The Assembly consisted of a portion of students from the third-year privileged classes, the Classes 3-A to 3-F, plus a special selection of students known as the functional constituencies. The class constituencies were heavily favoured towards Class A, while the functional constituencies consisted of the class representative of each third-year class, school club leaders and the student council leadership. Together, they were Members of the Assembly, or simply Members.
So the Assembly was essentially a committee of third-year students dominated by Class 3-A which enacted policies that governed student life for all of the students in Korolev Senior. Policies such as lunch catering, school facilities, club budgets and cultural events would be tabled and debated in a convention of the Assembly. Once a policy was agreed upon, the student council would, together with other student organizations like the Activity Council, carry out these policies.
There was no doubt that the system was not democratic. Class 3-A received exactly one over one half of the class constituency seats. Furthermore, the functional constituencies were easily manipulated by 3-A to put their allies into those positions. Because of the meritocratic system of class promotion, where students had chances at the end of a school year to be promoted into a class above their current one for next year, Class 3-A was supposed to be the most wise of the classes and therefore should have a major role in managing student life.
A legislative body above the Assembly, the Senate, consisted of teachers of the third-year homeroom classes and policies required their consent as well. But the Senate was traditionally a rubber-stamp legislature that merely signed off the bills that came from the Assembly. In only extreme cases, when the Assembly was in a state of tyranny, did the Senate interfere. Finally, the policy would be given Assent by the headmistress, which put into force the new policy.
The Assembly convened usually once a week on Tuesdays in the Assembly Hall, which was maintained by the music faculty since it was actually a fully equipped theatre. The velvet seats that filled the audience space in a curvature facing the stage were both removable and convertible into wide benches and tables, just as expected in a parliament building. There were even upper levels from which observers watched on the Assembly proceedings. The floor too, insanely, was adjustable along its inclines, so that making the audience space flat was a possibility.
When the Assembly convened, alternating rows of seats were converted into long tables to convert it into a parliament space. The stage shrunk in area and revealed extra seats underneath. Student volunteers from the Student Liaison Office, or the SLO, a joint student organization between the student council and the AC, organized and prepared the facilities for a session of the Assembly every week.
Unlike in other schools where the student council unilaterally decided on policy, the Assembly was where this power laid in Korolev Senior, by the principle of ‘student life made by students’. As a result, in theory the Assembly was the supreme body that made decisions, but in practice the student council leadership usually held disproportionate power in the Assembly, because it was almost guaranteed that a student of Class A was elected student council president.
In fact, it was usually one of two second-year leaders of the two big student organizations: the Activity Council, versus the Public Safety Committee. Both were almost always Class 2-A students at the time of election and they had the energy and influence to maintain an election campaign.
Of course, the election was at the end of their second year, and the winner of the election became president for the duration of their third year. Generally, the incoming president would bring their cronies into the student council while leaving their student organization to their other allies, effectively making themselves de facto leader of their faction of origin while heading the student council.
However, for Kato’s year, both Class A candidates lost the election race last spring to a Class B contender: Mirabelle. For the first time in living memory, the levers of power were disrupted and put into the hands of an upstart.
But the system was not meant for non-Class A students to take the reins. This year was an anomaly in the usual power structure. The system by design discouraged non-Class A leadership; as a Class B student, it was extremely hard to pass policies simply because the Class A constituency was assigned forty seats, while the rest of the Class constituencies, from B to F, were assigned twenty, ten, five, three, and one respectively, totalling only thirty-nine.
To defeat Class A’s votes would be an uphill battle that Mirabelle would need to fight. On top of gaining the support of every class below her, she would also need to swing enough votes from the functional constituencies. This year, the three functional constituencies were allocated as such: Class Representatives at nine seats representing ten classes; Club Presidents at fourteen seats representing fourteen major school clubs from last year and continuing operations into this year; and Student Council Executives at four seats representing its leadership.
Because Mirabelle was simultaneously the Class B representative as well as a student council executive, she would hold two seats simultaneously. Class B’s seat in the Class Representatives constituency would be declared invalid once the Assembly convened and her seat would remain with the Student Council Executives constituency.
The seating arrangement, traditionally, was only by class constituencies. The functional constituencies of class reps and club presidents were distributed amongst their respective classes, while the student council executives sat at special seats on the minified stage, lowered to near ground level for the convention. Class A’s constituency sat right at the front rows, and the subsequent classes sat in sequence in the rows behind them.
“Kato, you made it in time.”
Eon was wiping his glasses with his shirt while having his eyes closed. As he put them back on, he opened his naked eyes just before it was put back into place, and Kato saw a glimpse of his irises. It was a multitude of colours, almost like a rainbow, but with the glasses covering them, they turned to a dull brown. It wasn’t because his glasses were special, it was because of a special phenomenon that his irises were multicoloured to the naked eye, but drained of colour once viewed through a lens.
