Mase quickly got out of bed that morning hoping to prepare for school before his parents wake up. He quickly prepared and ate the food he left the previous night.
He met up with Jane who also seem to be waiting for him. She seems not to have closed a eye the night before. They soon got to the bus stop where their school was meant to pick them up. The school bus was not there yet that morning as they have arrived earlier than the usual time.
They decided to sit on a bench close by and wait for the bus. While waiting they told each other what happened after they got home the previous night. Each recounting how they got beaten with pitiful faces as if hoping for the other to start an #justiceforMase/Jane. The horn of the school bus snapped them both out of it.
Jane whispered to Mase as they were about to enter the bus but it was still loud enough to be heard.
"My mum said she's coming to see the Principal today"
"Same here" Mase answered as they got inside the bus.
The Leaders Foundation Elementary School or LFS in short is one of two elementary schools in the whole of the Old Town district. That being one reason why the school has a very large number of students. The second being the location of the school.
Old Town is the remotest area in all of Silverland. It has bushes surrounding it. It is literally a forest. The district has a lot of old and ancient buildings contrary to the gigantic buildings in other districts thus making it hard for influential people to reside in the district.
LFS is located close to the borderline of Old Town and a neighboring district higher in class compared to Old Town. The founder must have wanted both the children of the lower-class citizens and the apparent middle-class citizens to attend his school. The location thus making this easier.
The school is a very big one and has huge and large classrooms to accommodate its sheer number of students. The classrooms are built to accommodate over 100 students if not more than.
Mase is currently in one of these classrooms. There are currently over 50 students present in the class with the homeroom teacher taking their attendance. Ms Erin being the home room teacher.
Students spend 5 years in the elementary level then go on to spend another 5 years in the upper classes where they are either employed by high class citizens or employed by schools or just work as ordinary servants or errand men based on how skilled they are.
Mase and Jane are both in Elementary 4, Ms Erin's class. She has finished taking the attendance of the students and was about to start the lesson for that day.
"You gave us an homework yesterday Ms Erin" A student at the front row shouted.
When Ms Erin had faced the board to write the topic for the day's lesson, Mase thought he had escaped and felt a huge load lifted off him because she not asking for the homework before the start of the lesson means she won't collect it that day or she just forgot. Mase really hope for the former.
"Ohhh!" Ms Erin exclaimed "I almost forgot that. Now bring your homework to the front according to your registration number."
Mase could hear his heart beating so loud as if it was about to pop out of his chest. He was cursing heavily in his heart at the boy who reminded the teacher about the homework. He was jolted back to life when Ms Erin suddenly called his name.
"Mason Henshaw bring your home work forward"
When Mason looked at the front of the class, he could see Jane already standing there. Her name starts from the letter 'J' so she had to submit hers first.
'She seems to have accepted her fate' Mase thought as he looked at his friend.
He was asked to join Jane who was standing at one side of the classroom when he could not provide his homework. They are to wait for everyone to finish submitting theirs before they are all marched to the Principal's office. When the last person submitted, the only ones remaining at the front were Mase and Jane.
Ms Erin soon marched them to the office of the Principal and they were suspended for the rest of the week. They will come to school but won't be allowed to attend lessons. They will work on the school farm. It was a Tuesday so they have 3 days left to work.
They will be allowed lunch time as usual and will only work on the farm when others are in class. One of the senior students in Elementary 5 was called to show them the portion of farm that they will work on. They worked a little but played most and soon it was lunch time.
Mase for some reason didn't follow Jane to the cafeteria and even seems to be avoiding her when he saw her in the cafeteria. He sat quite a distance away from her. Soon some people join his table but from the way they sat and looked at Mase, it was obvious they are not there to just eat. Mase seems to have noticed them too.
'This is what I've been avoiding. Why are they here again'
"Hey punk!" One of the boys called quite silently but people close enough could still hear. They seem to be awry of them too.
"I've been doing what you said" Mase said without lifting his head.
"Why did you allow yourself to be placed on the same farm with her" another one of the boys with a voice thicker than his age said. "We don't want you to interact with her in any way. If we see you talking to her, then you will face harsher things than you did before."
When the boy said this, Mase remembered what they had done to him previously, and he began to shake from fright. "I'll do anything you say" he replied shakily. The boy smiled. When he raised his head, he saw that the Elementary 5 student who had showed them the portion was with them. He wondered if he did that intentionally.
He quickly gobble down his meal and returned to the farm even before the end of lunch time. Time passed quickly as it was soon the end of the day. For some reason, neither of their parents showed up in school as they had expected that day, or maybe they did and they were not just summoned. Either way, they hope they didn't come so it won't pile up their misery.
Jane noticed the strange behavior of Mase but whenever she try to ask him about it, he quickly run over to another side of the farm, avoiding her.