite; used to operate the washer and dryers in the dorm basements; used to borrow books from the library; used when participating in a university-wide event; used when using a university printer; used when entering the Student Recreation Center; used when borrowing sports equipment in the Student Recreation Center; and used when entering student-only areas within campus. The cards can be linked directly to a bank account or credit card or use one of the loading stations on campus to use physical money and transfer the balance into the card to be used for any kind of purchases. Since the International Students haven’t had the chance to exchange their currency to the local currency, all of them have been using their WolfCard to get food or buy things they need.

Jasper didn’t say anything, he just leaned over the table and started ruffling Bank’s hair, his face smiling, “Don’t worry about it, it’s okay, just eat” Jasper reassured Bank before he sat back down. Bank just looked at him like he was about to cry, “Thank you P’Jasper” Bank said, grateful at Jasper for buying him breakfast. When Jasper started eating again, Bank grabbed the utensils on his tray and started eating as well.

“So Bank, how was your quiz?” Jasper asked, gesturing the thumbs up and thumbs down. Bank responded with a thumbs up, followed by a smile. Jasper then leaned forward and ruffled Bank’s hair again, prompting the younger boy to softly bite his lips to prevent him from smiling too much, “Congratulations!” Jasper added before he sat back down smiling, feeling happy that Bank did good on his quiz.

“It is thanks to P’Aiden and P’Jasper” Bank said as he tried to keep himself from smiling too much.

“I didn’t do anything though?” Jasper replied, confused as to what Bank meant by that.

“You give me mango shake yesterday” Bank said, pointing at the mango shake on his tray, then pointing to Jasper, then to himself.

“Oh, that!” Jasper chuckled, “You don’t have to thank me for that”.

“It made me happy, help me study” Bank replied smiling as he lightly lowered his head. Jasper smiled as well as he leaned over the table and started ruffling Bank’s hair again, “If you really like it, I’ll keep buying you a mango shake” Jasper said slowly, but clearly. His words made Bank’s heart skip a beat, as he lowkey started blushing.

As Jasper was ruffling Bank’s hair, Ball suddenly showed up out of nowhere, which prompted Jasper to stop whatever he was doing and sit back down, to the disappointment of Bank, who subtly pouted his lips without Jasper or Ball noticing, “Sorry I’m late Bank, it took a while to find my wallet” Ball said in Thai as he took his bag off, placing it beside where Bank was sitting, “Sup Jasper!” Ball greeted as he turned his attention towards Jasper.

“So where was your wallet at Ball?” Jasper asked as Ball awkwardly smiled, his eyes squinting.

“I left it in Min’s room last night” Ball replied, still smiling awkwardly as Bank sipped on his mango shake, still upset that Ball ruined his moment alone with Jasper.

“How did your wallet end up in Min’s room?” Jasper further inquired.

“Min and I were studying for our world history quiz in his room, I ended up falling asleep on the floor, and it must’ve fell off when I got up this morning” Ball explained before he excused himself so he could buy something to eat. Bank watched Ball walk off as he continued sipping on his mango shake, removing the straw from his lips as soon as Ball disappeared in the crowd.

When Bank faced forward, he made eye contact with Jasper, who apparently, was looking at his direction. As the looked at each other’s eyes, everything around them felt like it started going in slow motion.

“You guys having a staring contest or something?” A familiar voice said, breaking Jasper and Bank’s eye contact almost immediately. Jasper turned towards the direction of where the voice came from, it was Aaron, with Katrina standing beside him.

“Maybe? Something like that” Jasper chuckled as Aaron sat beside him, Katrina sitting next to Aaron.

“Hi Bank!” Katrina greeted as she waved at him. Bank smiled as he waved back.

“Sup Bank?” Aaron greeted him as he leaned over the table to give him a fist bump.

“Looks like you guys already ate” Katrina commented as she saw Jasper’s empty plate, and Bank’s almost empty plate sitting on their trays.

“Yeah, Ball is getting something to eat right now. Have you guys eaten?” Jasper said as he looked at Aaron and Katrina.

“No not yet, we’re about to get something to eat though” Aaron replied as he grabbed his wallet out of his bag, Katrina was already holding her wallet, and was just waiting for Aaron to stand up.

“Is it just the three of you here?” Katrina asked as Bank started sipping on his mango shake again, listening in on the conversation happening in front of him.

“Yeah. I haven’t seen Mingyu, Moira, Angela, or Min” Jasper replied as Aaron got up from where he was sitting, Katrina following soon after.

“They might show up soon, I was about to message you when Katrina saw you and Bank” Aaron said as Katrina stood beside him.

“You ready Aaron? I’m starving” Katrina asked as Aaron nodded his head.

“We’ll be back in a bit” Aaron said as he and Katrina headed towards the stalls. Just as Katrina and Aaron were walking, they passed by Ball who was carrying a tray with his breakfast and a bottle of water, exchanging greetings as they walked by each other before Ball headed back to their table.

“I’m so hungry!” Ball commented as he placed his tray on the table, sitting beside bank who has almost finished his mango shake.

“I don’t blame you; I was too when my class ended” Jasper said as he grabbed his spoon and took a spoonful of rice and a piece of tapa from Bank’s plate.

“So, what was the deal with Aiden and Min being paged this morning?” Jasper asked after he swallowed his food. Ball only shrugged his shoulders in response as he put a spoonful of food in his mouth.

 “I don’t know, Bank and I were curious about that too. Did you not hear anything from Aiden about it?” Ball asked after swallowing his food.

“No, I’m as surprised as you. Maybe Aaron and Katrina know something” Jasper responded, scooping up the last of what was on Bank’s plate.

“Maybe. Our professor and the entire class were surprised as well when we heard the announcement” Ball commented as he scooped another spoonful of rice.

“It’s not every day that someone is summoned to the Office of the Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs” Jasper replied as he started organizing his tray, getting ready to drop it off at the conveyor belt that brings dirty plates and utensils to the central washing station.

“Want to go with me Bank?” Jasper asked as he got up from his seat, carrying his tray. Bank nodded and promptly grabbed his tray, as he and Jasper prepared to go to the conveyor belt, “We’ll be back Ball”.

Although the central cafeteria was still crowded with students, at least half of those students were already getting ready to leave, given that some of them were only there to grab a quick snack before heading to their next class. When Jasper and Bank got to the conveyor belt, there were a number of students dropping off their trays. Jasper was able to get in line first, Bank was two people behind him. After Jasper dropped off his tray, he waited by one of the columns supporting the second-floor balcony above them, close to the conveyor belt.

After Bank dropped off his tray, he started walking towards Jasper. As he was walking, two students who seemed like they were in a rush, bumped into Bank, causing him to lose his footing and was well on his way diving into the floor. Jasper, however, was quick to react and was able to catch Bank before he actually fell on the floor, causing Bank to hit his head on Jasper’s chest, which caused Jasper to hit his back on the column a few feet behind him.

The scene caused a small commotion that was accompanied by scattered squeals as the girls, and some boys, who were in the immediate vicinity of Jasper and Bank took their phones out to take pictures of the cute little bromance happening. Jasper’s back was against the column, while Bank’s forehead and hands were on Jasper’s chest. Bank blushed, realizing the position he was on, he quickly moved away and stood upright when he noticed people around them were making a commotion.

Bank’s face was clearly blushing, his heart pounding like crazy. In his mind, all he could think of was how Jasper smelled really good, how his chest felt so toned and firm. He really didn’t think that his body was like that, given he just looked slim with his uniform on. Bank couldn’t come up with any words to say, everything that was processing in his mind was in Thai and couldn’t come up anything in English.

“You okay Bank?” Jasper asked after Bank was able to regain his footing. He could also see that his face and ears were really red, though Jasper only dismissed it as him being embarrassed by the situation, especially that people were taking pictures and/or videos of what just happened. Jasper, however, was oblivious to the fact that the reason Bank was blushing wasn’t due to embarrassment, it was something much more than that. The commotion around them didn’t last long however, as students started to disperse voluntarily, given that some of them have to be in class soon.

“I’m okay, thank you P’Jasper” Bank finally spoke, still a little bit embarrassed about what just happened.

“Don’t think too much of it, I’m just glad you’re okay” Jasper responded as he gave a thumbs up before they headed back to their table.

When Jasper and Bank returned, Aaron and Katrina were already back, eating their breakfast. Bank’s face was still a little bit flushed, but not as pronounced as it was earlier. Bank’s heart was still beating really fast, still unable to move on from that moment he had with Jasper earlier, it was practically the second time in a week that he was in Jasper’s embrace, although both times were pretty much accidental.

“Hey, Aaron, Katrina. Do you know anything about that announcement earlier?” Jasper asked as he sat beside Aaron, while Bank sat next to Ball across from them.

“You mean the announcement for Aiden and Min?” Katrina asked placing her utensils down before she reached for her unopened bottle of water.

“Yeah, that one” Jasper confirmed as he looked at Katrina, “I was just curious if you know anything”.

“If you ask me, it probably has something to do with the Executive Council meeting, though I don’t know why Min was summoned to the Vice Chancellor’s office as well. That’s something you have to ask Min when we see him” Katrina responded, holding the bottle of water in front of her as she spoke, taking a drink after responding to Jasper.

“Let’s ask Min later when we see him. I’m curious to know as well” Ball commented while chewing his food, earning him a glare from Katrina, “By the way, what’s the Executive Council?”.

Back in the Chancellor’s conference room, the Executive Council meeting has finally concluded after Vice Chancellor Gutierrez presented her report to the council. Chancellor Gazmin announced the end of the meeting, but asked Vice Chancellor Gutierrez, Aiden and Min to stay behind. The rest of the Executive Council, along with their assistants and other staff slowly made their way out of the conference room, when the door finally closed, and silence filled the room, Chancellor Gazmin spoke.

“It seems like there’s a tie on your proposal for the Student Council expansion, Aiden” Chancellor Gazmin said, still seated on his chair.

“Yes, Chancellor, it seems like it” Aiden responded, his hands clasped together as it rested on top of the conference table.

“As with any tie in relation to Executive Council decisions, I as Chancellor have the tie-breaking vote on the matter” Chancellor Gazmin revealed, to the subtle surprise of Min.

“I understand” Aiden responded, shuffling his hands together as the decision regarding proposal to expand the student council have been delayed per the Chancellor Gazmin’s instructions, having faced stiff opposition from some of the Executive Council members.

Delaying a proposal presented to the Executive Council is highly unusual, and only matters that would have adverse and lasting effects on the university faced such delays. Aiden’s gamble with Min has paid off, had it not for his vigorous and passionate defense for the proposals, the matter would have been easily defeated right then and there, but because of his reasoning, he was able to influence the decision of some of the moderate members of the council and pushed it into a tie. The only thing left was for the Chancellor to break that tie. Reading the Chancellor’s motives is almost impossible, given that he can be extremely unpredictable, and his decision-making process can be quite complex and complicated.

“I’ll be giving your proposal some more thought, Aiden, and I will let you know about my final decision as soon as possible. Would that be acceptable?” Chancellor Gazmin responded.

“Yes, Chancellor. I appreciate that you are giving much thought to my proposal” Aiden responded, his demeanor calm and poised, though his anxiousness hasn’t quite disappeared just yet.

“Of course. Your proposal does hold some merit, and I was especially impressed by Mr. Nontanakorn’s enthusiastic defense of your proposal” Chancellor Gazmin responded as he gestured for Min and Aiden to come closer, which the two promptly did.

As Aiden and Min stood beside Chancellor Gazmin, and across from Vice Chancellor Gutierrez, the Chancellor spoke again, “I never would have imagined that MJU’s ‘Polo Couple’ would be working as a team to present such sweeping and bold proposals” The Chancellor chuckled as Vice Chancellor Gutierrez covered her mouth to hide her smile, which was still obvious since her eyes squinted.

Aiden was taken aback and felt embarrassed by the Chancellor’s comment, although most of it was internal reactions as his demeanor outside remained calm and expressionless. Min on the other hand reacted conspicuously, slightly lowering his head, avoiding eye contact with the Chancellor, and scratching his cheek out of embarrassment.

“Mr. Nontanakorn is the duly elected International Student Representative, and now an official member of the Student Council, so it’s only natural that we would be working together” Aiden replied as Vice Chancellor Gutierrez took her hand down, her normal demeanor and composure back to normal.

“I rest my case” Chancellor Gazmin chuckled, “Well, I expect great things from the both of you, keep serving our students and stay true to your duties” Chancellor Gazmin added before he got up from his chair, Vice Chancellor Gutierrez got up from her chair as well as a gesture of respect to the Chancellor.

“You both did exceptional today, I will see you around” Chancellor Gazmin commented as he placed his left hand on Aiden’s left shoulder, and his right on Min’s right shoulder, patting it before letting go. The Chancellor then turned around and faced Vice Chancellor Gutierrez.