“Never a dull moment for Kato.”
Sitting next to Eon was Caius, leaning back into the chair and having his feet on the counter. For some reason, this kid was laid back, calm and collected in any situation. Even when Franco was on his airhead streak Caius’ apparent attitude wouldn’t change, though his jabs at Franco would go up a level.
Kato took his seat next to Eon, carelessly flipping his schoolbag on top of the counter in front of their elevated seats. Their row was the last row of the Assembly, and it only consisted of students from their class and Class E, who also had three members including their class rep.
Class F, in a Class War last week, stole one seat in the Assembly from Class E as a part of their victory, thus granting the Class F constituency two seats plus their class rep. They sat away from the three of them, making the animosity between the two classes apparent, though that wasn’t uncommon. Most classes were hostile to each other due to the nature of the Class Wars.
Mere moments later, the three student council executives entered and prepared to take their seat at the table on the lowered stage, directly facing outwards to the rest of the Assembly. As they took their seats, the auditorium quieted down considerably, eager to get the first convention of the Assembly started.
Not surprisingly to Kato, Bianca was the one who took the centre seat, which was the seat of the Speaker of the Assembly. As the Speaker, she controlled most of the proceedings and agenda of the session. Normally, the student council president would be the Speaker, but as Mirabelle was absent, the responsibility fell on Bianca.
On either side of Bianca were her two other sisters, Ariel and Scarlett. Ariel was much smaller than Bianca and had silver hair in a long and flowing hime cut. On the other side, Scarlett was evidently taller and had the curves of a supermodel, but sported a brown pixie cut instead.
“I, the Speaker of the Assembly, pronounce that the Assembly here is well-formed and qualified. The Assembly for Year 1887-1888 at Korolev Senior Secondary School is now in session, first convened on August the twenty-third. Please stand for a moment of silence.”
Bianca spoke into the microphone in front of her. Seeing that enough people showed up for the meeting, the Assembly could be officially convened. The students stood up.
“Please remain standing for the playing of the national and Eternian anthems.”
Two tunes played through the PA system in this big hall. The first represented the Auxirian nation as their home, and the second represented their loyalty to their cause. Their respective flags were hung behind the student council executives, above the stage. Although Eternia was a secret society from the Yue homeland that Auxiria had conquered, it was all of Auxiria that Eternia sought to lead and build a brighter future for.
“You may be seated.”
Lots of shuffling and murmurs ensued, yet most people were still giving their attention to the front of the class. After the anthems, the Speaker would declare that the popular statements period would begin, and Members who wanted to address the Assembly for any reason could do so, if they have requested to do so to the Speaker before the convention.
Each Member doing so had one minute to make their statements, and this whole period only lasted for at most ten minutes. To make it fair, if there were many Members who wished to make statements, the Speaker generally took one student from each constituency to make statements before repeating a constituency.
“Today, there were no requests for statements by the popular Members of this Assembly, so there will be no popular statements. Questioning is also moot, due to that fact.”
Bianca continued to address the Assembly, announcing that she would be skipping both the statements and questioning periods. The question period followed the statements period. At that time, popular Members, i.e. Members who weren’t part of the Student Council Executives constituency, were allowed to present questions, in a one-question-one-answer fashion, to the Student Council Executives constituency on any of the student council’s matters within its jurisdiction, for a maximum of fifteen minutes. Follow-up questions were mediated by the Speaker. Once there was a change of topics, a designated Member, known as the Leader of the Opposition, would ask the first question in that new topic.
“I will begin with the routine proceedings in earnest. The agenda is as follows. There will be a statement from myself as a part of the student council’s reports. There will be one student council policy and one popular policy to be slated for first reading. That is it. To start off, I will make an important student council statement.”
The first part of routine proceedings was when the student council could present statements, reports, or otherwise to the Assembly, in contrast to the popular statements and questioning periods. After that, routine proceedings included the first reading of policies by both the student council and other Members, which was the introductory phase of a new piece of legislation that quote-unquote introduced the matter to the Assembly and Members had an intention to solve the underlying issues that the policy aimed to fix. Other routine jobs such as presenting reports by Members or tabling motions would also be considered and held by the Speaker in this period of the convention.
“As you can all see, I am not the student council president. I am Ganymede Bianca Jupiter, Class 3-B, chancellor of the Department of the Treasury. Due to the student council president Callisto Mirabelle Jupiter’s leave of absence, I will be the Speaker of the Assembly for this convention. In addition, Class B’s seat in the Class Representatives constituency will be declared invalid due to simultaneous seating.”
She made her points short and concise, dispelling the abnormal silence of the masses. The Assembly rumbled at the fact that their popularly elected and glamorous president missed her first convention, and no doubt the student newspaper would present tons of coverage on this topic.
