TW this chapter for abandonment, discussion of potential kidnapping or murder, discussion related to abuse and pedophilia, mentions of gaslighting, transphobia, and ableist behavior towards someone with ADHD.

I don't own RWBY

Yang Xiao Long's room was a mix of several different styles, all at once. Her bed had mustard-yellow bedsheets, with a single plushie of a dragon. She had a bookshelf which mainly was decorated with cheesy action movies, a few Mortal Kombat figurines, and the main appeal, eight different trophies, most from either wrestling or boxing tournaments. One of them, however, was a basketball trophy, serving to remind her that there was a third side of her athletic interest.

Her desk had been handmade, a project she had done with her father, years ago. A laptop barely younger than Ruby sat on top, and where most would have had a gaming chair, Yang had a short barstool she had made do with.

The other decorations on the desk included a metallic motorcycle mini, a picture of her and Ruby at a go-kart track from her thirteenth birthday, and a rather appalling collection of candy and snack wrappers.

By her bed, she had a pile of discarded clothes, obscuring the floor. On the other side of her bed, a mini-fridge held a dwindling supply of soda and energy drinks.

Yang rubbed her eyes, scrolling through old articles. She had been looking for hours, and still come across... nothing of note. There were no significant disappearances during that time frame, no investigations were open, at least, to the extent of her knowledge. She just found article after article about 9/11 panic, and its repercussions across the country.

She knew that she'd have to get some sleep soon, it was 2:17 AM and she had to be up at about 6:00. She had gone through several energy drinks, the crumpled cans littering the floor of her room.

It wasn't exactly the cleanest thing to just brush them off her desk when she was done with them, but the way she saw it, Tai had been pestering her to clean her room anyway, so adding a little more mess wouldn't be the worst thing in the world.

She closed her laptop with a sigh, knowing she wasn't likely to find anything of use. Whatever had happened to Raven, it didn't tie to anything that was being reported at the time.

Maybe she could talk to Qrow, see if he'd be lenient enough to actually share anything about what happened.

If not, she figured she'd have to try her luck with Glynda Goodwitch or James Ironwood.

Tai was definitely not going to say anything, she knew that much. She'd already tried a few times in the past, and he always just changed the topic as quickly as he could.

What worried her was just how little she was finding. If she got as little from them as she got from tonight's research, she didn't know where to look next.

If this didn't turn anything up, the last thing she knew to do would be to hire a private investigator.

She finished her last energy drink for the night, then flipped the switch of her light and climbed into bed, knowing full well that as tired as she was, she would probably be awake a while longer.

She grabbed her android, with a sigh, and flipped through a few apps.

What surprised her, however, was seeing that Blake was also online.

Blake couldn't let herself sleep. She was in bed, but every time she closed her eyes, Adam's face came back to her mind, and she felt discomfort wash back over her. Memories would stream back to her, she would remember just how uncomfortable she was around him.

She couldn't understand why it bothered her this much. Yeah, sure, he was kind of a prick, and he was a bit toxic, but every time she thought of him, she wanted to hide.

His name felt like something crawling under her skin, his face made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up.

Am I really that weak? I should be stronger than this. He was just a selfish ass, he shouldn't have this much power over me, Blake thought to herself.

She couldn't help but wish she just hadn't ever met him. And at the same time, she still felt guilty. He lost his eye because of her, she was the one that pushed the break up, she...

Was she being unfair? She didn't like being around him, but did that justify abandoning him? Leaving him to struggle on his own?

And yet, a small voice in her head seemed to feel disgust at these thoughts.

Of course it was fair, she thought. I didn't feel safe around him. If someone treated Ilia this way, I'd be livid.

She felt herself getting a headache from the constant bickering with herself. She looked back to her phone, back to the text that had served as the catalyst for all of this.

Ilia had sent her a message, hours ago.

'Hey,' Ilia had sent. 'I figured you should know, Adam texted me a few minutes ago, asking about you and Sun. I told him to fuck off, and that he had no business knowing that. Let me know if you need me to kick his ass, okay?'

Ilia's protective enthusiasm helped Blake feel a little bit calmer, a little bit safer, but at the same time, Ilia wasn't here. Ilia couldn't protect her every minute of every day, and the moments that she was alone, it felt like he was right around the corner.

She was snapped out of her thoughts when Yang sent her a message.

'You having trouble sleeping, too?'

Blake smiled a little, and typed her response.

