January 29th. Monday, 2:50 AM.
It was the start of a new week.
A Monday.
The day was almost done. The last thing the students had was an assembly. But this assembly was different. This assembly was about the challenge they did last week.
Today, they were getting their results.
The lecture hall was packed. Rows upon rows of seats curved upwards. It was one of the biggest lecture halls the academy had, and it was the first time the first years had been here.
"This lecture hall is huge", William said in awe, with his head spinning around. "Look how many rows there are".
"I can't believe everyone is here", Ray said, glancing at the students in the upper rows.
"I know", Lucas replied, slightly leaning forward in his seat. "This is the first time we've had an assembly with the second years".
"And the third years", David added.
"There's third years here?" Lucas asked, turning to him.
"Yeah, they're behind the second years", David replied, pointing behind him with his thumb.
The first years were all seated towards the bottom. Then the second years were seated above them, and finally above them were the third years.
Lucas turned in his seat and looked behind at the rows. "Why are they here? Did they have to find our devices as well?".
"I think they did", Benjamin answered. "I heard something about third years being involved in this challenge".
Ray shifted and glanced to his right.
Malakai was sitting against the wall, one shoulder pressed into it. He looked relaxed, but it was clear he was in deep thought.
"Are you nervous?" Ray quietly asked.
"A little, I can't lie", Malakai admitted, barely turning his head.
"Don't worry", Ray confidently said with a small smile. "We've gotten points".
Malakai smirked back, "Yeah, deffo".
"So many of the second and third years were staring at you, Maria", Rose said, leaning into her, getting comfortable.
"It's fine. I'm used to stares", Maria replied calmly. "I don't mind".
"Doesn't it bug you?" Rose asked, staring ahead, thinking about it. "I'd hate it if people constantly looked at me".
"I'll be lying if I said it didn't", Maria said honestly. "Having people stare at you isn't nice… but it is what it is", she lightly shrugged.
"I'd hate it. I don't want anyone looking at me", Delilah flatly said, shaking her head. "You must hate the stares too".
"I do", Tanisha replied. "I don't know how she deals with it. I get uncomfortable for her".
"It's not that bad", Maria said, hearing Tanisha. "They're only staring because of who my mom is".
"Are you sure that's the only reason?" Rose asked, glancing at her sideways.
Maria smiled, knowing what she was implying. "If they were looking at me for my looks, they would be looking at you guys too", she said, looking at them. "You're all pretty".
"If I didn't sit next to you, no one would look at me", Delilah said, comfortably leaning back.
"That's a lie", Tanisha and Rose called her out at the same time.
"Why do you always try to be humble?" Tanisha teased, pinching her cheek.
"I'm not", Delilah slightly smirked, moving her head away from Tanisha. "All of you are too nice".
"Do you know any of the second or third years?" Frank asked quietly
"No", Alexander replied with his arms crossed.
Frank glanced over his shoulder and briefly scanned the rows behind them, "They're not that intimidating", he said.
"Why would they be intimidating?" Alexander asked, turning his head slightly to look at him.
"In high school, the upperclassmen were intimidating to me", Frank shrugged. "I thought it would be the same here. Not exactly the same, but... a little".
"You were intimidated in high school?" Alexander asked, fully turning his head to him now, raising a brow. "You were the same size as the upperclassmen. They were scared of you".
Frank smirked and shook his head, "You're good at telling jokes", he said. "You should do it more often".
"Why don't you look excited?" Destiny asked, looking to her left.
"Huh?" Ace slowly swung his head to her.
"I thought you would've loved seeing the whole academy here", Destiny said, gesturing at the packed hall.
"Huh? I don't give a shit about that", Ace replied, slumped in his seat. "I'm pissed".
Destiny frowned "Why?".
"I didn't get Delilah's number", Ace mumbled.
Destiny stared at him for a moment and saw he was serious. Then she turned her head to the right and looked a couple of rows below her to where Delilah was sitting. Delilah had a smile on her face, looking carefree.
After a second, she looked back at Ace.
"I'm glad you didn't get her number".
"Anya, you look nervous", Isabella said, seeing Anya a little fidgety.
Anya was fidgeting with her fingers and bouncing her right leg as she focused ahead.
"I'm fine", she quickly replied.
"Are you sure?" Isabella asked. "I get why you're nervous. It's our first time getting our results like this after basically doing a challenge by ourselves".
Anya sighed, "It's not that. I mean, it is that, but it's something else too", she said, briefly looking at Isabella.
