Our faces froze upon hearing that unmistakable voice. We turned to see the entire student council walking toward us through the gap made by the students.
Leading the group with calm but hurried steps was Sophia, her doll-like face expressionless. Behind her, I saw Elisia, who looked at me with concern.
The students crowded around the fight bowed respectfully toward them, sweat trickling down their foreheads.
"What's going on here, Gallagher?" Mary spoke up, surprising everyone in the crowd.
"It looks like a scholar mage knows someone from the student council."
"No wonder he's acting so cocky now."
"Pfft. Did you see him raise his arm like he was going to stop an attack bare-handed?"
I couldn't help but roll my eyes at the whispers from the crowd. Even for preteens, I expected them to have some manners since they all came from influential families.
"Not much happened, although you should check on that vampire student lying there—Dreymond, I think his name is." Zayn pointed to the tree where the vampire was still groaning and clutching his stomach.
Alex walked over, hoping to defuse the situation. "Hi, Elisia. Sorry, we got caught up in this little scuffle after their duel ended. No harm done!" He waved slightly at her as he spoke, directing his words at Sophia, whose face remained covered by an apathetic mask.
"Still, this student was about to attack you when the duel wasn't even over. That's a serious violation." Elisia stepped in, her gaze slightly more stern as she pulled out a small notebook and began jotting something down.
While Elisia, Mary, and Alex discussed what had transpired, Sophia's sharp eyes slowly moved toward me, and this is where our small reunion with Zayn and Sophia began.
Her sharp gaze softened into the look I often saw from Sophia. She gazed at Zayn with warmth, welcoming him back fondly after two years apart. "Sophia! You've grown into quite the young woman now."
Zayn started the conversation as Sophia looked at him. "Not much has changed, but it's great to see my friend again after our separation two years ago." I felt a rush of happiness remembering our good times together years ago.
"By the way, why are they bowing fearfully to you? Do you have a position here?" This kid hadn't changed at all; it seemed he hadn't attended the orientation ceremony earlier.
"Actually, I wanted to be like you guys, but Director Emilia forced me to become the student council president, so I had no choice but to accept." Sophia sighed slightly, as if she was doing this out of obligation.
Zayn just gave a thin smile at her words.
"Zayn, we need to talk after this." I looked at him with high curiosity about where he had been and what he had been doing while we were apart.
"I feel the same way; there's a lot I want to tell you." Zayn gazed at me as if he shared the same thoughts.
Meanwhile, the crowd grew noisier, the boys doing their best to get a better look at Sophia, hoping to imprint her image in their minds for times of loneliness or longing.
"You. I'm pretty sure I asked you. Do you dare?" She took a step forward, her eyes staring down at the second-year student. I thought the student was technically taller than Sophia, but when I saw the ribbon neatly tied under his collar, it had two stripes too.
"N-No. Of course, I would never dare break the rules like that. I just wanted to scare that kid—I planned to stop before my weapon hit him. But seeing as I still acted recklessly, I apologize," he said, glaring at Zayn with a threatening look as he bowed to Sophia.
"Leave." Her eyes continued to glare at him as he walked a short distance away before turning and disappearing from view, followed by several boys from the crowd, likely the ones who had fanned the flames throughout the fight.
"And you! Why did you start a fight with a senior on the first day of school? You should know your place! No matter how noisy he was, he was still your senior and did not break any rules while dueling with another student. Furthermore, he is a battle mage student while you are a scholar mage student. Didn't you pay attention to my speech about discrimination between the two sects of students here? Yet, you still chose to get involved, making this type of problem visible on the first day!" She crossed her arms tightly as her sharp gaze focused on me, her face flushed with anger or embarrassment—I couldn't tell which.
"What?" Zayn's gaze narrowed as he asked, unsure if he had heard her correctly.
Zayn took a step forward this time, and I could see Alex's eyes widen in horror as he realized Zayn was about to cross the point of no return.
"Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems to me like you're lecturing me based on assumptions you made from stumbling onto this situation in the last five seconds. Are you seriously lecturing me right now?" Zayn took another step forward, and I could see Sophia's once haughty face beginning to crumble.
"He almost injured or even killed the dwarf lying there now, after the duel system broke. If I hadn't stopped that arrogant vampire, you would be dealing with a murder case, not an unregulated fight between two students," he continued, his voice louder than I had ever heard it.
"I apologize for the trouble I caused, President," he said coldly, stunning everyone, including Sophia.
As soon as Zayn turned, I tried to grab his shoulder, frustrated by his harsh tone towards Sophia. "You...! Why did you speak like that?" I clenched my fist in frustration, the situation heating up once more.
But my urge to hit him faded when I saw his blue eyes staring back at me with a cold, murderous look.
Zayn continued walking away from the fight, leaving me with a sense of guilt. The atmosphere between us turned silent.
What a beautiful reunion.
"Wait, first-year." Gallagher ran after him, grabbing Zayn's arm as he tried to turn me back. "Were you raised in a cave? Is this the manners your mother taught you growing up? Do you know who she is?"
Zayn immediately lifted Gallagher without using any part of his body, sending Gallagher tumbling quite a distance due to Zayn's actions.
"Gallagher, get up! Are you okay?"
"Who was that? I think our President called him Zayn, right?"
"Oh my gosh, he's a mess. He just told off the student council president."
Alex took a few hurried steps to stand beside me. "Do you know what your friend just did, right?" He shook his head.
I almost chuckled at the fact that no one knew the history of our friendship until another wave of guilt twisted inside me. Maybe I was too harsh on him—no, I was definitely too harsh on him. He's still my brother! I shouldn't have lost my temper just because he acted that way toward Sophia.
As guilt filled my mind, I slapped my cheeks and decided to let nature take its course—since that always seemed to be the best action to take in a relationship.