"Alright everyone, I am sure y'all know why we have all gathered here" Edward spoke, both his hands resting on the desk, propping his face as he gazed at everyone in the room, he had dark green hair and rose pink-colored eyes beneath which were dark circles, the result of the countless sleepless nights that he had spent, and just like him everyone else in the room also had the dark circles and exhaustion evident on their faces.
"It's that time of the month," Lyra said with her deep voice, her mauve-colored hair was messy, and her heterochromatic eyes—one sapphire and one emerald-colored—looked straight into Edward's eyes, sitting on the sofa.
"Time of the year... the year, Lyra. The way you say things is annoying, please, work on it" Sighed Kaia as she looked at Lyra with her peridot-colored eyes, she knew there was no point in saying it thought Lyra just liked saying things that could cause misunderstanding, honestly it was a bit annoying, she shook her head and with it—her smooth silky silver-blonde hair swayed.
"No, I don't. The first month hasn't even ended yet, so why are we here?" Asked Valen, he had midnight blue hair that was a bit longer, falling over his face, and his yellow rose-colored eyes shone brilliantly.
"Yeah, usually we hold the meeting at the end of the month, but this time the first-years are a bit crazy, and not just a small number, but a lot of them are. That's why we are having the meeting early," Kevin answered, his purple velvet-colored eyes looking at Valen.
"Can we move to the main topic now?" Said Selene with an exhaustive voice, she had jade-green colored hair, styled into a sleek braid that draped over her shoulder, and her magenta-colored eyes behind her glasses had a fade-up look.
"As you know, it will soon be time to welcome the new members of the council and this meeting is to decide who those people will be, the reason we are having this meeting even though the first month hasn't ended yet is because it seems like the potential of the first-year we have this year seems quite high"
Right, new members.
They needed more members in the council.
The student council always selects its new members based on the students' observations within the first month of the academic year.
The application forms and interviews for student council positions were just for show. In reality, the decision on who will join had already been made long before the formal process even began.
If the academy were to be considered a city, then the student council would be its government, holding significant power and influence within these walls. Even most professors didn't have the authority the student council held; if they wanted, they could potentially expel even the professors.
Such is the status and power they hold.
But if someone asked the members of the student council president about their opinion then...
"You mean to say we can have more slaves than normal this time?" Spoke Cyrus leaning forward a little, interested.
"Yes, more slaves" Edward confirmed.
To them, the council's power was nothing but adults offloading their jobs and responsibilities onto students, under the guise of teaching them about civic leadership, governance, and administration.
The headmaster and professors would claim that these roles were meant to help students develop decision-making, conflict resolution, and ethical leadership skills, preparing them for a significant future. In reality, Edward felt it was just a way for adults to shirk their own duties.
If council members make mistakes, their credit points will be deducted, and demerit points will be issued as punishment.
Oh, how Edward hated this job he never wanted, and so did everyone in the council.
At first, they were all thrilled to have joined the council, thinking that their high school life was peaking and they were achieving great results.
That excitement, that thrill they had felt all soon faded away as they slowly realized the truth—they were essentially running the entire academy, sitting behind a stack of papers while the headmaster sat idly by drinking beverages. To make matters worse, council members were still expected to excel academically, and failure to secure top marks in both theory and practical exams was not an option.
They were running on sleepless nights to somehow do all the work that even adults would have trouble with.
They were practically the slaves of the adults of this academy and this was why they loved the whole charade of student council recruitment, watching the students, who had already been predetermined to join the council, come in for interviews filled with excitement became a twisted source of entertainment for the current members.
A tale as old as time, the newbies have always been the source of entertainment for professionals.
"How many are we talking about here?" Cautiously asked Fiora, her eyes narrowed, when she had entered the academy she held a warm gentle look in her eyes which was now replaced by a cold, calculating one, gone was her innocence with which she had entered the academy.
"At least 10"
...
Some in the room gasped while others simply gave an understanding look.
"Y-you aren't joking," Alaric asked, unable to believe what Edward just said, he had a muscular build that complemented his tall height.
"At least 10, you heard it right, at least 10 more juniors will be joining us this time"
The current student council's strength alone was just 13 students, not really a high number considering they are supposed to be managing the entirety of this damned academy, but if what Edward said is true then they could almost double the number of people in the council, which meant a decrease in workload for them, which ultimately meant that they could get more sleep.
Yes, these teenagers who apparently hold such authority in the academy only want one thing—a bit more sleep.
"Before we begin I will say it first, I have eyes on a punk, and I will be the one to supervise him, no one gets to lay their hands on him," Darian spoke in an authoritative voice, as he let out a teensy bit of his aura, which did wonders to piss others off.
"Just because you got a crush on someone doesn't mean that you get to tell us off from talking to the guy, you know," Rowan spoke up, telling him not to do something was the same as asking him to do it, and right now he was pretty interested in knowing the guy Darian had set his eyes on.
He was what you call a typical troll.
