The First Act

A month has passed and it's finally time to face what most students fear—Preliminary exams.

Yes, it's not just the quizzes or performance tasks that you have to worry about. In this school, your academic prowess will be tested through prelims and periodical examinations. Naturally, although performance tasks weigh higher on the scale of grading, academics generally make up at least thirty to forty percent of the grading system.

That was explained during the orientation on the first day but it varies for every subject. For example, in major subjects like Math, Science, English, and Filipino; Examinations and quizzes takes forty percent of the grading system. While in minor subjects like P.E & Health, Music, Arts, and History, the percentage for academics is only twenty to thirty percent.

Both sets are pretty adaptive to the students. Since performance tasks, in general, takes half of your grade, you can pretty much dodge a failing grade even if you scored lower on your exams. But that doesn't mean you're guaranteed to pass. In a private school like this one, your academics and performance tasks are both important.

And I can't study because of what happened last week!

"Ngh..." I was having a hard time focusing because I remembered the time when I accidentally went inside the nightclub.

Okay—no, it's not really an accident. I actually decided to go inside to check things out but I messed up and caused trouble for that pretty lady.

Apparently, the name of the nightclub was Pink Rose. It pretty much explains all that pink palette radiating from outside the establishment. I went home looking exhausted after that Hostess helped me escape. I can already tell that I won't be able to blend properly if in case I decided to go back there again.

"How about the old building?"

"Inspections are done but we still need to clean the other side. Some of the students are tending to the garden."

"I see. Good work, Kylee."

Fuyumi and Kylee were discussing something about the premises of the campus. They still haven't told me anything about the aftermath of the two hotshot issues but I have a feeling that Fuyumi was involved somehow.

"Oh, it's unusual for you to study at a time like this, Nathan." Ayumi noticed my struggle and approached the table. "I thought you were doing well since you're always present after school."

"He deserves that since he's stubborn. He failed the last quiz the other day too..." Kylee joined.

"Leave me alone. I didn't get to study because of what happened. And it's also your fault for dragging me every day!" I retorted.

"My fault? It's your duty as a committee member to be active and responsible." she snarled.

"Now now, I think we can all rest easy now. Now that the issue was solved, we can now focus on our academics. Prelims are about to start... I'd say probably next week." Ayumi mediated between us.

Her usual stoic pretense was nowhere to be found and I'm quite happy about it. Compare to the Fuyumi that I met last month, the Fuyumi that was standing in front of me smiles like a normal high school student. She was showing growth—No, I'd say that she's reverting back to a normal teenager.

And I'm not the only one who noticed this as well. Kylee probably didn't know but I was aware that she was eyeing me for a while. She's probably thinking that Ayumi's changing because of my influence but I don't know if that's really the case.

Oh well, but I think my plan had an effect. If we didn't solve Danny's case, she would've never shown us that genuine smile, relieved from stress.

"Nathan..." Fuyumi called out to me.

"Yes?"

"I know that it's kinda weird to address this right now but... Now that things are back to normal, there's no need for you to continue your duty in the council. Yet, you're still here."

Ah, so she's going to ask that as well, huh? I noticed that Kylee also waited for my response. Not that I'm going to change my decision though.

"President..." I began, Fuyumi looked straightly at me. "Do you want me to stop helping the committee and quit?" I asked.

Fuyumi and Kylee were bewildered. I returned that question purposely because I want to measure their reason. If her answer to my question is deemed for me to reinstate back to my previous school life, then I will respectfully leave the council and work behind the scenes instead.

However, if she hesitates or if she gives me the choice instead, then I will continue what I started in this place. Both options are considerable and they're not really going to affect me in the long run.

I pretty much just want to end all of this and spend time with Autumn and Haru. But I couldn't leave them for some reason. I'm not sure of the factor that stops me from quitting.

"..." Kylee was silent.

"...If I'm going to be honest, I... I don't want you to leave just yet. I know that I forced this on you because you said that you'll do anything until I recover but... that ends now, right? It's not right for me to keep you in here. You've already done what you can to help me. Personally as well."

Fuyumi averted her eyes. She couldn't look straightly when she said those.

"But... I have a feeling that if you're in here, t-things will be alright..."

Oh... So she finds me reliable now.

I smiled. That was my plan from the start. To make sure that my presence would give her some peace of mind. And to let her know that I'm here to carry some of the burdens and responsibilities that she's holding.

"Then I guess I don't have to answer, right?" I stood up.

