Chapter 42: Disaster
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Over the next couple of days, the group did not manage to get any sleep. They were tirelessly preparing for the event and today, was finally the day. The event would officially begin at 6 PM and there was still work to be done. Everything was moved into the Main Arena. Cranes were setting up the grand stage, technicians were testing the holograph projectors surrounding the walkways, models were running their last rehearsal before the stage while final alterations to the outfits were being made. 

"Listen up!" Ms. Varias clapped gathering everyone's attention. "Guests will begin filing into the Arena at around 4 PM which is an hour from now. I'll need thirty volunteers to help with ticket verification! On top of your current Volunteer Hours, you will be awarded an additional two as well as a week of Free Lunch depending on your class!" 

"Free Lunch!"

Hearing the opportunity for Free Lunch for the next week, thirty volunteers, including everyone in the group except Rider and Brix, gathered around Ms. Varias who took their names then gave them a special pin with Star's logo on it to identify who they were before dismissing them back to their duties.

"Isn't this great?" Elias started as he attached the pin onto his blue T-shirt. "Not only do we get Volunteer Hours to reduce our Mandatory Military Service Time but Free Lunch!" 

Drew scoffed.

"If you think about it, it's not exactly free since we have to work for it."

Elias elbowed him in the gut.

"But still, we save ourselves 25 Kalas! Do you know what we can do with that?" 

"A whole lot..." Drew muttered thinking of all the cheap street foods he could buy.

"Hey, you two!" A female voice called from behind. 

Glancing back, the duo found Wan and Slyvia walking right behind them. 

"Hey, you guys are also part of the Ticket Verification Group?" Drew asked. 

"Yeah, can't miss an opportunity like this. Oh, by the way, Ms. Varias forgot to give us these too." Sylvia nodded handing Drew and Elias two bright colored jerseys with the word 'Staff' printed on the back in big white font. On the collar of the jersey, a small communicator was embedded which glowed a neon blue hue when the button on the side was pressed. Once she handed the two their jerseys, she also gave them a Tabloid the size of Drew's middle finger. With a tap, a holographic screen popped up in front of Drew with a list of names of all the guests for the event. 

"The scanner is on the right side of the tabloid," Sylvia continued, "all the guests have to do is place their ticket right under the scanner to verify their identity." 

"Thanks a lot, Sylv." Drew said closing the Tabloid. "Anyhow, it's funny that Ms. Varias keeps forgetting things. Does she have Alzheimer's?" 

"Nah," Wan replied. "According to Rider, she's just a forgetful person, it's one of her race's traits." 

"Really? That's an interesting trait." Elias exclaimed. 

"Well, she is a Lethe, a Spirit of forgetfulness and oblivion. They're not many of them these days since they were nearly wiped out by cataclysm centuries ago." Sylvia explained. "They often forget very minor things but never the major occurrences that they witness. They also have the ability to project another person's memory without a Nuerodive thus they are excellent Interrogators. Ms. Varias was a Detective of the Major Crimes Division in Ozwarth's Police Department before she became a professor." 

"All the professors here are rather skilled," Drew said with amazement. 

"Well, they wouldn't be professors at Star if they weren't. It's a shame that the Ozwarth campus is a lower campus or else we would have better professors." 

"Beggars can be choosy." Wan laughed rolling her eyes.

Sylvia shrugged. 

"I'm just stating the facts. The Earth campus is the best one. Ozwarth's is ranked second to last on the list."  

"That's a harsh ranking considering the facilities we have here." Drew scoffed putting on his jersey. 

"But it's relative. Ozwarth is still considered a developing city compared to the others in the Orion Alliance and the campus itself was only constructed a few hundred years ago. Furthermore, the budget for this campus wasn't as much compared to the Earth campus, heck even the Xolk campus, thus is why our campus is smaller."

"If this is considered small then I would like to know what is large," Elias smirked. 

"Well this is what I've heard from the rumors but apparently Nexos Military Academy owns all the major islands of Hawaii as part of their Earth Campus. If we compare it to Star's Ozwarth campus, Nexos's Earth Campus is five thousand times larger which is about a hundred times larger than Ozwarth itself." 

"Really, holy shit! Nexos is rich!" Wan shouted dropping her Tabloid on the ground. 

"No surprise there," Drew said. "Nexos is the best Military Academy in the entire Orio Alliance and their patrons/sponsors are all big-name figures. The current King of Kraus, Heartman, the former Prime Minister of Earth...forget that. We're at Star, even though the Ozwarth Campus is not the highest-ranking campus, it still is affiliated with Star. It's already hard enough to be here as is so let's be happy that we have made it this far." 

"I like your optimism," Elias said pointing finger guns at Drew. "Let's just accept the fact that we're here already. We've got a show to help run tonight. That's more important right now."