“Aurea” Chancellor Gazmin nodded at Vice Chancellor Gutierrez.

“Chancellor” Vice Chancellor Gutierrez nodded back as the Chancellor slowly walked towards the exit, his hands behind his back. The trio watched as the Chancellor walked out the conference room, looking at each other when the door closed.

“You forgot to mention about the fact that I was supposed to open the Executive Council meeting” Aiden said as he gave a weird look at Vice Chancellor Gutierrez.

“Well, what goes around comes around” Vice Chancellor Gutierrez chuckled, referring to how Aiden did not inform Min about the purpose of him being summoned.

“Touché, I did deserve that, I admit” Aiden conceded as he gave a huge sigh.

“In any case, there’s no point standing around here. We should go” Vice Chancellor Gutierrez said, Aiden and Min agreed, grabbing their backpacks as they walked towards the exit.

After leaving the conference room, Vice Chancellor Gutierrez excused herself before she headed back to her office. Aiden took his phone out and opened the Student Council group chat, typing a message to summon the Student Council members for a meeting later in the day to discuss the final preparations for the Student Organization Fair, and the status of the preparations for the Welcome Party on Saturday.

Before Aiden could finish typing his message, he looked at Min who was standing next to him, “You did good in there” Aiden told Min who looked surprised by the sudden compliment.

“I just did as I was instructed” Min replied to the surprise of Aiden who just raised a brow and slightly tilted his head.

“Duly noted, Min” Aiden said before walking off, forgetting to finish his message as he left Min standing in front of the conference room, confused as to what Aiden meant.

Min smiled as he shook his head, taking his phone out to send Ball a message to ask where he is, before he started walking towards the elevator to leave the Administration Building. When Min got to the ground floor, he received a reply from Ball.

Ball: “I’m at the central cafeteria with Bank, Jasper, Aaron, and Katrina. Where are you at?”

Min: “I’m just leaving the Administration Building; I’ll be there in a bit”

Ball: “You’re still there?”

Min: “Yeah, the Executive Council meeting just ended”

Ball: “Oh! How did that go?”

Min: “It’s too long for me to explain here, I’ll explain it to you at a later time. I’m on my way”

Ball: “Fine. I’ll see you in a little bit”

Min: “Okay”

After sending his reply, he put his phone back in his pocket and made his way to the Student Center, which was basically just across from the Administration building. It didn’t take long for Min to reach the central cafeteria, and he was able to spot Ball and the others quickly, due to Ball and Bank sticking out.

“Min!” Ball called out as Min walked towards the table where they were sitting. As Min reached the table where the others were, he immediately took his backpack off and placed it on the table.

“Hey, Ball. Do you have a second?” Min asked, speaking in Thai, catching Bank’s attention as he was the only other person who could understand.

“What’s up?” Ball responded in Thai, attracting the curiosity of Aaron, Jasper, and Katrina.

“I need to talk to you about something” Min said, his face had a mixture of seriousness and indecision. Seeing how he looked, Ball agreed to go with him.

“We’ll be back in a little bit” Ball said in English as he and Min walked towards the direction of the restrooms.

Ball and Min ended up going to a small lounge that was rarely visited by students around that time of day. The lounge itself have bean bags, couches, armchairs, a large flat screen television, computers stations, charging stations and some magazine racks, which has a few outdated magazines. The lounge was practically secluded, connected to a hallway that was close to the back of the cafeteria, near the restrooms.

There were barely any people on the hallway, except for a few students who have been going to the restroom, further down the hallway from where the lounge was. The lounge itself was empty and was the perfect place for Min and Ball to talk in private.

“So? What did you want to talk about? You make it sound so urgent” Ball asked in Thai, his face half-interested and half-curious as to what Min wanted to talk about. Min didn’t respond immediately, still deep in thought about the subject he wanted to discuss with his closest confidant.

“Well? What is it?” Ball asked again, getting a little impatient.

“I’ve been doing a lot of thinking, especially what we talked about last night” Min finally spoke, speaking in Thai, getting the attention of Ball as Min opened the topic of discussion.

“About Yu-Yu?” Ball asked, even though he already knows what Min was talking about, although still oblivious to the real reason that Min pulled him at the lounge.

“I think you’re right, Yu-Yu’s gone, and it’s about time for me to move on and be happy” Min admitted, having taking into consideration and deep thought about the advice that Ball gave him last night during their talk in front of the fountain.

Before Ball could even respond, Min spoke again, “I plan on telling Aiden my feelings”. This surprised Ball, not expecting that this was what Min wanted to talk about. Although he knows about Min’s feelings for Aiden, he didn’t expect that Min would be bold enough to actually let Aiden know about it so soon.

“Are you seriously going to confess to Aiden!?” Ball responded, the shock and surprise were explicit in his expression and tone of voice, which reverberated not only in the lounge, but in the hallway as well.

“Keep your voice down!” Min shushed Ball who got excited quickly about the plan he just shared with him, “People might hear what you just said!”.

“Relax!” Ball said, placing his hand on Min’s shoulder, “Unless Bank is right outside, no one else can understand  what we’re talking about”, he confidently reassured Min.

“In any case. Don’t tell anyone in Cappuccino Power about this, even Bank, most especially Aiden’s Old Guards” Min pleaded.

“Aiden’s Old Guards?” Ball asked, confused as who the Old Guards were, placing his hand on his chin, trying to figure out what that meant.

“I mean, Katrina, Mingyu, Aaron and Jasper” Min clarified, Ball hitting his left palm with his fisted right hand, his eyes and mouth wide open.

“Yes. It would be troublesome if they learn about this. I don’t know how the Old Guards would react. Moira and Angela would freak out if they learn about this

“Oh? What do you mean by that?” Ball asked as several students passed by the lounge. Min went quiet as Ball turned around and watched the students pass by. When their voices faded into the hallway, Min responded to Ball’s question.

“For one, I don’t know how Katrina, Mingyu, Aaron and Jasper would take it if they learn that I have feelings for Aiden. Would they be mad? Would they try and stop me? I really don’t know them well to make an accurate prediction. Moira and Angela are different though” Min explained as Ball listened attentively, only reacting to the last sentence concerning Moira and Angela.

“I get your concerns, but why is Moira and Angela an exemption?” Ball asked , curious as to what makes Moira and Angela special.

“I have a feeling that they are ‘BL’ Fangirls. I forgot the term that they call them, “F” something” Min responded.

“How are you able to tell that they are ‘BL’ Fangirls?” Ball asked, genuinely curious.

“Remember when we encountered them at the elevator?” Min asked as Ball remembered the encounter.

“Ah! The ‘Raikantopeni’ incident!” Ball exclaimed as he remembered his and Bank’s first encounter with Moira and Angela.

“Exactly. From what I heard from my ‘BL’ fan friends back in Thailand, Thai ‘BL’ fans from other countries use ‘Raikantopeni’ as a codeword or signal for all things related to Thai ‘BL’ or something” Min explained as Ball started to realize what makes Moira and Angela special in this case.

“I see what you mean” Ball responded as memories and scenes of ‘BL’ Fans in Thailand flashed in his memory, sending shivers down his spine, “What about Bank?”.

“I don’t think I’m ready to let Bank in on this yet” Min admitted, feeling a little bad for leaving Bank out.

“Well, it’s your decision anyways, I’m sure Bank will understand. I’ll support you in any way I can” Ball said reassuring and offering his unconditional support to his friend.

“Thanks Ball. I really owe you one for this” Min said, grateful for the support and reassurance his friend has given him.

“We should head back, Jasper, Aaron, Katrina and Bank must be wondering where we are. Mingyu and the others are probably there too” Min added.

“You go on ahead, I’ll stop by the restroom before I head back” Ball responded as he started walking out of the lounge.

“I can wait for you” Min suggested as he walked beside Ball.

“I’m not a kid Min, I think I can manage” Ball laughed as he playfully pushed Min.

“Whatever you say” Min smiled as he regained his footing.

As Min and Ball left the lounge, they parted ways. Min walking back towards the cafeteria, while Ball started walking towards the restrooms, on the opposite side. Min was able to turn the corner before Ball could even walk a few feet. The hallway was empty, except for Ball who was walking towards the restrooms, his footsteps echoing throughout the empty hallway.

As Ball walked pass the third column that was protruding out the wall, someone suddenly grabbed him from behind, pulling him closer to the wall as their silhouettes disappeared behind the column. Ball could not say anything clearly, as his mouth was covered. “Ball don’t struggle too much!” a familiar voice said.

Ball’s eyes widened as he said in a muffled voice, “Asgsjdhib!?”.

A few minutes earlier – Different POV.

“Huh? Isn’t that Min and Ball? Why are they heading to the lounge?”

Curious, I decided to follow them. As soon as I got closer to where Min and Ball were, I could hear their conversation, although I couldn’t make out any of it since they were speaking in Thai.

“I plan on telling Aiden my feelings”

I stopped when I heard Aiden’s name in the indecipherable conversation that Min and Ball were having. I decided to take my phone out and record everything that was being said. I moved closer to the opening that led to the lounge, as close as I can get without my presence being felt or seen. I moved my phone closer to the entrance, close enough that my phone could pick up their conversation, but far enough that my phone’s silhouette or presence would not be noticed.

As their conversation went on, I heard Aiden’s name being spoken again, this time from Ball who seemed surprised by what Min just said. Although I couldn’t understand what it was, judging from Ball’s reaction, it had to be something big, big enough that Ball would react the way he did.

Min and Ball’s conversation carried on, and I listened to what they were talking about. All I could hear and decipher was the changing intonation of their words, then suddenly ‘Cappuccino power’ was mentioned, followed by ‘Katrina, Mingyu, Aaron and Jasper’, and then ‘Moira and Angela’.

Just then, a group of students appeared from behind me, I quickly turned around and placed my index finger on my lips, then gesturing at them to keep on walking. Luckily they complied without any hassle, had they reacted to my presence, I would’ve been exposed and found out by Min and Ball.

As the students passed by the lounge and turned the corner, Min started speaking again, repeating the names that were mentioned earlier. Ball then responded mentioning Moira and Angela’s names again. Min responded and the only words that I understood from whatever he said were the words “F” and ‘BL’.

There were a few more exchanges between Min and Ball, and all I could really understand was the same words being repeated over and over – ‘BL’. After a few more exchanges, Jasper, Aaron, Katrina and something-something, then Mingyu was mentioned again.

The conversation continued, then I heard footsteps heading towards my direction. I quickly ended the recording, placed my phone in my pocket, then quickly, but quietly ran to the third column protruding from the wall. I was going to wait until they’ve cleared out, but Ball walked past by me a few seconds later.

I didn’t think through it, but I suddenly grabbed Ball from behind, making sure to cover his mouth as I grab him to make sure he doesn’t scream for Min. As I got a hold of him, I pulled him towards the wall, where the columns that lined the hallway could hide us from anyone walking by.

Ball was really struggling, I know I’m strong, but Ball was really pushing my strength to the limits. I didn’t think Ball was strong enough to even give me a hard time holding him down. When I felt he was about to break free from my hold, I spoke, finally revealing my identity to him. He calmed down a bit, but seemed surprise when he mentioned my name, though I could barely understand it as his voice was muffled by my hand over his mouth.

Present time  - Return to normal.

“Asgsjdhib!?”

“I’m going to take my hand off, don’t freak out or anything, okay?”

Ball nodded, agreeing to what was asked of him. But before his mouth was released, Moira and Angela suddenly appeared out of nowhere, both parties were shocked, unable to see each other due to the columns that lined the hallway.

“Mingyu!? Ball!? What are you guys doing!?” Moira exclaimed, shocked at what she and Angela are seeing.

“Moira! Angela! Perfect timing! Ball and Min were just talking about you guys” Mingyu explained, his hand still on Ball’s mouth.

“Oh? About what?” Angela asked, curious as to what Mingyu was saying.

“I don’t know, they were speaking in Thai. All I could understand was ‘Cappuccino Power’ and the names, ‘Aiden, Katrina, Mingyu, Aaron, Jasper, Moira and Angela’, and a word I don’t know” Mingyu explained, still covering Ball’s mouth.

“What word?” Moira asked as Ball started struggling again, Mingyu trying to hold him down and covering his mouth as best he can.

“Something ‘BL’ or whatever” Mingyu said as he mustered enough strength to keep holding Ball down. Moira and Angela looked flabbergasted, their eyes widened, they looked at each other, shocked and nervous as their hearts started beating faster. After making eye contact with each other, they turned their attention back to Mingyu and Ball.

“What is this ‘BL’ thing?” Moira asked as she nervously laughed.

“Yeah, never heard of it” Angela added as they tried to play innocent. Luckily for them, Mingyu was a little bit dimwitted, and was unable to see through Moira and Angela’s charade. Ball on the other hand, wasn’t easily fooled by Moira and Angela’s lame acting and denial.

