Millions of stars glistened in the gloaming as they watched Cade pull his luggage outside the hotel. He traveled back to the boy’s dormitory. Cade looked at the gate and said, “I’m back, tout le monde.” He returned to the room where he used to stay with the Generals. There was no one inside. Not even traces of their things.
Luke, Lewis, and Liam left the place when Luke was removed from his position as the campus president. From then on, they stayed low-key. They urged themselves to transfer to another school if they could, but they had to wait for the next school year.
Cade remembered all of their memories when he was clueless about their plan, and he hated it. There was no other room left for a single person.
Cade sat on the bed. “Alright. Let’s endure it. My stay here is just for a while. It won’t hurt that much.”
Cade was unpacking his things when his phone beeped. It was the notification every student was waiting for—the result of the election.
“So, he won,” Cade uttered.
He heard Theo’s voice in his head. “Do not provoke him. You’re just pushing yourself into a fire pit. He was holding back all this time.”
Cade slumped on the bed. “Yeah, right. It’s better this way.”
The next day, the exhilaration of victory was in the air as the students assembled.
“Good morning, everyone. Today is our most anticipated event. After all the campaigns and debates, the election has come to an end. Without further ado, let me introduce to you our newly crowned prince—I mean our newly elected campus president, Mr. Stan Carline!”
Stan emerged and greeted everybody with a faint smile on his lips. It was enough to make the girls stare in awe.
“Thank you, Alison.” Stan pushed the bridge of his glasses. “Good morning to the students, teachers, faculty, and staff. It is my greatest honor to serve all of you and to make our institution great again. Thank you for the trust. I don’t like promises. I only need results. That is why watch me closely as I perform my duty with diligence and commitment. I will leave you with a quote from the philosopher I look up to. Socrates said, ‘I am the wisest man alive, for I know one thing, and that is that I know nothing.’ Thank you, and once again, good morning.”
To celebrate his success, Stan invited Elsie to have lunch with him and Theo.
“Who is this orange gal?” Theo asked while putting his tray on the table. “I like your hair.”
“It’s red,” Stan corrected.
Theo blinked and looked at her hair again. “Oh, I wasn’t talking about her hair. I’ve been seeing the color orange ever since this morning. Do you know its symbolic meaning, Stan? It means joy and success. Perfect for your achievement.”
His reasoning skills convinced Elsie as an alibi for his mistake.
“So, who is she?”
“Her name is Elsie Lynch. She’s in the ninth grade.”
Theo’s initial reaction was a mixture of shock and enthusiasm while he slowly covered his mouth with his hand.
“She’s Elsie Lynch? The Elsie Lynch?” Theo asked while pointing at her.
“Why? Do you know me?” she asked.
“No,” Theo replied and recovered from a bolt from the blue.
“Don’t mind him. He’s usually abnormal.”
“Don’t you know? This is his first time introducing a girl to me? There must be something,” Theo said. He even sang the last sentence.
“I’m not like you who jump from one girl to another.”
“I already told you a hundred times, Stan. It’s not my fault I’m princely.”
“I’m also charismatic but I don’t do that.”
Theo thought of the right words to defend himself.
“Well… that’s because you’re a shy person and I’m confident. I’m just taking advantage of my God-given beauty for the sake of humanity.”
“Don’t involve humanity in your stupidity.”
Theo turned to Elsie. “How did you meet?”
“It all started when he helped me chase after a thief who stole my bag. We kept on seeing each other unexpectedly. He really helped me a lot during my practices for the drama club,” Elsie said.
“So you were the reason why he had no time for me,” Theo said while tapping his finger on the table. “I didn’t know you were into kids, Stan.”
Stan glared at him. “Mind your choice of words, Burton.”
“Okay. I’m a good boy.”
“I’m not a kid. In fact, I persuaded him to run as the president,” Elsie said in a proud tone.