"Right!"  

>>>

It was 4 PM when guests started pulling into the driveway of the Main Arena. The suns in the sky have begun to set, the sky fading from blue to orange. The temperature had dropped rapidly but that didn't seem to matter as the body heat generated by the crowd seemed to evaporate the snow that was falling from the sky. Drew and Elias stood at one of the many entrances with their bright neon jerseys scanning tickets one by one. Luckily, they weren't assigned to the VIP entrance where the paparazzi were swarming the entrance. The sounds of cars honking, cameras flashing, people talking made the place lively. Well, it wasn't shocking since the event being held at the Main Arena was the largest fashion show in Ozwarth and Kraus. There were people who have come from other planets just to witness this event. 

"Thank god we're not at the VIP entrance!" Drew laughed as he finished scanning another batch of tickets. 

"Right?" Elias responded by shouting back. "But man, we miss the chance to see some of Orion Alliance's big shots! I wonder if Snow is on here?" 

"I don't think so," Drew replied. He knew this because he didn't purchase a ticket as Mr. Snow nor notified Gerald to get one for him. Plus, he had his volunteer duties to attend to for this event so it would be absolutely impossible for him to appear as Snow. "Snow doesn't seem like the type to appear at these flashy events unless there's something he needs."

"Axel Snow..." Elias typed into his Tabloid not listening to Drew. "Ah, there he is!" 

Drew coughed. 

"Wait, what?!" 

Drew was stunned, it was probably a mistake. 

"You sure about that? " Drew asked just to confirm. "Could it just be another 'Axel Snow'?" 

"Nope," Elias said shaking his head. "I'm double sure it's him after all there is a description under his name. There is also a VIP right next to it as well. I don't think it could be any other Axel Snow." 

That old man! Drew cursed to himself. What is he trying to do? Is he trying to get me found out?

An hour passed and Drew could finally take a break. Slipping away from the crowd, Drew dialed Gerald on his communication device. 

"Why hello there, Young Master!" Gerald greeted in a jolly tone.

"Gerald, why did you purchase a VIP ticket to the Ozwarth Fashion Show when I explicitly told you not to?" Drew scowled. 

"Hoho, that would be a wasted opportunity if I didn't." 

Drew sighed. 

"How is that going to work? I have my volunteer work for the event. I couldn't suddenly disappear as Drew Li and then reappear as Snow, people would get suspicious."

"Don't worry, Young Master. I already have a solution to that problem."

"What would that be?" 

"I've hired a substitute. Don't worry, he's a relative of Neilson's. It took a bit of convincing to get him to agree but it all worked out in the end." 

"You'll have to tell me who he is once this is over." 

Gerald chuckled.

"Of course, I will. Just sit back, relax, and enjoy the show." 

Drew hung up the call went and back outside. The cold wind bitting his skin. Despite his resistance to the cold, he wasn't completely immune to it but he didn't care. Living in Ozwarth for his entire life, he was used to this kind of weather.

>>>

In the past, this time of year was a lonely one for him. He could recall his time in the orphanage where the other children were huddled around the fire pit in the back. The flames dancing in the wind, the snow melting on the stone pit, him sitting on the wooden bench with his cup of hot cocoa and a skewer of roasted marshmallows.

It was always lonely for him. Drew had always been the oldest kid at the orphanage, around this time, since all the other kids his age were adopted during the holidays. Around this time, it was always him, the younger kids, and the orphanage director. The director never understood why he was never taken in by a family nor did he. He was academically bright, had never misbehaved, nice...she just didn't know why. The director just says he's unfortunate and she pitied him. She, at the least, gave him some hope that he would be taken in by a family but that never happened. It was tragic but Drew just ended up pinning it on his terrible luck. 

Maybe that's why the other kids avoided me. He thought wrapping himself with a thick linen blanket. 

Drew's relationship with the other kids at the orphanage was not great. They labeled him as a 'Family-Repellent' since no one wanted to adopt him. They would always try to keep their distance from him with the belief that they wouldn't be adopted giving him those scornful eyes. When they left, they would laugh at him saying that they won't have to worry about having bad luck anymore. He was used to this. 

When a lie is told enough times, it eventually becomes the truth. 

Drew had convinced himself that he was the source of his own, and those around him, misfortune. There were times where he believed that he should've never existed, thinking that the world would be a better place without him. His negativity made him hopeless but during his tenth year at the orphanage, something changed. 

Drew had finished roasting his marshmallows when someone else approached him beside the orphanage director. It was a boy his age who had entered the orphanage a couple of months prior. He had long, white, mop-like hair that covered his eyes but if one looked closely enough, they could see a universe in them. Like Drew, he was buddled up in thick linen and also held a skewer of roasted marshmallows. 