'Yeah. It's been a rough day. How are you doing?' Blake sent. Three dots danced by Yang's profile picture, a surprisingly well-taken picture of herself, with aviator sunglasses, before Yang's message popped up.

'Can I be honest?'

'Of course,' Blake replied.

'My day's been a train wreck. Some shit from a long time ago just flared back up, and I can't stop thinking about it,' Yang replied.

'In a way, I can really relate to that,' Blake replied. 'If you need to talk, I'm all ears.'

'I appreciate that,' Yang said. 'Has Ruby ever mentioned what happened to our mom?'

'She said something really briefly,' Blake sent. 'I'm really sorry, that can't have been easy.'

'We're actually half sisters,' Yang said. 'I still consider Summer to be my real mom... but Summer didn't give birth to me. My biological mother went missing when I was only 6 months old.'

Blake's heart ached at the most recent message, and she immediately wished she could be right next to Yang to give her a hug.

'I'm sorry, that's awful,' Blake said.

'No one's seen her or heard from her since, and I don't know what happened to her. My dad thinks she just ran out on us, but I'm worried maybe something worse happened. I've been trying to find answers, and I just keep finding nothing. It's frustrating, I just wanna know what happened, you know?'

'I get that, yeah,' Blake said. 'I can't imagine how that feels, but if you ever need to talk, I'm here for you.'

'It just drives me crazy, not knowing. And it's like, when I see my friends and their parents, I feel like a bad person, because I just feel really jealous, almost angry, you know?'

'That doesn't make you a bad person,' Blake said. 'You have every right to be upset. As long as you're not taking that out on them, it's perfectly fine that you feel that way.'

'And I don't know what's worse,' Yang sent. 'Either she abandoned me or something horrifying happened to her, and everyone around me just wants me to leave it alone. It's not fair, everyone else gets to have a whole family, why don't I at least get to know why I don't?'

'You should get to know,' Blake replied. 'And if there's anything I can do to help you find out, I will in a heartbeat, okay?'

'Thanks, that means a lot to me,' Yang said. 'Sorry I kinda dumped that all on you. You said you've been having a rough time, too. If you wanna vent, I'm here.'

'I don't really know how to explain,' Blake said. 'I'm just having a bit of anxiety, and I'm not sure how to calm down.'

'What's causing it?' Yang asked.

'It's dumb,' Blake said. 'I saw my ex today, and I'm a bit nervous, I guess. I'm honestly overreacting.'

'What makes you think you're overreacting?' Yang asked.

Blake tried to type a response, stopping several times to delete what she had typed so far and start over.

'It'd make sense if I was a little sad, or even just annoyed, but it's been full-scale panic attacks, which is ridiculous. He was a bit rude, and he was a little bit toxic, but I feel like this is an overreaction.'

'Is it alright if I ask how he was toxic?' Yang asked. 'You don't have to go into it if you don't want to. Not trying to pry.'

'He would get kind of angry sometimes, and it was just a lot to handle. He also really didn't like my parents, and sometimes it felt like he was trying to make me dislike them, too. I just felt nervous around him.'

Yang typed for a long moment, before Blake's phone lit up with her message.

'Blake, this sounds like more than just him being toxic. This sounds like abuse. Are you okay?' Yang asked.

'He wasn't abusive,' Blake typed. She knew he wasn't abusive. Toxic, sure. A little bit harsh, definitely. But he wasn't abusive.

'Okay, well, what would happen when he would get angry?' Yang asked.

'Just... really bad fights. He never hit me, or anything like that. It was just arguments, and every couple has arguments.'

'How bad? What would he say?' Yang asked.

'Usually he would just get upset because I was remembering things wrong, or because I kept siding with my parents.'

'Blake, that sounds like gaslighting. Plus, you're a teenager. You should be able to side with your parents, and the fact that he disliked them so much is a huge red flag. Wait, did your parents like him?' Yang asked.

'Well, not really. They thought he was a little too old to be dating me,' Blake said.

'How old was he, and how old were you, when you two were dating?' Yang asked.

'I was fifteen, and Adam was nineteen,' Blake sent. 'Listen, I know how that sounds, but I was okay with the age gap, he wasn't taking advantage of me or anything.'

'Jesus, Blake,' Yang said. 'You're a minor, you're four years younger than him.'

'And? If we were in our twenties, no one would blink at a four year difference,' Blake said.