“Oh. You have a lot of surprises, Stan.” Theo looked at Elsie. “Did you know? He hates being the center of attraction. Stan doesn’t enjoy committing himself to a lot of things. He would rather study or read in his leisure time. On top of that, he is extremely introverted.”
“You sound like a profiler,” Stan commented.
“How about you? I want to know some stuff about you too,” Elsie said.
“Well, let’s start with the number of exes he had…” Stan said.
“Shut up, Stan. Anyway, I am in utter shock that you are the key for Stan to get out of his comfort zone.” Theo kissed Elsie’s hand. “You are accepted.”
“Just eat properly, will you?” Stan said.
“It would really be fun if Curt is here. He sounds like you two,” Elsie said.
Stan suddenly stopped eating, and Theo was frozen in place.
“Y-Yeah. You should invite him sometimes. But I don’t suggest doing it now. It’s a bit awkward to befriend him when he lost the election and they got into an intense argument,” Theo said.
“Right. I guess I should be more sensitive.”
After lunch, Theo went straight to his post—the Senior High building where he would pretend to talk to someone on the phone while walking around. He would creep behind trees to take a glimpse of his crush.
“Theo?”
Theo paused when Hailey called him.
“Theo Burton, right?”
He didn’t know what to do when Zara appeared behind her.
“H-hi, Hailey. What’s up?”
“What are you doing here?”
“I’m studying here now,” he replied as he tapped his nameplate.
“Wow. You followed me here.”
Theo looked at Zara’s reaction but she cared little.
“Just kidding. By the way, this is my cousin, Zara Evans.”
“Hi.” Zara laid her hand. Theo looked at it for seconds. He felt so lucky. His imagination came true.
“Hi. It’s nice to meet you,” he replied, cherishing every second he had to hold her hand.
“Is he the one you’ve been talking about?” Zara asked. “You were on a date with him, right? Gosh. He’s indeed handsome.”
Hailey nodded with a smile while staring at him. He didn’t know how to react. Would he be flattered that Zara complimented him? Or would he be irritated that she thought he was into Hailey?
“It was a blind date. I had fun. I think it’s nice to be your friend,” Theo said.
“Friend?” Hailey repeated.
“Yes. That’s where everyone starts. I would love to get to know both of you better.” Theo glanced at his watch. He had to get out of there as soon as possible. “Oh, no. I’m running late. I got to go.”
***
The dark was steadily devouring the light when the bell rang. Theo returned to the classroom and saw Stan’s empty seat.
“Did he leave already? Without telling me?” he said to himself. He searched every corner and found Stan in the Student Supreme Council Office.
Theo peeked through the window. “Hey. You should’ve texted me where you at. I’m your boyfriend. Have you forgotten?”
“I lost track of the time,” Stan replied.
“Aren’t you going home with me, babe?”
“I’ll be out in ten minutes.”
“Alright. I’ll go ahead. I have a couple of tasks to finish.”
Theo stopped by the pastry shop to buy some sour cream coffee cake and croissant donuts. While he was paying for the food, he caught sight of Zara who passed by. He immediately hurried to follow her.
“I’m not stalking her. I’m just curious,” he said to himself. “Even her back looks so beautiful.”
Theo sighed. He shook his head before spacing out.
All of a sudden, Zara disappeared from his sight.
“Where is she?”
Theo stepped back to the tiny passageway when he heard a female voice.
“Stay away from me!” Zara exclaimed while pointing a cutter at them.
A guy who was wearing a bonnet with a piercing in his nose held her chin. “Oh, I like wild girls.”
Another guy with a tattered shirt opened her bag.
“Did you find anything useful?”
“Just a few cash and pieces of jewelry.”
“That would be enough. Now, strip her.”
Theo mustered up all his courage and placed his belongings on the ground. “Stay here. I’ll be back. Daddy will beat up some thugs.” He stretched the tip of his uniform and brushed the side of his hair with his fingers before revealing himself.
“Hey! Take off your filthy hands on my woman.”