“Whatever it is, we’ll find out” Mingyu said to the further shock and nervousness of Moira and Angela who both swallowed hard, “It primarily has something to do with Aiden, Ball seemed shock when Min mentioned his name earlier, it’s probably something big” Mingyu added. The revelation stimulated Moira and Angela’s curiosity, somewhat abating their fears of being outed as Fujoshis. Ball reacted to what Mingyu just said as he struggled hard to escape Mingyu’s hold.

“I’m going to remove my hand, but you’ll have to answer us” Mingyu demanded as Ball continued to struggle. Mingyu released his hand, and quickly moved his arm around Ball’s neck, keeping his hold on him. Ball was able to breathe properly as Mingyu uncovered his mouth.

“So what were you and Min talking about earlier?” Mingyu asked, a smile on his face, as if he was enjoying interrogating Ball.

“It’s nothing, really!” Ball stubbornly denied as he continued his struggle.

“Oh really? That was a long conversation, it has to be something. Also, what does it have to do with Aiden? You seemed pretty shocked when you heard Min mention Aiden’s name” Mingyu added.

“Like I said, it was nothing!” Ball responded.

“Maybe we could tickle him until he reveals what it is?” Angela suggested to the shock of Ball who was extremely vulnerable to being tickled, especially on his sides and his belly area.

“I have a better idea” Mingyu suggested, a huge grin forming on his face, Ball just slightly turned his head towards Mingyu, curious as to what he has under his sleeve.

“Hey Angela, could you grab my phone from my pocket” Mingyu asked as he turned slightly to show Angela which pocket he was referring to. After showing his right pocket, Angela dug into it and pulled Mingyu’s phone out.

“What now?” Angela asked, holding Mingyu’s phone on her hand.

“Use my face to unlock it” Mingyu instructed as Angela held the phone in front of Mingyu’s face.

After the phone was unlocked, Mingyu ordered Angela to open the most recent app that he used - his phone’s recorder. Mingyu instructed Angela to play the latest recording, which she promptly did, revealing the conversation Min and Ball had, starting from “…about time for me to move on and be happy” up to the moment Ball started walking out of the lounge. Moira and Angela’s worries came back when they heard the contents of the recording, they started suspecting that Min and Ball we’re talking about them being Fujoshis, and should Ball translate any of it, they would be outed in front of everyone.

Ball’s eyes widened in shock, Mingyu has backed him into a corner. If he decides to have Bank translate it for them, regardless of Bank’s ability to speak English, let alone translate it, Cappuccino Power will have an idea of the conversation’s topic, and would also upset Bank if he learns that they purposefully left him out of the conversation.

As Ball was processing his thoughts, Mingyu spoke again, “If you don’t tell us what this conversation was all about, we’ll ask Bank to translate this, if not him, I could ask Dr. Chiva-aree from the Modern Foreign Language Department”.

Ball’s worst nightmare was just realized, Mingyu had the same idea as he did. What’s worse was that he also had the Thai professor factored in as contingency as well. Ball didn’t think that Mingyu was capable of such intricate and complex train of thought, given that he could be slow and acted as a clown most of the time. Min’s plan would be revealed before he could even make his move, at this point Ball didn’t have any other choice.

Ball sighed; his struggling ceased. Ball tapped Mingyu’s arm, letting him know to release his grip, which the latter did, “If I tell you guys, all of you have to promise not to repeat this to any other person”.

Moira and Angela got really nervous, they looked at each other, brainstorming on what to do. Of course, Ball noticed this, sensing that Moira and Angela don’t want to be outed as Fujoshis, Ball demanded one condition be met before he tells them what the conversation was all about.

“What’s your condition?” Mingyu asked, looking at Ball.

“The only thing I will tell you is the part concerning Aiden. Do we have a deal?” Ball said, enabling Moira and Angela to subtly give out a sigh of relief.

“Deal” Mingyu quickly agreed, to the further relief of Moira and Angela.

“Remember though, this will be our secret, okay?” Ball added as Mingyu, Moira and Angela agreed.

Ball asked Moira and Angela to move closer, completely hiding them behind the third column which lined the hallway. Ball explained everything that Min told him in regard to Aiden. The reactions varied, Mingyu was a bit surprised, but was game on supporting Min with his quest, even going as far as using his relationship with Aiden to assist Min – to the surprise of Ball. Moira and Angela’s reactions were as Ball had anticipated, although in a suppressed and calmer manner. Ball was also correct in his deduction that Moira and Angela were more than willing to assist, though Mingyu was oblivious to the real reasoning behind Moira and Angela’s real motivation and agenda, assuming that they just wanted to help Min with his confession as a friend.

“When does Min plan on confessing?” Mingyu whispered as they all huddled up.

“I don’t know, he didn’t mention anything earlier. My best guess is that he would do it as soon as possible, and when there’s an opportunity to do so” Ball explained.

“Aiden is always holed up in his office, Min might just go there and do it” Moira added.

“It’s only a question of when” Angela chimed in as everyone nodded in agreement.

“We all should make a group chat, just the four of us, we could continue discussing this there” Mingyu suggested as everyone agreed. Moira gabbed her phone from her pocket and opened LINE where she immediately created the GC with her, Angela, Mingyu, and Ball in it.

“What should we name the GC?” Moira asked as Mingyu signaled Angela to return his phone to him.

“How about M.A.S.S.? Min-Aiden Support Squad” Ball suggested as Moira and Angela grinned, Mingyu just nodded his head quickly in agreement.

“That’s sounds pretty awesome, I like it” Mingyu commented.

“This sounds so official, I’m excited” Moira added.

“We need to be discreet though, we can’t let Cappuccino Power learn of this. Especially around Katrina and Aaron, they’re pretty sharp, any kind of hints and they will catch on with what’s going on” Angela said, urging caution around Katrina and Aaron.

“For now, I’ll observe Min’s movements, you guys can report on Aiden’s movements. If there’s a chance that the two of them will encounter each other, just message on the GC. I’m interested in watching” Ball said as the other members of M.A.S.S. agreed to Ball’s plan of action.

After working on a plan of action moving forward, the four ended their secret, impromptu meeting and joined the others in the cafeteria. At the height of the moment, and everything that has happened since Min and Ball’s conversation in the lounge, Ball didn’t even need to go to the restroom anymore.

“Just act normal, Min can be pretty sharp as well, he’ll kill me if he learns that I told you about our conversation earlier” Ball warned as they started walking towards the cafeteria.

I didn’t take long for M.A.S.S. to meet up with the rest of Cappuccino Power, which luckily were still at the table. As instructed, Mingyu, Moira and Angela were acting normally, so normal in fact, that Ball was internally surprised, being careful not to make any facial expressions or body language that could tip off Min about Ball revealing his closely guarded secret.

“What took you forever Ball?” I was about to message you” Min said as Ball, Mingyu, Moira and Katrina approached the table.

“Sorry, I ran into Mingyu, Moira and Angela and got sidetracked” Ball said as an excuse as he sat where he was sitting earlier, Mingyu sitting beside him, followed by Moira and Angela.

“Did we miss anything?” Ball continued as he looked at Min, then at Jasper.

“Not much really, Min was just explaining to us why he was summoned suddenly to Vice Chancellor Gutierrez’s office earlier” Jasper responded.

“I was wondering about that myself” Mingyu chimed in, “What was that all about?”.

“Apparently, Aiden wanted Min to help him with the proposal he had in regard to the Student Council. Though it was not explained to him beforehand, so he was pretty nervous and anxious until Aiden explained the situation to him” Jasper explained.

M.A.S.S. froze in place, not being able to move a single muscle after learning that Min and Aiden were together in the Executive Council Meeting. Mingyu, Moira, and Angela were waiting for Ball to react or do something, given that he was the de facto leader of their newly created Cappuccino Power sub-group.

“That must’ve sucked bad” Ball said, as the other three relaxed a little bit.

“It did, I was really nervous about it too” Min added as he gave a sigh.

 “If I was in your shoes, I probably would have passed out or threw up” Aaron chuckled.

Just as they were discussing the reason for the early morning announcement, Moira, Katrina, Aaron, Angela, and Min’s phones started vibrating, accompanied by a notification sound. All of them took their phones out almost at the exact same time, the message came from LINE, sent by Aiden.

Katrina was the first to open the message and read it, announcing what the message contained before anyone else could fully read Aiden’s message. The Student Council was being called for a meeting tonight at 17:30 to discuss final preparations for the International Student Organization, and the preparation status for the Welcome Party for Saturday.

Ball, who was looking towards where Jasper and Min were seating turned his eyes towards Mingyu, Moira and Angela without turning his head. Mingyu, Moira, and Angela doing the same, except towards Ball. Katrina, Aaron and Min sighed at the same time before M.A.S.S. redirected their eyes to where their heads were facing. Moira got up from where she was sitting, causing everyone to look at her.

“I’m going to grab something heavy to eat. I wasn’t planning on it, but I probably won’t have time later this afternoon, so I might as well do it now” Moira said as she opened her backpack which she placed in front of her and pulled her wallet out. Angela and Mingyu did the same before they went towards the stalls to buy something to eat.

Bank was confused as to what was going on, and so Ball explained it to him in Thai what just happened. As Ball was explaining, Jasper commented, “I feel like you guys have been having meetings everyday”.

“I wouldn’t complain, Aiden has had more, and will have more, probably” Katrina replied as she typed on her phone, sending his reply to the Student Council Group chat confirming her attendance, as Aaron and Min did the same. Grace, Kobe, Moira, Angela, and Amy also responded that they will be able to attend the meeting tonight.

When Moira, Angela and Mingyu returned, everyone was shocked to see the amount of food that Moira has on her tray, it was basically enough to feed the rest of Cappuccino Power. This was especially true for Min, Bank, Ball, and Jasper who has never seen Moira eat enough food for a family of five yet is able to keep her slim figure. Cappuccino Power was shocked and confused on how Moira was going to finish eating everything on her tray, which included four fried chickens, two porkchops, a bowl of kaldereta, a bowl of sinigang na baboy, and at least five orders of rice, she also had leche flan and a small halo-halo for dessert and a strawberry shake to drink. In comparison, Mingyu had an order of sisig and a bottle of water, and Angela has an order of beef tapa and a can of pepsi to drink.

“Holy shit Moira!” Aaron reacted after seeing the amount of food that Moira has on her tray. His reaction was shared by everyone else, except for Mingyu and Angela.

“What? It’s going to be a hectic day, I might as well stock up now while I still can” Moira responded to Aaron’s comment as she placed her tray on the table before sitting down, as everyone’s eyes were locked on Moira’s tray.

“Do you plan on feeding all of us?” Jasper chuckled.

“Of course not, all of you probably ate already” Moira countered as she grabbed her spoon and fork.

“You’re like a bear getting ready to hibernate for winter” Jasper joked as Mingyu, Aaron, Ball, and Min laughed. Bank was at loss, not getting what Jasper said, while Katrina started getting conscious about her figure, dumbfounded on how Moira could eat like a full-grown man and still keep her figure.

“She is part of the track team, so I wouldn’t worry too much” Angela commented before putting a spoonful of rice and beef tapa in her mouth.

“You’re part of the track team!?” Ball reacted with surprise along with Min and Mingyu.

“Yeah. I haven’t run since last semester, and I just lazed around during summer, as you could probably tell by how much I was trying to catch my breath after walking with Aiden yesterday” Moira responded.

“It’ll probably take a little while before I get used to running again” Moira added before putting another spoonful of food in her mouth.

“I didn’t know you were in the track team” Min said as Ball nodded his head in agreement.

“No wonder your figure looks nice” Mingyu commented, his facial expression looking a bit pervy, Katrina, and Angela glaring at him for his comment.

“Is everyone here part of any clubs other than the Student Council?” Min asked as he looked at everyone.

“Pretty much” Katrina responded, “I’m a member of the Debate Club, I also serve as the Chief of Staff for the International Student Organization”.

“Grace is a member of the Music club, as you all probably know by now. She is also part of the Debate club like me” Katrina added.

“I’m part of the Track Team, as all of you just heard, and I’m also a member of the Delta Gamma Sorority” Moira said after swallowing her food.

“I’m the captain of the Soccer team, as Min already knows, I’m also the Public Relations Officer of the International Student Organization” Aaron said.

“I’m in the Volleyball team with Mingyu, I’m also a member of the Karate club, and the Treasurer for the International Student Organization” Jasper chimed in.

“Like Jasper just said, I’m in the Volleyball team too, also the Vice President of the International Student Organization” Mingyu said before drinking from his bottled water.

“Woah, I didn’t think everyone has multiple extracurricular activities” Min said in amazement.

“What about you Angela?” Ball asked as he looked at Angela’s direction.

“I’m only a member of the Student Council, I don’t think I can handle being in multiple organizations like everyone” Angela responded chuckling.

“What about Kobe? Does he have any other extracurricular activities other than the Student Council?” Min asked.

