<h4>Chapter 60: Nominated...</h4>


    <strong>Charis</strong>


    I finally reached my ssroom, a smile on my face and my heart still fluttering from the morning’s unexpected tenderness with Kael.


    The building wasn’t difficult to locate; it took me just two turns, and I arrived, coupled with the fact that I spotted a few familiar faces of other first-year students.


    Right at the entrance of the ssroom, there was a wooden box with ’OPEN ME’ written in bold letters across the front. Following the obvious instruction, I lifted the lid to reveal dozens of tinypartments inside, eachbelled with a student’s name in neat handwriting.


    I found the onebelled ’Eamon Riggs’ and opened it. Inside was a golden card etched with my alias and embossed with the Ravenshore crest. I turned it over, rechecking thepartment, but nothing was written on it.


    No instructions.


    Shrugging, I slipped the card into my bag, alongside the new phone Kael had given me, took a deep breath to steady my nerves and walked into the ssroom.


    The ssroom wasrger than I’d expected. Like a mini amphitheatre with tiered rows of desks arced around a central teaching tform, it reminds me of a university lecture hall. French windows lined the side of the ssroom, giving us a view of the Academypound.


    I recognised several faces from orientation and the dining hall, but I kept my gaze lowered as I made my way to an empty seat at the back of the ss. Thest thing I wanted was unwanted attention on my first day.


    I’d just settled into a chair and was pulling out my schedule to make some personal adjustments when a shadow loomed over my desk.


    "Hey, roommate."


    I looked up to find Phil—Phil Whitmore from Redmoon pack—my former dorm mate, shing me a sheepish smile.


    "Uh, hi, Phil..." I murmured warily and returned to what I wanted to do before he showed up. What did he want now?


    He scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "I, uh...just wanted to say sorry. About the way I acted that day at the dorm. I was a total jerk, and I feel so terrible knowing that you’re not there because of me."


    I nodded slowly. "That’s past now, but it’s fine. I ept your apology."


    "Really?" He said happily. "Thank you."


    I nodded and opened my schedule book, noticing he was still there. I looked up again, shing him a smile.


    "Is there something else?" I asked.


    "Not really," he grinned at me again. "You can return to the dorm now. I promise I’ll be a better roommate."


    Not wanting to get into exnations about Kael’s room or reveal that I was pretty happy with my current situation, or that I wouldn’t be returning, I nodded, shing him a quiet smile.


    "Okay," I said quietly, and went back to my notebook and schedule again, in hopes he would take the hint and leave.


    Instead of leaving, Phil stretched out his hand with a hopeful expression. "Friends?"


    I looked at his outstretched palm for a moment before nodding again. "Cool," I said, taking his hand briefly.


    Before Phil could continue the conversation, the ssroom door opened and a stern woman in a dark green suit walked in. Her heels clicked loudly as she made her way to the front of the ss.


    Without being told, the entire ss settled down. Those who had been chatting before she entered were all seated now, facing her.


    "Good morning, first year. My name is Mrs. Tiam, but you should call me J. I am your form mistress. Congrattions on making it to this prestigious institution."


    She set down her briefcase, fixing the ss with a stern look.


    "Before I introduce your term work, I’d like to make a few things crystal clear..." She paused.


    "I do not care about your childhood trauma, your heartbreaks or whatever unprocessed emotional baggage you carried from your pack. I am not a therapist, so don’te to me about anything that’s not schoolwork rted. I’m here to make sure you don’t leave this ce as a disgrace."


    The silence in the room was deafening. I think everyone was just surprised at the way she was talking.


    "Your first term assessment will take ce a fortnight from today, and you should treat every test as important because that is where your final scoring wille from. Our exams here are practically summaries of everything you’ve learned and don’t count for much if you haven’t been paying attention throughout the term."


    Her gaze swept the ssroom coldly before she continued.


    "Here at Ravenshore, you’ll be tested based on your intellect, your physical skills and your potential as future leaders. So if you’re a crybaby, do yourself a favour and ask to be transferred. This school is tough."


    I was taking notes. Scribbling rapidly in my notebook, because I didn’t want to miss any crucial information.


    "Again, tests,bat drills, and teamwork simtions make up the bulk of your assessment, and every mark matters. To get promoted to the next term, your total score must be sixty per cent and above. Anything less results in a repeat, though a trial exam to help boost scores may be allowed, depending on the percentage that fails, but I wouldn’t count on it."


    She paused again, making eye contact with several students, including me.


    "Respect your seniors, respect your teachers, respect the administrative staff—they’re also called ’Specialists’ and do not break any rules. We take rule-breaking seriously around here, so be careful. Please arrive at and leave the sses on time. No loitering. No skipping ss. And once again, I don’t care about your traumas or rtionship issues. Fix them yourself."


    The bluntness of her words was refreshing after a lifetime of people tiptoeing around difficult topics. I appreciated the straightforward approach.


    J opened the suitcase she hade into the ss with and brought out small booklets.


    "I’ve made a list of your courses for this term, all the materials you’ll need—which are avable at the school’s Bookstore—and the dress code for special events. Some of the requirements are mandatory by next week. No excuses."


    She began dropping the booklets row by row, giving them to the person in front to pass back. When I received mine, I immediately started flipping through it, noting the extensive course load and detailed requirements.


    "These next items are equally important," she continued, producing another stack of papers. "This is the form for the mentorship program. By now, I’m sure many of you are familiar with some of your seniors. Please select your favourite and ask them to be your mentor. You’ll only need their signatures. Get this submitted by tomorrow before the end of school."


    Some of my ssmates murmured as the form was passed around.


    I thought about Marcus, wondering what he would do if he knew I wouldn’t choose him as my mentor.


    "If you’re confused about who to choose, the school will randomly assign a senior to you," J continued. "Mentorships are the core to the leadership exercise here, and your performance affects your final score. So, it matters. A lot."


    She waited for a few minutes for the forms to get around the ss. Most of the student started filling theirs right away with smiles on their faces.


    "Also," J continued, gesturing toward the entrance. "The card you collected from the box outside is your ess card to the library, school gym, cafeteria, café, dance room, literally all the ces you’ll need ess to as a first-year student. It has an associated app which you can download to see all the locations it grants ess to."


    I pulled out my golden card again, examining it with new appreciation for its importance.


    "When the student unionester today, they’ll give you a code to scan to join the general school tform. There you’ll find the name of the app to download and other important information I might have missed."


    J pped her hands together, bringing everyone’s attention back to her as she closed her briefcase.


    "That being said, finally, every ss needs a Calls Alpha. Since I cannot always be present, your ss Alpha representative will attend closed-door meetings on your behalf, handle other administrative matters, and ensure your ss is well-represented. You can nominate someone else or yourself."


    I’d been diligently jotting down everything J had said. My pen moved rapidly across the page as I captured thest sentence and mused quietly to myself that the responsibility of ss Alpha sounded both important and potentially dangerous.


    Thest thing I needed was anything that would draw attention or scrutiny to me.


    I was still scribbling notes when a clear voice rang out from somewhere in the middle of the ssroom:


    "I nominate Eamon Riggs as ss Alpha!"


    My pen froze mid-word. My heart stopped beating for what felt like an eternity before resuming at double speed. Slowly, I looked up to find dozens of pairs of eyes turning toward me.


    Phil was on his feet, pointing at me with a smile on his face that didn’t look genuine.


    "Seconded!" another voice called out.