'You're not in your twenties,' Yang said. 'And a nineteen year old shouldn't be going anywhere near minors. Blake, listen to me. Everything you've told me about this guy is a huge red flag. You said you saw him today?'

'Yeah,' Blake replied. She was halfway through a follow up message when she realized just how bad it sounded. Not wanting to distort the situation, she sighed, and finished typing it. 'Apparently he deals narcotics to students.'

'Blake,' Yang said. 'You gotta stay away from this dude. Listen to me. This creep was abusive, and you need to stay safe.'

'Okay, I understand that the age gap was a bit... not okay,' Blake said. 'And yeah, he was toxic. But he wasn't abusive.'

'Just because he never hit you doesn't mean he wasn't abusive, Blake,' Yang said. 'Verbal abuse, emotional abuse, those are just as bad. Listen, if this guy tries to talk to you or anything, please let me know. I'll happily kick the shit out of him.'

Blake didn't know how to feel about this. On one hand, she didn't feel as guilty, seeing someone else confirm the suspicions that had been eating at her helped a little, but at the same time, she felt absolute revulsion at the idea of her having been a victim.

'You really think he was abusive?' Blake asked.

'I've seen my share of abusive assholes,' Yang said. 'I've been lucky enough not to end up in a relationship with one, but I've still seen plenty. This guy hit like, all of my red flags. Please be careful, Blake.'

Blake took in a shaky breath, feeling more comfort as Tex, her cat, curled up against her. She gave Tex a gentle hug, appreciating that in several ways, she was surrounded by love and affection.

When Melanie and Miltia Malachite didn't invite her over to talk on the bus, Weiss knew she probably should have felt annoyed, or upset. She, however, couldn't bring herself to feel anything other than relief. She was perfectly happy to spend the drive to school in relative silence, especially after having been up until about 1:30 last night between all of the campaign notes, homework, and Jacques' usual personal assignments meant to "Get you ready for the cutthroat world of corporate business."

She rolled her eyes at the memory, wishing that just once, she could tell him that she really didn't care about his assignments. She might have been willing to muster some actual enthusiasm if at the very least, she could get up at a reasonable hour, not 5:15 AM.

Her relaxing quiet came crashing to a stop when she made it into the cafeteria, and reluctantly joined the Malachites and Henry Marigold.

"Oh, look, there he is," Miltia rolled her eyes. "I'm surprised you have time for us, I thought your campaign was your only priority."

"I have several priorities," Weiss said. "Currently, the election is one of my highest ones."

"Wait, so what happened?" Henry asked.

"Yesterday, Cardin kept talking about Mercury," Melanie began.

"Yeah, I heard all that," Henry said. "So where does Warren fit in?"

"On the bus, we tried to get the story from him, and apparently he had a stick stuck up his-"

"I didn't have the patience to deal with gossip," Weiss interrupted.

"Sure," Miltia said. "Well, it seems to me like you were trying to defend Mercury."

"If that's how you see it, then that's fine by me," Weiss said. "This isn't about Mercury. Don't you get tired of the gossip?"

"It does get a little stale," Henry admitted. Miltia glared daggers at him as he spoke. "I'm just saying, there's other things to talk about."

"If you don't want to talk about people, fine," Melanie said. "There's plenty of other topics. But you don't have to be rude about it."

"Good, I'm glad we cleared that up," Weiss said, trying to contain her frustration with the twins. "Now, father wants me to improve my campaign efforts, so I need a few things done. Melanie, you're in the announcements. I need an endorsement from you, a reminder that I care about the needs of every student, and have a better record of success than Robyn. Henry, I-"

"Wow," Miltia interrupted. "First, you're rude to us, then you want us to do you favors?"

Weiss felt her temper flare as she turned to face Miltia.

"Do you have a problem with me, Miltia?" Weiss asked. "Because unlike you two, I have actual ambitions that I need to achieve, I'm not free to sit around and talk about what embarrassingly cheap makeup Neon used last week, or-"

"Nathan," Miltia snapped. "Don't tell me you're actually on those freaks' side."

Weiss realized the mistake she had made, and immediately backpedaled.

"Sure, Nathan," Weiss said. "I've been under a lot of stress, okay? This election hasn't exactly been easy."

The Malachite twins both rolled their eyes.

"The election this, my campaign that," Melanie said. "It's always about you, isn't it?"

"Whoa, alright," Henry said. "Everyone, calm down."

Weiss was practically having a staredown with Melanie, as Henry spoke.