“Yeah, Kobe is part of the Basketball team, he also plays the bass in Aaron and Jasper’s band” Katrina responded as Min looked at her.

“Speaking of Aaron and Jasper’s band, have you guys thought of a name for your band yet?” Katrina asked, getting the attention of Aaron and Jasper.

“No, we haven’t thought of anything yet” Aaron replied as Jasper shook his head.

“You guys better think of something soon if you all are planning on joining in the Battle of the Bands” Katrina replied, “You guys’ band should be complete by now right? I mean, Aaron is the drummer, Jasper and Kobe plays the Bass, and now you have Bank as your vocals”.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right. I think we’ll brainstorm ideas with everyone in the band” Aaron said as he looked at Jasper who just nodded his head in agreement.

“Maybe you should join them Mingyu” Katrina suggested as Mingyu immediately shook his head.

“I play the guitar as a hobby; I’m not really cut out to be in a band” Mingyu said before putting another spoonful of food in his mouth.

“I guess you’re right, it’ll just give the band a bad reputation” Katrina joked as Aaron and Jasper laughed. Mingyu jokingly frowned as he chewed his food.

“What about Aiden?” Min asked, causing Ball, Mingyu, Moira and Angela to look at each other, “Does he play sports or anything?”

“No, aside from what we told you during the first Student Council meeting, he doesn’t really have any other extracurriculars, especially sports” Katrina responded.

“From what I know about Aiden so far, I doubt he’ll be keen on joining other extracurriculars on his own accord. He’s busy enough as it is” Moira added to Katrina’s agreement.

“Where is Aiden anyways?” Ball asked.

“He’s probably in his office” Katrina responded as almost everyone nodded in agreement.

“He’s probably working on the talking points for the meeting tonight” Moira commented.

“I’m just curious, how do you all manage all your extracurriculars with Student Council being so busy?” Ball asked, shifting the topic of conversation.

“Regular club activities don’t start until the second week of classes, even then it’s mostly just welcome events and orientation for new members. Most club doesn’t usually begin their regular meetings until the third or fourth week. It’s the same for the varsity teams, they usually don’t begin their practices until the second week” Katrina explained.

“Except for the Volleyball team” Mingyu chimed in, “We had to practice the other day”.

“That was kinda rough to be honest” Jasper added.

“You barely did anything Jasper! You were basically on your phone for the most part” Mingyu exclaimed as Jasper chuckled.

“I guess that explains why you were able to reply on the group chat that night” Aaron laughed.

“Anyways, Ball, it’s going to be pretty busy once all of our extracurriculars are in full swing. The Music Club especially, since the Battle of the Bands will be coming up” Katrina continued.

“That’s understandable” Ball responded.

“Have you guys thought of any clubs you want to join?” Jasper asked, looking at Min, Ball and Bank. The three Thai students looked at each other not knowing what to answer as they have not thought much about the clubs they wanted to join.

“We haven’t really thought about it now that you’ve asked” Ball responded before explaining to Bank what Jasper asked them.

“The MJU Organizations and Clubs Booklet should have already been published” Moira said before taking another spoonful of food.

“What’s that?” Min asked, curious as to what Moira was talking about.

“It’s the informational booklet for all the organizations and clubs here at MJU. It basically gives a description of the clubs and all their activities that they do. It also has the contact information of their President, as well as their social media information, club fees if there are any, as well as pictures of club activities from the previous year” Katrina explained.

“Some of the more established clubs would also have their meeting location indicated as well, since some clubs have a dedicated room that they use for club activities, the music club is one of them” Angela added.

“There are also sports clubs you can join, if you guys are interested in that” Aaron added as Min and Ball reacted, looking excited and keen.

“It’s not just sports, we also have other clubs that caters to different interests and hobbies, we also have clubs that are geared towards language and cultures” Katrina explained as Min and Ball listened on, “Other organizations that you can join in are the Fraternities and the Sororities, although during the Student Organization Fair, they only do informational sessions”.

“Just informational sessions?” Ball asked curiously, “Are you not able to join any Sorority or Fraternity during the Student Organization Fair?

“The Sororities and Fraternities at MJU has their own recruitment period. It’s called ‘Rush Week’, which is actually next week” Moira explained after Katrina gave her ‘The Look’ which meant that she was leaving the explanation to her, given that she is in a sorority herself.

“It’s the week where Sororities and Fraternities recruit new people to join their Greek Houses, they mostly recruit Freshmen, but I imagine some international students might get recruited as well” Moira explained.

Meanwhile, in the Student Council room, Aiden has just finished typing up the agenda he has for the Student Council meeting that afternoon. After doing a quick review, he saved the document and printed off one copy. As the printer was printing, he took a piece of “post-it” notes from his drawer and started writing on it, as he finished what he was writing, he grabbed the paper that came off his printer and walked out of his office, turning the lights off as he exited, locking the door behind him.

As Aiden walked from his office, he stuck the “post-it” on the piece of paper before leaving it on top of the conference table, turning off the lights as he walked out of the Student Council room. Given that almost everyone on campus was in class, Aiden thought that this would be the best time to head to one of the nearby cafes just outside campus and buy himself some iced coffee. Even for Aiden it has already been a busy day, and it was about to get a lot busier with the Student Organization Fair the next day, and the International Student Welcome Party the day after tomorrow.

There was also the Chancellor’s decision in regard to the proposal he presented that morning, which was making Aiden anxious and a little bit nervous, although it wasn’t noticeable as his expressionless face was all anyone could see from his external appearance. Everything that was going on was stressing Aiden a little bit, even more so that this is only the first week of the academic year, and it’s already so crazy, just as he predicted at the beginning of the school year.

Aiden didn’t even realize that he was already outside of campus because he was so deep in thought, although he didn’t have any particular café that he frequented around campus, he just picked a random café that was closest to where he was currently at, not caring about the reviews or reputation of the place, as long as he could get caffeine in his system.

Aiden came out of the café he went to with a large iced coffee, it was a little too sweet for his tastes, as he prefers his ice coffees bitter, but he let it slide for the sole reason that his body needed sugar as well if he is to function properly for the rest of day. Instead of returning to his office, which in normal circumstances he would, he needed a secluded space where he could think, relax, and enjoy relative calmness, away from his work as Student Council President, and most especially away from other people – The College of Global Studies and Social Sciences Building rooftop – one of his many hiding places at Mount Juliet. Although Aiden liked laying down on the concrete rooftop, he only does so when it’s cloudy or there’s an overcast, since Aiden hated being under the sun longer than necessary. The fact that he sweats easily forces Aiden stay away from the sun if all possible as he doesn’t like smelling like sweat and looking sweaty and most especially dreary – which is ironic given how expressionless he looks all the time.

The GS3 Building rooftop has a patio that is reserved for the GS3 faculty and is located on top of the entrance where Aiden entered from. It has a large curved pergola and has water-proof couches and chairs under it. There is also a waterfall fountain, small outdoor firepit, roofed canopies, and an assorted number of potted flowers and plants, which brings a calming and serene atmosphere.

Aiden wasn’t particularly keen nor comfortable about using the patio, but given that there were barely any clouds, he had no alternatives but to use the space. Aiden wasn’t too worried about getting caught, since the faculty of GS3 were in class, and no one was going to be on the rooftop on that time of day. The patio gives a wonderful and beautiful view of the campus’ quadrangle, which was located in front of the GS3 Building, and since this was the highest point in the building, there was an abundance of breeze going through the patio, the canopies also provided shade and somewhere comfortable to sit on.

Aiden utilized one of the canopies located near the edge of the patio, which gave him a nice shade, a view of the university and a cool relaxing breeze. He gazed into the empty quadrangle, taking his iPod out of his pocket and placed his earphones on. As his music started playing, he was once again consumed by different thoughts, mostly related to his job and duties as the Student Council President, since his mind was distracted by school activities and affairs, he has completely forgotten his past, a brief reprieve for him, given the painful and traumatizing childhood memories that he has.

Aiden placed his iPod back into his pocket before taking his phone out, ignoring the multiple notifications from his Twitter and Instagram accounts, as well as other notifications from LINE, Kakao Talk, and Gmail, and opening the MJU Application, looking through his class schedule for the day.

“Hmmm.. Comparative Politics at 12:00” Aiden said to himself, debating whether he should skip his next class or not. Although he was considering it, he wasn’t particularly keen on doing it given that Political Science is one of his interests, along with History, International Relations, and Computer Class.

“I might as well go, I’ve missed a lot of classes this week” Aiden commented as he looked at his phone’s time, it was already 10:50, “I guess I’ll hang out here until it’s time for me to go” he added before putting his phone back in his pocket as he dug his hand into his other pocket to turn the volume up on his iPod. Aiden just stared into the scenery in front of him, drinking his iced coffee, trying to clear his mind of everything as he tried to relax and just close off everything around him, even for a moment.

This was the first time in the week that Aiden was able to properly relax, closing himself inside his own world as he tried to enjoy the small peace and quiet he’s able to enjoy, knowing that things will only get busier and stressful in the coming days and weeks.

Meanwhile at the Mount Juliet ROTC HQ, Cadet-Major Del Rosario and Cadet-Major Montanillo were waiting outside the office of Cadet-Colonel Joshua Belarmino, as they wait for new orders after submitting their daily reports in regard to their daily drills and deployment orders issued by the Student Council, more specifically by Student Council President Aiden Kobayashi.

The office of the Mount Juliet ROTC Student Commander is located on the 5^th floor of the ROTC HQ, just a few feet away from the ROTC Commandant’s office. Outside Cadet-Colonel’s Belarmino’s office were upholstered benches that cadets use as they wait, which is where Cadet-Major Del Rosario and Cadet-Major Montanillo were waiting as their commanding officer reviews the reports they submitted. There weren’t any other cadets in the corridor, as most, if not all of the cadets were in class, doing drills, in the barracks or deployed somewhere on campus.

“This has been a hectic week” Alexis commented as he leaned his back on the wall where the bench they were sitting on was placed against.

“You can say that again, I can’t believe we’ve been deployed on multiple occasions on a daily basis, this international student stuff is making us busier than normal” Amy replied before covering her mouth as she gave off a yawn.

“You look exhausted” Alexis commented, looking at Amy who is sitting beside him, looking drained, the dark circles under her eyes almost visible.

“Yeah, I wasn’t able to get some sleep last night, I had homework. I also had to study for a test I had earlier” Amy responded as she leaned the back of her head on the wall.

“I don’t blame you; it seems like most of the cadets under your command are looking exhausted as well” Alexis said, moving his eyes away from Amy as he looked towards the sky outside the window, across from where they were sitting.

“No kidding, this week has been rough, all the running, crowd control operations, and other deployments that President Kobayashi has been ordering, it can drain you a lot. Plus we have our daily drills and academics to worry about” Amy said as she closed her eyes.

“By the way, what do you think about President Kobayashi?” Alexis asked as he watched the birds flying by outside the window, “On a personal level?”

“What about President Kobayashi?” Amy asked, her eyes still closed.

“What are your personal thoughts about him as Student Council President?” Alexis rephrased his question as Amy crossed her arms and legs, her eyes still closed.

“I can’t give you a proper assessment on that, Alexis” Amy responded, causing Alexis to look at Amy, her bun acting as a cushion between her head and the wall, her beret sitting on her lap.

“How come? Because he’s our Student Commander-in-Chief?” Alexis further inquired.

“No. Because I don’t know much about him personally” Amy replied, her posture remaining the same.

“Really? I was under the impression you two had known each other a long time” Alexis replied, shifting his body towards Amy.

“What makes you say that?” Amy asked as she shifted her position slightly to where she looked like she was reclining, but still keeping her original posture.

“You two have a really good working relationship. You also make it look like you’ve known each other for some time now” Alexis said as Amy snorted, a small smile showing on her face.

“Like you said, President Kobayashi is our Student Commander-in-Chief, and we as Officer Cadets have to act in a professional and friendly manner when working with the Student Council President, whoever it may be” Amy said as Alexis slightly nodded his head.

“We’re training to be future reserve officers for the military, and as part of that training, we need to be able to work professionally and have a certain degree of relationship with our civilian commanders. Clear and consistent communication between the commander and their subordinates are important in a hierarchal organization such as the military, hence your perception of my ‘good working relationship’ and ‘closeness’ with President Kobayashi” Amy explained as Alexis listened on.

“We’re cadets first and students second, we are duty bound to follow all legitimate and legal orders from our Student Commander-in-Chief. As students, we still have the luxury of having ‘friendly’ relations with our civilian commanders, but in the actual military, only ‘professional working relationships’ exists, there is no such ‘chemistry’ only camaraderie with our fellow soldiers and commanders” Amy continued.

“You sound so uptight and by the book, but then again, that’s expected of the eldest daughter of a General in the Philippine Army” Alexis commented, earning him a chuckle from Amy.

