I put a soundtrack for the final chapter of Arc 1: Classmates! At the signal of an asterisk (*), please play the song We Are Family from the movie Ice Age, sung by Keke Palmer. I've been listening to that song for a thousand loops already while I was writing this little chapter of mine. It has very inspiring lyrics that fits the Cahills so much. The link is on my profile! Prepare it now so you'd only be playing it later! ;)
That morning, all the attending Cahills of Cahill University woke up rested, revived, energized, and positively excited for the luxury of their lifetimes.
That is, with one exception.
Natalie Kabra was just as she was every day, calmly having her morning tea in silent solitude with her mother in the Irish Kabra Estate. The butler Bickerduff had served them a light petit déjeuner of scones and orange almond cakes, accompanied by Fortnum and Mason's Earl Grey tea served with the flourish of expensive Royal Doulton dishes. Their lavish morning routine went on as usual, the only difference being Ian's absence. He had to leave early to attend to the last minute preparations of the party.
"Hmmm," began Isabel, light tones of disfavour underlining her thoughtful humming. "This…party he's been fussing over with. I thought it concerns the Founders' Festival." She looked at Natalie with a curious question in her eyes. "Does it?"
"Oh, yes it does, Mum," replied Natalie immediately, absolutely failing to recognize that unmistakable tone of disfavour. "And I must say, I just wish it would all be over soon. I'm getting tired of all his fussing around, honestly." Her teacup then landed softly on her saucer with a clink. "Why do you ask, dear Mother?"
"Nothing, darling, really," said Isabel, but the trepidation in her eyes betrayed her very words. "I've just heard that he's given some sort of…special attention to someone prior to that. This Amy Cahill, the second honours student." At the mention of her name, the look in her amber eyes sharpened—like a sword angled correctly against the moonlight to glint and signal bloody murder. "His rival. Isn't she?"
Natalie pretended not to hear that goading tone in her mother's voice. She merely picked up a scone and bit on it, chewing as if she had not a care in the world.
"Well?" prodded Isabel, apparently expecting her daughter to throw in some sort of snide comment onto the discussion regarding that. "Is this true?"
"Well…yes," surrendered Natalie, finding no point in lying to a mother who was herself a lying connoisseur. "But rest assured, Mother," she hastened to say. "My brother…Ian is…" Natalie paused, and for a moment she found herself unable to say the actual fact. The obvious fact. She gulped. Just say it.
"Ian is…" Inhale. Exhale. Calm down. "He is nowhere near letting that peasant take over his place as Elite Seven's rank first."
At that, Isabel didn't seem convinced. Fortunately though, the answer seemed enough to satisfy her—and to Natalie's utter relief. For a second there, she thought that her mother was going to…
Compare them. Again.
"Very well. As you say so. But on to the important matters."
With a wave of her fingers, she motioned for the butler to come to Natalie. Bickerduff's steps were lithe and steady, and he approached his young mistress with a silver tray on both of his gloved hands. On the tray were a letter and a letter opener. The first thing that caught Natalie's eye was the Cahill seal on the envelope itself, a black clay engraved with the historical C.
And this shocked her to the point that she'd almost dropped her scone.
"This early?"
"Why, yes, of course," said Isabel, calmly as ever. She brought her cup of tea up over her head, a gesture enough for the butler to come scuttling to pour her another round of Earl Grey. Then she turned her eyes to Natalie, her lips with a smile. "The sooner the better. Isn't that what all people believe in?"
Natalie decided that this was something she was going to dread. Guardedly, though, she picked up the letter from the silver tray with slender fingers, and cut the seal slowly with the letter opener. Once the paper tumbled down in front of her, unfolding itself into three strips, she proceeded to read the entirety—and was then mind-blown from the contents.
"What? But Mother!" She dramatically pounded her hands onto the tabletop and pushed herself up from her chair so she was hovering over Isabel. At that very moment, Natalie was a figure of absolute indignation, a complete contrast to Isabel's calm and apathetic temperament with while she sipped her tea.
"You—you have control over this, don't you?" Natalie said, desperation in her tone. "Change it! I detest this pairing! I do not like this at all! Tell Principal Grace that I am simply not, never doing this mock mission, with that…that…"
The miserable girl found her situation to be so abhorrent that she couldn't even find the words.
"Mind you, dear," said Isabel, and she crossed her legs in that conceited manner of hers with mock-hurt in her eyes. "I thought you knew your mother's job. Principal Grace has absolutely nothing to do with this." She laid down her saucer, picked up a fork, and stabbed into her strawberry cake. "I was the one who arranged it."
What escaped Natalie's lips was a trembling gasp of shock. "N…no…"
"And I completely expect you to abide by my conditions, dear," said Isabel, putting the fork into her mouth and chewing with the small bit of cake for a bit. "And what have you to worry about? This is just a one-on-one challenge with your consistent rival. Nothing more, nothing personal, correct? I've merely observed that your grades are too often either tied or very close, almost always with merely a point zero one interval. Most unsatisfying. That's why I thought that it would be absolutely fun to watch who between you two would really come out on top."
Isabel leaned forward into the conversation, wove her fingers together over the table, and rested her chin onto the steeple with a mother's soothing smile on her face.
"In conclusion," said she, her words coated thickly with sickly sweet honey, "this year's very first mock mission would test you…"
Natalie simply could not contain her horror.
"…and Daniel Cahill."
IX. The Founders' Festival, III
The two young gentlemen on the phone were frozen into shock.
One of them barely managed to get over it, and then was hardly able to croak the words out of his shaken lips.
"Wh…whoa…wait," said Ted Starling, still rattled of the news his sister had just given him. "Is that you, Sinead?"
The female Starling fondly rolled her green eyes at her little brother's good-natured overreaction. "What, can't I have a little bit of fun on a festival? I don't always have to be grumpy to be Sinead Starling for you, you know."
"That's it," finalized Ned Starling in the mock-serious tone of a doctor who had reached the conclusion of his diagnosis. "Who are you and where did you take our sister?"
Sinead could only laugh. It had been some time since she'd had a good talk with her brothers, and, ever since she had been separated from them, it had been well-known to the triplets how sour and bitter her moods could always become during their calls. Her brothers had just called her from Tel Aviv, expecting their sister to respond to them with her usual moody tone; so it had definitely thrown them off when she announced that she was calling them from a luxury liner that was going to take her and her schoolmates into a night of celebration of the Founders' Festival.
"I'm right here, you idiots," she jested, and quite cheerfully at that. Perhaps they had the right of it, though, because it was rare for them to see her in such a cheerful mood for the past weeks they've been talking on the phone. Then her tone softened. "Hey. I miss you two."
"Miss you, too," said the twins with a longing sigh.
And then the Starling triplets laughed when they realized the rhyme.
"Well, we just checked in because we figured you're sulking in your room right now while the whole school's celebrating," said Ned. "The usual. But since it looks like you're having fun anyway—"
"—we're just going to sign off and rest assured, so auf wiedersehen to you," finished Ted, auf widersehen being the goodbye for German.
"Aranoyas," said Ned, the said word being the backward spelling of the farewell remark in Japanese.
"Nonsense," bid Sinead, using the genetic term for a mutation that causes a peptide chain to end—but, in this case, their warm conversation. With that final amiable note, she tapped her phone, ending the call. She brought the screen before her and stared at it for a while, her green gaze resting on the names of her brothers for a tender moment.
Ned and Ted.
For some reason, that brought a smile to her face. Ned and Ted and Sinead. That suddenly brought upon a memory. When the three of them had signed up for an elementary school science fair, the announcer was thoroughly baffled to see that it was triplets who occupied the Champion, 1st Runner Up, and 2nd Runner Up slot. Ned and Ted had been particularly grumpy, stubbornly refusing to admit that they lost before her in the science fair when it was already blatantly obvious that she was the victor.
