In the central cafeteria, Cappuccino Power and Grace just finished eating their lunch and was hanging out, waiting for their next class to start. There were still students eating, but it wasn't as hectic as it did earlier during the lunch hour rush, which filled the enormous central cafeteria with students, faculty, and staff from all over the university.
"Aaaaaah! That was so good!" Mingyu commented as he sipped the last of his mango shake, burping loudly as he placed the empty cup on the table where they were siting. His burping antic earned him a slap on the back of the head from Katrina who was sitting beside him.
"Why do you always have to be so rude!?" Katrina fussed as Mingyu rubbed the back if his head.
"Mingyu might end up having multiple lumps at the back of his head at this rate" Angela commented to the laughter of everyone.
"He might, it feels like Katrina has been hitting his head every day ever since classes started" Aaron added, garnering another round of laughter from everyone.
"Well, he did bring it unto himself, who knows, it may help jolt his brain a little" Grace added before drinking the bottle of water she has in her hand.
"This is bullying!" Mingyu countered as he looked at Grace who nonchalantly rolled her eyes while she was drinking from the water bottle.
"It isn't bullying if it's the truth, right?" Jasper interjected as he gave a chuckle to the disappointment of Mingyu.
"Come on man, I thought we were on the same team!?" Mingyu complained as Jasper laughed at his reaction to his comment.
"Got to go with the flow Mingyu" Jasper laughed again as he gave Aaron a fist bump, Mingyu giving a childish pout in response.
"Hey Min, why did Aiden summon you to his office earlier?" Moira asked, holding a piece of turon in her hand, taking a quick bite as she waited for Min to respond.
"Oh, that. He just asked me if I was doing okay" Min replied with a straight face, causing Ball to turn his head towards Min, who was sitting on his right side, giving him a teasingly weird look.
"Really? That was it?" Katrina said in a surprised tone as Grace and Moira looked at each other in confusion and disbelief.
"What's with that reaction? Grace, Moira?" Mingyu asked as he saw their facial expressions.
"Well…" Moira paused for a bit, looking at both Grace and Katrina before continuing, "Aiden ordered us to clear out of the Student Council room, and summoned Min to his office"
"Oh, is that what happened earlier?" Angela asked, nodding as she got the gist of why Moira frantically pulled her out of her office.
"Yeah, pretty much. It honestly surprised us earlier when Aiden told Min to go to his office after we all left" Moira added, explaining what happened after the conclusion of the meeting with Oscar and Prince.
"You've been going to Aiden's office a lot lately Min. The first week isn't even over yet" Ball teased as a huge grin started forming on his face, seemingly to tease his friend.
"You have us beat, Aaron, Jasper, and I haven't been to Aiden's office yet" Mingyu interjected as Jasper and Aaron nodded at the same time.
"I haven't been to Aiden's office as well, as far as I know, Min is the only one who have been to Aiden's office out of everyone here" Katrina added.
"I've only been in there twice, still, Min has us all beat" Moira joked as Min gave a forced laugh.
"I'll be honest, I think Min and Aiden has an unusual relationship" Aaron commented.
"Oh? In what way?" Ball asked out of curiosity as he looked at Aaron, "It seems normal to me, I think?"
"Katrina, Mingyu, and Jasper would probably agree with me on this, but Aiden doesn't usually interact with someone new as much as he is interacting with Min. That's why I think it's unusual" Aaron explained.
"I agree" Katrina interjected, "Aiden has had a lot of subtle reaction and expression changes when he's interacting with Min" Katrina added, concurring with Aaron's earlier statement.
"Is that for real? I thought that was pretty normal, at least from my point of view" Ball responded.
"Just so you know, in all the years we've known Aiden, he's never had so many subtle expression changes. It only happens when he's mad, annoyed, or impressed by something – the last one is extremely rare " Mingyu continued.
"It seems like you're special Min!" Ball said in amazement as he turned his attention towards Min and started poking his side teasingly.