"Huh?"

"If you think that me being in here would give you some sort of solace then my answer would be to stay here..."

Fuyumi widened her eyes when she heard that. "B-But... you're sacrificing your time. And you're not even willing in the first place..."

Sure, I'm not willing. And I'm aware that I'm cutting my time in here instead of pursuing Autumn. But that's not the case here. I want the President to broaden her views and enjoy this last year.

"It's true that I'm not willing. But I think I found my purpose here because of you. That's why I'm grateful." I bowed.

"I see... that's great." she breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh! By the way, Natsu..."

"What is it, Fuyumi?"

"Eh? Since when did the two of you call each other via nicknames!?" Kylee was shocked.

I know right? Pretty weird...

"Oh wait, I haven't told you anything yet right, Kylee?" Fuyumi turned to face her. "Natsu visited my home last time when he was delivering my order and since I'm unable to tend for myself, he cooked for me."

No no no no wait, why is she telling that story so casually? People will get the wrong idea! President! Don't tell her!

"..." Kylee stared daggers at me. "President, you're telling me you acknowledge him as a close friend...?"

"...y-yes."

No no no no no wait! Why are you being bashful about it?!

"So you've done something to her!"

"No! It's an accident! It was unexpected!" I said in my defense.

"Hah, be careful with your words if you say this to the others, President." Kylee heaved a sigh.

"Why? Is there something wrong?" she asked.

"Because it sounds like you two are dating!"

"..."

Yeah, both of us turned beet red. I actually already realized that a long ago before the issue started but it's new for Fuyumi.

I'm sure she would hate it if a rumor suddenly goes around that we're dating—

"No! Why aren't you denying it?!" I cried. Fuyumi was resting both of her palms on her cheeks and she was blushing. What the hell is going on?!

"Ehem! A-Anyway. I let down my guard for a second, I apologize. I'll be careful..." she returned back, thank goodness.

"So uh... what is it?" I asked.

"Big Sis asked me to invite—"

"Hello...? Is the President here?" as she was about to tell me, the door suddenly opened and two students came inside.

"You're..." Kylee approached them.

"Ah! Sorry for barging in. My name is Chesca and he's Joey. We're here to inquire some help about something..." when the girl said that, all of us turned serious.

"Let's hear the details..."

***

I stopped studying for a while and made my way to the corner of the room. Fuyumi and Kylee fixed the table in the center and they invited the two students to sit on the sofa. After that, Fuyumi prepared some tea for all of us, and then the discussion started.

"Let me introduce ourselves again. My name is Chesca Palencia. This is Joey Macalinao." after the introduction, both of them bowed. "I'm a 4th-year student from Class 4-Amity and he's a 3rd-year student from Class 3-Acacia. We're here because we want to report something."

Fuyumi narrowed her eyes. "Report something? Does it have something to do with the school's regulation?" she asked.

"Ah no, it's actually quite personal."

"Personal how?" Kylee sat beside Fuyumi.

"Umm..." the boy began to speak. "My big sister, Angelica... there's something wrong with her. She's been acting strange since last week and she doesn't go home early anymore. I'm not sure but I'm worried about my sister." he explained.

"Angelica is my best friend. I know that she's not the kind of student to stay late since the two of them are living together without their parent's supervision. We figured that maybe she'd run into some kind of a problem but she doesn't want to tell us." Chesca added.

So this Angelica girl started going home late last week and they're afraid that maybe something was bugging her. If this was a normal meeting, people might've dismissed them saying that maybe Angelica just wanted to have some time for herself.

But that's not the case here. There's a student breaking off the curfew hours and she doesn't want to let her close friend and brother know the reason. If you ask me, that's actually pretty serious and dangerous. Bad things could happen if the information was deemed languid.

When a person becomes secretive, it's either they have something major going on with themselves or perhaps they're trying to protect someone. This issue is similar to what we've fixed last week as well.

"Have you tried asking her personally?" Kylee asked.

"Yes, but she said it's nothing. We're worried about her condition. " Chesca answered.

"A student breaking the curfew for an unknown reason... If you think about it, Angelica might've been trying to run away..." Kylee deduced.

"No wait, I don't think that's the case. If she actually wants to run away, she wouldn't go back to their home. Can I see a picture of Angelica? I feel like I've heard her name somewhere..." Fuyumi asked.

"Yes, please hold on a moment..." Chesca brought out her phone and showed her an image of Angelica. She also displayed lots of videos of Angelica singing and performing.