"And what sort of nonsense are you grinning about now?" interrupted a sharp voice. Accented, British. Sinead immediately knew who it was, so when she turned around, she spoke her name with a smile.
"Oh, Natalie," she said. "Nothing like a non-Ekaterina like you would ever understand."
The young Kabra's arched eyebrow twitched ever so noticeably at that. "Pardon me?"
"Never mind." Sinead half-turned from Natalie so that half her vision consumed the blue sea, and half the petite British girl. The Starling rested an arm over the railing, letting the wind splash onto her whole body making her hair billow from behind. "So, what did you come here for, anyway?" The Ekaterina highly doubted that Natalie had come here just for a little chat.
And boy, was she right.
"To drag you to hell!" snapped Natalie with an angry stomp onto the floor, fists indignantly balled up from her sides, her voice reaching its peak.
At that little outburst, Sinead turned her head to look at Natalie fully with her two eyes. That was when she actually noticed the girl in her completely stressed-out state, her cheeks flushed and her raven hair not quite as impeccable as it used to be.
Sinead found that to be enough reason for concern. "Hey…?"
Natalie forced herself to calm down. She closed her eyes, counted from one to ten, inhaled, exhaled, then lifted her eyelids once more to reveal a more soothed pair of calm amber eyes.
"I apologize for that. Now then. To business. Since I find you quite the capable one, I order you to manage the controls down there with the mariners. I can't do it anymore—those idiots wouldn't stop their insubordinate teasing." And then the girl started stomping away without another word.
"Hah!" laughed Sinead out loud. "Like I'm following orders from a child like you."
Natalie stopped walking. Then she suddenly put two of her fingers onto her temple as if to force down a rising headache. "Not you, too…" she grumbled under her breath. "Just do it, alright? To spare both of us the trouble. I'm sure we agree on the same point if I say that the we want this night over with. I have to go to the spa right now and have my beauty sleep. Ta."
In the past, Sinead thought that she definitely would have agreed that all this partying was stupid. But, actually, for some strange reason…she felt absolutely fine if this luxurious night just went on for forever. She felt relaxed, no such stress, and she was actually…enjoying the Founders' Festival, to the point that it made her wonder and even regret that she hadn't been attending its celebrations for the past years. She didn't have the chance to voice out her thoughts, though, as the Lucian had already marched away out of her sight for good, the Starling simply staring after the young gi—no, hurricane, with mild bewilderment in her eyes.
Natalie then slammed the door for good measure.
My. Is that how Sinead always is when she is grumpy? No wonder her brothers were rendered shocked from her out-of-character behaviour earlier.
"Yep! I'm really excited for tonight's Founders' Festival, really."
Oh, well. Happiness is a choice. President Grace had been right when she had once lectured Sinead about the significances of life, despite the challenges and difficulties that came in and went with it. Well, surely, Sinead hadn't yet forgiven Hamilton completely for the Franklin incident, and she'd forever be the sceptical pessimist she'd always had been, but for the moment, as she looked at the vast, wide blue sea before her, the ship sailing ever so peacefully under the bright, late afternoon sky, she thought that…
That…
Sinead leaned over the railing and stared at the ocean blue for several moments, relishing in the silence, the bliss of solitude, the splash of the cold breeze on her face, and the slam of the sea waves on the ship's surface. The mainland Ireland was already far out of sight and long gone, and on the West horizon was the setting sun in its cool orange hue. She closed her eyes and let her lips microscopically twitch upward into a contented smile.
She opened them once more and looked up at the sky.
…that tonight, she chose to have fun. And have fun she will.
Sinead pushed herself from the railing and went to the door to where Natalie excited. She descended down the stairs, and for a second, she was completely blinded by the bright chandeliers and the sparkling floor. It was a luxury ship, after all, but it was a rather unusual sight—to see that it was teenagers in their informal jeans and T-shirts occupying Universal Force's first class, Victorian style passenger lounge, where Lady Gaga's rowdy song, Applause, blared like a sonic boom from the background.
Ah, well.
The said teens did their business by chatting, eating from the refreshments table, or pouring themselves some orange punch, in manners nowhere near the formal standards of graceful and refined. She heard a guffaw explode from one side of the grand hall as if to emphasize the point made in her head. She was thankful, though, that the lounge wasn't as occupied as it had been earlier in the morning, where it had been as crowded and noisy and messy as a marketplace. Natalie had been stressed, especially with the indecent attitude of the boys. Thankfully though, this late afternoon, people had already tired themselves out in the morning and exhausted their anticipation away. Most of the teens were probably in their rooms right now, taking the last minutes of their afternoon nap, or beauty sleep as some of the girls fancied to call it, to refresh themselves for the night's party.
Sinead's foot accidentally hit on something metallic that slid over the tiled floor. When she looked and picked it up, she realized it was a phone. She looked around her to inspect if someone looked like they were missing something, but unfortunately everyone just looked like they had no care in the world. Hmm. Perhaps she would just have to submit this to the Lost and Found office, then…
She bumped into a boy.
"Oh, oh, sorry, miss!" said the tense child, fumbling to get himself to stand up straight and to fix his crooked glasses back onto his eyes. "Um, I'm sorry, I was just looking for my phone, and…by any chance, have you…?"
Sinead put the phone in her hand forward to let the boy see it for himself. "Looks familiar?"
The child beamed with joy and relief when he saw the familiar device in her hand. "Oh, yes it is!" Sinead gave him the device and the boy took it all too happily. "Thank you very much, miss!"
"Atticus!" interrupted a voice, followed by the sound of rubber shoes pounding on the floor and then the panting of a tall, handsome American teen as he gasped for oxygen. He was bent over his stomach, panting on his knees. Then he looked sternly at 'Atticus'. "Don't run off just like next time, alright! You never really listen to me, do you?" He pinched the boy as if like a mother scolding her impertinent child.
"Ow!" said the boy Atticus, holding his pinched arm. "That hurt, Jake!"
Sinead blinked at the unruly sight of the two boys. Then she waved an arm at them to say her goodbye. "Alright, I'm going to leave you here now…"
"Oh!" said the tall boy Jake as he snapped his head to look at the Starling, in a befuddled expression that said that he didn't even realize that she was standing right next to them. "Oh, ah, sorry if my brother troubled you in anyway, miss. He's nothing but naughty."
"Hey!" countered Atticus.
But then, this 'Jake' had already pinched him by the ear and was drawing him away from Sinead, talking to him in a hushed whisper that the Ekaterina could very well hear anyway.
"…seriously, Atticus! Don't do that again. This place is crawling with Cahills!"
"Alright, alright, I know! Let go of me already, Jake! This is so embarrassing!"
Sinead stared after them. Hmmm. Must be Guardians. Then she shrugged it off and proceeded to find her way out of the passenger lounge and into the pilot controls, wondering what Natalie wanted her to do there.
Guardians were the labels given to the students of Guardian School, another educational institution closely related to Cahill University. Apparently, some of them had been invited by the headmistress Grace Cahill to attend their little celebration as well. Much has to be said about the Guardians' history alone, but they were generally well-known to the Cahills as those students who came to guard the members of the Elite Seven while they had to go through a mock mission. It was like their very own version of a mock mission. Like the Cahill University, only those on the top of their best class are qualified to go out on a field mission to protect their assigned pair of principals. 'Principal' is the term they give to a Cahill student on a mission that they are bound to protect. If said pair of principals managed to get out of the mission completely unscathed, the Guardian assigned to them would pass the mission, granted that he or she is able to meet a specific set of given criteria.