"I can see tensions are high," Henry continued. "How about everyone goes and takes a few minutes to calm down?"

Weiss stood, angrily.

"With pleasure," Weiss snapped, before turning to walk off. She was aware of the eyes that followed her as she moved to an empty table, across the cafeteria.

Ruby was only a single day into her lunch detentions, and already she wished she could have just never seen Ms. Salem ever again. If she had been cruel during class, Ruby had truly never considered just how harsh she would be when there wasn't a lesson she was trying to teach.

A majority of the lunch detention had been spent doing extra homework, Salem watching over her like a hawk.

It didn't help that Ruby had absolutely no ability to stay still.

When she fidgeted with her pencil-

"I don't recall giving an instruction to click your pencil, over and over. Perhaps I simply forgot that I wrote it, so if you'd like to point me to said instruction, I'd be happy to let you keep wasting my time."

When she wasn't making enough progress-

"Did I not explain that the purpose of you being here was to progress forward, not to stare at an unanswered page?"

When she found herself disassociating-

"I understand that you have several classes, so if you made the mistake of assuming that this is daydreaming class, allow me to remind you otherwise."

It was a nightmare, and no matter how much she wanted to just give Salem what she wanted, she couldn't. Her mind wandered, her hands drummed on her desk, and she couldn't regain control.

Ruby's best efforts didn't even make the slightest impression on Salem, who got more and more upset as the detention went on.

So, when the bell rang and she was able to rush off to her P. E. class, she couldn't possibly have left Salem's classroom faster.

During eighth period, rather than attending Ironwood's math class, like usual, Weiss found herself in Ms. Rumpole's debate classroom, to meet with the other candidates.

Cardin Winchester was sat on a desk, rather than a chair, flipping through a Sports Illustrated magazine. His letterman jacket reeked, as per usual. Weiss knew he was hardly a well-groomed man, but she wondered if he had ever cleaned the jacket before.

Marrow was politely sitting at a desk, filling out unfinished homework in the spare time he had. He had to be Cardin's polar opposite. Weiss noted that he seemed remarkably clean, unlike Mr. Winchester, who she imagined used three-in-one body wash, conditioner, and shampoo. Honestly, with how well Marrow maintained his hygiene, she was surprised he wasn't assumed to be gay, given the school's tendency to latch onto stereotypes.

Robyn Hill didn't have assignments in front of her, nor was she distracted by a magazine. She, like Weiss, was keeping a more attentive eye on the other people in the room, and Weiss had to avoid showing just how much she related to Robyn when she wrinkled her nose at the pungent odor.

"Honestly, Robyn, you really should just drop out," Cardin said absentmindedly while reading.

"I'd hate to tell you, Cardin," Robyn began. "But all three of us would have to drop out for you to have a chance."

"I've got a better chance than you, at least," Cardin chuckled.

"Why?" Marrow asked, looking up.

"Duh," Cardin said. "I know there's a few SJW kids here, but most of us don't want a president that'll throw tantrums every month."

Robyn crossed her arms, irritated.

"Really?" Weiss scoffed. "I'm not one to endorse Robyn, but if it was down to you or her, I'd vote for her."

"What a heroic white knight," Cardin laughed.

"Am I the only one that isn't dead set on petty rivalries?" Marrow asked. "We all take this seriously. That doesn't mean we have to bicker about it."

"I'd be perfectly happy to keep it professional," Robyn said. "If either of them would, too."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Weiss snapped, turning to face her.

"I mean, it's not enough that you two have everything going for you, you still have to be insufferable about it," Robyn said.

"Everything I have going for me, I fought for," Weiss argued.

"Really?" Robyn rolled her eyes. "Name one advantage you have that isn't a factor of race, sex, or money."

"For one, out of all four of us, I have the highest grades," Weiss said.

"Which traces back to money," Robyn said.

"I don't buy my grades," Weiss said.

"But you have an advantage in academics. You can afford any equipment needed, you've never had an assignment suffer because you can't access an important resource," Robyn said.

"Some of us have real skills," Cardin nodded.

"Let me know when football is a presidential skill," Weiss said.

"Wonderful," Marrow sighed, turning back to his homework.

"Besides, when did this become about me? Cardin was the one-" Weiss began.

"I'm sorry, isn't it always about you?" Robyn interrupted.

"Why do you have more of a problem with me than anyone else in this room?" Weiss snapped. "Cardin's been just as vocal an opponent!"