"It's not a bad thing though" Jasper laughed, "It's a refreshing sight to see different reactions from Aiden, however subtle it may be". Mingyu, Katrina, and Aaron snorted as they smiled.
"It still amazes me how all of you notices his subtlest expression changes!" Grace said in awe.
"Aiden had several different reactions this week. I think the most obvious one was after Aiden changed Min's cold pack in his office. I think that's the first time I saw him embarrassed" Mingyu laughed as he remembered the awkward situation that transpired in the Student Council office.
"Definitely" Katrina concurred, her face slightly red as she remembered that awkward night, "I was surprised to actually see Aiden change expressions in such a short period of time"
"Really? I couldn't even tell" Ball said in amazement.
"You-" Katrina started to speak, but before she could continue what she was about to say, Grace, Angela, and Moira said in unison, "You kinda have to get to know him to be able to tell". This surprised Ball, Katrina, Mingyu, Jasper, and Aaron.
"Don't act so surprised guys, you've said it multiple times already, so we already know what Katrina was about to say" Grace added to the surprise of Ball who was looking amazed and impressed by how Grace, Angela, and Moira said that at the exact same time.
"That's awesome though, it looks like you guys practiced it or something, right?" Ball said as he looked at Min who didn't seem surprised at all, "Wait, Min. Are you not amazed by that?"
"Not really? They did that during my first Student Council meeting" Min responded, surprising Ball who seemed like he was the only one actually amazed by what he just heard.
"I'll be honest Ball; I'm still surprised by it" Mingyu chuckled.
"I don't think I'll get used to that" Jasper added as Aaron nodded in agreement.
"What do you think Bank?" Ball asked as he turned around, looking at Bank who was sitting on another table, focused on the binder that Aiden lent him yesterday, "Bank!" he called out again.
"Leave him be Ball, he's studying for the quiz tomorrow" Min interrupted as he placed his palm on the top of Ball's head and slowly turned his head back towards the others.
"You guys have a quiz tomorrow? Bank seems like he's really focused on studying" Katrina commented as he looked past Ball and could see Bank hunched over the table diligently reading Aiden's notes. As Katrina was observing Bank from where she's at, Jasper got up from where he was sitting.
"I'll be right back" Jasper said as he walked away from the table, Aaron just followed Jasper with his eyes as he walked off somewhere.
"Where's Jasper going?" Mingyu asked Aaron as the latter shrugged in response, not knowing where Jasper was headed off to.
"So you guys want to hang out this afternoon after classes?" Ball suddenly asked, causing Mingyu and Aaron to look at Ball.
"I can't, we have a meeting with the International Student Council tonight" Katrina responded. Moira almost immediately reacted, clicking her tongue before giving an exasperated sigh.
"What's wrong Moira?" Angela asked, curious as to why Moira reacted the way she did at the mention of the International Student Council.
"Here we go" Grace remarked as she readied herself for Moira's imminent rant. Min just cringed, knowing what Moira's reaction was going to be. Katrina lowered her head in anticipation for Moira's outburst.
"Oh God! I really hate the International Student Council President!" Moira raised her voice as she started her ranting, "She got on my nerves really quick this morning!" she added, her face quickly turned red as she started fuming again.
Ball nonchalantly leaned towards Min, whispering in Thai, "Did she meet Monica?". Min nodded slightly, his attention still on Moira. Ball cringed as he slowly moved away from Min, his eyes also focused on Moira, who was getting redder by the second.
"I don't even feel like going to the meeting tonight, just seeing her face makes me want to strangle someone so bad" Moira continued as she flipped her hair back, Angela rubbing her shoulder to try and calm her down.
"Is the International Student Council President that bad?" Mingyu asked, looking at Ball and Min who only turned their heads away, not wanting to comment about Monica.
"With those reactions, I'm guessing she probably is" Aaron deduced as he saw Ball and Min's reaction in response to Mingyu's question.