Outside the passenger lounge, out into the windy deck with the bright orange sunset sky, there were just as many teens as there were in the lounge. Talking and laughing they were, clinking their glasses of orange juice and drinking them as if they were real wine, and then laughing at their childish make-believes. Well, who's to judge? The festival was meant to gather groups of friends together and forget about school stresses for a while. Some of them, though, simply stared at the crowd with a smile on their faces, as if contented that they stood alone in the bliss of their solitudes; while some, well, they took the opportunity to bond together as they leaned over the railing, stared out into the sea, and chatted the time away.
Such was what Amy and Dan could be found doing.
They stared out into the horizon with the deep cerulean sea sparkling below. Far ahead, though, the vast blueness turned into a reflective sheen against the sunset, the sky a beautiful combination of dusty orange and purplish pink colour, the rosaceous glow of dawn painting the air with the sweetness of caramel. Wind blew softly, making the siblings' copper red and dirty blond hair to be blown in gentle waves from behind them.
They talked about all sorts of things, laughing and smacking each other on the back of their heads (uh…actually, Amy was always the smacker and Dan the victim in this case), from calling each other a dork or a dweeb and then back again.
And Amy had just snatched away Dan's phone.
"Hey!" said Dan. "That's mine! Give that back, you nerd!"
Amy held it high above her head. "No way. You're spending your time way too much in front of this phone of yours, chatting a, what, a gunman, you said?"
"He's not a gunman, he's just a real history genius! And yes, guns too," added the harum-scarum little brother.
"Then I'm keeping this," concluded the responsible older sister. "Whoever's behind this…Naidraug guy is a bad influence to you." And then she pocketed the phone.
"Oh, yeah?" challenged Dan, with that infuriating grin flashing on his face. Then he cleared his throat, batted his eyelashes, clutched his chest with his two hands, and with a exaggeratedly loud but high pitched voice, he began saying the oh-so-sweet words through his ridiculously puckered lips.
"Oh, Ian," he sighed, like the heartbroken Juliet crying for her Romeo, his voice heavy and breathy like he was stuck in a dreamlike trance, batting his eyelashes like crazy. "Wouldn't you be my Leonardo di Caprio, as you put your hands on my waist, and I spread my arms into the air, just like that scene in Titanic, feeling the air blow and—"
That successfully earned him his phone.
And a bruise on his ankle as a bonus at that.
"Gah! OW! I told you to quit doing that, Amy!"
Madly reddening, Amy turned her head away from her brother like a stubborn little child. "And I told you, I didn't enjoy what he did to me yesterday!"
"Aha, oh, really?" taunted Dan. "Because it's Ian Cobra we're talking about here. And didn't he just call you his lovely pri—"
Amy whirled around to face his insistent brother. "Oh, just shut it!"
They continued like that. It was a rare moment of bonding for the two of them, doing nothing and merely teasing each other endlessly in the fading light of the sun, chatting the last minutes of dawn away until the purple darkness of the night eventually swallowed the sky whole and blanketed it with bright stars. By this time, people had already gone up from their beauty naps and most of them were already out into the deck, patiently awaiting the moment when they were going to arrive to their destination. Amy and Dan, however, simply remained as they were.
As Dan spotted one of the chaperones walk behind them to greet his fellow adults, though, a thought came to his mind, and that carefree expression on his face tightened just a bit. His eyes subconsciously followed the man as he talked to his comrades and then clinked their glasses, laughing about some joke that his friend had just made. Amy noticed that sudden drop in her brother's mood and decided to inquire about it.
"Hey…Dan?"
Dan snapped out of his trance and he whipped his head to look back at his sister. "Yeah?"
"You seemed a bit off there," Amy pointed out. Then she craned her neck to the side to see who Dan had been staring at just lately. It was a man with a familiar face—tall, lean, dark, handsome. Marvin Speede. Amy however couldn't figure out what could be wrong with him, so she turned her green eyes to her brother's to know about it herself. "Something on your mind?"
Dan simply shrugged it off and broke eye-contact with his sister. "Nothing."
Amy stared at her brother for a while, as if contemplating whether or not he was telling the truth. Then she decided to let it go. "Okay. If you say so."
A few moments of silence followed after that. Until Dan decided that he couldn't keep it to himself any longer.
"Hey…you know what?" The boy continued staring out into the black horizon, his voice soft amongst the noise of the crowd from behind them. "I have a strange feeling that the mock missions would be…different this year."
"Different?" Amy arched an eyebrow over at him. "How so?"
"It's just that…I don't know." Dan shifted uncomfortably, as if he didn't know yet how to put into words that tingling Madrigal intuition lurking at the back of his mind. "Remember how Grace said that Dean Isabel Kabra got a new secretary? You know…to help her create this year's missions?"
"Oh, so you were listening on Grace's orientation."
A smile broke into the surface of Dan's lips at that. "Nah, just on the important and the suspicious bits. You know how Cahills could get." Dan's eyes turned away. "What with our history and all."
Amy became silent at that. The 'suspicious bits', Dan had said. For a moment, Amy clenched her fists and she stared into space, lost in her own bothersome thoughts. Her old doubts came out reawakened, those questions that she'd been having ever since Grace had entered her into this cursed university and pushed through missions that all but threatened to kill her. What was it, really, that Cahill University was teaching its students in the first place? She looked at Dan, her brother, once a pure white ball of bouncing energy, now tainted by the doubt and suspicion planted onto him by the missions he'd been through last year. And then she thought…
Is Cahill University's goal to brainwash them, and strip them of their innocence, and make them become suspicious of everything?
A rather disturbing voice spoke at the back of her mind.
The difference between education and brainwashing is paper thin.
"Okay," said Amy, clearing her throat to clear her thoughts as well. Stop it, don't be so ridiculous. "So what about that?"
"Marvin Speede," was his immediate answer. "That name. It just sounded…strange."
"Strange how?"
"I don't know…but…it's just…a feeling that I…well—"
"Ah! There you are! Kiddooos!" Nellie came running and she practically tackled Amy with a hug fiercer than a bear, the sober air suddenly brightening up like a thousand lights at the punk au pair's sunny arrival with her loud, multi-coloured hair bouncing from behind her. "I can't find my Sammy anywhere, Ames! I baked him a chocolate gateaux and I was just so sure I invited him to go with us today, but I think he neglected my invitation and is pushing me aside! What am I going to do?"
"Is that even a question? Let's eat the cake!" announced Dan, his mouth already drooling and his tingly hands already reaching out for the cake in Nellie's palm.
Nellie was quick to pull out of her hug from Amy and then slap Dan's away from her specially baked cake. "Sorry, kiddo, but this is for Sammy. I just can't find him anywhere! Have you two seen him?"
Amy could have sweat-dropped at that, had she been a cartoon character. "Nope..."
"Aw." Nellie's love-struck face fell. "I just can't understand why he's avoiding me every time I…"
"AND THE POINT GOES TO THE NINJA LORD!" said Dan, having already snatched the cake from Nellie's hands and already doing his happy dance from far away, making taunting noises and 'L' figures with his fingers for 'Loser'.
"Why, you…" said Nellie with a smirk on her face, who was immediately deffo up to the challenge. "That's for Sammy, you dweeby little thief!"
And so, Amy was left watching the two of them prance around like children, chasing each other and taunting each other while bumping against people who either yelled "Hey, watch it!" or cheered for one of either of them to win, laughing at the unruly sight. Amy herself couldn't help but giggle at those two. But suddenly, an announcement over at the intercom made everyone stop what they were doing and look up.
"Ladies and gentlemen," said an amplified voice, and it was Sinead's, words spoken in a formal yet casual tone that was coated just a little bit by mild anticipation. "Students and teachers, families and acquaintances, Cahills and invited Guardians alike. Welcome to Cahill University's Founders' Festival party organized jointly by the Elite Seven and the Student Council."