"I'm not about to argue that he's a saint," Robyn said. "But while he is ignorantly discriminatory, you're active in yours."

Weiss' heart sank, as Robyn reminded her of everything she wished she could leave behind.

Before anything else could be said, however, Principal Ozpin entered the room, closing the door behind him.

"I do hope I'm not interrupting anything," Ozpin said.

"Nothing meaningful," Marrow sighed.

"What's this about?" Cardin asked.

"Mr. Winchester, please take a seat properly," Ozpin said, walking up to the front of the classroom.

Weiss always thought Ozpin was one of the most strange looking individuals she had ever seen. Because of his silvery-white hair, it always seemed at first that he was an older man, but the startling reality that became apparent when you looked closer, is that he had not a single wrinkle on his face. Weiss had at one point overheard him mention that he was in his late thirties, much to the dismay of everyone around.

"Now, the reason you've all been called here is to give you some time to prepare. You four have been narrowed down as the final candidates for this year's student presidency. I'm here to make sure you all understand what that entails, and to go over what will happen in the next three and a half weeks. The first thing I'd like to make clear is that a student president still has limitations of power, and that promising things you cannot do as a means of getting votes will result in your immediate disqualification from the election. Is everyone clear on what these limitations are?" Ozpin asked.

"Can the president get people out of detention?" Cardin asked.

"No, they cannot," Ozpin said.

"How about move funding from the art and theater projects into the football department?" Cardin asked. Marrow, Robyn, and Weiss all sighed in annoyance.

"No, they cannot do that either," Ozpin said.

"Then what can the student president do?" Cardin asked.

"Well, for one, if funding the sports department is something you'd like to achieve, the student president can organize a fundraiser," Ozpin said. "On top of that, the student president has the largest hand in planning events such as dances, pizza parties, et cetra. You'll also have a hand in deciding to bring in new lunch and breakfast options, you can approve the formation and founding of new clubs, and your primary responsibility will be to represent the interests of the student body. The student president attends most staff meetings, and has the ability to bring up student concerns to the staff."

"Ugh, that sounds annoying," Cardin said.

"Then maybe you should withdraw," Weiss snapped.

"The student president also gets to determine several members of the Student Government, primarily their cabinet. You each need to appoint someone who will be your vice president should you be elected. I trust that each of you has someone in mind?" Ozpin asked.

"Harriet Bree," Marrow said.

"Henry Marigold," Weiss said.

"May Marigold," Robyn said, glaring at Weiss as she spoke.

"Russel Thrush," Cardin said.

"Since we're here, then, I'd like to discuss your choices," Ozpin said. "It's common for students to try to bring a friend with, but I'd like to remind you all that this is a responsibility, and as such, your choice should be someone qualified for the position."

"Harriet and I aren't friends," Marrow clarified. "We're in JROTC together, we work as a team. She is an objective thinker who is active in circles that I'm not. She would ensure that the students I don't hear from often still get represented."

"Perfect," Ozpin said, taking a sip of his drink.

"Henry Marigold is also incredibly qualified," Weiss said. "His grades are almost as good as mine, and like myself, he has been raised to keep a professional view. He will take his role just as seriously as I take mine."

"I see," Ozpin said, causing Weiss to falter in surprise.

"May was fundamental in every step that I've made. She usually helps me see the big picture, and I know she'll always prioritize the wellbeing of students over our friendship. That's what I respect most about her. On top of that, the student government almost always lacks minorities. May is ecstatic to bring the wellbeing of trans students to the forefront," Robyn said.

"And I'd be happy to see that," Ozpin said. "She will make an exceptional choice."

"Russel's the perfect guy for the job," Cardin began. "Last year, we flattened Capitol High in the finals, and he was a huge part of that."

Weiss rolled her eyes.

"I'm sure," Ozpin said. "Well, I'd recommend that Mr. Schnee and Mr. Winchester reconsider their candidates. There's more to this position than a professional view or athletic prowess. Your choice should be able to make up for what you lack. Feel free to choose whoever you want, but as it stands, it is apparent that two of you take this more seriously than the rest."

"I take it very seriously!" Weiss said, leaning forward.

"Then perhaps you haven't thought it through," Ozpin said. "One week from now, we will hold an assembly during sixth and seventh period. Part of this assembly will be to discuss candidates, and this will be when you each can address the student body, all at once. Your choice for vice president will have to be final by that point, and it is recommended that you prepare a speech. This speech should address exactly what you seek to get done as student president, what you will bring to the school, what qualifies you for the position, and what issues you have with the current status of the school. It is recommended that you memorize this speech as well."