"Woah, she's really good at singing," Kylee commented.

"Yes, my sister wants to become a singer and an actress. She's actually famous on social media because of these videos. She's a cheerful person. But lately, I feel like she's becoming more distressed about something." Joey said.

"President, can the Student Council do something about our case...?" Chesca asked.

I moved closer to take a look at the girl's picture. When I saw it, something bugged me.

She seems familiar... Have I met her before...?

I get the feeling that I have already met her but I don't know where or when.

"It's hard for me to devise some kind of solution at this point. There are many things we can conclude based on her action. But let me ask something..." Fuyumi turned to Joey. "Joey, is there any problem at your home?"

"Not really... there's nothing that I can remember," he answered.

"Maybe your sister applied for a part-time job and kept that from you?" I spoke up, everyone turned their attention to me.

"Oh, come to think of it, that's quite common for students nowadays. If she's doing part-time, then it's only natural that she will stay late." Kylee said.

"Oh wait..." Joey seemed to remember something. "I think that's possible..."

"What do you mean?" Fuyumi asked.

"We're having a bit of a financial problem lately and my Dad hasn't sent us our monthly budget. He doesn't live with us because his place of work is quite far. He's only been sending us money to keep ourselves sustained and my Sister is the one handling everything." he explained.

Something didn't sit right with me. If that's the case then why wouldn't she tell Joey and Chesca about her job? Working part-time is not something that you should feel secretive about especially if you're doing it for your family. There's no need for Angelica to hide that she works even if her shift starts at night.

Doing so will only lead to negative presumptions and your close friends and families will worry about your condition.

"So she's hiding the fact that she's working, huh? I mean, if that's the reason for her sudden change of action then it should be fine, right?" Kylee asked Fuyumi.

"We can't say that for certain yet. Very well, I'll try to talk to Angelica tomorrow and ask her about the job. If it turns out that it is the reason then we'll inform you two, is that going to be okay?" Fuyumi asked.

"Yes, thank you so much, President!" Joey and Chesca bowed.

After that, Chesca and Joey left the council room.

***

"This case might be a bit too hard to solve..." Fuyumi spoke up while sorting the documents.

"Hmm? Why is that?" Kylee asked.

"Now that we have a lead about her sudden change, this case is now categorized as a personal problem between them. Chesca said so as well. The Student Council—we cannot fix financial problems or issues that have something to do with money. We can only mediate or sort things out by talking to Angelica. But it's up to her whether she's going to tell Joey and Chesca that she's working or not."

"Is that so...?"

True. Chesca and Joey's inquiry to the Student Council—if the problem is all about money and their current circumstances, the issue is now personal. There's nothing that we can do but prompt them to reconcile and figure things out.

However...

"No, President. I think we're not seeing the clear picture here..." I told them.

Fuyumi and Kylee turned to face me.

"Nathan, what do you mean?" her tone was serious.

"The problem doesn't lie in their personal case but on how Angel acted," I said. "Joey said that it's possible that she's working part-time, right?"

Fuyumi nodded.

"Then what if the job that she is working with is not something commendable for a teen to do? Maybe something illegal or dirty?"

When I said that, the two dropped their jaw. I supposed they picked up on what I meant. I came into this kind of observation because of my previous experience so It's easy to imagine a possibility that wasn't included in the mainstream.

"Coercion, crimes, thievery, extortion. There are many kinds of jobs in the deepest part of the iceberg." I added.

"Hold on, so you're saying that... there's a possibility that she's doing indecent stuff that's why she's keeping it a secret?" Fuyumi asked.

"Yes." I nodded.

Or, she's probably keeping it because she didn't want Joey or Chesca to get involved in whatever Angelica is doing.

"I'm surprised. I didn't know your view is that wide..." Kylee said.

"Your ability to consider those just by listening to those two is impressive." Fuyumi winked at me.

"No, I'm just reading between the lines." I shrugged. "Ah yeah, by the way, Kylee. I need your help on something..."

"One hot chocolate and three donuts," she smirked.

Tsk! Damn you!

"I get it! Hah, you're such a pain..." I snarled. I shouldn't have talked to her when I was working in the cafe last time.

"Haha! Thanks!" Kylee patted my back.

"Eh? What is that all about?" Fuyumi got curious.

"Ah, listen here, President. This guy is..."

After telling Kylee what I need, I decided to go home and sleep for the rest of the night.