“I’m not as strict and by the book as my father, I try to be as flexible as I can. Like I said, we’re still students, even though it’s only secondary to us being cadets” Amy replied.

“I do find President Kobayashi to be a bit on the ‘interesting’ side if you ask me” Alexis commented as he shifted his position again, leaning his head back on the wall, his beret still on his head.

“In what way?” Amy asked, her tone of voice sounding curious.

“I mean, he doesn’t call us by our rank and last name on certain occasions, from what I’ve noticed, and I could be wrong, he only does so when he gives out orders or when we’re on duty” Alexis explained.

“Yeah. I do agree with you. He doesn’t seem to be as by the book as last year’s Student Council President. I personally find it refreshing, truth be told” Amy replied, giving her honest opinion about the matter.

“Really? How is that refreshing? President Kobayashi doesn’t seem approachable nor friendly in any way” Alexis said as he placed his leg on a figure four leg cross.

“Because President Kobayashi recognizes us as students first, and cadets second. He may look like he’s unapproachable or unfriendly, but I admire and respect his strong sense of duty, professionalism, and seriousness in carrying out the responsibilities of his office” Amy said as she explained her reasoning.

“He has good leadership qualities. He knows where to draw the line between being casual and being professional with us cadets, regardless of rank, that’s also true with the members of the Student Council. In all the times I’ve worked with him, I can tell that he’s impartial in all his decisions, he can remain calm and act with decisiveness even in emergency situations – just think of the Gerry’s Grill deployment. He was able to give out orders without second guessing himself, his tactical and strategic deployments were steps ahead and well thought out, his cool-headedness, decisiveness, and quick thinking prevented his friends and the international students from getting rushed by the Hunters and MJU students that night” Amy continued, as she gave a more personal opinion of Aiden’s leadership qualities.

“What surprised me that night was President Kobayashi breaking his Student Council President role for a little bit. When Jane from the 28^th Medical Detachment of the 6^th finished patching up the International Student Representative, he just became plain Aiden Kobayashi” Amy commented, making Alexis curious.

“Oh? What happened?” Alexis asked, turning towards Amy, his head still leaning on the wall.

“I slipped up and made an off the cuff remark. I thought he was going to reprimand me, but he just responded semi-jokingly that he was going to court martial me if I mentioned what happened to anyone, his face was expressionless, but the way he said it sounded like he was joking” Amy explained.

“What happened with Jane and Aiden?” Alexis asked, his curiosity getting the best of him.

Amy opened her eyes and looked towards the direction of Alexis, causing them to make eye contact, their face at a few feet apart from each other, “That’s classified, Alexis” Amy said, her face half-serious and half-teasing as she returned her head to its original position before closing her eyes again.

“Won’t you at least give a small hint?” Alexis insisted, “ I won’t tell anyone, I promise”

“That’s above your clearance level, and President Kobayashi might seriously court-martial me if I tell you” Amy responded.

“You’re no fun Amy” Alexis said as he turned towards the window again, Amy only chuckling in response. Amy never said anything else, and Alexis just stared out the window, looking at the cloudless sky. At least 15 minutes passed by, and there was just silence between Alexis and Amy as they waited for Cadet-Colonel Belarmino to call both of them into his office.

“Hey Amy, are we being deployed tomorrow at the Student Organization Fair?” Alexis asked, breaking the silence around them, his question though, was met with silence.

“Hey, Amy” Alexis asked again as he turned towards Amy, who has already fallen asleep, sitting down. Alexis gave a small smile before looking around to see if anyone was in the corridor, after making sure that the area was clear, he moved closer to Amy. Alexis poked Amy’s arm to see if she would wake up on the slightest touch, but when Amy didn’t react at all, he carefully leaned her head on his shoulder. Alexis was nervous, he could feel his heartbeat getting stronger. He felt uneasy about doing something like this to his superior officer, but he thought that this was an opportunity he can’t pass. Alexis was able to enjoy a few moments of Amy leaning on his shoulder when the door to Cadet-Colonel Belarmino’s office opened and their commanding officer stepped out with their reports in hand.

Alexis’ initial reaction was to quickly stand up in attention, forgetting the fact that Amy was leaning on his shoulder. The speed and momentum in which Alexis stood up, caused Amy’s head and body to swing on the other direction, causing her to fall off the bench they were sitting on, and fell in front of their commanding officer. Amy quickly woke up after she hit the floor, jolting back up after being woken up by the kiss of the carpeted floor, Alexis who was in attention could only lowkey cringe, realizing that he forgot Amy was leaning on his shoulders and that he just messed up.

As Amy stood back up, the first thing she saw was Cadet-Colonel Belarmino, standing in front of her, looking shocked and surprised at what just happened. Amy quickly stood in attention, her bun a little messed up as a few strains of her hair came loose after her fall.

“Had a nice fall Cadet-Major Del Rosario?” Cadet-Colonel Belarmino sarcastically said, as Amy stood in attention in front of him.

“Yes sir! I apologize Cadet-Colonel Belarmino, I dozed off and fell off the bench” Amy responded, internally shocked and embarrassed, not knowing the fact that it was Alexis that made her fall off the bench.

“Look sharp Cadet-Major, if the commandant sees you sleeping like that, you’ll face disciplinary actions. You’re well aware that the commandant and your father served in the same unit together, he’ll probably report you to your father” Cadet-Colonel Belarmino sternly reprimanded Amy as Alexis watched, feeling a great sense of guilt, but could not bring himself to interrupt their commanding officer and admit that it was his fault that Amy fell on the floor.

“Yes sir! It won’t happen again” Amy responded, her voice sounding serious.

“It certainly won’t, because the next time, you will face disciplinary action and I will have to report you to the commandant” Cadet-Colonel Belarmino responded, his expression stern and serious.

“In any case, I’ve finished reviewing your reports, notwithstanding your sloppiness, your reports are as detailed and organized as usual Del Rosario” Cadet-Colonel Belarmino commented as Amy gave a salute.

Cadet-Colonel Belarmino then shifted his attention towards Cadet-Major Montanillo, “As for your report Montanillo, you need to work on writing properly, it’s sloppy, vague, and quite honestly boring to read” Cadet-Colonel Belarmino said in a blistering critique of Cadet-Major Montanillo’s report.

“Del Rosario” Cadet-Colonel Belarmino continued, “Teach Montanillo how to write a report properly, I want to see an improvement on his next report. Is that understood?”.

“Yes sir!” Cadet-Major Del Rosario and Cadet-Major Montanillo responded simultaneously.

“The requisitioning of the 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd, and 4^th ROTC companies to assist with the Student Organization Fair tomorrow has been formalized, their deployment has been green lighted. Additionally, upon the further request of President Kobayashi, enlisted personnel from the 1^st and 2^nd will be temporarily rotated with cadets from the 6^th and 9^th companies, with the exception of the NCOs, and officers” Cadet-Colonel Belarmino said as he informed Cadet-Major Del Rosario of her new orders.

“Furthermore, the same companies will be deployed on Saturday for another event being hosted by the Student Council for the international students” Cadet-Colonel Belarmino continued.

“Report to the personnel office for the rotation orders. That’s all. Dismissed” Cadet-Colonel Belarmino said as he gave Cadet-Majors Del Rosario and Montanillo a salute before going back inside his office, closing the door behind him after he entered. Amy and Alexis maintained their salute until after the door has closed before they were able to relax and freely move about.

“Were my reports that bad?” Alexis sighed as Amy turned around and faced him, her face all red due to the embarrassment she was trying to conceal in front of their commander.

Amy covered her face, her ears red, “That was so embarrassing” she commented as she tried to absorb the fact that she fell asleep and fell on the floor. Alexis forcefully laughed, feeling embarrassed about the fact that it was his fault, though he couldn’t muster up the courage to admit his mistake.

“It’ll be okay Amy; it’ll soon be forgotten” Alexis said as he tried to comfort and reassure Amy.

“I can’t believe I messed up so bad, I was just so sleepy, I didn’t think I would doze off” Amy responded in a muffled voice. Alexis just smiled as he placed his hand on Amy’s head, patting it gently, as he tried to comfort her. Amy removed her hands from her face and gave a deep sigh, causing Alexis to pull his hand away. Amy turned around and picked up her black beret that fell on the floor, before dusting it off.

“Here Alexis, hold this for me” Amy said as she handed her beret to Alexis. After Alexis took her beret, she removed the hair tie that was holding her bun together, her long black hair falling down past her shoulders as she placed the hair tie on her wrist before fixing her hair and making a new bun to make her look more presentable and professional.

“Thank you” Amy said as she finished fixing her hair, Alexis giving Amy her beret back, “Sorry for that small moment of emotions, I’m good now” Amy continued as she placed her beret back on her head.

“No problem” Alexis replied as Amy stared at him, making him a little nervous, “Wh-what?”.

“Yes, your reports are a mess. I’ve had a chance to read a bit of it, it looked like it was made by an elementary school student” Amy commented bluntly, causing Alexis to wince.

“That’s harsh. You could’ve at least sugar-coated it even just by a little bit you know” Alexis responded, not expecting Amy to be so blunt about the matter.

“I’m just stating facts. We’ll work on it though; those are my orders anyways” Amy said smiling a little, as she walked up to Alexis’ side, patting his right shoulder before she started walking down the corridor. Alexis snorted as he shook his head before he turned around and followed Amy.

Meanwhile, in the 1^st and 2^nd MJU ROTC Company Barracks’ common area, Cadet-Sergeant Joyce Cruz was sitting on top of a table, surrounded by other cadets of varying ranks. Cadet-Sergeant Cruz was telling the story about their deployment to the International Student Lounge the previous night, and the antics Min was trying to pull in front of her.

“Yeah, so this international student was doing all the hilarious stuff in front of me, and I think he was trying to make me react or something” Cadet-Sergeant Cruz said as the other cadets listened on.

“So did you do anything?” One of the cadets asked as Cadet-Sergeant Cruz faced her.

“Are you crazy? If I reacted or interacted with that international student, Cadet-Major Del Rosario would probably make me run 20-laps around the campus” Cadet-Sergeant Cruz responded before she continued on with her story.

“Anyways, he was doing peek-a-boos, trying to scare me, making funny faces, and even stared at me for a good minute or so” Cadet-Sergeant Cruz continued.

“I was seriously using all my will power not to react or laugh, I even got to the point where I had to think of sad things just so I wouldn’t laugh” Cadet-Sergeant Cruz added as the other cadets reacted.

“Some people are immature like that, I guess” Another cadet commented on Cadet-Sergeant Cruz’s story.

“Well it’s not all bad” Cadet-Sergeant Cruz said, as she started blushing and getting excited.

“What do you mean?” A female cadet asked.

“Joyce has a huge crush on that guy, she was so excited about it after we were dismissed, she even slapped my arms multiple times on our way back here last night” Cadet-Sergeant Joshua Trinidad interjected, who was also standing with the other cadets, listening in on Joyce’s story, causing everyone to turn their focus on him.

“What do you mean?” Another cadet asked as Joshua just gestured towards Joyce before crossing his arms, already knowing that Joyce was going to become excited again.

“OMG guys! He was so cute, tall and handsome! His skin was silky white and looked so soft, his dimple was so adorable, his breathe smelled like cinnamon, he smells so good, his eyes almost made me melt, and his pinkish lips looks so soft and kissable. I wish he would ask me to be his girlfriend” Cadet-Sergeant Cruz covered her mouth as she started shaking her head, her face and ears started turning red as she started flailing hard.

All the female cadets started reacting as Joyce described her interaction with Min during her deployment the previous night. She wasn’t lowkey crushing on Min but was full-blown in love with him. Her description made the female cadets listening squeal in excitement as they got curious as to who the international student Joyce was talking about.

“OMG! Who is it!?” A female cadet asked, almost incoherently as she was squealing hard.

“I think his name was Min or something. I wish I could’ve asked his social media or something, but we were on duty, I wish I could see him again” Cadet-Sergeant Cruz responded.

“Wait! I think the Hunters showed a picture of him or something, give me a second” Cadet-Sergeant Cruz continued as she pulled her phone out from her combat uniform breast pocket, accessing the archived footage of “Gossip Friends” the other night that showed the selfie that Jasper took at Gerry’s grill. After pulling the footage up on her phone, she paused it on the scene that showed the selfie Jasper upload and pointed at Min as she showed her phone to everyone. All the female cadets squealed harder as they started whispering amongst themselves, the male cadets only rolled their eyes in reaction to the female cadets’ excitement. Some got excited when they saw Mingyu, Ball and Bank as well.

As everyone was fangirling over the selfie of the boys, one of the female cadets suddenly spoke, “I know the guy you’re talking about Joyce, I think I heard a story from my friend assigned to the 6^th that one of their medics told everyone in their company, I think it was the same guy”. Everyone suddenly turned their attention to the female cadet who spoke.

“Really!?” Another female cadet reacted as Joyce looked at her.