“That concludes the statements by the student council. We’ll move on to first reading.”
Bianca moved quickly through the routine proceedings’ agenda, not even giving the Assembly a chance to be the peanut gallery it usually was. Normally, someone would have shouted out something rude or obscene to display their disobedience by now.
“The student council would like to table the policy of perpetual peace, officially the Ewiger Landfriede. To put it simply, the proposed policy will enforce peace between the classes for eternity.”
The Assembly erupted in wild cries and shouts. Without a doubt, it took the attention of everyone in the hall.
“Are you proposing an end to the Class Wars?”
One Class A Member exclaimed over the buzz of the room. So the lawlessness began. Knowing the nature of how the Assembly was run, Bianca did not even spare a glance before ignoring the shout and continuing.
“The draft policy will now be distributed to the Assembly.”
A few runners spread out from the sidelines and into the different rows of the Assembly, handing out documents to each Member. One scrawny boy arrived at the Class F constituency that the boys recognized.
“Kirill! You’re a helper for the Assembly. When did this happen?”
Caius asked as he was handed a copy of the Ewiger Landfriede. It was the draft that Kato and Mirabelle worked hard yesterday to get it printed in time for the Assembly session today.
“Yeah. Last time you went and did something that wasn’t goofing off was never.”
Eon couldn’t resist tacking on something spicy for their long-time classmate.
“Things change, my dudes. This year’s the year.”
Kirill grinned along with the other two. Kato chuckled and felt at ease with the light-hearted gentlemen next to him.
“You’re SLO now, right? In the student council’s side of things, I would guess.”
“Yup. I’m in the student council’s SLO.”
The Student Liaison Office was a joint organization between the student council and the AC, but there was still a clear delineation between the students who belonged to one or the other parent student body.
“Ah, that’s right. We don’t see you because the SLO has its own meetings, separate from the student council.”
“You guys are on student council? Well, actually, I guess it isn’t surprising.”
Kirill waved them goodbye as he moved down to the next row of students, continuing to hand out the papers. Eon turned to his buddies with incredulity.
“Are we that conspicuous with our friendly relations with the Jupiter sisters?”
“If Kirill can see it, then I guess the cat’s out of the bag. Not that either side kept it a secret. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that we’ve known each other for more than ten years.”
Caius shrugged at Eon with a reasonable explanation. Then he turned to Kato.
“But there’s truth in that statement for only Kato here, since he actually has friendly relations with all of them.”
Sensing that more jabs were to come from the smirking duo, he held his hands up as if for his early surrender. But even though he knew he would not out-banter the two of them, he took a pot shot anyway.
“Maybe I’m just a more likeable guy than you two.”
Unexpectedly, the duo turned serious as they began talking amongst themselves, but within Kato’s earshot to infuriate him.
“He’s right. I need to be a likeable guy, too.”
“Eon, please. I’m fairly neutral and I don’t get preferential treatment.”
“That’s because you’re passive-aggressive. And I’m active-aggressive. We’re both troublemakers to the Jupiters.”
“And Franco doesn’t get a pass for being a dummy?”
“It’s because we made Franco do some stupid things that they won’t respect.”
“And Kato gets a pass for being pranked into doing the same stupid things?”
“Obviously, Kato is doing something to make up for that.”
The duo narrowed their eyes as they stared down Kato, to which he shook his head helplessly at their grandstanding.
But there was no more time for the Elites’ sideshow. Once the papers were finished distributing, Bianca continued on without pause.
“When shall the policy be read a second time?”
“At the next sitting of the Assembly.”
Her formality for closing first reading was met with the traditional reply in unison by the Assembly. Because the policy was suggested by the student council, there was no need for ten per cent of the Assembly to second the policy for second reading, in contrast to popular policies.
“The next sitting of the Assembly means next week, right?”
“Yes. This is how it always worked.”
Eon answered Kato’s question. The Assembly certainly wasn’t going straight into second reading and debate on this issue today. Those who want to oppose it would have a week to gather material for counter-arguments.
“Now that the selected student council policies have been read, we will move to the first reading of popular policies. There is exactly one first reading to be had. I will now call upon Ms Mona Mackenzie, the drafter of the bill, to perform the first reading. You have five minutes.”
A short girl from the front row with auburn hair stood up and bowed to the student council executives before she turned around to face the rest of the Assembly.
“I, Mona Mackenzie, would like to table a new policy on the banning of public displays of anti-national material, officially the Act of Neutrality.”
Rumbling amongst the Assembly sounded throughout the hall, as no doubt another controversial policy was to be pushed through the Assembly. The one tabled by Bianca was, of course, much more impactful to the school’s day-to-day minutiae, but this one could have overarching and lasting effects on students in and out of school. It was an ideologically-charged policy, pitting one political camp against another.