At that, Cara Pierce, from inside the ship and just about to pick a pack of potato chips from the refreshments table, smiled.
"Soon," continued Sinead, "Universal Force shall be taking you to the party grounds. But before that, please change into the formal attires that had been prepared for you in your assigned fitting rooms while you wait. Under the command of Miss Natalie Co—uh, Kabra, ladies and gentlemen, please go to the fitting rooms now. Oh, and Miss Natalie would like to explicitly remind the boys that they belong to the 'gentlemen' category. I repeat…"
And the Starling announcer repeated her little declaration from up the control room. That announcement was met with squealing girls and some excited boys, who sensed that they must be drawing near to their destination. Everyone immediately made their way running inside the ship to go to their fitting rooms, which had been assigned to them earlier for a more organized queue. After all, who would want to miss the chance of trying out a first class gown or suit that was rented for them by Natalie Kabra herself?
Dan, apparently. He got dragged away into his doom by his nose-ringed nanny screaming and kicking, wanting to rebel against Natalie's demands but very unable to do so.
Amy and only a few people were left outside, the remaining ones seeming to want to wait out here first and until everybody else were done before they could attend to their own fitting. Natalie, however, came marching towards the girl, and simply wouldn't have any of it.
"The sooner you're done, the better," said Natalie, and she pulled on Amy's hand and forced her to her special fitting room, where manicurists and hair stylists from Paris awaited her arrival, the subject's fancy designer dress tailored by Nancy Hopkins already laid out for her to be fitted in—everything as perfect as Ian had requested of Natalie.
Natalie was simply growing disgusted of her own smitten brother. She regretted having agreed to help him on this matter. Why did she have to take care of this peasant Amy Cahill? She had her own nails to fret about!
oO0Oo
Two hours later…
Hamilton felt tight in his own suit and tie. He itched everywhere. He was not used to wearing tuxedos, and his Tomas body simply refused to let him enjoy this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. But thankfully the ordeal of having to wear it was done, and he emerged from the fitting room as handsomely as any other gentleman who stood in the hallway, chatting with each other and slapping each other on the back as they took selfies of themselves in clothes worthy of a formal end-of-year ball.
And then a camera flashed.
For a moment, Hamilton was blinded, but then he could hear the giggling of two girls. Reagan and Madison, his younger twin sisters, stood before him in their matching ball gowns.
"Hey, why are you two in the boys' fitting room?" demanded Hamilton immediately once he recovered.
"Aw, what a big gentleman he is!" said Reagan, snorting as she laughed through her nose. She pointed at the lousy polka-dot tie that hung from his neck, bright red hearts on a white background and guffawed like crazy. "You're just a cute baby boy, yes you are!"
Madison blurted out a laugh through her mouth and held her stomach like she simply couldn't help it. "Oh my god, I just—I can't even—what kind of tie is that?"
That gained the attention of the gentlemen around him and they saw what the two girls were laughing about. Eventually they laughed along too—some with good-natured cheer, and some with pity.
"Oh, man, you made that tie from your boxers?"
"Oooh, sorry, dude, looks like that tie's the only one left, huh…"
"We're sending this photo to all phones nearby…" began Madison tauntingly, a finger threatening to tap over her touchscreen phone. And then she did it. "Oopsie!"
There was a beep. And then another. And then another. Until everyone else's phone starting beeping as they received the photo of Hamilton Holt with his bewildered face, blinded by the camera flash, his red hearts tie a most amusing sight. Hamilton reddened as he realized this and he chased after his laughing sisters.
"Why, you little!"
Reagan and Madison slapped their palms in a hi-five and then ran out of there, scourging through the hallway as they bumped and collided with their fellow Cahills, leaving annoyed exclamations in their wake. Unfortunately, it was Hamilton who got bombarded with their murmurs of—
"My, is that Hamilton from the Elite Seven?"
"How…wild."
"Hey, don't just run in here like that!"
"You teach your sisters good manners!"
Leave it to his sisters to make such a ruckus from a freaking tie.
Hamilton burst out through the glass double-doors of the passenger lounge and out into the deck, where he was met by the cold wind and the starry black sky. Panting, he immediately scanned the area for his sisters, but with everyone else dressed in their own fancy glittery gowns and elegant dark suits, it wasn't really such an easy job. The Cahills were chatting with each other and filling the atmosphere with unbridled anticipation, all impatiently waiting for the same thing: the announcement of their long awaited arrival.
And then he spotted the giggling girls, sticking out their tongues at him and making 'Loser' gestures with their fingers.
Determination filled him and a grin crawled into his lips. Like the natural athlete he was, he calculated his obstacles. He squatted in the standard starting position of athletics. He prepared beforehand how he should manoeuvre his feet so he could glide through the crowd easily. He planned about where he'd land once he leapt into the air, and how he was going to twist his body so he could fit in between the gaps…
But just before he had a chance to leap through the air like a released spring, the pinch of Natalie Kabra's fingers had already gripped his ears.
"What the—OW!"
"I thought I've made it perfectly clear, you loggerhead," said the petite girl in her clipped and more-than-annoyed accent, her long and sharp red fingernails digging into the skin of the pinna of Hamilton's ear. "No horse playing around!"
"Alright, alright, I get it! Just stop! That hurts!"
And so Natalie released him, but with utter distaste in her words. She crossed her arms over her chest and looked down at him in that conceited manner of hers. dressed in a fancy red designer gown, sparkling with glitters and sequins, and her hair flowing down in a cascade of black waves from behind her. The only thing that looked wrong with her was her beautiful face contorted into the eternal scowl meant to debase the humans she loathed.
"If I catch you again, Hamilton, know this. I'll have you hurled overboard."
"So does that mean Dan already drowned, like, three hours ago?" muttered Hamilton, still gently stroking his raw ear.
"Nope!" interrupted a voice, footsteps approaching and a tuxedoed Dan coming from behind Natalie. He pointed a thumb at his bloated chest and said proudly, "This ninja lord before you can never be slayed. I'm immortaal!"
"Ugh," grumbled Natalie. "Only unfortunately said immortal is an idiot."
Dan frowned. Then he turned his back to her and mimicked her words, in a high, squeaky voice and a vulgar imitation of a British accent, "Said immortal is an idiot, said immortal is an idiot! Ugh. What an ugly stuck-up lunatic gnat."
That stuck in the air for a full second. When the words finally sunk in, a horrified Natalie whirled around to face him, her cinnamon skin darker than that of normal.
"I beg your pardon?!"
"Hey, don't look at me like that, I'm just saying the truth here. You are just an ugly stuck-up lunatic gnat."
"And there the handsome prankster speaks."
Dan grinned. "Says the Miss Cahill loser."
That finally hit the target nerve.
"Argh! You just won't stop it, will you?!"
And then the irritated queen gave in to chasing the laughing dweeb, where she might as well have been yelling "Off with his head, off with his head, OFF WITH HIS BLOODY HEAD!" all the time.
Natalie hadn't yet exactly recovered from the fact that she lost against a Madrigal in the Miss Cahill competition last Friday, and she completely blamed the judges' lack of taste and class for that. She had been so confident that she would win, however that ugly wench named Barbara won over the judges' hearts just because she included alleviating world poverty in her kindly yet totally cliché little speech. It was just as what you would expect from a Madrigal—long, drawn-out speeches about universal goodwill and worldwide peace (both of which are unattainable anyway), a complete contrast to Natalie's eye-opening words about the harsh reality of how everyone in the world is a selfish liar anyway, a reason why all people should be careful on who to trust and manipulating others for your own gain is the best way to succeed. Natalie had been so confident that her speech was simply the best, but…blast that Madrigal! And the cheap girl wore heels that weren't even designer! The very disgusting idea of a Madrigal winning over a Lucian was simply beyond her worst nightmares. In the world of the Cahill University, Madrigals were considered as the weaklings, the scrawniest, the talentless. The dignified Lucian who lives up to the name of Luke Cahill is never supposed to lose against any one of them.