"You're worried someone found your device?" Isabella asked the obvious question.
"Yeah..." Anya replied, averting her eyes. "If I don't get points, I'm going to be so disappointed".
"Did you do what you wanted to do?" Lorenzo asked, putting down his phone.
Ryan kept his eyes fixated ahead to the stage, "No", he said after a second. "I didn't get the chance".
"Would it have worked?" Lorenzo asked, not knowing what it was.
"I'm not sure, but I wanted to try", Ryan said, exhaling. "It's weird, I couldn't even try. I don't like that", he shook his head.
"You confident?" Jason asked.
"More or less", Dillon casually said.
Jason tilted his head to him, "You don't sound it", he said, observing him, not seeing the overconfident look he constantly had in the first semester.
"Whatever happens happens", Dillon nonchalantly replied. "Are you confident?".
Jason smirked and leaned back, resting his arms in his lap, "More or less".
As it was nearing 3:00 PM, three figures walked into the lecture hall, which caused conversations to die down. Heads turned towards the stage as the three figures walked towards the middle of it.
Mr White was stepping ahead. Everyone was used to him leading the assemblies by now. Even though he was ahead, the two people behind him were more important.
Two higher-ups were beside Mr White as he stood centre stage.
One being Mr Miller, who the first years were familiar with. He had a slight smile on his face while his eyes scanned the hall.
Only two first years had seen the other higher up on the stage. Malakai and Adam. Malakai had seen him, but didn't know who he was. Adam, on the other hand, knew who he was.
It was his granddad.
Mr Watson.
He was the oldest higher up, and it showed. His face was covered in wrinkles while he held a walking stick in front of him. Despite being the oldest, he had more hair on his head than Mr Miller. His face was neutral as he watched over the students.
Mr White stepped forward, resting his hands lightly on the podium.
"Good evening, everyone", Mr White announced with a big smile on his face. "It's nice to see everyone here. Having all the students in one place is always nice to see".
The noise was gone entirely, and all the attention was on the front.
"You all know why you're here", Mr White began. "The second and third years have experienced this before, so they know this assembly is more for the first years to showcase what they achieved in this challenge".
A few seconds, and third-year students smirked, reminiscing about their first-year experience of this assembly.
"I'm sure all of you are tired", Mr White continued, glancing at random points in the hall. "So we won't waste too much time. The rest of you already know your results, so we'll jump straight into the first year's results".
He turned slightly and clicked a button on the laptop that was already set up in front of him.
The big screen behind them flickered and came to life, showing a PowerPoint slide.
"Before I reveal the results", Mr White said, lifting his head. "I've got to say, first years, you guys impressed all of us", Mr White said with a warm smile. "None of us expected these results".
The higher-ups on either side of him also had a tiny smile on them.
Mr White clicked again. The PowerPoint slide shifted, filling the massive screen with a list of names.
"What the fuck...".
"Why are there so many?..."
The upper years were in shock.
"If you see your name here", Mr White explained, pointing behind him. "That means the second years did not find your device, and you earned 1000 points".
The hall fell completely silent. The higher rows were murmuring and whispering between themselves, but the lower rows were locked in.
Everyone's eyes in the lower rows were locked on the screen, trying to find their names.
It didn't take long for Malakai to find his name.
His and Melody's names were at the top next to the number one.
(The numbers didn't mean anything; they were used for listing the names.)
And directly below his name, filling the two to six spots were his friends. William, David, Benjamin, Lucas and Ray.
Malakai had his signature smirk plastered on his face. He secretly clenched his right fist at his side and celebrated by himself before,
"Yes Mally!".
His friends turned to him instantly, smiles on their faces.
"I never doubted you", Benjamin said, pointing at him.
"Bro, I told you. Mally is him!" William laughed. "I trust him with my life".
Lucas stretched his hand to Malakai, past Ray, offering a handshake. Malalai shook it. Lucas didn't say anything. He smiled and gave a little nod. That action alone said a lot.
"Looks like you're getting treated to dinner", David said, leaning forward to look at Malakai.
Ray slung an arm around him and lightly shook him, "I told you", he happily said. "And you won the bet".
Malakai looked at him, matching his smile. "Messing up my sleep schedule was worth it".
"It was already messed up", Ray joked.
Malakai blew air out of his nose and quietly laughed. He looked back up at the screen and his name. For some weird reason, he was really proud of what he'd done. After taking an L on the last challenge, this W felt more satisfactory.
"We're all there", Rose excitedly said, pointing at the screen and tapping Maria's shoulder.