“From the recent events of our neighbouring city of Lien, there is a worry that the political unrest there would spread to our own city. Of course, it isn’t unfathomable that the same things here could happen, despite the relative independence we have in comparison to Lien.
“Therefore, to mitigate the radicalization of this school and potential damage to its reputation, public anti-national activity should be prohibited on school grounds. In addition, the school agrees to take a publicly neutral stance on the topics of the political unrest in Lien, including but not limited to the separatist manifesto of the protesters and the alleged misconduct of the police forces in Lien.”
Unlike a student council policy, the first reading of a popular policy must include a general description of the scope and any justification for proposing such a policy. Especially when a policy was as partisan as this one, it was necessary to claim your justification for it, because a popular policy needed to be seconded by at least ten per cent of the Assembly to pass the motion for first reading and make it to second reading.
“I yield back to the Speaker.”
“The draft policy will now be distributed to the Assembly.”
Bianca announced when she saw the nod from Mona. Like last time, the helpers began handing out drafts of the policy that was tabled just now.
“This sounds dangerous, eh?”
“We’ve got two big policies to debate on already to start off the year. Not that we’ll be able to make a difference.”
Eon commented to Caius. It was true what Caius said, though. Their three votes, two from Class F and one from Kato as a class representative, was most likely not enough to change the outcome.
“So, are there any seconders to the policy?”
After the papers were given out, Bianca put the motion for seconding immediately, without giving much time for the rest of the Assembly to read the draft in detail. Usually, the drafter from Class A had enough clout in the Assembly to pass the seconding motion easily.
And expectedly, about fifteen students from Class A’s constituency raised their hand, more than ten per cent of the one-hundred-and-six strong Assembly. Murmurs continued to hum, but the pace was not to be broken.
Ariel, the student council secretary, was also responsible for recording the minutes of the Assembly. She bounced loftily off of her seat to move up to the Assembly, counting the raised hands in the open.
“There are fifteen who seconded the Act of Neutrality. Are there any complaints?”
To ask for complaints was a formality that the secretary needed to perform. If there were any serious complaints other than a harmless miscount, it would mean that the secretary could be removed for being in contempt of the Assembly.
“When shall the policy be read a second time?”
With that statement, Bianca acknowledged that Ariel’s count was not in contempt and readied it for second reading next week.
“At the next sitting of the Assembly.”
The hall replied again. Both policies were now ready for the next stage of the legislative process.
“Now, the routine proceedings of today are concluded. Because there are no policies for second reading yet, there will be no student council orders or popular orders for today. We will instead start closing remarks immediately.”
Bianca continued unabated. On a typical day for the Assembly, student council orders and popular orders took the bulk of the time because this was where the second reading and debates occurred. Depending on how important the policy was, it could take the remaining time of the convention and push out the closing remarks section. In addition, if the Assembly did not think it was ready for completing second reading, the draft policy would be assigned to a committee for review and amendment of the details of the policy text. The committee would come back and re-introduce it at a later sitting, starting the cycle of debates and amendments again, until a motion of concurrence was passed and allowed to move to third reading.
For closing remarks, the Speaker would be provided with a list of Members who wanted to make any statements at the end of the convention, and would, at her leisure, call upon those Members to make their statements.
Bianca was provided a list by one of the helpers. While the Assembly was in kind of a lull, such as when the drafts were being handed out, Members had the chance to notify helpers that they would have statements to make for the closing remarks.
“There will be two Members who will make statements. I will now call upon Mr Gilbert de Lafayette to make his statement. You have two minutes.”
Gilbert got up from his seat and turned to the Assembly, his face as emotionless as ever.
“Thank you, Madam Speaker. First of all, the Ewiger Landfriede. It is clearly a reach to strip power away from Class A and give it to the Senate. Because Class B has won the presidency for this year, it is their best opportunity to reduce the influence of Class A on school affairs. Since it is impossible to remove this power from Class A to other classes in the Assembly, in the legislative, their only choice is to soft-return it to the Senate, by weakening the power of the executive through removing its ability to manipulate peace in the Class Wars.”
He made a good point, to which many nods and cheers came from the Class A constituency. The student council executives arbitrated the peace negotiations after a Class War, and peace treaties had vast sweeping powers to make changes to the school’s ecosystem. Since it was only Class A who consistently won the presidency, it was Class A who controlled the peace system for generations.
“Now, the Act of Neutrality. It is a blatant attack on the freedom of speech within this school, to which no student should support. Without a place for free discussion and dialogue, only bias, ignorance and indifference would foster among students. Note that the Act only bans anti-national material, but pro-national material remains unchecked. This is exactly what we do not want from a society based on free thought and expression.”