And with the upcoming mock mission where Isabel wanted to test her against Dan…
"But Mother," asked a shell-shocked Natalie early that morning. She is still unable to believe this, and she had the feeling that it would be bothering her for days until the day of the mission itself. "Why?"
The answer was immediate.
"I've been having doubts with your abilities lately, sweetheart, that's all." Isabel said it simply, straightforwardly, indifferently. "After all," she continued, that sweet smile growing larger across her beautiful Lucian face, "you would never come home crying to me after having lost against that Madrigal boy, now…"
And then, just like that, a challenge suddenly glinted in her eyes that all but made a shiver crawl down Natalie's spine.
"…would you?"
Hamilton simply watched back in disbelief as those two grannies cut through the crowd, Natalie's threats growing ever louder as Dan simply laughed at her face and good-naturedly called her 'Loser, loser!' over and over again, obviously enjoying what he enjoyed doing the most: annoying Natalie Kabra.
The girl seemed to be taking it a bit too personally, though.
"Come over here now so I can skin you alive and feed you to the dogs, you mangy little sod!"
Hamilton chuckled to himself as he shook his head at them. "And she was forbidding me from horseplaying around, huh…"
"Oh, don't mind those two," said a voice, and it belonged to Amy's. "That's just their way of playing with each other like good old friends. I guess," she added, when she noticed that dubious look on Hamilton's face. "But I think it's good to just let Natalie to loosen up a bit like that for tonight. She seemed really tense all day long." The girl shrugged her shoulders. "Must be the stress."
"Yeah, must be that…" And then Hamilton turned to see the Madrigal girl. "Oh, and hey, Ames, I just wanted to ask you someth—n…no. WHOA." The Tomas's eyes bulged out of their sockets as he took in the sight of the girl before him.
Amy Cahill looked beautiful!
No, no—ravishing is the right word for it! She stood before him in her silky emerald dress, hugging her slim frame from the shoulder strap that hung on her left shoulder, to the sweetheart neckline rimmed with diamanté and her perfectly corseted waist, down until the rich silken fabric kissed the floor. Her bright red hair was put up in a casual bun atop her head, but the effect of the nonchalant waves of hair down her shoulders sang of nothing but class. Natalie, she definitely had the sophisticated beauty of a girl, but Amy, well…she had the simple beauty of a lady blossoming into womanhood.
"U-Um…" Amy, though, was seriously getting spooked out by now. "Hamilton?"
Ham snapped into reality. "Oh! Uh, yeah?"
"You were…s-staring at me." Then Amy blushed and looked down at her gown. "Do I look that horrible?"
"Horrible?" said Hamilton with a laugh of disbelief. "You look gorgeous! Man, that Ian really is smitten with you, huh? What with all the special treatment and all."
Amy blushed intensely and turned away, pretending not to have heard that little bit as the Holt simply laughed at her denial. She herself was confused as to why she was the only one out of all the attending students who had been brought to Natalie Kabra's personal designer tailor and had her dress handmade.
"Oh, hey, there, kiddos," said Nellie, approaching Amy and Hamilton with a large, toothy smile and a sparkling glass of orange wine in hand (which was only actually orange juice). She walked in her low-heeled shoes, her hair now curled especially for this occasion, though it retained its nuclear explosion of blue, green, white, and neon pink. She had blue lipstick on and the red-and-black dress she wore was a combination of punk and cocktail. Obviously Natalie would never have approved of it, but Nellie had insisted that she would provide her own gown (just like several other students who claimed that they could afford renting or buying their clothes on such a short notice).
"So," began Nellie. "All this time I've been sitting around here, I've been hearing nothing but rumors about where we're really going." She looked pointedly at the two members of the Elite Seven. "Do you two really have no inside information about the destination? Because the tension's practically killing me."
The Tomas and the Madrigal exchanged glances and shrugged.
"You're just as much in the dark as we are," said Hamilton.
"Sinead and Natalie probably know, though," pondered Amy thoughtfully, an index finger put on her chin. Sinead and some few Ekaterinas were the ones who had been assigned to plan the lights and sound systems of the venue, after all, and Natalie, being Ian's sister, surely knew all about his plans in the first place. "And Jonah's on the site already with a group of discreet Januses. You know, for their concert. But other than them, well, we have no idea. But I bet there's something really great in store for us there."
"Ugh, Sammy doesn't know what he's missing!" groaned Nellie. "I wonder what the matter with that guy is!"
"Wh…Whoa…"
"H-How…did he…"
But Nellie barely acknowledged the exclamations of her two companions and the general awed silence that had befallen the crowd, so she merely continued with her griping.
"I do, like, all I can to drag him out of his own eternal shyness—he doesn't know just how drop-dead gorgeous he is to the ladies, doesn't he! UGH. I'd never understand why he never gets out of that laboratory—cough, lair, cough—to socialize even for just a bit. Imagine! The nearest I can get to him is bringing him lunch! Some scientists are just, like, born killjoys, aren't they?"
"Nellie?" Amy's voice brought the au pair back to reality. "You…you might want to look up."
And so, she blinked, and she decided to lift her head up.
And then she gasped.
"Ladies and gentlemen," said the thrilled voice of Sinead from the speakers above, "we will be arriving at our destination shortly."
The students gasped in amazement as the smooth, spherical, white airship suddenly rose into the star-studded sky in all its magnificence, glowing high above their heads with its brilliant white light as if it was the moon itself that had visited them to join in the celebrations. With the airship floating just over heads like that, they had the strange, tinkling sensation that something really big was prepared just ahead for them. Written on the giant blimp/dirigible were the words, 'Welcome, Cahills!' in elegant script, and with the signal of a single plain orange firecracker in the sky, followed by the rest of a grand light show of fireworks…
Their eyes began widening in amazement and then eventually burst into a wild applause.
Natalie and Dan had somehow stopped arguing and their feet took them over to where Amy and Hamilton and Nellie were standing.
"Wow!" said Amy to the approaching Natalie. "Ian knows all there is to know about a dramatic entrance, doesn't he?"
"Of course he does," gloated Natalie. "But, a word of advice: don't praise him too much. Because the next thing you'll see is designed by Sinead."
Amy arched an eyebrow. "…Sinead?"
The luxury liner continued sailing forward as calmly and smoothly as a quiet wind in the midst of the night, the airship above them smoothly floating forward as if to guide them gracefully through the water. The students, however, had all gathered to the railing, their heads looking at the direction straight ahead of them, as if trying to glimpse the light at the end of the road. They found the light quite literally, though, as from the very tip of faraway, there glowed just a spark. A small, mere spark.
But then it grew, and it stretched forward and toward them, the light crawling faster and faster until it was revealed that the long stretches of lights were actually spurts of water sprinkling down from a waterproof light source fixed on horizontal bars, which served as the fence that secured the way of the luxury ship. Have you ever visited a park at night-time, where the fountains would be spurting out magical waterworks, the water glowing with different coloured lights, attracting you to touch the enchanting sprinkle? Yes, this little light show is inspired exactly by that. Glowing golden water poured down from the horizontal bars that stretched out for a staggering two hundred feet. But then, the technical details aside, the water showered down into the path of the Universal Force were like little streams of golden, glittery light akin to Tinker Bell's pixie dust, making the swells of the water below glow in an ephemeral gold, like a golden carpet laid out for them to guide their way to their journey's end. The students leaned out in the railing of the ship with amazement in their eyes, their hands reaching out to the glowing water, the sparkling lights reflected in their awed gazes. Some whipped out their phones to immediately take pictures as they went on their smooth sailing, while some merely basked in the dream-like scene.