"Yeah", Maria replied, still looking through the names. "A lot of people from our class got points".
Her gaze lasted a little longer than the others as she noticed names right at the top. More specifically, one through six. "See. You could've told me", she thought with her lips pressing together.
"Aren't you happy?" Delilah asked, noticing Tanisha's lack of reaction.
"Yeah, I am", Tanisha quickly nodded. "I just kinda expected it", she shrugged. "The girl I was with was really confident".
"I feel you", Delilah said, exhaling. "My partner was confident too… but I was still worried".
"No surprises there", Destiny said, bored, seeing names she expected to see. She tilted her head to Ace, whose expression hadn't changed. "I guess you getting Delilah points isn't going to help get her number", she added with a faint smile.
"No", Ace replied shortly. "She made it clear that getting her points isn't going to help me".
"Haha", Destiny laughed mockingly. "You had no chance with her to begin with".
Frank glanced at Alexander to see his reaction.
"You could at least smile a little", he said, smiling and nudging him with his elbow.
Alexander kept his neutral expression and just rolled his eyes.
"Phew", Anya breathed out, her whole body relaxed as she slid a little lower in her seat. "I'm happy now".
"You were stressed for no reason", Isabella said, seeing Anya's name near the top. "Your name is all the way up there".
"I wouldn't say no reason", Anya replied, pushing herself upright again. "Is your name there?" she said, eyes moving across the screen.
Isabella smiled, completely at ease, "Of course".
"All of them got points", Lorenzo said, a little amazed. "Do you think they hid it in the same place?".
"It looks like it", Ryan replied, not sounding the happiest. "There's no way they have different spots".
Lorenzo paid closer attention to the screen, looking at the classes of the names in particular, "There aren't that many people from our class", he quietly said.
"Yoooo, I'm there", Ash enthusiastically shouted, pointing at the screen. "Aye momma I made it".
"How the fuck did no one find his device?" Jason said in disbelief, staring at the screen. "Where did you put your device?".
"In a bush somewhere", Ash replied, smiling with all his teeth out, looking proud.
"...These second years are shit", Jason scoffed, shaking his head.
"Dillon got points too, yo", Ash said.
Jason looked at Dillon, who was sitting with his arms crossed. His expression was calm. Not satisfied or smug, which Dillon found weird.
"Who hid your device? You or Leroy?".
Dillon side-eyed him, "Me", he replied flatly, like it was obvious.
"Aw, I didn't get any points", Paige said, a little disappointed, her shoulders slumped.
"Was your hiding spot good?" Nada asked, curious.
"I thought it was", Paige replied. "Hey ho. It's whatever", she shrugged, getting over it quickly. "I'm happy you two got points".
"Thanks", Nada replied. "Molly, did you or your partner hide your device?".
"Neither of us did", Molly casually replied while putting another piece of chocolate in her mouth.
"What?" Nada and Paige asked in unison, both staring at her.
"Twenty-nine..." Richard said under his breath. "How did our year miss that many?".
"I feel lucky I even found one", Leon said, relieved.
Richard looked down the rows below him, "These first years are something else".
Leon leaned towards Micheal, who was observing the first years. "Are these first years that good or are we that bad?".
Micheal lightly shook his head and stayed quiet for a bit. "We'll know after we hear how many of those devices stayed hidden".
"Okay, quiet please!" Mr White called out, clapping his hands.
The conversations slowly faded as everyone looked to Mr White. All eyes returned to the stage.
"I've still got more to say", he continued. "There are more results for this challenge".
A few first years glanced at each other. Some knew what was coming as many signs helped them piece it together.
"As you know, first years, the third years are here too", Mr White said. "They also competed in this challenge. Once the second year's seeking time was over, the third years also had two hours to search for your devices".
"That must've been hard for them", William whispered. "If the second years couldn't find some devices, how would the third years find them?".
"They're third years", David told him. "They can't have easy challenges. It's their final year".
"This challenge actually has a good concept", Benjamin added. "At first I thought it was boring, but it's kinda cool, it includes all the year groups".
"Once again, the third years know their results, so I will be announcing the results for the first years", Mr White said. "Instead of showing you all who received points, I will call out your names. When I call out your name, please come to the front and stand on the stage with your partner".
Every first year that received points already sat up straighter, even some of the first years that didn't get points sat up.
Mr White paused the screen behind him and started clicking on the laptop. Once he got the list in front of him, he held the mic back to his lips.
Before he announced the first names, Mr White smiled.
"Malakai and Melody".