Now onto the partisan bill, his speech was met with claps from students from different classes. The Class A students who sat within his vicinity stood and clapped furiously, while the Class A students who sat around Mona remained seated and silent. They watched on with neither complaint nor excitement for their comrades in Class A.
“I yield back to the Speaker.”
Satisfied with his discrediting of both tabled policies, Gilbert waved and took his seat after the applause died down. Bianca nodded, understanding that he had finished.
“I will now call upon the next Member, Ms Mona Mackenzie, to make her statement. You have two minutes.”
“Thank you, Madam Speaker.”
Mona rose elegantly from her seat, already drawing applause from the Class A students around her, but was met with indifference from those near Gilbert. Evidently, Class A was split along two factions, each led by their respective faction leaders.
“I, for one, welcome the Ewiger Landfriede, for the Class Wars have, in recent years, become a relic of the past. There were not enough challengers in recent years amongst our classes to justify maintenance of this martial tradition. Perhaps in the time of Ms Romana, when there were at least six challengers and a deity per privileged class, that this tradition was acceptable. But times have changed and so will the system. I yield back to the Speaker.”
She sat down after another round of applause from across the Assembly, without addressing the criticisms of Gilbert. Since they requested to make statements, they were not allowed to ‘respond’ to each other’s statements because that would be considered a debate.
“From the sounds of the claps, both Mona and Gilbert have a similar size for their support base, don’t you think?”
“Mm-hm. It’ll be on the Jupiters to either cut out their own faction or play for both of them carefully.”
Eon and Caius continued to whisper to each other while Kato listened on contently.
“No comment on Mira’s absence, though? At the very least I expected them to make a fuss.”
“That’s interesting, actually. I don’t think it’s because Bia looks enough like Mira. Most likely for them, they don’t care who’s in charge if the president is not from Class A.”
“Makes sense. Their plans wouldn’t be different. They’re probably thinking it’s a good sign that the most charismatic of the Class B faction is absent.”
Unfortunately, not all of Class B was on the side of the Jupiter sisters. Most were, but at least a few of the Class B constituency had vested interests in either of Class A’s factions.
“Then let us conclude the closing remarks section.”
Bianca took the initiative again to push through the Assembly’s agenda and close off the day.
“I declare that the motion to adjourn is deemed carried, and the first convention of the Assembly is finished.”
The Assembly stood up together to the sound of a bell, which officially dismissed the Members from the session. And so, in only a little over thirty minutes, the Assembly’s job was completed.
“Can’t we just leave this to the Gilbert faction? He seemed like he was totally against the Act of Neutrality.”
“I agree. I’d prefer to focus on the Ewiger Landfriede for now and leave the partisan bill for them to fight it out.”
The three Jupiter sisters and the three Elites sat around a large conference table in the office-like student council room. Indeed, it looked like a typical office space with its cubicles and stacks of documents and spreadsheets.
“Then we’re not even going to have a contingency plan if the Gilbert faction doesn’t end up doing anything?”
Bianca mused, somewhat disheartened by the seemingly uphill battle in the Assembly.
“First of all, Mira’s Ewiger Landfriede is ambitious enough by itself. It’ll take all we could to bring it to the forefront of public awareness and convince them to be on our side.”
“Second, the Mona faction’s support of the Ewiger Landfriede right now is at most tentative. So we have much to lose if we lose focus on our own policy.”
Eon and Caius continued to advise Bianca, as they were doing yesterday. The other three, who weren’t as fired up by school politics as the former three, sat on the other end of the table working on their own things. Scarlett was eternally struggling with her schoolwork, Ariel was tidying up the Assembly session’s minutes she recorded, and Kato was idling on his physics worksheet.
“I know. Neither of the Class A factions could be trusted. But by that logic, then shouldn’t we have something on the Act of Neutrality? Especially if it isn’t guaranteed that Gilbert will try to block it.”
“We know, but we have to pick our battles. We just don’t have enough influence, is what we’re saying, to do both things. We don’t have as much resources as either of the Activity Council or the Public Safety Committee.”
Caius’ reference to the AC and PSC was related to the Class A factions. The two factions were split along a clear boundary; the chairwoman of the Activity Council led one faction, while the marshal of the Public Safety Committee led the other. Go figure.
“So we should prioritize on what we can actually do. And I’ve got to say, without Mira’s magic, our student council thing here is not going to go far.”
“Are you suggesting that I don’t have what it takes to be at the helm of the student council leadership?”
Bianca’s eyes narrowed. She wasn’t particularly upset. She was just used to challenging Eon on every little thing.
“As an advisor to the student council executives, I have an obligation to be precise and truthful in my guidance.”
Eon was similarly unrelenting. He had never missed a confrontation with Bianca, and would continue to maintain this tradition.
