QUILLON

I set down the stack of papers on the Chairman’s desk. He quickly flipped through. A wicked smile appeared on his face.

“Well, who would’ve expected the cautious and calculating student representative to come up with such a brazen proposal?”

“Is it doable or not?”

The Chairman’s wicked grin disappeared.

“What do I gain from all this?”

“Well, you’d get a lot less dissent from the general public which will lead to more applicants. More applicants will give you an even richer student body. Besides, does separating the rank lists really have any merits for you?”

“That was just a bunch of old geezers pressuring me. But I took care of them now, so I don’t have any more obstacles.”

“I haven’t even gotten to the best gain for you.”

“Which is?”

“You’ll be able to have the most fun you’ve ever had since you became the chairman.”

The chairman dropped his serious look and laughed.

“Do you realise what will happen if we lose? The loss of face for non-signums will reverberate throughout history.”

“Then all I need to do is win.”

The Chairman sighed.

“I’ll grant this competition if you tell me the reason as to why you’re doing this.”

“Its quite simple, Chairman. There is a signum in our school that I must defeat. I can only climb up the ladder if I crush him.”

“And you will not waver?”

“No, Chairman.”

“Very well then. You’ll receive the full authorisation in a few days. Do whatever you want.”

“Thank you.”

I swiftly walked out of the Chairman’s office. Back in the office, the Chairman grinned.

“Ah, he really is the spitting image of me.”

 

CLARENCE

As promised, I got the entire agreement from Quillon by the end of the week.

“Can I have some time to answer?”

“How do I know you won’t chicken out and run away?”

I bit my lip to control my anger. This man really knew how to push my buttons.

“Just give me the time.”

“Fine.”

I picked up the document and went back to my dormitory. I spent the entire evening reading it thoroughly.

As I was reading it, a familiar memory resurfaced.

Stick to your own path, signum. No matter how good you are, as long as you have that mark on your arm, you aren’t going anywhere. Stay down.

The red mark on my arm began to itch. The itch disappeared when I felt a huge hand on my shoulder.

“What are you reading there?”

I turned around and saw Arturo and Hugo stare at me with concern.

“Hey, Arturo, how good is the basketball team?”

“Hmm, we’re not too bad right now. But I know we can improve significantly if we can move to a much better gymnasium.”

I turned to Hugo.

“And Hugo, how good is the class average?”

“Well, the main struggle for our class is History. None of them are too bad at the other subjects.”

“Good to know.”

“Why are you asking all this?”

“Well, let’s say there’s going to be quite the surprise in a few days’ time.”

The two of them continued giving me confused looks for the rest of the night. As expected, a few days later, the entire school was called into the auditorium. I was surprised to know that the auditorium was common but as expected, the seats were all divided. Honestly, I started feeling a little numb to all the division. But I couldn’t let this continue. I won’t let it consume me and make me think that the current situation was fine. As if I would let it win over me that easily.

Quillon came onto the stage and introduced himself.

“I have a very important announcement to make. This announcement carries a lot of importance and has the chance to revolutionise Aequalitas High School. Starting from now till the end of the semester, there will be a series of competitions between the signums and the non-signums classes of the school. For the non-signum side, my class will take on the representation and participate in the competition.”

A lot of negative reactions emanated from the crowd.

“Hey, let us crush some signums as well!”

I rolled my eyes as the reactions continued. Quillon tapped the mic twice and continued.

“If the signums win, then there will be no more division or segregation in this school. All classes and infrastructure will become common. Any activity that engages in such will lead to suspension at the best case and a permanent black mark on your life at the worst-case scenario.”

The crowd immediately went quiet.

“Well, does anyone still have the confidence they can beat our signums with these consequences? No? Very well, I shall take it upon myself then.”

I whistled as he gained control of the entire room. Truly the most powerful student in the entire school. Somehow, even the second and third years yielded to him. I realised that I was up against a truly fearsome opponent.

“I will establish more details in the coming days. I wish everyone the best of luck. Ah, I forgot.”

His eyes turned completely cold.

“Any tampering or sabotaging from either side will be dealt with severely.”

A chill travelled down my spine. I realised who I was up against. The huge amount of pressure began weighing down on me.

Back in our own classroom, there was a heated discussion between everyone. Most of them were afraid of the consequences. Afraid of losing. Fear is powerful in that it can paralyse your body, override your mind and erase rationality. I got up and stood in front of the class.

“Hey, guys! What’s up? All of you can talk to me.”

The entire class went silent.

“What has gotten all of you so worried?”

“How can we win against the top-ranking class in the entire school?”

“How are they the top-ranking? They didn’t even account for us. And that is where we shall capitalise.”

Another chimed in.

“We don’t have any of their facilities. How will we be able to compete with their library and gym?”

“Ah, for that, I have this.”

I pulled out a piece of paper.

“For the preparations, there will be unrestricted access to the library, gymnasium and any other facility.”

Hugo stood up.

“If we lose this, we essentially give them the right to stomp on us.”

“Aren’t they already doing that?! Look around you. Do you think this is normal? Are you fine with everything being this way? Constantly being put down? This is our time to stand up and fight. That chance has been given to us on a silver platter! Can anyone here tell me the difference between us and them? Some stupid mark?! Do you really want to be put down for such a stupid reason?! I will fight them. I don’t care about anything else.”

Everyone sat silent, contemplating. Some of them looked down at their own signums. That small red signum that commanded so much authority over their lives.

Hugo contemplated. Arturo stood up.

“I’ll fight with you!”

More students stood up.

“I’ll fight as well!”

“Let’s show those non-signums how full of bullshit they are!”

The entire class cheered on loudly. After school, I caught up to Hugo.

“Hey, I’m sorry if I became too emotional on you.”

“No, you’re right. I hate that I became adjusted to this lifestyle.”

I slapped him on the back.

“You are our spearhead on the academic front, Hugo. Can you do me a favour and collect info on Quillon’s class?”

He nodded and set off quickly. I jogged to the gym where the gym teacher was shouting with renewed vigour.

“Let’s head to the new gym, you damn monkeys! If you lose this competition, I’ll make sure all of you end up with six times more training!”

I saw a sudden increase in the energy of the basketball club members. I quickly spoke with the coach.

“Did you get the timetable, Coach?”

“I did.”

“Is it fair? Is it enough?”

He guffawed.

“What an earnest man. Its all good. You worry about your stuff; I’ll make sure these men are at their best.”

“I’ll leave it to you, Coach. Take care of them!”

I heard Coach bark out more orders as I walked away. Back in our classroom, I went around assessing everyone’s strengths. I still needed some writers, artists, designers for the culture competitions. With a little connection and a spark, I managed to sign all of them up. The school agreed on sticking to basketball to fulfil the sports competition. The non-signum basketball team was filled with experienced and skilled men. It would truly be a tough battle. Finally, the academic competitions were simply a battle of averages in the six subjects. Ten competitions. The fate of the signum students and future signum students all weighed down on these ten competitions. The signums winning this could write a new chapter for the world.

I chided myself lightly for the melodramatic narration. These next five months would be a tough battlefield to conquer. I smiled, my hands trembling in excitement.