"Wait, will our VP choice also be addressing the school?" Marrow asked.

"Not directly," Ozpin said. "They will need to be there so that the school is clearly aware of who they are voting for."

"Understood," Robyn said.

"After the assembly, you will each have two weeks to show how committed you are to your causes. All four of you, and your vice presidential picks, will be allowed to attend student government meetings. You should use this time to prove that your words aren't just words. Once those two weeks are up, we will hold a vote in first period, the Monday of that week. Tuesday and Wednesday will serve as the time for the votes to be counted, and for anyone who missed Monday to contribute their votes as well. Thursday morning, you will all be present during first period for the filming of the announcements, when the winner of the election will be announced. Are there any questions?"

"Yeah, just how much power will we have for those two weeks?" Cardin asked.

"You will be given the same degree of power as a committee representative. You will be able to bring up concerns during student government meetings, for the current student government to address."

"Will we know before the announcements who was elected?" Marrow asked.

"You will be told before they are filmed," Ozpin said. "The three students that lose the election will not be featured in the announcements."

"When's this student government thing?" Cardin asked.

"Mondays and Fridays at lunch, in this classroom," Weiss sighed. "Although if you didn't already know that, maybe you aren't qualified to run."

"Why?" Cardin scoffed. "Because I didn't know when your nerd club happens?"

"Because most student presidents already attended student government before running," Robyn said.

"That's enough," Ozpin said. "Are there any other questions?"

"I don't have any," Marrow said.

"Neither do I," Weiss said.

"Nope," Cardin said.

Robyn shook her head.

"Then I'd ask that you all return to your eighth period classes," Ozpin said.

Jaune's parents were Emeric and Sunny Arc, and Ruby could really see the family resemblance. Emeric was tall, confirming that Jaune wasn't the only giant of his family. His dark hair was tied back in a ponytail, going down to his shoulders. Sunny, on the other hand, was clearly where Jaune got his hair color. She had flowing golden locks, making Ruby think of Yang, if only Yang could ever tame her mane.

They both sat next to Jaune, while Taiyang sat next to Ruby.

"Thank you all for coming to this conference," Salem said, taking a seat at her desk. "I'll keep this as brief as I can. Jaune and Ruby have both been failing Biology."

Ruby noticed Jaune flinch, and she could have sworn she saw Salem give just the slightest smile at that. No one else seemed to catch it, however.

"The class, that is," Salem clarified. "They have consistently been getting below seventy percent. I will admit, I am a bit stricter with my grades than most teachers are, but I think we can all agree that these grades are concerning."

"I appreciate you bringing this to our attention," Sunny said. "But I'll admit, I'm concerned about the assignments Jaune's been sent home with. Surely it's not necessary to assign so much homework."

"The end of course exams for my class are notoriously difficult," Salem said. "And because of this, I like to prepare my students by really pushing them to learn the required material. I assure you, I don't assign more than is needed."

"Right, and I get that," Taiyang said. "But it seems more like all this is doing is confusing your students. We both know that's not new either."

Salem narrowed her eyes.

"I do forget sometimes that you were in my class some time ago," Salem said. "But that brings me to my exact concerns. I'm sure you remember how difficult the exams are. I'd hate to see your daughter fail the exams due to a lack of preparation. We've both seen how hard it is to make up that difference, if I recall."

Tai's expression changed as Salem spoke.

"That's-" he began, and Ruby heard the mix of irritation and anger in his voice.

"From what I hear, Ruby has worked hard to move forward into this year. Like mother, like daughter, I suppose."

"What?" Ruby asked, looking between Tai and Salem.

"And that is exactly why I'm bringing this up. If Ruby fails this exam, she would be moved back to her prior grade. I doubt any of us would like to see that happen," Salem said.

"So what exactly do you want us to do?" Emeric asked.

"Every parent has a different style of raising their children, and it is not my intention to tell any of you how to do so. I would just like to suggest that an emphasis is given to focus properly on assignments. I'm concerned that my class isn't being taken seriously."

"I see," Sunny said. "We'll keep that in mind."

"Please do," Salem said, as everyone got up. Ruby shuddered as she and Tai left the room.

Thank you for reading, and stay tuned for Chapter 13: The Eye of the Hurricane