"Hey, I notice you're always sitting in the corner there. Can I join you?" The boy his age asked taking a bite of his roasted marshmallows. 

"But..." eleven-year-old Drew stuttered. "Aren't you afraid of getting cursed with bad luck?" 

The kid picked up a frost-covered twig off the ground. 

"Ah, oh no I've broken a limb!" He screamed breaking a twig. 

This made Drew stifle out a laugh. 

"Listen, I don't care about those rumors about you being a 'Family-Repellent'." He said pointing the jagged end of the twig at Drew while taking another bite out his marshmallows. The stretchy, sweet goop hanging off the sides of his mouth. "The younger kids are just dumb. They believe what the older ones say without thinking about whether it is right or wrong." 

"That's deep coming from a kid." Drew snorted brushing away the stick. 

"Aren't you a kid too?" 

Drew ignored him for a moment before replying, nibbling on his own skewer of marshmallows as he thought of what to say.

"I appreciate the concern but I think it's best that you stay away from me." Drew hissed looking at the ground where he had drawn circles. 

"Wow, you sure are ferocious." The other kid said folding his arms. "I just wanted to make a friend. I'm new to this orphanage so I'm trying to get to know everyone. You seemed the most interesting so I wanted to talk to you myself." 

"Your annoying, you know that?" Drew said, thinking that it may not be a bad idea to talk with someone his age beside his classmates.

He chuckled scratching the back of his head as he twirled the other part of the stick in his hand. 

"I get that a lot. Harper Maddox." 

"I never asked for your name." 

"Hey, I told you mine so it's only fair if you tell me yours." Said the boy named Harper. 

Drew let out a sigh. "Drew Li." 

Harper held out his hand.

"Nice to meet you, Drew! Also, you should grow out your hair, that crew cut doesn't suit you."

A smile formed on Drew's face for the first time in a long time. 

"And you should cut yours, that long hair makes you look like a wet mop." 

>>>

As Drew arrived back at his spot, a familiar Rolls Royce pulled over at the VIP entrance. The door on the driver's side opened up, revealing the cleanly dressed Gerald with his fabulous monocle over one eye. Rushing over to the other side, the paparazzi's cameras started flashing like there was no tomorrow. In his butler-like fashion, Gerald opened the door on the passenger's side to reveal a stunning doppelganger of Axel Snow. You couldn't even tell the difference between the doppelganger and the real Axel Snow. 

The perfectly gelled back hair, the mole under the eye, the crisp ironed black suit with the white long coat, the silver cuff earring, the snowflake tie pin. The doppelganger even got the aura right. Whoever Gerald got to act in place of Drew for this event, should receive an Oscar. 

Drew scoffed, rolling his eyes while at it. Gerald, you are hereby forgiven. 

The doppelganger flicked his long coat back, then, in a very typical Axel Snow fashion, flipped up the collar of the long coat. Gerald, of course, served as the respectful butler he was to the doppelganger, showing the ticket to the doorman. Meanwhile, some of the paparazzi began climbing over the divider. Some other prominent figures, who were walking the red carpet at the same time, were completely disregarded by the swarm. Axel Snow was the hottest topic in the galaxy so everyone was fighting to get every detail on him out to the public as soon as possible. No surprise there. 

Drew watched from afar but couldn't help but laugh. 

"What a rare sight," Elias said nudging Drew in the shoulder blade. "I didn't think we would be able to see the man, himself, in person. Look at him, he doesn't seem to be older than us yet he's a self-made billionaire. He's one of those bright stars in the sky and us, we're just commoners who can dream to be like him." 

"Alright, alright," Drew laughed heading back to his position. "We've had enough looking at all these celebrities. Come on, we should get back to work." 

Elias pouted in disappointment.

"Fine..."

>>>

Once most of the guests entered the Arena, Ms. Varias gathered all the volunteers over to a back room. 

"You guys have worked very hard, take a thirty-minute break while the guests are being seated. Make sure to come back here to assist the stage crew. You will all be working in shifts so some of you will be getting a longer break, I will tell you which group you are in after the thirty-minute one. Once the event is over, you will also be helping with clean up. Am I clear?" 

"Yes, Miss!" The volunteers replied simultaneously. 

"Good. In the meantime, please enjoy the food made by the Culinary Club in the back of the room!" 

Moving away from the spotlight, the long table in the back was full of trays of piping hot food. There was salad, fruits, punch, sodas, baked sweet potatoes, fried rice, fried chicken, roasted veggies with bacon, cookies and it smelled amazing. With no hesitation, the famished volunteers scrambled to the back of the room grabbing their food as fast as possible. One tray emptied, the next one immediately came in. A moment later, that tray was gone and another one came in.

Tongs went flying into the air while the clatter of metal could be heard as trays were being replaced at lightning speed. 