“So, what are the parts of Mira which I don’t have that makes her more suitable?”
“The part where you have to have an endearing and cheerful aura that immediately puts everyone at ease and sways the general populous to her side, instead of a condescending prick that looks down on people beneath—”
She reached over to pull on his cheek hard before she let him finish his sentence. She was mad, but not that mad.
“What’s this about me, huh? The only condescending prick in here is the person right in front of me.”
“You must be looking into a mirror, then.”
“I must respectfully disagree. Clearly, it’s a bespectacled young brat whom I know and love for many years.”
“Why, thank you. I know I’m a very lovable person. My amiability runs through my blood.”
“And apparently your mouth runs off like a sewage pipe too.”
“I mean, you’re not wrong. Sometimes it comes out as it is.”
“Okay, enough, you two. Let’s get back on track.”
Caius clapped his hands together to bring the bickering children back to the matter at hand, and perhaps surprisingly to outsiders, they did so without commotion.
Spinning the pencil idly in his hand as he listened to the three of them debate, Kato finally noticed that Ariel was sitting next to him now and awaiting his attention.
Ariel was a quiet person of few words, but for some reason always found her way into influencing if not leading every adventure that their childhood group of friends went on, and to that, she was well-respected by the boys of the Elites. Together with Bianca, they challenged the Elites at every opportunity possible.
“What is it, Ariel?”
“Hold me.”
With her outstretched arms toward him, Kato gave her a bemused look. Although this happened countless times before, it still threw him off a little every time she did it. Ariel’s expression seemed blank like Gilbert’s, but she was by no means a boring person. She was just a person who was slow to show her emotions and found comfort with a low energy demeanour.
He got off his seat, picked her up off of hers and let her clutch onto him, perching her head on his shoulder. He patted her head lightly, impressed at the silkiness of her waist-long silver hair. Though she was as tall as his little sister, her frame was a lot smaller and more fragile than Teto’s well-built body.
She squished her face into his shoulder as she wrapped her arms and legs around Kato, hanging onto him like a child would a parent. Interestingly, besides the fact that she even does this, she would only do this with her three older sisters, Kato and Eon; the people with little sisters in their families. Luckily, Kato, Scarlett and Mirabelle were all physically superior, so they could always entertain Ariel like this.
“Are you sleepy? Do you want to sleep?”
“Yeah. But they won’t shut up. So I will just rest.”
“Aye aye, little missy.”
Seeing Scarlett pulling at her own hair while attempting miserably to finish her homework, it was easy to see why Ariel came to him to satisfy her peculiarities. Scarlett usually took care of Ariel.
Of course, Ariel didn’t do this to strangers. In fact, she was even more cool and listless than she normally would be. If she was showing her idiosyncrasies in front of someone, it meant that she had a lot of trust in that person.
“Go outside.”
“Where outside?”
He motioned to the three rowdy wanna-be politicians that he was going to look after Ariel, picked up a familiar key from the key rack and made his way out of the student council room.
“You already picked.”
“I certainly have.”
Climbing up the stairs, he opened the locked doors to the rooftop. He carried her across the tiled open area to the roof’s edge and sat them on a ridge that was a leg’s span away from the fenced edge.
From their vantage point, they saw a hilly city that rolled across the landscape. The mountains surrounded its fringes, while behind them were more hilly cityscapes that led up in the direction of their homes. The sun was already low in the sky, but it shined just as fiercely as it did midday.
They sat together in peace for a long while. Occasionally, light gusts of wind tickled their faces and Ariel, still perched onto Kato’s body with her eyes shut, would rub her cheeks with the back of her hand in response, almost like a cat. In a sense, Kato was indeed taking care of a pet.
The school sounded for the end of fifth period, which meant the official end of classes. Students were now flooding the atrium once again, putting away their things and preparing to go home or do club activities. No doubt, the rest of the Elites were headed to the student council room to gather the gang to go home.
Unexpectedly, she turned around to face the city and sat in his lap, but only seconds later, she began sinking farther and farther down and ended up sitting on the ground between the ridge and the fence, kind of like a lazy white-collar worker slipping out of their office chair. In the process, the back of her skirt flipped up and she was sitting directly on her butt.
“Up you go. Let’s not get you dirty.”
Kato grabbed her by the stomach like he would a kitten, and to that she rolled herself out of his clutches and sat up properly next to him. He gave a sigh of relief.
“Are you done?”
“Yeah.”
She smiled radiantly, with traces of Mirabelle in it.
“Then let’s get down to business. What do you have for me, Madam Secretary?”
“Business first? Then let’s start with Alice.”
Kato’s eyes widened as he became wary about what she would say next. He kind of expected this, but still felt surprised as much as he was impressed with Ariel.