"You guys have no idea" Moira said as she looked at Mingyu and Aaron, her eyes were so wide it looked like her eyeballs were going to pop out of her eye sockets.
Grace sighed before she facepalmed, "I don't know how tonight is going to go with Moira so incensed with the International Student Council President".
"I guess we'll have to find out later" Katrina added as she rubbed her right brow with her right index finger, her head a little bit lowered as she looked at Grace.
"It seems like you're in a dilemma Moira" Min suddenly spoke, getting the attention of Katrina and Grace who were stressing over the probable outcome of the meeting.
"Hah? What do you mean?" Moira responded as she looked at Min who was sitting on the table across from her and Angela.
"Remember what Aiden said this morning? I think it would be best if you try and hide your hatred for Monica during the meeting, unless you want to be on the receiving end of Aiden's ire" Min told Moira in the nicest and calmest way possible, trying not to agitate her more than she already is.
After hearing what Min said, Moira slowly lowered her head as she suddenly remembered what Aiden told her that morning in the Student Council Room,
"This is my problem me how? Whatever happened between the two of you is none of my concern. My concern here is that my Chief of Staff is throwing a fit and making a ruckus so early in the morning. You need to calm down!"
Moira froze on the spot as she remembered the coldness of Aiden's voice and his stoic expression when he berated her that morning. She also recalled when Aiden snapped at Min after the first Student Council meeting, thinking back at those moments, Moira's exasperated expression suddenly turned grim. The very thought of suffering the same fate that Min did that night was enough for her exasperation to dissipate and snap her back to her rational senses.
When Moira slightly lifted her head up, Ball and Min nearly jumped out from where they were sitting when they saw Moira's face. She looked like Sadako from the Japanese horror movie "The Ring", which goes to show the extent of how much Moira stressed over what Min just told her.
"I'm okay now, you're right Min" Moira said, her voice sounding raspy, further adding to the terror that Min and Ball were already feeling.
"What's wrong with you guys?" Mingyu asked as he saw Min and Ball's reaction. When he didn't get any response, he got up from where he was sitting and walked towards Moira, whose head was slightly tilted up, the side of her face was covered with her hair. When Mingyu stood beside her, he leaned forward and took a peek at Moira's face, which caused him to jump backwards towards Ball's knee, hitting his back.
"HOLY SHIT!" Mingyu shouted at the top of his lungs, causing everyone in the cafeteria to look towards their direction, "Wha-What the hell happened to you Moira!?" Mingyu continued, disregarding all the eyes that were looking at them.
"Jesus Christ Mingyu!" Katrina fussed as she glared at Mingyu who was pushing his back unto Ball, the latter using Mingyu as a shield, hiding his face behind his back to avoid looking at Moira's face.
Aaron , Grace, and Angela, who was sitting next to Moira, started getting curious as to why Mingyu, Min and Ball looked so terrified. Before anyone could say or do anything, Moira fully lifted her head up, and slowly looked towards Angela who was a mere inch away, giving Angela, Grace, and Aaron, who moved right next to Grace, a glimpse of her face.
Angela quickly jumped out from where she was sitting when she saw Moira's face, backing into Katrina who was still glaring at Mingyu, her face looked shocked and surprised. Grace's eyes widened as she covered her mouth with both hands, Aaron cringed as he slowly backed away from Grace.
"What the-" Katrina reacted as Angela bumped into her, "What's wrong Angela?" Katrina asked as she looked at Angela who's eyes were focused on Moira. When Katrina noticed Angela's eyes were fixated to where Moira was, Katrina turned towards the same direction. When she saw what Moira looked like, all she could say was "HOLY SHIT!" as she moved away from Angela and backed into Mingyu, who then used her as a shield like Ball was doing with him and hid his face behind Katrina's back.
"I fucking told you!" Mingyu told Katrina as he buried his face on Katrina's back, trying to avoid seeing Moira's face again.