“What was the story?” Cadet-Sergeant Cruz asked, curious and feeling threatened by what the cadet just said, as there was a possibility that she had a serious rival for Min’s heart.

“From what I heard, one of the 6^th company’s medic provided first aid to that international student for some bruises or something, apparently that medic was telling everyone in the 6^th about how she administered some cold packs on his back, and that when he lifted his shirt, she saw the garter of his underwear and his toned body, she also said that when she was wrapping the ace wrap around his abdomen, she accidentally felt his abs” the female cadet explained as all the girls squealed louder after learning that Min has a toned body.

Joyce felt jealous and threatened by the competition, “Who is that medic?” Cadet-Sergeant Cruz asked in a semi-annoyed tone.

“I think it’s Cadet-Corporal Jane Domingo of the 28^th Medical Detachment, assigned as the medical squad leader of the 6^th company” the female cadet answered. Joyce crossed her arms as she raised a brow, Joshua just shook his head as he gave a sigh.

“Please don’t make this another competition Joyce” Cadet-Sergeant Pineda sighed rubbing his forehead.

“I just feel like I have a rival, that’s all” Cadet-Sergeant Cruz explained, her face looking like she was about to do battle.

“Whoever gets him, gets him. All is fair in love and war” Cadet-Sergeant Cruz continued, before she started talking about Min again, erasing the growing tension in the air, as she started squealing, followed by the other female cadets. As the girls squealed, another cadet close to the door suddenly clicked his boots before crying in a loud voice, “Stand by!”, grabbing the attention of the cadets in the common room as they hurriedly stood straight and prompting the cadets who were sitting down to immediately stand up.

After a few seconds, the front door opened and Cadet-Major Del Rosario and Cadet-Major Montanillo entered the barracks, prompting the cadet who called for a standby to say in an equally loud voice, ‘Attention on deck!”, causing the cadets in the common room to click their heels and salute the officers that just entered.

“As you were” Cadet-Major Del Rosario said as she stood in the middle of the room, surrounded by her cadets, with Cadet-Major Montanillo flanking her from behind. As the cadets relaxed their stance, Cadet-Major Del Rosario started speaking.

“Are all the junior officers and NCOs here?” Cadet-Major Del Rosario asked as her junior officers and NCOs stepped front and center, “Good, I have our new deployment orders, so listen up!”.

“The 1^st and 2^nd Companies will be deployed tomorrow at the Student Organization Fair alongside the 3^rd and 4^th companies, additionally we have been requisitioned to conduct security operations for another event this Saturday for the International Students” Cadet-Major Del Rosario announced as some of the cadets groaned and sighed.

“Pipe down cadets!” Cadet-Captain Rebecca Francisco, the 1^st company’s executive officer ordered.

When the groaning and sighs disappeared, Cadet-Major Del Rosario continued, “Per orders of Student Council President Kobayashi, the 1^st and 2^nd companies will be rotated with personnel from the 6^th and 9^th companies, except for the officers and NCOs, so all enlisted personnel will get a break for tomorrow and the following deployment the day after”. The second announcement reassured the cadets and seemed like a huge thorn was just taken off from their chests, as they were able to lowkey able to breathe a sigh of relief.

“Permission to speak ma’am!” Cadet-Sergeant Cruz said as everyone turned their attention towards her.

“Permission granted Cadet-Sergeant” Cadet-Major Del Rosario responded.

“Will the rotation include auxiliary personnel as well?” Cadet-Sergeant Cruz asked.

“Yes, I have picked up the rotation order from the personnel office. The 1^st and 2^nd will be commanding the enlisted personnel of the 6^th and 9^th respectively as well as their attached auxiliary personnel, which will include their medical, signals, logistics, and service detachments” Cadet-Major Del Rosario explained.

“Thank you ma’am” Cadet-Sergeant Cruz responded as she gave a salute.

“Does this have something to do with the squealing I could hear from outside?” Cadet-Major Del Rosario asked as everyone became quiet, looking at Cadet-Sergeant Cruz.

“Don’t be like that cadets, come on, humor me” Cadet-Major Del Rosario said as everyone’s eyes shifted from Cadet-Sergeant Cruz to Cadet-Major Del Rosario.

“Cadet-Sergeant Major Cruz here has a one-sided rivalry with Cadet-Corporal Jane Domingo from the 28^th Medical Detachment of the 6^th ma’am” Cadet-Sergeant Pineda said as he broke the silence in the room, causing Cadet-Major Del Rosario, Cadet-Major Montanillo, and Cadet-Captain Francisco to look at him.

“What kind of rivalry Cadet-Sergeant?” Cadet-Major Del Rosario asked as everyone shifted their gaze to whoever was speaking.

“A one-sided love rivalry that Cadet-Sergeant Cruz has initiated with Cadet-Corporal Domingo for the attention of the International Student Representative, ma’am” Cadet-Sergeant Pineda said as Cadet-Sergeant Cruz gave Cadet-Sergeant Pineda a piercing gaze.

“Oho-ho” Cadet-Major Del Rosario reacted, her face looking interested in the rivalry that Cadet-Sergeant Pineda was talking about. Cadet-Captain Francisco and Cadet-Major Montanillo just subtly smiled at Cadet-Major Del Rosario’s reaction to the revelation.

“I admit, the International Student Representative is pretty cute and handsome” Cadet-Major Del Rosario smiled, as the cadets reacted in varying degree. The female cadets reacting with more passion and zeal than their male counterparts. Cadet-Major Del Rosario smiled, knowing that her female cadets were keen - very keen, actually - about Min, she also noticed that Cadet-Sergeant Cruz was starting to blush.

“Well, I have two pieces of news for all of you” Cadet-Major Del Rosario announced as everyone quieted down and focused their attention on her, “Which one do you want to hear first? The good or the bad?”.

Everyone responded with “Good” as Cadet-Major Del Rosario gave a grin, knowing that they would say ‘good’ first before the ‘bad’.

“The good news is, the International Student Representative will be present during the Student Organization Fair tomorrow and the International Student Welcome Party the day after” Cadet-Major Del Rosario said as the female cadets started squealing again.

“The bad news is…” Cadet-Major Del Rosario added, pausing first as she gave a huge grin, upping the suspense of her announcement, “All of you except for the officers and NCOs will be rotated to the 6^th and 9^th companies, so with great sadness, you won’t be seeing the “Cute and Handsome” International Student Representative”, the bad news dampened the mood of the female cadets, as the male cadets gave each other high fives and fist bumps.

Cadet-Sergeant Cruz made a fist and whispered, “Yes!”. Of course Cadet-Major Del Rosario noticed the lowkey reaction and turned towards Cadet-Sergeant Cruz, a teasing smile on her face before dropping another announcement.

“Don’t celebrate yet Cadet-Sergeant Cruz” Cadet-Major Del Rosario continued as she gave her a teasing smile, which got the curiosity of everyone.

“I have another piece of news for you. Cadet-Corporal Jane Domingo has been assigned to your company as the medical detachment lead for the next two days of the rotation” Cadet-Major Del Rosario said as Cadet-Sergeant Cruz’s celebration ended up being short-lived while the other cadets reacted.

The Junior officers and the other NCOs present reacted with surprise as Cadet-Sergeant Cruz’s facial expression turned sour quickly. Cadet-Major Del Rosario kept her teasing smile on her face as Cadet-Major Montanillo and Cadet-Captain Francisco winced, knowing that Cadet-Major Del Rosario was adding fuel to the fire to the one-sided rivalry between Cadet-Sergeant Cruz and Cadet-Corporal Domingo. Cadet-Sergeant Pineda could only facepalm in response to their commanding officer’s teasing.

 “This is going to be one hell of a weekend” Cadet-Captain Francisco whispered as Cadet-Major Montanillo stepped backwards until he was standing next to the 1^st company’s executive officer.

“You’re right about that Cadet-Captain” Cadet-Major Montanillo whispered back, keeping his eyes focused in front of him, as the two gave each other a lowkey fist bump.

“I do hope you would get along, remember that outside this barracks, we are cadets first, and students second. Don’t let your personal feelings get in the way of your duties as ROTC cadets. Showcase your discipline and professionalism, just as you did during the International Student Lounge deployment” Cadet-Major Del Rosario smiled as she winked at Cadet-Sergeant Cruz who was obviously irritated and annoyed about the fact that she would be serving alongside her newly found rival for Min.

“Ma’am!” Cadet-Sergeant Cruz clicked her heels before giving their commanding officer a salute, which was followed by the other cadets gathered in the room. Cadet-Majors Del Rosario and Montanillo saluted back in response.

“Do make our weekend deployments interesting Cadet-Sergeant, don’t break character though” Cadet-Major Del Rosario laughed as the other cadets gave out a chuckle, cheering Cadet-Sergeant Cruz on.

“Especially don’t break character Cadet-Sergeant, the Student Council will be present on both events, don’t lay bare your individuality in front of President Kobayashi” Cadet-Major Montanillo chimed in as the female cadets squealed at the mention of Aiden’s name, “Let’s show the professionalism and discipline of the Mount Juliet ROTC to the Freshies and international students”. Everyone nodded in agreement to what Cadet-Major Montanillo said as morale in the common room went up.

“One piece of advice though Cadet-Sergeant, don’t set your hopes too high. Your heart may get broken” Cadet-Major Del Rosario said, her expression a little bit serious.

“Yes ma’am!” Cadet-Sergeant Cruz responded, a little confused and curious at what she meant.

“I’m giving you this advice, both as your friend and commanding officer. You’ll never know, ‘someone’ may have already taken the International Student Representative’s heart” Cadet-Major Del Rosario said teasingly with a grin on her face, as if she knows something that everyone else doesn’t.

After her last comment, Cadet-Major Del Rosario started chuckling as she walked towards the interior of the barracks, heading to her office, Cadet-Major Montanillo and Cadet-Captain Francisco following her as the cadets in the common area saluted the officers as they walked off.

Later that afternoon, Moira was the first to arrive at the Student Council room. After entering, she found that the room was dark and empty, she quickly turned the lights on as she closed the door behind her before walking towards the conference table. As she was placing her bag on one of the chairs, she saw the paper that Aiden left. She picked it up and held it towards her, pulling the post-it that was sticking on the paper and reading the note that was written,

“Moira, this is the agenda for the meeting for tonight. Go ahead and make copies and prepare everything. I may or may not come late, depending on my mood. – Aiden”

Moira gave a deep sigh after reading the note that Aiden left, she then placed the ‘post-it’ on top of the conference table and looked at the agenda that was left on the table. It mostly covered various topics, which included the update for the song list, video presentation, crowd and traffic control for the Student Organization Fair the next day, as well as the catering, invitations, set-up time, and program for the international students’ welcome party on Saturday.

After reading the agenda for the meeting, Moira went to the control room where the copier was located. She made enough copies for the meeting attendees, and then went to the storage room on the other side of the Student Council room to grab folders to put the copies in. After putting the copies in the folder, she laid them out on the table, in front of where everyone was going to sit.

Finishing with the agenda, she went to the kitchenette to get bottled waters, and placed them right next to the folders that she just laid on the conference table. She then unplugged one of the laptops on the charging station and placed it in front of the chair she was going to sit on, she opened the laptop and turned it on before grabbing her stuff and walking towards her office.

Upon entering her office, she placed her stuff on one of the armchairs right by the door before sitting on her office chair and moving the mouse to wake her computer up. When the monitor lit up, she saw that the TharnType episode that Angela was watching the other day was still up in full screen mode.

“Damn it! Angela, you didn’t exit out of this, and it’s still showing the ‘have sex with me’ scene, it would be trouble if anyone sees this” Moira whispered to herself, oblivious of the fact that Aiden saw the ‘have sex with me’ scene from TharnType episode 04, and Min hearing bits and pieces of what Aiden saw.

Closing the web browser, she then accessed her Microsoft outlook, where all of her emails – personal, school, and student council email – were synched, consolidating the incoming emails from all her different email addresses. As Moira was scrolling through the emails, she immediately saw an email from Emeline Cailteux, Vice President of the International Student Council, with the subject line “Requested song list”, she opened the email and read the contents, which said,

“Here is the list we have compiled for the student organization fair tomorrow, I apologize for the hastily compiled list, since we didn’t have much time to brainstorm or think of songs that would fit the occasion”.

At the bottom of the email was a file attachment named “Song_list.pdf”, which Moira immediately downloaded. Opening the attachment, she was surprised that there were barely any songs that were native to the international students’ home countries and were mostly pop songs from the United States, with the exception of a few Japanese, Korean, Thai, and Spanish songs. All in all, there were at least 50 song recommendations from the international students, although not what Moira was expecting at all.

After reviewing the song list, she immediately printed the file, and closed the Adobe Acrobat Pro program and went back to her outlook account to scan for any other emails that she could present at the meeting. Another email that stood out was an email from Oscar Hernandez, Moira opened his email and read the contents which states that the majority of the Hunters have approved the proposal that the Student Council has presented and was revising their rules and protocols to comply with the agreement.