Since every single volunteer was a student at Star and a Genetic Warrior, an average student could eat the same amount of food three people could for one meal. With all this delicious food in front of them, they could probably eat double than normal. 

"Tsh foof s ooh gooohde (This food is so good)!" Said Elias with his mouth full of fried chicken. 

"Right?" Drew responded cocking his head to the side. "It's better than the cafeteria food. Not saying cafeteria food is bad here. Also, Sylvia you sure got a lot of those roasted brussel sprouts." 

Sylvia glanced down at her plate and realized she had an unstable mountain of them. She let out a small laugh. 

"I just couldn't resist. They're actually pretty good."

"I think your other food got buried underneath it..." Wan said pointed at Sylvia's plate with a drumstick. 

"Says the girl balancing two plates of fried chicken on her arms." Sylvia retorted. "I'm afraid someone might steal some right off your plate." 

"Actually, I think I might just do that," Elias smirked swallowing his food while stealing a chicken wing off of Wan's plate. "Don't mind if I do!" 

"Psh, you already took it so it's yours." Wan laughed. 

"Wan, you're the best!" Elias said hugging Wan. 

"Hey, hey, you smell like sweat. That's gross." Wan yelped trying to push Elias off her. 

Sylvia giggled. 

"You'd two make a cute couple you know that!" 

"I'd second that statement," Drew admitted tossing his fork up into the air. 

"You guys are terrible you know that." Elias and Wan said concurrently, starring at Drew and Sylvia at the same time with their dagger-like eyes. 

"Hahaha, they even said it in sync!" Drew bellowed. 

"Pft." Sylvia laughed covering her mouth. 

In the midst of their conversation, someone barged through the door. He was short on breath, stumbling on himself when he came into the room. Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned their attention to the visitor. 

"This is a disaster!" He shouted. 

"What happened?" Ms. Varias asked walking over to the guy helping him regain his balance. 

"One of the buses with the models, that was running late, got into an accident! We're short on models now!" 

The volunteers in the room fell silent. 

"What?" Some volunteers gasped looking at one another. 

Suddenly, the guy's communication device beeped. He took one look at it and broke into tears. 

"Ahhh!" He cried. 

Ms. Varias asked. 

"Now what?" 

The guys sniffled. "That bus also had all of the outfits from Kingsman Studio... so Kingsman's outfits won't be able to be displayed during the show." 

"What's the big deal? What's one studio's designs not making it to the show will do to the entire thing?" One volunteer asked. 

"You don't understand!" He wailed. "Kingsman is a well-known luxury outfit studio in the galaxy! If their outfits are not displayed, we'll be sued for our negligence! Star's reputation will fall! Plus, we also don't have enough models to wear all the outfits now!" 

"So you'll need the volunteers to take the place of the models." 

"Correct!" He screamed as he pulled out a bunch of his hair. 

"Everyone! Stop what you are doing!" Ms. Varias commanded. "You all understand the situation so I'll need everyone to come with me backstage! How long will it take to recreate all the outfits if we shift Kingsman to the bottom of the set list?" 

"About three hours, two and a half if everyone works together!" 

"The event lasts four hours...change of plans! I need the volunteers on the right side of the room to help with recreating the outfits and making alterations while the ones on the left act as the replacement models." 

Drew and the others were on the far left side of the room thus they were replacement models.

Dropping their plates of food, the volunteers made their way to the Design Club room which was even more chaotic than before. Meanwhile, Drew shot out a message to Gerald: "I'm unable to meet my substitute for tonight due to an emergency. Please give him my thanks and tell him we'll meet another time." 

"How unfortunate," Gerald said closing his messages. "It seems the Young Master will be unable to greet you tonight. We'll have to reschedule to a later date." 

"It's okay." The doppelganger replied in a calm fashion looking out the window of his VIP cabin. "I'm sure he has his reasons." 

"Can you handle everything else?" Gerald asked with concern. 

"Don't worry, this isn't too much." He replied glancing down at the stage the true colors of his eyes glowing behind the blue contacts.

"As long as I can meet the one my father and his master puts in high regards, I can wait." 

Merry Christmas guys! I have another chapter here for y'all as a lovely little gift. If some of you are wondering why the heck these fillers are important, think of Naruto and how these fillers serve as a way to transition into the next arc. I've been trying to get more Heir de Winter chapters out before classes start up (I'm a student (Surprise!)) for the upcoming semester. Unfortunately, I also have things to do in real life too which prevent me from putting aside time to write. Also, shit, MAHHH CHAPTER QUALITY IS FALLING DOWN THE FUCKING TOILET! *flips laptop* STAY TUNED FOR NEXT CHAPTER (hopefully before New Years)! Place your questions in the comments below as I will be doing another Q&A!

 

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