"What's wrong with you guys?" Moira asked, her voice still raspy as she noticed the rest of Cappuccino Power, with the exception of Bank and Jasper, move away from her in terror.
Grace slowly removed her hands from her mouth, "I-I think we need to go to the restroom for a little bit and freshen up Moira" she stuttered, smiling awkwardly as she mustered enough strength to respond.
"Ye-yeah, what she said" Angela followed up, "I think you could use a little powder here and there"
"I don't think just a dab of powder would cut it Angela!" Mingyu interjected, his face still buried on Katrina's back, "I think a plastic surgery would do it"
"Wh-what he said!" Katrina stuttered as she pushed her back further into Mingyu's face.
"Ah, shit. It's my face isn't it?" Moira said, her voice raspier than ever, "There's a perfectly good explanation for this, I promise. But I think I should head to the restroom first"
"That's a good idea" Mingyu responded while Ball quickly nodded his head on Mingyu's back.
"I'm with Mingyu on this one" Min concurred as he slowly inched closer towards Ball.
"I'll go with you" Grace volunteered as Min, Katrina, and Aaron looked at her, "I'll go with Moira".
"I'll go too" Angela added as she slowly inched backwards towards Grace.
"Yo-you should go too Katrina!" Mingyu suggested as she gently pushed Katrina forward.
"I-I'm good" Katrina responded as she backed into Mingyu again, closing her eyes to avoid getting another glimpse of Moira's face, "Angela and Grace got this!"
"I'll go too" Aaron said, prompting Angela, Grace, and Min to look at him, "I can wait outside the restroom until Moira, Grace and Angela finishes"
"Right" Moira said with her raspy voice as she stood up from where she was sitting and slowly made her way towards the restrooms. Angela, Grace and Aaron followed a few feet behind her. As the four of them walked off, Jasper came back with a mango shake in his hand.
"Where are they going?" Jasper asked as he saw Moira, Katrina, Grace and Aaron walking off, "Did I just miss something here?"
"Are they gone?" Mingyu asked, his voice muffled as his face was still buried on Katrina's back.
"Who?" Jasper asked, confused as to what was going on with everyone.
"Yeah, they're gone" Min responded as Katrina opened her eyes and moved away from Mingyu, giving out a deep sigh, a few seconds later, Mingyu moved away from Ball.
"What the hell happened?" Jasper inquired again as Mingyu walked up to him, placing his hand on his shoulder, "Trust me Bruh, you don't want to know" before walking towards where he was sitting earlier.
Jasper looked at Katrina after Mingyu walked by him, only getting a cringy expression and head shaking. He turned towards Ball who looked traumatized, he then looked at Min who finally said something in response, "Believe me when I say just trust Mingyu on this one".
"Alright then" Jasper reluctantly accepted what Min had to say before he walked towards Bank, who was still slouched over, laser focused on the notes that Aiden lent him. When Jasper was just a feet way from Bank, he noticed that the other boy has earphones in his ears, even though Jasper was standing beside him, Bank didn't notice Jasper as he was too focused on studying.
Jasper smiled before pressing the plastic cup that contained the mango shake on Bank's left cheek. The coldness of the plastic cup surprised Bank as he tilted his head on the opposite direction from where the coldness was coming from. Bank took his left earphone off and turned his head towards the source of the sudden coldness that caressed his cheek.
"P'Jasper!" Bank said, obviously surprised by what Jasper just did. He sighed a little before putting the wireless earphone down next to Aiden's binder, "Do you need something?"
Jasper smiled, finding Bank's reaction adorable, "I'm just checking up on how you're doing, you've been sitting here all by yourself being quiet"
"Sorry. I have to study, quiz tomorrow, history" Bank responded, his English a bit broken, though his voice sounding adorable like a little kid in Jasper's ears.
"Don't study too hard" Jasper chuckled, Bank looking at him confused.
"If I don't study hard, I fail quiz" Bank responded, not getting the joke behind what Jasper just said.
