"All students of Bloomsdale, please proceed to the auditorium. I repeat, all students of Bloomsdale, girls, and boys, please proceed to the auditorium."
It was the principal's voice. Before Xylia could say something, she was surprised when Aciel stood up and left the office without saying anything. The boys, however, felt apologetic and bowed to them before following Aciel.
"Jerk." Chelsea commented.
"Who does he think he is? Acting like that in front of Xylia!" It was Naomi who sounded so pissed.
"What do you expect from a rebellious son of a Mafia boss? They said no one could order him around, even his father. Did you see his piercings? And his tattoos?" Liliana was overreacting with her observation.
Xylia sighed, then stood up to face the girls.
"Hey. Let's forget about it. Maybe he's still adjusting to a new environment. Well, we all are. No one was really prepared for the changes. It was just announced last month, so I think we have a long way to go to get along with them."
The girls didn't argue anymore. Xylia was right. The two schools had been separated for a long time, and nobody expected a sudden change like this. The founder built it separately to avoid any conflict between men and women. As a woman herself, she was afraid that men would take advantage of women and that they would eventually lose interest in studying.
"Aciel, what was that about? You left without saying anything."
Aciel looked at Simon with a dark expression. They were in front of his car, talking about what had happened earlier.
"I don't like that girl. That student council president."
Simon frowned and was confused by what he said.
"Why? She seemed nice. She didn't do anything bad to us."
"That's a lie. Her actions and every word she said were all fake."
Simon and the rest couldn't understand Aciel's reaction. Xylia and her friends seemed friendly. Aside from being pretty, the student council president looked bright and had gentleness in her.
But Aciel saw something different towards Xylia. When they entered the room, he already felt Xylia's anxiousness. She felt awkward, and she didn't seem happy to welcome them. But when she smiled earlier, he admitted it was genuine, and that smile took his breath away for a moment. When silence took over the room, his eyes didn't leave Xylia, and he saw a sudden change in her aura again.
Xylia and the girls left the office to proceed to the auditorium. They saw Aciel and his friends in front of his car. She wasn't sure if the boys were waiting for them. They didn't know where the auditorium was, so Xylia assumed they were there to wait.
She glanced at Liliana, signaling her to talk to Aciel's group. Liliana pouted but walked toward the boys. She asked them to come, and the boys agreed since they didn't know the way.
On the way to the auditorium, Xylia and Chelsea walked ahead of the group while Liliana, Naomi, Simon, and Chris were behind them. At the back were Aciel and Leiam.
"Where do you live, Liliana? Are you from Bloomville?" It was Chris who asked.
Bloomville was a place where the elites of the elite lived. The wealthiest families of Bloomsdale were the only ones who could afford to buy a house and a lot there.
"N-No. I'm from Maywall. Only Xylia lives in Bloomville. Chelsea and Naomi are from Yorkhill" Liliana answered.
"I see. We're all from Southford." Chris continued his conversation with Liliana.
"Southfrord? The Mafia's territory?" Liliana asked, curiosity piqued.
"Yes. Have you ever been there?" Chris whispered to Liliana.
"N-Not yet." Liliana suddenly stuttered.
Chris chuckled. "If you want to visit the place, you must bring some guards to protect you. Danger always follows you in that place."
"I see. I'll put that in mind." Liliana whispered back.
Xylia noticed that the two were getting along. They were whispering and giggling to each other. She was glad that at least one of the boys was trying to reach out to them. She didn't bother about Aciel's reaction. She wasn't there to impress him anyway. She just wanted to do her task and get it over with.
They arrived at the auditorium, and Xylia could hear some murmurs when they walked in front. As the student council president, she was always seated in front with the other members. She frowned when she saw the chairs had name tags on them.
"Well, I think you have a new seatmate from now on." Chelsea teased her.
Before, there were six chairs in front for the student council members, but to her surprise, ten chairs already had their names on them. Beside hers was Aciel's.
She sighed and then quietly sat down on her seat.
"Hey, Aciel! Here's your seat!" Simon shouted.
Xylia knew that Simon was teasing Aciel. She wasn't sure about the reason, but she didn't bother to understand it. She didn't look at Aciel when he sat beside her. She didn't want to see his disgusted face, so she just focused her eyes on the stage.
"Greetings! My children! As the new school year starts, we welcome the students of Bloomsdale school for boys. As you all know, the board decided to have the two schools merged. So we prepared the student's lists and the sections you will be in." The principal started.
Another surprise. No one knew about it. Everyone thought they would have the same classmates all year. They didn't expect that they would be mixed up with the boys and the girls would be separated. Mutters surrounded the auditorium. Students from both schools were shocked but excited at the same time.
The teachers were trying to calm everyone down. They knew that the students wouldn't take the decision lightly, but it was necessary since that was the reason Bloomsdale became a co-ed school. The school was now named Bloomsdale High School.
On the other hand, Xylia became more anxious when she heard the principal's words. Aciel was already pissed with her earlier, and now he hated her more after feeling that strange aura again towards her.