“You got very close to her in a span of a day. I’m impressed. You even played footsie with her.”
“How do you even know this?”
“I’m in your class.”
“Wait, you are?”
“I started going to that class today.”
“…”
He gave her a helpless look, signalling the end of his objection.
“She looks like she will join us, thanks to you again. Only last week, you’ve added Yui.”
“But we’ve known Yui for years. Alice’s situation is different. I’m not sure if she will, but she seems to be good friends with Mira and Evie.”
“And they were her only friends. She is a complete loner in Class A.”
“Is that so?”
“Definitely.”
Kato raised an eyebrow, but he had a lot of faith in Ariel’s abilities. She was born for the job of student council secretary because not only did she have photographic memory, but could also process the information from it instantly. As a result, she could recount everything she saw in great detail together with the right context.
On top of that, now that she actually was the student council secretary, she headed the Department of the Administration and its child organization, the Records Office. It was responsible for the records of the school’s past, including Assembly minutes, accounting receipts, and much more. With her abilities, she could probably memorize the details of the past few years of this school with only a week of reading.
“She’s pivotal to the next point, which is Gilbert and his faction.”
Ariel continued in her lazy voice, and even ending her sentence with a yawn.
“Their family relations are cordial, but they themselves don’t seem to be on good terms. Of course, Alice is not happy. She is engaged to Gilbert.”
He doubled over upon hearing the punch line. Of course, somehow, she would know.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. I checked with father over the summer when I suspected so.”
“Wait, how did you get to it?”
Kato was slightly confused by the timeline of events.
“The Records Office’s historical repository is open to the incoming student government at the end of last school year. I read through all the records related to students in our year, and Alice and Gilbert were two names that were interesting to me, since Mira was spending a lot of time with Alice.”
“Did I make it into the records?”
“I already knew everything in there though.”
“Bless up.”
The Records Office recorded many, many things. Depending on the relative power of the Records Office that school year, they could ostensibly record every little interaction inside a club meeting, a classroom, or even in the open atrium. There were official records that clubs and other student organizations must submit, such as attendance and minutes, but other, more sinister records were also made by gathering intelligence from informants.
“Is the Records Office going full Stasi this year too?”
“You bet. It’s a tradition.”
Kato snickered amusedly as this little girl said something so dangerous.
“I’ll just leave this responsibility to the Records Office.”
“As it should. Anyway, you understand now? Alice and Gilbert will be married once they graduate from here.”
“No wonder she was on edge. Do you know why their marriage is a thing?”
“Yes. Do you know their families’ businesses?”
“The Lafayette Group we know is a big arms designer and supplier. They were part of both sides of the unrest in Lien recently. Mostly the protestors’ side.”
“Correct. And what about Alice?”
“Alice Westgrove… Westgrove Logistics?”
“Bingo. Another arms designer and supplier. Specifically, they also do the supply chain business themselves too.”
“So it’s a political marriage.”
“Of sorts. From what I understand from father, there is a power struggle among the elders of the Westgrove side, and the Lafayette marriage is supposed to abate that struggle temporarily.”
“Jesus. That sounds nuts.”
He understood more clearly now, knowing Alice’s temperament, why she made a fuss like she did.
“The details about why the marriage would form a truce, though, I don’t know. That’s your job to find out.”
“Why is it suddenly my job?”
“Because she seems to like you a lot. Use it to your advantage. Use her to influence the Gilbert faction to follow her lead, and therefore your lead, and therefore our lead.”
Kato stood up and picked her up by the armpits, holding her up high in the sky.
“I’m not a miracle worker, miss cat.”
“Then it’s time you start being one, nyaa~”
“Then help me be one. I can’t do this all day.”
“You’ve seduced too many women in your time. You don’t need any help.”
“That’s not me! I’m merely the object of affection! In any case, that’s not a real argument anyway.”
He let the long cat back down on the ground. Again with her antics, she curled up and rested her head on his lap, and demanded him to hold onto her and stroke her head, which he did with infinite disbelief.
“Yeah. I was just being facetious. It was low-hanging fruit that Eon would pick.”
He also tickled her underneath her chin, to which she, for some reason, appreciated.
“But still, are you for real about using Alice?”
“No. It wouldn’t be mentally good for her. On top of that, it’s an impossible task, even for my standards. But still, don’t get any heroic ideas from this. This isn’t as black and white as Yui’s scenario.”
Ariel gave him a stern warning. It was no joke. After all, entire sectors of this country’s economy were at stake.
“It is just unfortunate that she has no choice in her future. But if somebody could help her out, that somebody can only be you.”
“I thought you just told me to not do it.”
“I never said you’ll fix everything. She only needs to be told that she’s important to the friends she holds so dear. That inside of her misery, there’s someone out there completely unrelated to her family’s world who would see her as the friend she is, and not a pawn in a political game. If you can do that, then it’ll definitely help her.”