Moira opened her drawer and pulled out a piece of paper and wrote down a quick summary of what Oscar has sent. She also took the liberty of writing instructions for Angela in regard to an official statement from the Student Council in regards with the deal reached with the Hunters. This official statement is an updated and final version of the earlier statement that Angela sent to the Student Body yesterday, as the agreement was still pending during that time, awaiting the result of the Hunters’ vote on the matter.

When she finished writing her notes, she grabbed a clipboard from one of her drawers and rolled her chair towards the printer to take the song list she printed, she then clipped her notes and song list on the clipboard before leaving her office, turning off the lights and closing the door as she left. Moira placed the clipboard next to the laptop she had setup, bending towards the table so she could enter her credentials.

As she was typing, Katrina, Aaron, and Angela entered the Student Council room, “You guys are early” Moira commented as she carried on with what she was doing, not even looking at the trio. Moira’s comment prompted Katrina to look at her phone, which she was holding, and checked the time – 17:05.

“We might as well wait around here until we actually start the meeting” Aaron said as he pulled out a chair from the conference table.

“Is Aiden here?” Katrina asked as she pulled the chair beside Aaron.

“No, it’s just me. Aiden looks like he went somewhere, he left tonight’s agenda with instructions on it, hopefully he’s not somewhere lazing around” Moira responded as she stood upright, pulling the chair behind her closer.

“By the way, since you’re here Angela, can you go ahead and draft another statement” Moira continued as she looked at Angela who was placing her things down on the couch.

“What’s it about?” Angela asked, laying her bag on the couch before walking towards the others.

“I received an email from Oscar, the Hunters have voted to accept the proposals that Aiden has outlined in regards with the international students” Moira explained as she sat on the chair she just pulled.

“Right, I’ll get on it, I’ll try to finish a draft as soon as I can” Angela replied as she backtracked towards her backpack to take out her notepad.

“That’s good, hopefully with this, we can return to normalcy” Aaron commented.

“Hopefully so, the guidelines are pretty new so we’ll never know how well it would work until at a later time, depending on how it pans out, we may have to do some amendments and additions to what we already have” Katrina added as Moira nodded in agreement.

“Our focus for right now should be the Student Organization Fair and the International Students’ Welcome Party on Saturday” Moira said as Angela approached the conference table with her notepad on hand.

“I just hope we won’t be as hectic and busy in the coming days like this week” Angela groaned as she took her seat across from Aaron, placing her notepad on top of the folder in front of her.

“We’re still going to be busy, but not as busy as this week” Katrina responded.

“Well, the next major events will be the Battle of the Bands and Foundation day. I’m not too worried about the Battle of the Bands since it’s a joint event hosted by the Student Council and the Music Club; the Foundation Day might get a little hectic” Moira said as she rested her face on both her hands.

“We still have at least over three weeks before the Battle of the Bands and at least over a month before Foundation Day, so we could get a little bit of a breather” Aaron responded.

“True, but most of us have extracurriculars, plus our weekly Student Council meetings and ISO meetings, it’ll be busy and hectic moving forward” Katrina said, causing Aaron to purse his lips.

“Speaking of Battle of the Bands, have you thought about joining? I mean, Bank is technically part of your band now” Angela asked, Aaron’s pursed lips quickly disappeared as he looked at Angela.

“I’ll have to ask everyone first; we’re still missing another bassist” Aaron responded.

“Would that affect your band if you don’t find one?” Moira asked.

“No, not particularly. I wouldn’t mind entering with our current members, but I don’t want to decide for everybody. We also haven’t thought of a name for our band yet” Aaron explained as the girls listened.

“You should meet up with your band members to discuss that, the sooner you decide and submit the application to join, the sooner you guys could start practicing and building a good working relationship” Katrina suggested as Aaron nodded his head.

“Maybe you guys could even start practicing songs too!” Angela suggested.

“That’s true, but the Music Club hasn’t announced the theme for this year’s Battle of the Bands, so they can’t choose any songs yet” Katrina replied.

“Really? I didn’t know that. Probably because I didn’t go to last year’s Battle of the Bands” Angela laughed.

“I didn’t either” Katrina admitted, “I just heard about the music theme thing from Grace”.

“Same here” Moira added.

“You guys serious?” Aaron said, surprised by Katrina, Moira, and Angela’s revelations.

“What was the theme last year?” Katrina asked out of curiosity.

“Last year’s theme was 90s songs, any genre, any country” Aaron responded.

“That seems pretty vague isn’t it?” Angela commented.

“You wouldn’t want to severely limit the song choices too, so they keep it vague like that” Aaron replied.

“That makes sense, if you put it that way” Moira said before Grace, Kobe, and Amy entered the Student Council room.

“Oh! Maybe we could ask Grace, she is in the Music Club” Angela suggested, her face looked determined.

“Ask me what?” Grace asked as she and Amy entered the room, Kobe dropping off his back pack on the couch, next to Angela’s things, before sitting down and putting his earphones on.

“We were just talking about the Battle of the Bands, and we were wondering what the theme would be for this year” Angela asked as Grace placed her bag on top of the conference table.

“The Music Club hasn’t finalized anything yet, it’s just been email exchanges and conversations in our GC, we should have a final decision on everything by next week, and even if we have already finalized it, I can’t exactly tell you guys” Grace explained as she took her seat at the conference table, Amy doing the same.

“Well, fair enough. It wouldn’t be fair to the other contestants” Katrina said as Grace nodded her head.

“That’s that then. Where is Aiden?” Grace asked as she looked around the Student Council room.

“He’s somewhere on campus, I think” Moira responded as she shifted her focus towards Grace, who was sitting a chair away from her.

“I do hope he shows up” Angela commented as Grace gave out a sigh, causing everyone to look at her.

“What’s wrong Grace?” Amy asked, curious as to why Grace gave out a deep sigh.

“If it comes to it, we’ll have to start the meeting without Aiden. I’ll just type up a brief report on what was talked on the meeting, along with the minutes” Grace explained as she acknowledges the possibility that Aiden may not come to the meeting that he called.

“Why do you all think Aiden won’t show up?” Amy further inquired.

“Aiden can be laidback and carefree sometimes, when we were at the Freshman council, he would sometimes call for meetings and won’t show up, usually leaving it to Grace, Moira, or Katrina to handle things, and have them submit a report afterwards” Aaron explained, surprising Amy who never thought that Aiden has that kind of personality.

“For the record, I’m not complaining or anything. I’m used to it by now anyways” Grace commented.

“I still don’t understand how Aiden thinks at times. Sometimes he can be serious and extremely focused on an agenda or subject, the next thing he disappears and leaves things to us” Moira said, trying to figure out Aiden’s train of thought.

“You’re not alone there Moira, Aaron and I have known Aiden for years, and we still can’t figure him out. Though we’re used to the things he does, I never really bothered trying to figure Aiden out. He’s too complex to analyze and can be unpredictable. Personally, I’ve only relied on what I have observed about Aiden, but I never really put too much thought about it” Katrina said as Aaron nodded his head.

“Well, I think that’s a good thing though” Amy chimed in, prompting everyone on the conference table to look at her. “What do you mean by that, Amy?” Grace asked

“If he leaves things to all of you, doesn’t that mean he trusts everyone’s judgement and ability to get things done? One of the qualities of a good leader is to be able to gauge and assess his subordinates’ abilities, and delegate responsibilities to them depending on their reliability, skills, and talents” Amy explained, causing Grace, Moira, Angela, Katrina, and Aaron to rethink what they thought they already knew about Aiden.

“That does make sense” Moira conceded to Amy’s point.

“Sometimes a good leader would do unpredictable things so they can assess their subordinates’ actions, reactions, critical thinking, decisiveness, approach and how they would handle specific situations – especially highly unexpected situations” Amy continued.

“I have to admit, looking at it in that perspective, it does make sense. I guess that explains his actions on the first day and that encounter with Hazelyn at the cafeteria” Katrina commented as she looked back at Aiden’s actions, “I know he has exemplary leadership abilities, but I never thought his level of thinking was this advanced”.

“How can you tell Amy?” Aaron asked, surprise how Amy could read Aiden like an open book.

“Don’t get me wrong, I can only read his leadership qualities, anything beyond that, I also have a hard time reading, especially on a personal level. As an officer cadet of the ROTC, we have been educated and drilled on leadership qualities and skills. Observation and analysis of leadership qualities and potential is one of the things we need to master, at least here at MJU” Amy responded.

Before someone could reply, the door suddenly opened and Min entered the Student Council room, causing everyone to look towards his direction as everyone was half-expecting the person who entered to be Aiden. “Hey guys!” Min quickly greeted closing the door as he cantered towards everyone.

“Am I late?” Min asked, slightly catching his breath as everyone kept their focus on him.

“I don’t think so” Angela said as she checked the time again, “Aiden’s not here yet, so you’re good”.

“That’s good” Min said as he breathed a sigh of relief, “I thought I was late again. I lost track of time”.

“It’s fine man, Aiden is the only one missing now” Aaron said as Min took off his backpack and sat beside Aaron who gave him a fist bump.

“Aiden’s not here?” Min asked after sitting down, placing his backpack on his lap, “Doesn’t he usually just stay in his office or something?”

Moira and Angela immediately looked at each other, giving off that weird “Fujoshi” smile. Moira then broke off from their eye contact and took her phone out and sent a message on the M.A.S.S. GC, informing Ball and Mingyu about Min’s arrival.

“He usually is, but for some reason he’s not here today” Grace responded, giving another sigh.

“Oh, Min!” Amy suddenly chimed in, causing Min to look at Amy.

“What’s up Amy?” Min responded, turning his attention towards Amy.

“You’re starting to become really popular around here” Amy said, surprising Min.

“What do you mean?” Min asked, confused as to what Amy was talking about.

“Some of my cadets are head over heels for you” Amy responded, talking about what occurred at the 1^st ROTC company’s barracks earlier.

“Oh, thank you? I guess?” Min replied, forcing a laugh, seemingly having a hard time responding or even finding the right words to say.

“It’s only a matter of time anyways before the student body in its entirety would become aware of Min” Katrina interjected causing Min and Amy to look at her.

“Yeah, it really seems like Aiden will finally have some competition this year” Aaron said as Moira, Angela, Grace and Katrina laughed at the prospect of Aiden being dethroned as MJU’s hottest.

As the group laughed, the door opened, and Aiden walked in with a pocky stick protruding out of his mouth, and an iced coffee on his hand. He was followed inside by Cadet-Major Montanillo who closed the door behind him as he entered. When Kobe saw Aiden enter, he quickly yanked his earphones out and sat quietly on the couch, his eyes following Aiden, Amy immediately stood up and was about to render a salute when Aiden gestured for her not to.

Aiden got his office keys out of his pocket, unlocking his door before entering his office. As soon as Aiden closed the door behind him, everyone stood up and went to their proper places. Grace sat on the right-hand side of where Aiden’s chair is, next to her is Kobe, Angela, and Amy in that order. Moira sat on the left-hand side, next to her is Katrina, Aaron, and then Min. Cadet-Major Montanillo just stood at “Parade rest” by the door, watching the members of the Student Council scramble to their seats.

After a few minutes, Aiden stepped out of his office, with his ice coffee on one hand and a box of opened Pocky Stick on the other. He calmly walked towards his chair; the entire room was quiet as they waited for Aiden to take his seat so he could start their meeting. When Aiden reached his spot, he placed his iced coffee down beside the bottle of water, and the box of pocky stick beside it before taking his seat.

“Jesus Christ, why do you all look so stiff? I’m not Monica, try relaxing a bit, it won’t kill any of you” Aiden said as he took his seat. Everyone forcibly chuckled at the comment, prompting Aiden to give everyone a weirded-out facial expression, “Don’t you guys even dare group me with Monica”.

“Enough of this weird fest. Where are we on our preparations for the Student Organization Fair?” Aiden continued as he opened the folder in front of him, prompting everyone to do the same.

“I’ve already received the song list from Emeline Cailteux, here is the song list that they compiled for tomorrow’s event” Moira reported, removing her notes before passing the clipboard to Aiden. As he reviewed the list, everyone could see Aiden’s eyebrows furrow.

“You’ve got to be kidding me right?” Aiden said as he placed the clipboard down, “Most of these recommendations are American Pop music, with the exception of a few Japanese, Korean, Thai, and Spanish music”. Aiden sighed as he slid the clipboard back to Moira.

“Well, it is what it is, beggars can’t be choosy. Give Katrina a copy of that list so she can combine it with what she has compiled” Aiden instructed as Moira nodded in acknowledgement.

“Did the International Student Council seriously recommended American Pop music?” Kobe asked as he looked at Moira with a surprised expression.