Jasper chuckled again, "I didn't mean it literally. You should study, but not too much, it's bad for you"
Bank was even more confused as to what Jasper is trying to say, "Study, but don't study?", he responded, scratching the back of his head. Bank was a little embarrassed that he couldn't understand what Jasper was trying to tell him.
"Oh, I feel like I've confused you even more" Jasper said, at loss on what to do or say next. Bank was just looking at him with a confused expression, waiting for him to say something else.
"I know" Jasper said, "Hey Min, can you come here for a bit" he called out as he gestured for Min to come over. Min playfully pushed Ball's head as he got up from where he was sitting to head over where Jasper and Bank are.
"Yeah, what's up?" Min asked as he reached Jasper and Bank.
"Can you explain to Bank what it means when you tell them 'Don't study too hard' I feel like I've confused him with that saying" Jasper explained the situation to Min.
"What do you mean by 'Don't study too hard', what's the context?" Min inquired further.
"Oh, Bank looked like he was studying too hard for his quiz tomorrow, so I told him 'Don't study too hard' but I think he took it literally, and he got confused by it" Jasper further explained.
"Ah, I got what you're trying to say, most of my friends in Iowa always tell me that, more so because I'm Asian, and in the United States, Asians are stereotyped for always studying" Min said before he looked at Bank and started explaining what Jasper meant in Thai. As Min finished his explanation, Bank responded with an "Ahhh" finally understanding what Jasper was trying to say. Bank looked at Jasper, his eyes sparkling and nodded his head, finally comprehending what Jasper was trying to tell him earlier.
"Thanks Min" Jasper said as Min nodded his head before walking back to where Ball was sitting. As Min walked off, Jasper handed the mango shake to Bank, "This is for you". Bank was caught off guard, he wasn't expecting Jasper to get him anything, he was at loss and all he could say was "Eh?".
"It's a reward for studying so hard" Jasper smiled as he moved the mango shake closer to Bank who seemed hesitant to take it from him. Bank softly bit his lips, trying to decide whether or not to take the mango shake that Jasper was offering him. Before he could come to a decision, Jasper suddenly grabbed his hand and placed the mango shake in his hands.
"Just take it. I bought it for you" Jasper said as he gave another smile, ruffling Bank's hair before he walked back towards where Mingyu and Katrina where sitting. Bank just looked at Jasper as he walked off, he then focused his attention on the mango shake in his hand as Jasper sat beside Mingyu. Bank smiled, blushing a little bit before taking a sip of the shake in his hand.
"It's sweet, like P'Jasper" Bank said in Thai, smiling, before putting his earphones on and resumed reading.
After a little while, Moira, Angela, Grace and Aaron returned. Mingyu, Katrina, Ball, and Min were surprised to see Moira's face back to normal, completely different from what she looked like before she went to the restroom.
"How!?!?" Mingyu exclaimed, pointing at Moira who was walking towards them, his face was confused and in utter disbelief. Min, Ball, and Katrina sharing the same reaction as Mingyu when they saw Moira. Mingyu, Katrina, Min, and Ball who were now sitting on the same table just followed Moira with their eyes until she finally sat down across from them, Angela, Grace, and Aaron sitting close to her.
"Sorry about earlier" Moira apologized to everyone, "I guess I owe you all an explanation" she chuckled as everyone's attention was on her.
"So what did I miss?" Jasper, who was sitting next to Mingyu asked, "Was it that bad?"
"Somewhat" Aaron replied as he laughed awkwardly, scratching the back of his head, giving Jasper an extremely vague explanation.
"You definitely owe us an explanation. That was extreme Moira!" Mingyu said, his face still somewhat terrified and shaken.
"Was that a medical condition?" Katrina followed up, looking a bit more concerned than she is terrified, unlike Mingyu and Ball.