“That was awfully profound. Are you sure you’re not a hundred years old?”
“I’m just cut from the same cloth as Mira.”
“Hah. You’re right.”
Like Mirabelle, Ariel too read people like a book. However, unlike Mirabelle, Ariel somehow remained ambivalent, even unconcerned, in the interpersonal clashes between the Elites and the Jupiter sisters, so he sometimes came to the sagely feline for reality checks. If the lawgiver in The Social Contract existed, Ariel would be it.
“Business over?”
“One more thing.”
Ariel cleared her throat.
“Mona Mackenzie is dangerous. She is the daughter of a property tycoon in Lien. She will, for sure, try her best to gain influence in this school, and probably for the second-years under her too.”
Kato nodded. If a Class A faction leader had enough influence, they could even groom a puppet successor for next year, ruling the school from his or her first-year college dormitory. The faction leaders from last year didn’t have enough influence, as evident in Mirabelle’s victory, but it was possible that Mona had ambitions for when she departs.
“And they want this influence because they want to build a clique, gang, and network of students for their future in college and post-college, right?”
“Yeah. Having a full contact list of people who owe you favours is definitely a plus. Often times, these people are in high positions in society, so clout, recognition, and ability to influence people are important for them to sustain such positions.”
“I see. A real estate tycoon would want to have a gang to crush competition by force.”
“That’s not uncommon, unfortunately. And where else to build a loyal gang than the people you struggled in school together with?”
“You’re right. We are a gang. We’re the most lethal gang, with three deities to boot.”
Ariel paused. She stood on her two feet and faced Kato, who remained sitting on the ridge.
“Business is over. Now it’s life counselling.”
“We haven’t had these in a while. But is there even anything left to discuss?”
“You have nothing for me?”
“Nope. Everything seems all right from here.”
She leaned back into the fence behind her, finally showing some emotion on her face. It was one of mute sadness and disappointment.
“Then, I have something.”
“I’m listening, Madam Secretary.”
It wasn’t just Kato who confided with Ariel. She also reciprocated her own troubles to him on occasion.
“It’s not anything new. I just want a status check.”
Status check. It was their shorthand for the last stretch of drama between the two groups of childhood friends at the end of middle school. It was now more than two years ago, but to this day, some things lingered and were left unsaid.
“No. Nothing changed on the Elites’ end. It got a bit more complicated with the addition of Yui, but you already know what happened.”
“It doesn’t mean she won’t stop trying. You underestimate that girl.”
“Perhaps you’re right. How about the Jupiters’ side?”
“Nothing concrete here that I could discern. Or rather, nothing yet. This is your last year here, no?”
“Not just mine. Evie and Teto too. After this year, we’re leaving this city for good, or for ill.”
“Then do I need to explain it to you? Or have you learned enough by now?”
“I can expect something to happen from your side, then?”
“Exactly.”
“You won’t tell me what it is?”
“Of course not.”
“Why not?”
“It’s not me who needs to find a happy ending.”
He sighed.
“You’re right, Madam Secretary. I guess it has to be them.”
“And you’re not going to do anything about it?”
“You know me. I’ll take them on as they come. Fits my style, right?”
“But these are my sisters we’re talking about. At least give them something to work with.”
He snickered, but not in the manner to sabotage their efforts by refusing her request. Actually, the grin on his face read ‘as if they needed it’. Ariel suddenly smiled brightly. Something roused her good mood.
“What if I told you, all of us Jupiter sisters were the same?”
“Please, no. Don’t even think it.”
Kato twirled on his bottom, swung his legs onto the other side of the ridge and bounced onto his feet.
“We’re quadruplets. It isn’t impossible.”
“Tell me when y’all actually look like quadruplets first.”
“If we go by that logic, then the situation makes sense, doesn’t it?”
Ariel climbed onto Kato’s back, who settled in snugly as she let him carry her away and back towards the student council room downstairs.
“That was exactly what I was going for.”
Locking the doors with his stolen key, they descended the stairs in peace as the halls were already almost cleared of students and most of them had headed for home or after school activities.
“Even though I didn’t end up like them, I’ll still miss you and the gang. It was fun. If I could, I would have wished you weren’t a deity.”
Kato smiled wistfully. He was always touched by Ariel’s frankness with him, and this time was no different.
“You can still wish it. A cat can make all the wishes it wants.”
“I’m not a cat. I’m a little sister who wants a big brother with an incurable little sister complex to spoil me.”
Ariel dismounted from her ride and gave her chauffeur a wide smile, one of plain innocence. Her silver hair shined just a bit brighter than usual, as if to reflect the pure sincerity in her feelings.
“Aye aye. I’ll be your big brother, until the day I depart.”