Amy, Hamilton, Nellie, Natalie, and even Dan who had such a short attention span, were all as captured in it as everyone else was. Their faces lit up in glimmers of gold as they stared out of the railing of their ship, the lights reflected on their faces dancing in the shadows like little faeries. And as Stefan would so beautifully put it, it was an enchanted entrance orchestrated for a party so elegant that it is sure to capture and ensnare anyone like innocent butterflies into the Student Council and Elite Seven's intricately designed web of bewitching pulchritude and ravishing artistry.
"Wow," breathed Dan and Natalie in unison. They looked at each other when they realized it, and then immediately threw their heads back to avoid each other's gazes.
"Idiot," said Natalie, but this time, not nearly as poisonous as usual. There was a small, almost reminiscent, chuckle in the word when she said it, her gaze still out and lost into the shower of lights.
"Gnat," Dan bit back, but his carefree green gaze was glazed out by the sprinkles of lights.
"Sinead was the one who…" began Hamilton, who looked a little bewildered himself. The Tomas reached out a hand as if to touch the sprinkles of water. "…designed this?"
"She's…so…awesome!" Nellie burst out, and she suddenly whipped her phone out of her pocket and threw it over at Hamilton, whom the Holt barely caught and nearly stumbled to the ground trying to catch it. Nellie then enthusiastically threw her arms around Dan and Natalie and pulled them together and urged them to pose in front of the camera. "Come on, you lovebirds! Say cheese!"
The two nearly exploded at that, totally red in the ears as they tried to pry themselves out of Nellie's hold.
"What in the—"
"We're not—!"
Then the camera flashed.
"Cheese!" said Hamilton, who chuckled at the photo on the screen—Nellie's left hand draped around Dan's neck as Dan struggled to get out, and Natalie trying to claw at the face of the laughing Nellie, the sprinkling golden lights from behind them serving as a beautiful backdrop. It was a photo bound to get a hundred Facebook likes and loves and wows upon posting. "Here you go, Nellie!"
"Thanks!"
"Ugh, and what are you laughing about?" demanded an irritated Dan as he gently stroked his neck, glaring at a giggling Amy who had been silently watching the entire scene all this time.
"Nothing, just…" But then Amy giggled again. "You two are just too cute."
"Cute?!" gasped a horrified Natalie.
"BLEGH!" said Dan, who violently coughed then covered his mouth as if sensing an incoming barf. "I think I'm gonna be sick!"
Soon, the ship was only a hundred feet away—and the glowing island finally fell into their sight. Yes, the island glowed—from here they can see the food stalls, the rides, the concert stage, laser lights being blasted into all directions to signal the people there of their arrival. Everyone stared out into the railing, racing to see the glimpse of their venue, awaiting the final reveal, until everyone gasped as they realized where they actually were.
They had learned this from their classes. Except for the Cahills, no one really knows that this island even exists. If you look at the coordinates of the location in a map, all you would really see is a blue patch—because this island is kept as a secret from the rest of the world.
Not in the world of the Cahills.
"Ladies and gentlemen," announced Sinead, "we have arrived."
The students were slack-jawed as the realization dawned. Of course. Where else was the perfect place to celebrate the day when Cahill University was founded by the historic children of Gideon and Olivia?
"Welcome," continued Sinead, "to the Cahill Isle."
oO0Oo
Under the witness of a moonless yet starry night, everyone carefully descended from the ship, an excited chattering thrill hung in the cold night air. But then, once the Cahills and invited Guardians, dressed in their complete, formal attires, stepped foot on the land of their festive venue…
All forms of light source were suddenly shut down.
In that instant moment, the whole island was plunged into darkness, and the students expressed their fright of the dark while some looked like they were expecting something like this to happen—because it had happened before.
Ian Kabra watched all this from a hidden tent. Then he sent Jonah an inquiring look.
Ready?
Jonah Wizard and the rest of his Janus gang nodded back at him, grins lighting up their faces despite the dark.
We're ready, bro.
And then the whole universe exploded. *
"Hey, yo, let me hear you make some noise!"
The crowd gasped in awe as the whole island suddenly burst up in a magnificent light show of lasers and fogs and epic sound effects, spotlights dancing everywhere and crossing each other as glittering confetti was suddenly rained down on them—a confetti of pink paper flowers created by the Student Council under Amy's lead. The international pop star rapper was at the centre of it all, walking through the multi-coloured mist floating in the air as the fog machines roared all around them. Jonah had a grin on his face, walking towards them with a swagger in his step, dressed in his concert attire of baggy shorts and silver chains around his neck. When he'd finally emerged from the fog, he winked at a girl in a bright scarlet dress making her suddenly heat up like a kettle and grab at her surrounding friends to keep her from fainting right then and there.
"CAHILLS!" Jonah, ever the concertmaster, sang the word into the microphone to address the crowd, and, suddenly, his fellow Janus, his backup dancers, walked through the fog to reveal their presence. "This party's on in three…two…one…"
"GO!"
oO0Oo
And so, Jonah Wizard and his fellow Janus dancers did their concert/flash mob with all the enthusiasm of the world, which had been thoroughly enjoyed by everyone. Jonah was especially happy, because not only did he absolutely love performing for the people, he actually felt like he was now an official part of a team that he'd once looked up to—the Elite Seven. It was wonderful for him to hear, that while it was Ian who had set the entire plan in motion, Natalie who had arranged the ship and the costumes, Sinead who had led the Ekaterina engineers and Nellie with her modest group of gourmet chefs, it was the one and only Jonah Wizard who had been assigned to lead the entertainment and execute the plans into actual motion. He was actually glad that Ian had considered asking for his free, enthusiastic help instead of just hiring expensive dancers like he did last time.
That was what he lived for—to be appreciated not merely because of his talent, but because he had something to offer. To be part of a brand new team…
He saw Ian Kabra walking in his Ralph Lauren designer suit from afar, entertaining a bunch of girls, and when the Lucian caught his eye, he gave him a nod and a formal smile. Jonah smiled back.
…with brand new bros.
Jonah was just walking away and waving at the girls from behind him who had just asked for his autograph. His little grand entrance concert was just done, and people were already starting to explore the grounds for more food stalls for food to eat, rides to ride, and games to play with all their other friends. He could see students holding seven-layered gelatos and looking up at it in amazement—Dan was actually holding up one now and was licking the very top golden coffee mocha scoop. There were also girlfriends and boyfriends acting all mushy-mushy while they shared the three-layered cotton candies prepared especially by the Student Council.
He also saw Nellie and her friends chasing each other to paint their faces with the icing of their petit fours and chocolate gateaux. In fact, all desserts here sounded like a mouthful—there were affogatos (some Italian dessert consisting ice cream topped with espresso), banoffee pies (some English dessert made from bananas, cream, and toffee served in a pastry or cookie crumble base), bavaroise (a dessert made with flavoured whipped cream set in gelatin), zabaglione (a light, foamy, custard-like dessert served hot or chilled), charlotte (a hot dessert made with fruit baked with a covering of bread), panna cotta, puits d'amour, foret noire, and all those other fancy French names those gourmet chefs could come up with. It would take a month for mere words to do the food here the justice they deserved.
"Oh, hey there, man!"
And then Jonah brightened like the sun when he saw Hamilton.
"Oh, Hamburger, my main man!" said the Wizard, opening his arms wide and then slinging an arm onto the Tomas' shoulder like they had been best pals ever since. "Enjoying the party so far?"