“Yes, I was surprised as well when I saw at the list earlier” Moira responded.

“American pop music is popular in different parts of the world” Min chimed in, giving his usual smile, exposing his dimple, “So I’m not surprised by what they compiled, they were also short on time as well”.

“If that’s what the International Students likes, then we’ll go with that. How about the preparations on your end? Amy? Aaron?” Aiden asked as he shifted the discussion to the crowd and traffic control operations for the Student Organization Fair.

“Right, the crowd and traffic control plans have been finalized, and I have already factored in the number of cadets that the ROTC has appropriated for the event, I’ll leave it to Amy in regards with personnel allocation and ground movements” Aaron reported.

“Cadet-Colonel Belarmino already formalized the deployment of the 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd, and 4^th ROTC companies for the Student Organization Fair, and will be deployed by your orders and in accordance with the plans that Aaron has drafted. Additionally, the same companies will be deployed for the Welcome Party as well” Amy followed up in regard with the ROTC. “Per your orders, command of the battalion on the ground at the event will be placed under Cadet-Major Montanillo, with overall command under the control booth”.

“Good. Moira, what of the shifts for the control booth?” Aiden asked as she turned towards Moira.

“The final version is complete; Grace and Katrina will have the first shift, from 17:00 – 17:30; second shift will be Angela and I from 17:30 – 18:00; third shift will be Kobe and Amy from 18:00 – 18:30; the fourth shift will be Aiden and Min from 18:30 – 19:00; Will that work Aiden?” Moira reported as Aiden lowkey cringed at the pairing for the last shift, Min on the other hand, gave a subtle smile.

“That will do” Aiden concurred, though internally annoyed by the fact that he was paired with Min for the final shift, “Amy and I will be in the control booth for the duration of the event, monitoring the situation from there, and relaying orders to the ROTC-Student Council teams in and around the venue as needed”.

“Everyone will be issued with radios to facilitate our communications, if you’re not on shift in the control booth, feel free to move around and enjoy the event, though keep an eye out for anything that could disrupt the event” Aaron explained as everyone acknowledged his instructions.

“Any other comments in regards with the preparations for the Student Organization Fair?” Aiden asked as everyone stayed silent.

“Right, if there’s nothing, we’ll move on to the welcome party” Aiden continued.

“Preparations have already been made with the catering service; they will be setting up at around 17:00 in the central ballroom and will bring in the food at around 17:30. As already outlined in the expense breakdown report I submitted, our total expenses for the welcome party, including food, decorations, and other miscellaneous fees amounted to 136 thousand pesos, the remainder of the funds will be added to the budget of the Student Council this academic year” Katrina reported.

“Per the option chosen by Aiden in regard to the program for the welcome party, there will be a short speech from the Chancellor and the Student Council President, followed by dinner, and then games. After that, everyone is free to do whatever they want until the event concludes at 20:00; I also took the liberty of creating a seating plan for the party” Moira reported.

“Send me the seating plan later Moira, I’ll look it over” Aiden instructed as Moira nodded.

“Amy, break your battalion into groups, I’ll leave the planning to you and Alexis. Both of you will be in attendance at the party, so leave command of the groups to your NCO’s, we’ll decide later who will command the entire battalion” Aiden ordered as Amy and Alexis responded with “Yes, sir”.

“Speaking of being in attendance, Grace, send out invitations to the International Student Organization, the International Exchange Program staff, the Executive Council, the Council of Deans, the Board of Student Governors, the MJU Times, the MJU Radio, the MJU TV, the Gang of Eight, the International Students, the Department of Modern Foreign Language faculty, and Dr. Carla Harrison tonight” Aiden instructed.

“We’re including the Department of Modern Foreign Language as well? Will we have enough food?” Grace asked, concerned about the amount of food available.

“We should be good on that end, I manage to snag a discount for a food order enough for 500 people” Katrina chimed in, reassuring Grace that there will be enough food for everyone in attendance.

“500 people!?” Moira, Angela, Grace, Aaron, Kobe, Min, Amy and Alexis reacted in surprise.

“Now we have too much food! How will we finish all of it?” Kobe asked.

“The ROTC cadets can have whatever food is left after the party, it’s the least we could do for them, having to call them in on a weekend” Aiden said with the same expression on his face. The comment visibly surprised Amy and Alexis, which caught the attention of Aiden.

“Something wrong with that Amy? Alexis?” Aiden asked, causing everyone on the conference table to look at Amy who still had her surprised expression all over her face.

“Ah.. No.. Sir” Amy stuttered, “It’s just, I wasn’t expecting that you’d even feed the cadets too” Alexis just nodded in agreement to what Amy just said, before everyone turned their eyes on Aiden.

“Like I said, it’s the least that we could do for them. They are students of MJU as well, plus their hard work needs to be recognized and rewarded in some way. I would have preferred for the original personnel of the 1^st and 2^nd companies to be able to partake with the food, but all I can offer for them was a leave of absence” Aiden replied.

“Thank you very much sir! On behalf of the 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd, and 4^th MJU ROTC companies and the rotational personnel from the 6^th and 9^th, I would like to express our appreciation and thanks for your generosity” Amy said, feeling a great sense of gratitude and appreciation for the Student Council President.

“No need to thank me Amy, it’s my duty as Student Council President” Aiden responded.

“All members of the Student Council and the International Student Organization will help with the set-up, and if necessary, we may have to ask some of your cadets to help Amy” Aiden instructed as everyone nodded their heads in agreement.

“Do we have anything else we need to add or talk about in regard to the welcome party?” Aiden asked as everyone shook their heads.

“Alright, do we have any other updates that we need to hear about?” Aiden continued.

“Yes, the matter with the Hunters in regard to the proposal we presented the other day” Moira reported.

“What do we have regarding that affair?” Aiden asked as he turned his attention towards Moira.

“I received an email from Oscar, and he has reported that the Hunters have voted to adopt the proposals that we presented, they are working on revising their rules and protocols” Moira responded.

“Good, that should remedy the Hunters’ problem for the time being” Aiden commented.

“As it is, I’ve already instructed Angela to draft an official statement” Moira added.

“How is the statement going Angela?” Aiden asked as he shifted his attention towards Angela.

“I’m already working on the draft; I will have it ready soon” Angela reported.

“Once you finish the draft, have Moira review it, once the statement is acceptable, send a university-wide email immediately” Aiden instructed. “Will do” Angela responded.

“Do we have any other news on the Public Relation front?” Aiden asked.

“Nothing major, the news cycle is still dominated by the Gerry’s Grill and Coffee shower incidents, social media has been ablaze about it, and I have several student journalists asking about the meeting with the Hunters the other day, besides that there’s nothing needing your immediate attention” Angela reported.

“Aside from the Gerry’s Grill and the coffee shower incidents, everything seems normal. Schedule a Press briefing sometime next week, I’m sure MJU’s media outlets and student journalist would want to hear from the Student Council about current affairs in the university” Aiden added.

“I’ll set it up, I will let you know as I have the details” Angela replied, Aiden only nodding in reply.

“Anything else that needs to be brought up? Say it now or forever hold your peace” Aiden asked as the room remained quiet again.

“If there’s nothing else, I have things that I need to inform you off. Firstly, all of our proposals that I have brought to the Executive Council has been approved, with the exception of the proposal in regard to the expansion of the Student Council, which has been put on hold, pending the Chancellor’s approval; that being said, Kobe and Katrina, start working on re-allocating the ISO budget that we discussed to the Student Council budget. I have also finalized the dates of the 1^st semester events; I will send out an email either tonight or during the weekend” Aiden reported.

“Speaking of events, Grace, how are the preparations for the Battle of the Bands?” Aiden asked as he turned his attention towards his Vice President.

“We haven’t finalized anything yet, but we have been discussing about the Battle of the Bands, we should have a final decision by next week in regard to that” Grace reported.

“Inform me as soon as you have the details so we can start planning” Aiden responded.

“Will do Aiden” Grace replied as she wrote down Aiden’s instruction on the paper in her folder.

“Right. Our next formal meeting will be on Monday at 17:00, we will start finalizing our proposal for the International Student Outing, we’ll also start talking about preparations for the Battle of the Bands, as well as Foundation Day. Hopefully by then I would have the decision about the Student Council expansion proposal, and depending on the Chancellor’s decision, we may or may not discuss possible candidates for the new positions” Aiden announced before he concluded the meeting.

Everyone was relieved that the meeting didn’t drag on like it did during the first day of classes. Grace, Kobe, Amy and Alexis were the first to leave, followed by Aaron and Katrina. Angela stayed behind, working on the draft of the statement, while Moira was finishing up the minutes for the meeting. Min also stayed behind, writing down some notes on the paper inside the folder in front of him. Aiden was also taking down notes, drinking sips of his iced coffee from time to time, and eating a piece of pocky stick.

As Min finished writing down his notes, he returned his pen in his breast pocket and closed the folder. He turned his attention towards the direction of Aiden, who just took a sip of iced coffee, and placed a piece of pocky stick in his mouth before he started writing again, “I didn’t think you ate anything Aiden” Min said jokingly, catching the attention of Moira and Angela.

“I would be dead if I didn’t” Aiden wittingly said as he continued writing, a piece of pocky stick in his mouth.

“This is true” Min chuckled at Aiden’s response. Moira and Angela looked at each other, the former getting a gut feeling that this is probably the moment that Min will confess to Aiden. After lowkey nodding at each other Angela continued what she was doing, while Moira sent a message on the M.A.S.S. GC.

Moira: “Hey guys! I have a feeling that Min might confess to Aiden today!”

Ball: “For real!?”

Mingyu: “Holy Shit!”

Moira: “I know right!?”

Mingyu: “Give us the deetz!”

Ball: “I’m curious too!”

Angela: “I will! Let’s meet up later”

After replying, Moira placed her phone back in her pocket and continued typing on the laptop. Min was still sitting down on his chair, looking anxious and uneasy, fueling Moira’s feeling of an impending confession. After a few minutes, Aiden finally finished writing his notes, closing his folder and collecting his stuff before standing up, as he started walking towards his office.

As Aiden got closer to his office, Angela could notice Min blushing a little bit, and getting more anxious and uneasy. As Aiden was reaching for the doorknob, Min suddenly stood up, prompting Aiden, Moira and Angela to turn towards him, “Aiden, do you have a moment?” Min asked as Aiden faced him.

“What is it now?” Aiden responded in a semi-cold tone.

“Can I talk to you in your office?” Min asked as Aiden gave out a sigh.

“Make it fast” Aiden responded as he opened the door and entered his office, Min following behind him, closing the door after he entered.

Moira and Angela made eye contact again, huge grins forming on their faces. Moira took her phone again and sent a message to the M.A.S.S. GC, “IT’S HAPPENING!”, before she and Angela tiptoed towards Aiden’s door and placed their ears on the door to eavesdrop.

“So? What do you want?” Aiden asked as he dropped the folder on his desk, placing the ice coffee and empty pocky stick box next to it as he sat down on his chair.

“Well…” Min paused, as he focused his eyes on the floor, scratching the back of his head.

“Well?” Aiden said, his arms crossed as he looked at Min who was clearly avoiding any eye contact with him, “If you have nothing to say, the door’s right behind you”. Min took a deep breathe before making eye contact with Aiden, determined to confess his feelings. Aiden and Min looked at each other’s eyes, as Min tried to muster all the courage he has in his system.

“I... Aiden.. I..” Min stuttered, as Moira and Angela leaned harder on the door so they can hear clearly.

“Aiden” Min said, his gaze intensified, “Aiden, I Li-” before Min could finish, Aiden’s phone suddenly rang, drowning out what Min was trying to say.

“Student Council Office, Aiden Kobayashi speaking” Aiden said as he immediately answered the phone, he nodded his head several times, his eyes shifting as he listened to the other person on the other line.

“Yes sir, I’ll be right over” Aiden sighed as he hangs the phone up, “Whatever it is you wanted to tell me, you can tell me another time, Director Guerrero wants to see me in his office” Aiden said before standing up from his chair.

“Oh, I understand” Min replied, sounding defeated and dismayed, his face looked down as well. When Aiden saw Min’s reaction, he felt bad that he had to cut him off, just as he was about to walk past him, Aiden placed his hand on Min’s left shoulder, “Don’t act like it’s the end of the world, you can tell me about it tomorrow”, Aiden said as he patted the taller boy’s shoulder before he walked towards the door.

When Moira and Angela heard footsteps approaching them, they quickly dispersed and returned to where they were sitting, lucky for them they were fast enough as they just sat back down when Aiden opened his office door, before heading out of the Student Council room. Min was left standing in Aiden’s office, still dismayed about his missed opportunity, but more determined after hearing Aiden’s words. He snorted before giving a smile before leaving Aiden’s office, turning off the lights and closing the door. Stepping out of the office, Min said goodbye to Moira and Angela as he grabbed his things before leaving.