Ring! Rong! Ding! Dong!
The break period bell tolled, signaling the time of day where the students could do as they pleased. Most students usually went to the cafeteria to eat or stayed in the classroom to eat homemade lunches. Zefer was one of those students who stayed in class to eat. He pulled from a sack a homemade sandwich.
Zefer never finished his [Daily Quest] last night since he went to sleep after he formulated a plan, so he didn't finish the {Build your knowledge} part. However, he did complete it during the morning classes since he decided to use that time to learn more about Mana and Magic Theory and how to apply them to higher-tier spells.
Unlike yesterday morning, he didn't skip the morning classes, but he was challenged by a few first-years who thought they could beat him. He defeated them and took the money reward that paid for his grocery shopping yesterday. He didn't get any stats during the battle, though, since it ended within five seconds.
"It seems like you are becoming popular, Zefer." A voice spoke up. Some wondered who would even approach Zefer, but they didn't know what to say or how to react when they saw it was Alex. Some were confused, and others wondered what kind of connection there was between the two of them.
"If you mean the constant stares, glares, and badmouthing, then nothing has changed, Alex." Zefer replied without looking at the boy and took a bite from his sandwich. Alex's expression became wry as he scratched his cheek, realizing that the joke he tried to make backfired. Nevertheless, he took a seat in front of Zefer.
"My bad. That was insensitive of me," Alex apologized.
"It's fine. Did you need something?" Zefer asked after swallowing his bite then took another.
"Yes, actually. It was about my question last night. Do you think we can continue our conversation?" Alex replied formally, showing how serious he was but didn't want to be rude.
Of course, the eavesdroppers didn't let this go unnoticed. Whispers and murmurs began spreading around the classroom of the students still there, wondering what Alex meant and why they talked last night. Some even wondered if Alex and Zefer had some kind of fling going on.
Zefer continued to eat his sandwich, disregarding the words of the faceless individuals that were nothing more than trash to him. There was a long moment as Zefer finished his sandwich before he finally gave Alex his answer, "No."
"Huh? I am sorry, but why?" Alex was shocked to hear Zefer tell him no. He figured that Zefer would answer his question the moment he finished eating, but instead, Zefer just said no. It baffled him.
"Because I do not have to, nor do I care to talk about my past," Zefer answered as he stood up, took his paper sack, and tossed it into the small wastebasket at the front of the classroom before making his way towards the door. He tapped upon his LCB and brought up his contacts to call Karrin. It didn't even take two rings before the girl picked up the video call.
"Zefer! What do you want!?" Karrin said with an upset expression, looking pouty considering what happened last night. "Meet me in the same place as yesterday, and for every second you are late it will be 100 Coins, got it." Zefer said without delay before pushing the hangup button and closing out the call.
He saw she was with her friends, eating and whatnot, but he didn't care, nor did he care for the gossip and murmurs, wondering what he was doing. Someone even asked if the rumors about him and Karrin being sexual partners were a thing.
"Wait, Zefer!" Alex hurried after Zefer to stop him, and just as he reached out to Zefer's shoulder, a voice came over the intercom.
"Zefer Zillian, please report to the Student Council room immediately."
Once again, gossip roamed around the classroom, wondering what the Student Council President wanted with Zefer since Maven's voice came over the intercom. Even Alex was curious, but Zefer appeared annoyed. "She just won't give up..." Zefer grumbled before making his way to the Student Council room. He knew if he didn't go, it would spell more trouble for him later, and so, he would rather see what Maven wanted rather than deal with the problem later.
Without surprise, Alex seemed to follow him since he was curious what Maven wanted with Zefer. After all, she was there in the back alley and wondered if it had anything to do with that. Zefer didn't say anything about Alex following him, nor did he care. If anything, he figured he would let Alex deal with Maven if anything happened.
It didn't take long before they arrived, but they did get a lot of looks and heard many wasteful words along the way. "So, what do you think she wants with you?" Ina asked inside of Zefer's mind.
"I have an idea, but my answer is still going to be no. Plus..." Zefer's expression became unsavory. "she is cutting into my time. I could be getting stronger." Zefer finished before knocking on the door. A second later, Maven's voice responded, "Come on!"
Zefer made his way into the Student Council Room, your typical Council room with a U-shaped wooden table and chairs around the table for the Council members to sit. At the peak was Maven in a black leather chair fit for the President of the Student Body. Around the room were bookcases and even some tables, including a coffee maker and tea maker, sink, and even some cabinets.
Zefer didn't look all over the place but kept his gaze at Maven. His eyes did not even drift towards the black-haired man standing beside her with his arms resting at his side.
"Welcome Zefer. Thank you for coming. Please have a seat." Maven gestured towards one of the chairs for him to take a seat. Zefer shook his head, "I think I will stand. Now, what do you want?" Zefer didn't care to mince his words nor show any form of respect towards Maven. Of course, this didn't go unnoticed by Erick, who was standing beside Maven, but he didn't say anything.
On the other hand, Alex was confused as to what was going on here, but considering Zefer was not beating around the bush, he stayed silent. Of course, Maven and Erick saw Alex standing beside Zefer, but slightly behind him, still, they said nothing about it even if they were curious about why he was here.
Maven lightly sighed since it seemed like Zefer was still being unsavory with her. "Very well. I want to talk with you about the things that happened with you, and apologize for now being able to more for you. What happ--" Maven was cut off before she could even continue since Zefer interrupted her.
"Yeah, no. I already told you yesterday I didn't want to talk with you. I don't need your pity, and I don't care for your apology. The fact that you would abuse your power to get me here should be more than enough to show you why. I don't care for your words." Zefer's remark was cold and cruel, but it held truth.
Maven used her status as the President of the Student Body to summon Zefer to the Council room so she could try and talk with him as he did yesterday with the Gambit's Challenge. If that wasn't an abuse of power, then what was?
Maven held her tongue and flinched at Zefer's words since she realized what she had done. "I..." Maven wanted to defend herself, but she couldn't since Zefer was right. Of course, that was why Erick was here. "Look, Zefer. Maven just wants you to know that she tried her best to help you. She wants to work alongside you, help you out in the future and make sure that nothing goes haywire." Erick began talking, taking over for Maven, but he was calm and relaxed as he spoke, trying not to spark anything.
"I mean, you've already beaten many people in Gambit's Challenge, not to mention the people you put in a critical state yesterday. Maven told me about the thing with Ruth and how he hired outside help to come after you. She wants to make sure that nothing terrible happens and no one dies, so just hear her out, okay?" Erick finished.
Alex was surprised to hear this, and Maven seemed to confirm what Erick said with a nod and thank him for helping her out; however, Zefer was unamused. "Okay then, Erick Halls, let me ask you something. Actually, let me ask all of you something, including you, Alex Richardson." Zefer's demeanor became cold, just as cold as yesterday when he was looking at Maven.
"Why now? Why do all of you approach me now? Why talk to me now? Why go to these great links to do anything now? Tell me, is it because you are scared? Are you afraid that I might end up killing someone?" Zefer asked many questions, but the main one came at the end, which caused all of them to have a chill run down their body.