He and Hamilton had been instant friends almost as soon as the school year started. Perhaps it was because the two of them were complete newbies to the Elite Seven who had no other such affiliations with them or anything of the sort. No one had even noticed it, but now their friendship was growing continually and at quite a promising rate at that.
Dan on the other hand was just walking with his cone of Italian gelato dessert in hand, now licking the second scoop, which was flavoured a rich purple strawberry guava. He had to admit, that Cobra really pulled it off quite nicely. On his other hand, he held his phone, chatting his online friend Naidraug like the obsessed ninja he was. He had to say, though, their conversation right now was really starting to get weirder and weirder by the minute for some reason. Weird how? He didn't know. It was like he felt that Naidraug was the very person right beside him! Really weird, huh? How ridiculous, even by his standards…
Then a boy wearing ridiculously thick glasses suddenly looked up from his phone when he saw Dan with his seven-layered gelato in hand.
"Whoa," said the boy, wide-eyed and mesmerized. "Where on Earth did you buy that?"
"Oh, uh, this? Nope, I didn't buy it—it's for free," said Dan, and then he kindly pointed behind him. "See those large orange refrigerator sized boxes? Those are the ice cream processors. Just ask the man in the costume and bingo."
"Okay, thanks bunches!" The little guy suddenly pulled onto the hand of his older companion and dragged him towards the ice cream source like a child pulling on a mother's hand when he saw the perfect toy. "Come on, Jake! Let's go over there!"
"Alright, Atticus, alright!"
And then, a minute later, Dan received a completely random message from Naidraug.
Have you ever tasted something exotic, like, green sugar-coated peppermint ice cream? Because, like, YOU SHOULD TRY IT, IT'S SO AWESOME.
Yep. Weird.
Even Sinead decided to let loose for a bit tonight. The party felt like a mini food trip to her, exploring all the different exotic and gourmet foods, secretly enjoying her little culinary adventure and at the same time admiring the gourmet chefs behind it. After all, cooking is a science, and perhaps a complicated one at that—you have to measure the ingredients accurately, put in the right amount of seasoning, heat the meat in the right temperature, and calculate how the ingredients would blend together in the ideal equilibrium taste. Everything about it was just like chemistry, making chefs great scientists as well. But just as she had ordered for another plate of western style pear plum and blackberry orchard fruitcake and said thank you to the counter…
Sinead immediately turned around, but in her impatience she then bumped into Hamilton and Jonah, making her stagger in her heels and fall—
—hadn't it been for Marvin Speede who caught her from behind.
"Whoa, Miss Starling," said Marvin, his dark, handsome face smiling concernedly down at her. "Are you alright?"
"W-well…yeah, I'm alright. Thanks."
Marvin merely smiled and then immediately went onto his way, Sinead staring after him with slight bewilderment in her eyes.
Which left Hamilton and Jonah panicking about how to deal with Sinead 'Sarcasm is My Middle Name' Starling. The two gentlemen knew their place and that they weren't exactly on 'chillax' terms with her for the moment.
"Oh, yo, uh, Sinead, my main man!"
"Woman!" chided Hamilton, pinching Jonah on the side to scold her. "She's a woman, you dunderhead!"
"Debatable," Jonah whispered back, light-heartedly rolling his eyes. Sinead heard and glared at them, so the two immediately recoiled and decided that they should probably get out of her proximity while they still had the chance.
"Okay, uh, yo, so we're just gonna go—"
"—and leave you alone—"
"—because we know y'all hate us—"
"—so just enjoy your little fruitcake—"
"—and we're just gonna go and grab ourselves some pie." Hamilton paused and looked curiously at a suddenly laughing Sinead. "Wait a minute. Are you…giggling? "
Sinead didn't even bother to answer, and just laughed like that seemingly from out of nowhere. For a moment there, with Jonah and Hamilton connecting each other's sentences like that in such a fretful way…
It had almost been like watching Ned and Ted back at the science fair.
Amy, however, was just by herself, watching everything else from afar. She had a stick of cotton candy in hand, and was just walking away from the cotton candy stand. Reminiscently, she took a mouthful, and relished in the taste as she remembered the events of the Round One Showdown—the Cotton Candy Tree of Lights against Ian and the Elite Seven's seven-layered Italian style gelato ice cream. At that time she had been quite bitter for losing, but right now all she felt was fun. She was enjoying the party quite thoroughly, when suddenly, a voice spoke from behind her.
"Having fun already?"
Amy knew that voice. That superior gloating voice ticked her off involuntary, so the words that she blurted out of her mouth were almost like a reflex. She whirled around to face him and said,
"Why, you little—!"
But then she stopped herself when she remembered.
N….no, she reminded herself to calm her down. You shouldn't act like this, Amy. This is…not a contest anymore, right?
Reddening intensely, she said instead, "W-well…of course I'm enjoying this! Having fun is the whole point of festival, so you shouldn't even be asking me such common sense questions!" But then her little accusations were ignored, because Ian was already chuckling as if he found the very sight of Amy very amusing.
"H…hey!" said the girl, her face a mad red. "What are you laughing about?"
Ian merely chose to ignore that statement as he stared out into the party, where people dressed in their formal attire enjoyed the night away while eating from the numerous food stalls, picking out wicked rides, and playing carnival games where one could win a huge fluffy bunny the size of a seven-year-old child.
"I've prepared all this for you," Ian said suddenly. Then he looked at her, and they met eyes. "I wanted to keep you away from the preparations to make this a surprise for you. Happy Founders' Festival, Amy."
Amy was bewildered and rendered in a silent shock after that little revelation. "For…me?"
Ian returned his gaze nonchalantly back into his masterpiece, the Cahill Island party, like it wasn't such a big deal. "You deserve such a celebration, even if it is in the guise of a school festival. The explanation is that simple."
"But…why…"
"You tend to think too much about others that you forget about yourself. That's what I thought."
That heartfelt response made Amy look up at the boy beside her. A cunning Lucian, a Kabra sadist, a son of a business tycoon—thinking about how much she tended to think about others that she often 'forget about herself', thinking about her, her, legendary clumsy Madrigal bookworm. He stood up, high and proud, a true gentleman of the sophisticated British society—and yet he said he was thinking about her. Amy decided right then and there that she liked this softer side of Ian, so she thought that it would be good to pry more of the goodness out of him by praising him for it. So she said…
"This is more than what the Student Council could have ever done alone." She put a hand onto his shoulder and looked softly into his eyes. "I'm glad that the Elite Seven decided to merge with us so we could work together."
"…So," stated Ian, those amber eyes entranced in hers, "you…forgive me for the helicopter incident?"
"It was worth it, Ian!" she exclaimed reassuringly. "I am enjoying this party amazingly."
At that, Soft Ian suddenly recoiled and was replaced by the Usual Ian with that infuriating smirk on his face. He immediately tore his gaze away from her as he laughed at the mere notion of the idea.
"Oh, Amy, do be careful when you compliment me. Do you really mean that?"
"Wh-what's wrong with me complimenting you?! Of course I mean it! Yes! I do! I mean, look at this! You were the one who prepared all these and set the wheels into motion. It's all…amazing." Then she suddenly spotted the Starling approaching them with a plate of cherry clafoutis in hand. "Right, Sinead?"
"Oh, hi, Amy! And hello, Ian." Sinead took a slice of the cake with her fork and put it into her mouth. "Nice party, by the way."
"My, my," said Ian in mock modesty. "I am getting overwhelmed with all the lovely compliments from the ladies." He looked at both of the girls in the eyes. "I reckon this simply means that you two are now officially conceding before me."
Amy and Sinead blinked at that. "Conceding?"