"No, it's not really a medical condition, although sometimes I think it's hereditary or something. In any case, this rarely happens, and the only trigger I know is sudden extreme stress and heightened emotions. I usually use the Marie Antoinette Syndrome, since it's the closest thing I could think of, however, instead of my hair turning white, my face seems like it catches all the stress, and it turns me into someone who hasn't slept for days, and my voice also gets raspy and stuff. As all of you could probably tell by now" Moira explained as he glanced at Jasper, "Well, not everyone since Jasper and Bank didn't witness it".
"I hope they don't" Mingyu chimed in as he gave a sigh of relief, "I'm surprised your face went back to normal so quickly though".
"Oh yeah, I just need to calm down and splash some water on my face, it helps, but it usually takes a day or two for my face to completely return to normal. The relaxing and washing part helps to the point where make-up can take care of the rest" Moira chuckled as Angela placed her hand on her shoulder.
"I'm just glad it wasn't something that needed medical intervention" Angela commented after hearing Moira's explanation.
"For real though. That was probably the most disturbing thing I have ever seen in my life" Grace added as she scratched her cheekbone.
"Well, at least there's a silver lining to all of this" Moira slowly grinned as she looked at Katrina, Mingyu, Ball, and Min. The look that Moira was giving them sent shivers down to both Mingyu and Ball's spine.
"Oh? There is?" Jasper asked before Moira's grin turned into a full-blown smile.
"Now we know that Mingyu, Katrina, Ball, and I guess to a certain extent Min, are scared of horror movies" Moira laughed teasingly, "That's a weakness we could exploit in the near future".
"I'm glad you're back to normal!" Angela said as she grabbed Moira's arm and leaned her head on her shoulder, her face showing a smile.
"By the way, what triggered your face change?" Jasper inquired, Grace and Katrina also voicing out their curiosity as they looked at Moira.
"It was more than likely what Min said earlier" Moira responded.
"What I said?" Min responded as he pointed to himself, "The one about Aiden?"
"Yeah, that one!" Moira quickly replied, confusing everyone who was listening in on the conversation.
"How did that become a trigger?" Min asked, his face looking curious as to why his comments earlier triggered Moira's sudden facial change.
"Well, as you all probably know, I was already fuming about the International Student Council President, but then, when you told me what you did earlier, I realized that angering Aiden was a lot more stressful than Monica – and frightening if I'm being honest" Moira explained.
"Have you seen Aiden angry?" Mingyu asked, "The most that I've seen was borderline frustrated and angry, but not full-blown angry".
"Well, I got a mouthful from him this morning. That was scary enough for me, just imagining how scarier he could be when he's really angry" Moira replied as Mingyu nodded his head in agreement.
"I'll be honest. I think that's also something I wouldn't want to see" Katrina concurred with Moira.
As Cappuccino Power continued on with their conversation, some of the remaining students at the cafeteria started walking towards the exit. Their movements weren't that noticeable, given that there were only a few students left in the cafeteria at that time. Since everyone was preoccupied with the conversation that they were having, no one noticed the students leaving, nor the current time.
As everyone conversed with each other, Min noticed the almost-total silence, with the exception of their group, which was basically the only source of noise in the cafeteria. Min scanned their surroundings and noticed that they were the only students left, "Hey guys, I don't mean to interrupt, but I think we're the only students left here", Min interrupted, causing everyone to check their surroundings.
As everyone was looking around, Mingyu suddenly said, "Shit!", causing everyone to look at him. "Guys! It's already 13:50!" Mingyu added, prompting everyone to look at their phones to confirm what Mingyu just announced.
As they were checking the time, Mingyu had already put his backpack and on and started running towards the exit, waving his right arm in the air, "I'm going on ahead, I'll see you guys later!", before he pushed open one of the doors that led to the Student Center.
Just as Mingyu was exiting through the doors, Angela, Katrina, Grace, Jasper, and Ball got their backpacks on and scrambled to leave the cafeteria, they were in such a hurry that they didn't even say a word to Min, Moira, Jasper, and Bank – who was still studying.