"If we are already calling shots on which junior will be under whose supervision, then I also have two juniors who I want under my supervision, and you guys better stay away from them," Selene chimed in, making her stance clear. Her magenta eyes now shined with a dangerous glint.
"You want two juniors? You are just asking for a fight, aren't you?" Lorian asked with a frown, ready to throw a punch at Selene's face not like he would ever be able to land one.
"Shut it, Lorian. Selene has been managing on her own till now but this is the first time she is asking for it, her job was never supposed to be a single person's to begin with" Kevin sighed
Selene has been managing the task all on her own since her first year without anyone's assistance, and as such most of the council members nodded along with Lyra.
"If she wants two under her, then she gets two under her," Lyra said with a smirk.
"Oh god..." Kaia annoyed by Lyra like always just looked up at the ceiling.
"Still she is hoarding two juniors, you know?" Darian grumbled.
"Well, like Kevin said her work was never supposed to be done alone but why do you need a junior under your supervision to load off your work too?" It was Fiora who spoke up with a cold tone as she turned to Darian.
"Rightly said! Darian doesn't need a junior, so let's put him getting a junior under the least priority" Rowen said with a smirk.
Just before Darian was about to move to punch Rowen in the face Edward spoke up with a smile on his face.
"Stop it, y'all. There's still half a month left, I am sure this time everyone can get someone to throw their work onto"
To the members of the student council, it was a necessary, important, almost life-dependent moment, getting their hands on the new member to supervise ultimately helps them reduce their own load but every year there are only 5 or 6 members who join, in other words, not everyone gets to have their load be decreased.
As such, there's always a fight breaking out between the members of the student council members about who will be supervising who and who will have to do the work on their own.
But this time was different, and that helped them calm down as they listened to Edward, definitely not because they were afraid of that pissed smile Edward was showing.
"Alright, so can we move onto the main topic already" Cressida asked in her smooth, soft voice, her body swaying left and right, barely managing to keep herself awake.
"Right, first I will begin with the most known thing going on in the first year, Noah" The moment Edward called that name, Cressida straightened up.
"Move on, Edward, don't wanna hear, just don't," Jareth said as if he didn't want another second to talk about it.
"Didn't the headmaster tell us not to bother with him? He will personally take care of all things related to Noah, we are not supposed to be involved ourselves with that guy" Lorian backed up Jareth.
"Edward, I think staying away from him is the best, don't you remember what happened in the entrance examination?" Selene cautioned
Entrance examination.
Student council is also in charge of entrance examinations and as such they remember the insanity of Noah when he had cleared the exam, it was insane enough that the headmaster who usually just sat idly by had involved himself right away, and had even told them council members that he will personally overview everything related to him for the entire time Noah is in the academy.
Before Edward could speak up, Cressida was the one who spoke up.
"None of you has ever talked to him, he is a nice guy and he is also handsome" Cressida spoke up with a frown on her face because of everyone.
At her words, everyone turned their attention to her and after a moment of hesitation "Did you get the hots for him or what?" Asked Jareth side-eyeing Cressida.
"What if I did..." Cressida's voice trailed off as she spoke up, closing her eyes as if reminiscing something.
"....!!"
Everyone in the council had either their mouth agape, too shocked to speak anything, or were just looking at Cressida with eyes as wide as they could be, the exhaustion gone now replaced by shock, curiosity, and amazement.
As far as everyone knew, Cressida had never once shown even a little interest in any guy, not even a simple compliment like that guy looked hot or anything, she had been so neutral that it absolutely rocked their world to see Cressida acting like that.
"Cressida ...um what exactly happened?" Edward asked cautiously, still reeling in from the shock.
"I went out of the academy for some work" Cressida spoke up, and everyone nodded.
While it is not allowed for students to leave the academy grounds during their 3 years of stay in the academy, there were exceptions and one such exception was that student council members were allowed to leave the academy grounds whenever they wanted, and as such it wasn't a huge deal to them, since they all leave the academy at least once a week.
"Go on..."
"So, I took this artifact with me to change my appearance into adult form and everything and I coincidentally met him in a cafe and I realized, he was a pretty good guy, he was clumsy, a bit stupid, he had a sharp tongue but a lot more considerate, he overthinks a lot too but he also doesn't think at all, a little cute" Cressida spoke up with a huge grin on her face and she kept speaking without any stopping like a maiden.
"By gods, I have never seen her smile so much..." Cyrus muttered, absolutely shell-shocked watching her fiddling with her hands.
"So, you see, at first I was confused about how I should act but then I decided to just play the simple role of a stranger who had met him, and we strangely hit it off and then went to the mall, arcade, amusement parks, hotel, museums, theatres and lots of other places"
"So, you had a date and you guys fucked?" Lyra asked surprised.
"We didn't fuck! What the fuck are you saying!" Cressida protested in a high-pitched voice.
"Don't act like that after trying to squeeze that hotel part that you both visited among the many other places" Kaia spoke up.