"I've already taken the liberty to gather the votes of the students," he said, a smug satisfaction in his voice. "Based on our performance in Round One and Round Two, they favoured the Elite Seven more. If you need to see concrete evidence, feel free to visit this website I had created especially for you in case you want to see the name of every student who had voted for us. Which is the entire school, of course." Ian handed them a card. "And since you acknowledge me to belong to the Elite Seven, that means that it is the Elite Seven who had 'prepared all these and set the wheels into motion' to direct the rest of the underdogs under my lead. I hope you remember the terms of our agreement. If I win, along with the remaining Elite Seven, you are going to obey whatever command given upon you. And unfortunately for you…the votes are in my favour." He smirked.
"Checkmate."
Sinead all but hurled her plate of cake at his face. "What? No!"
"Th-this is not a competition anymore!" argued Amy, an uneasy tremble in her voice. "And didn't we m-m-merge in Round Three already?"
"Yes, but even so," answered Ian with a calm demeanour, clearly having expected this coming and having a prepared response in turn, "the Elite Seven won over both Round One and Two. That means that even if we did get a draw in Round Three, you still lose."
Amy desperately searched for something in her head to throw back at him for their little heated debate. "D-D-Didn't I told you I quit the contest already?" she asked, pathetically.
"Yeah!" agreed Sinead, her voice vehement. "That makes everything about our terms invalid, Cobra, so don't you even dream of—"
"Oh, no, Miss Sinead Starling. Who said our terms ever became invalid?" Ian chuckled at that, like Sinead was a four-year-old and he found her assumptions about faeries and dwarfs quite amusing. "Miss Lovely Rank Two here was the only one who declared that she quit the competition. The fact that she made the decision does not, in any way, invalidate our contract. Which means you will obey whatever command your superior commands you." Ian paused from his little speech and the smirk on his face grew ever larger, if that was possible.
"And what's the matter, Sinead? Already cursing Amy for dragging you with her in such a misery?"
A flustered Amy tugged on the cufflinks of Ian's tuxedo and scolded him with a panicked, "Hey, Ian, no need to say something that!"
But Ian simply looked at Sinead challengingly, as if testing her how she'd react to something like that. If you're really Amy's friend, he thought, you'd be willing to go anywhere with her, through victory and defeat.
After all, caring for Amy also meant caring for the relationships she valued the most.
Sinead unclenched the balled fist she had by her side. Then she sighed, stabbed a fork into her cake, put it in her mouth, and said, through muffled words, "Fine. I'll fulfil the end of my bargain, fair and square, nothing more and nothing less. You happy now?"
Ian smiled, satisfied of her answer. "Excellent."
But then, Amy stepped forward, quite anxiously. "Sinead, if you are uncomfortable with this, I can just—"
"Nope." Sinead held out her palm at her to halt her. "It's no big deal, Amy. As I said, I will fulfil the end of my bargain, fair and square, no matter what." She smiled at her to reassure her that there are no hard feelings, and Amy felt relief flood over her when she realized that Sinead was sincerely okay with all this. But, just then, the Starling threw her determined green gaze over at Ian's smirking amber ones, her lips a grim slash of fortitude that challengingly anticipated the task.
"Who takes me, then?" she said. "Bring it on."
Ian lifted his head superiorly.
And on he did.
"Jonah Wizard."
That took a whole thirty seconds for it to fully sink in. While Sinead was undergoing through her shock, though, fireworks suddenly began lighting up the sky, and the crowd cheered at the brilliant aerial lightshow with a united voice, saying—
"Happy Founders' Festival, everyone!"
And then that was when it sank in.
"WHAT?!"
Phew. Done. FINALLY. First arc of the story is officially finished, and in the next chapter we would be gazing into a brand new dawn—Arc 2: Friends! I've been pouring a lot of my time and effort and love into this story, so I really appreciate everyone who reads the products of my hard work. Thank you all! :)
Er, I'm sorry if I went a little overboard with the food over there. XD I'm really very hungry right now...
Later…
Most of the Cahills were all now sound asleep. The party was done, and it was nearly three o'clock in the morning. The ship was turning around to send the students home. Most of them came to bed exhausted yet thoroughly enjoyed and were out like a light. Some, though, chose to stay up for the rest of the night, now early morning, merely gazing into the sky out in the windy deck. Sinead and Amy stood side-by-side in the comfortable silence, relishing in the cold blow of the breeze with nothing but the company of each other.
"Sinead?"
"Hmm?"
"You're really perfectly alright with the…the Jonah Wizard thing?"
"No. Not really," said Sinead, bluntly and honestly. Then the girl smiled up at her friend. "But don't worry, I'm not putting you on the blame. Partly, though, maybe," she added, jokingly.
Sinead and Amy shared a chuckle at that. Once they quieted…
"Well, I'm sorry about that, really," said Amy, "but…we lost, so…we must do whatever our dear bosses would want us to do for them."
"Hm. I guess so."
Silence.
"You sure you want to stay out here?" asked Amy after a while.
"Yep." Sinead's eyes were closed as she took in the breeze. "You can go to your room and take your nap if you want to. I'll just stay out here for a minute more."
"Okay. Good night, then."
"'Night."
Amy then proceeded to her room and changed immediately to her nightclothes. There were two small yet luxurious beds in the little yet fancy compartment, the other side being Sinead's territory. Instead of Sinead occupying her bed, though, it was her backpack, which nearly looked like it would burst at the seams any moment now. Amy wondered why Sinead had to bring such a huge package with her on a journey that would already provide everything she needed, but, oh well.
Amy switched off the lights and she threw herself on her little bed, burying her head in the plush pillows and breathing in the sleepy lavender scent. She had never before been so overly thankful to finally rest a real bed for a night—these past few days, she often ended up sleeping on her study desk doing nothing but reviewing for tests and upcoming exams. Well, she had her class rank to take care of, and a rival to defeat. But now, she decided to let go of it for a bit let herself fall into a blissful dreamless sleep…
Until the loud ringing of a phone suddenly woke up the dead.
Amy snapped her eyes open and shot out of bed, frightened of the sudden sound for a bit, and bewildered about where it might have come from. But then eventually she was able to calm her racing heart down when her ears told her that the phone was coming from inside Sinead's backpack. And it wouldn't bloody stop. The caller must be so persistent with this call. Oh, great. And just before she was about to go to sleep!
Amy crawled out of her bed and approached Sinead's groggily, the interruption clearly unwelcome for the sleepy girl. She was just going to grab the phone, shut it up, and crawl back to bed and into sleep. But at the very moment that she unzipped the backpack, the phone suddenly stopped ringing.
Ah, fantastic. Just fantastic. Amy was just about to zip the backpack up again, but then the name on the screen of Sinead's phone caught her attention like a corpse's hand tightening around her neck.
The Grim Reaper. No number attached.
Amy's eyes widened as chills ran up her spine, her skin horripilating as goosebumps rose out of her skin like leeches were suddenly sucking the blood out of her. And then that's when she saw, that deeper inside the backpack, there was the item that had been the object of her consciousness since the fire at the Cahill Manor.
"What…in the world…"
The door opened. Amy jumped, and, breathless, she got herself ready in a martial arts stance.
"Whoa, Amy," said a shocked Sinead, who raised her palms up in the air. "It's just me! What's the fuss all about? And what are you doing to my…bag…"
The Starling's eyes widened as she realized what Amy had just seen in her possession. The object had been spilled out of the backpack, and there was no denying it.
Amy couldn't help the tremble in her voice as she realized this act of betrayal.
"Wh-what is…the Poor Richard's Almanack d-doing in your bag, Sinead?"
Well, when I decided I should put a little introduction for the next arc, this little scene was born.
Have a nice day! ~~ ;)