"We did not! We just rested there!"
"Yeah, yeah, I believe you," Dismissingly said, Selene
"It is the truth! The truth! I waited for him to pounce but he didn't!" Cressida shouted and then shut up realizing her slip up, her face reddening.
....
"You were in an adult form and he is just a kid of course he wouldn't even bother... but still Cressida, all these years, and I never knew you had this kind of side to you," Kevin said, completely confused on how he should be reacting just like others
"Shut up!" Cressida shouted once again, gone was her exhaustion now replaced with embarrassment and then she continued "...Um, hey, everyone, I know the Regis said he will take care of all the matters related to Noah personally but that doesn't mean we can't have him in the council, right? So, can I?"
"Go ahead, spring has come for at least one of us" Lyra answered before Cressida could even finish.
All the council members were so busy they had no time for things like romantic interests, and as such seeing Cressida acting like a maiden, Lyra decided to give it a go from her side, she was interested in seeing how things would proceed for them.
Maybe it was precisely because of their packed schedule and no time for personal life that Cressida had ended up making Cressida all worked up just by a simple half-assed outing.
"Cressida, it won't be easy. According to what I see here, it seems like there's this girl Julianna who is practically making him food, and spending time with him a lot even at night, they seem to be progressing quite a lot... and then his other friend is Lucy, according to people's opinion, Lucy and Noah's vibe match the most, he hasn't acquainted himself with anyone else, he runs away before people could approach him." It was Fiora who spoke up looking into her tablet as she looked into all the information she could find from the first-year school forums.
With the level of popularity Noah has right now, his every movement is being watched carefully by every student, the people from his class, his dormmates, and almost everyone, and as such it was easy to extract the information.
"That's not a problem, once he joins the council we will be spending most of the time together anyway, my cooking skills are better, I won't fall asleep trying to teach him at night and I am stronger than him so he can train with me and I am also good with games," Cressida said, puffing her chest.
"...Cressida, just to be sure, you aren't using your authority to stalk his every movement, right? You are getting all the information from the school forums, right?" It was Kaia who asked, her eyes locked on Cressida's as she readied her bat to smash the crazy girl's head.
"I-I can explain!"
"You bitch! We have a protocol to follow!" Kaia spoke up as she smashed Cressida's head right onto the table, her peridot eyes now gleaming.
As someone whose job was to make sure rules were being upheld and followed properly in the academy, Kaia couldn't stand seeing Cressida—a member of the council—breaking the rules. It was completely intolerable to her.
The observation the council members are supposed to do for the first-year students was through their own means and not the authority they hold.
The only authority they were allowed to abuse was to look into the first-year school forums to collect the rumors, though the authenticity of those rumors was something they had to verify themselves.
While their job could be turned easier if they could just ask the professors or the academy's AI to tell them all the verified information about the students, the headmaster had told them to do it all by themselves.
It was a cumbersome process but something they had to do and Cressida broke the protocol by looking into the footage of Noah and keeping an eye on him using her authority as a member of the council.
Not a rule that council members have never broken but still something that Kaia didn't tolerate.
"Come on, Kaia, leave her be, she is a maiden in love" Valen tried to calm Kaia a little but it didn't work
"Shut it, Valen."
Clap Clap!
Edward clapped, bringing attention to himself as he looked at everyone with a fade-up look.
"Kaia, let go of her." At those words, Kaia reluctantly pulled herself back still her eyes glaring daggers at Cressida.
"Cressida, you are to be grounded for 2 days and you will be stripped of all your authorities related to first-year students until the first month ends."
"You can't do that to me!" Cressida shrieked in horror.
"I can and I am doing it, get your head straight. Oh, and just because you are grounded doesn't mean you are free from your work, you have to do it from your room." Edward said with a stern voice and Cressida had little tears forming in her eyes as she glared at Kaia to which Kaia just shrugged
"Anyway, let's get back on topic. I wasn't planning to discuss Noah. What I wanted to focus on were the other two with him who are currently stealing all the spotlight in the first year—Aqua and Alyssa. I think it's obvious that we'll be recruiting them."
Everyone nodded along with what Edward said, not getting Aqua and Alyssa was just stupid, the question was ...
"Will they be under your supervision? I think they will work well as president and vice president" Alaric asked, his eyebrows arched a little and Edward shook his head before speaking up
"No, I won't. I have someone else in my mind for my position"
His words brought a shock to everyone, not on the level of Cressida's confession but it still surprised them all since Aqua and Alyssa both seemed like the right candidates for the position.
"Don't worry about it, I am still not really sure so I need to observe a bit more" Edward waved his hand dismissively as he continued.
"Anyways, let's talk about the cases that aren't so easy to look into since these 3 took all the spotlight"
Right.
Because Noah, Aqua, and Alyssa took all the light and caused such a huge stir, the council members' job became harder since people rarely talked about other incidents that were occurring among the first-year students.
But now, it was time to talk about very those incidents that have occurred in the first year.