"There goes the neighborhood" Aaron commented as he sat and watched everyone make a mad dash out of the cafeteria.
"I guess the four of us are the only ones that doesn't have a class at 14:00" Moira commented as she leaned her back on the table.
"It seems like it, but I think Bank has a 16:00 class though" Min said as their suddenly became eerily quiet.
"So are you done for the day Min?" Aaron asked as he moved closer to where Moira was sitting.
"Yeah, all my classes are done for the day. What about you guys?" Min responded before asking Moira and Aaron.
"Yeah, I'm done. I'm practically free for the rest of the day. That is until we start practicing for soccer again next week" Aaron replied.
"Seriously? You play soccer?" Min responded excitedly, "I didn't know that!"
"Yeah. I'm the Captain of the soccer team this year" Aaron replied to Min's surprise and delight.
"Hey! We should hang out and play soccer sometime, Ball and I used to play soccer in Thailand" Min suggested. Aaron liked the suggestion, giving Min a fist bump in response.
"That would be sweet. Maybe I should invite you guys to one of our drills once we get started with our practices" Aaron suggested.
"Oh wow, that would be awesome. I haven't played in a while" Min responded as Moira listened on their conversation, "Ball and I used to be in the soccer team when we were in middle school and high school".
"Really? You and Ball don't look the type though" Moira chimed in.
"Well, he did say that they haven't played in a while. So I guess it's natural they don't look like it" Aaron responded to Moira's comment, his face making a weird expression.
"So, what do you all plan on doing for the rest of the day? Moira and I have to be in the International Student Council meeting later, but what about you Aaron?" Min asked, changing the topic of their conversation.
"Nothing really. I guess I'll hang around until Mingyu and Jasper finish their classes, I bet they would want to do something after they finish their classes" Aaron replied, "I'll probably go to the library and sleep".
"You serious about sleeping in the Library?" Min asked, not sure if he was being sarcastic or not.
"Yeah, we can sleep in the library, as long as we're not disturbing other students who are reading or studying. We can also bring food and drinks in there if we want, some students even have food delivered over there" Aaron explained to the amazement of Min as he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket.
"Wow, MJU is really laidback in a lot of things. We can't bring food or drinks in the library in our home university" Min replied as Aaron and Moira looked at their phones, "Something up?".
"We've just been summoned by Aiden to the Student Council Room" Moira replied as she and Aaron put their backpacks on, "Sorry to suddenly leave like this, we'll see you later Min".
"Sorry Min, we'll talk about soccer later" Aaron said as he gave Min another fist bump, "Say bye to Bank for us" Aaron added before he and Moira started walking towards the cafeteria exit.
As Aaron and Moira left, Min walked over to where Bank is, sitting across from him before taking his phone out and started playing games on it.
Meanwhile in his office at the Student Council room, Aiden just finished reviewing and approving the revisions his officers have submitted to him, compiling all of them into a binder which he would bring to the Executive Council meeting the next day. After compiling the necessary proposals, he placed the binder in his drawer along with the other binders he will bring to his meeting the next day. Aiden then proceeded to clean and organize his desk, clearing all the papers and notes scattered on it, neatly compiling them, and placing them on the side of his desk, topping it with his clipboard to prevent the papers from flying off his desk.
"Is it just me or has it gotten a little warmer here?" Aiden told himself as he got up and walked towards the thermostat, which is mounted on the wall above his printer. Aiden, being hot natured lowered the temperature of his office from 21°C to 12°C. As Aiden sat back down, air started blowing out of the vents in Aiden's office, allowing Aiden to relax a little bit as the cold air touched his skin.
"That's more like it" he commented as he leaned back on his chair, trying to get himself more comfortable, his eyes starting to relax, "Maybe I'll nap for a few minutes".
Just as his eyes closed, Aaron, Moira, and Amy ran into each other in front of the Student Council room. Moira and Aaron were surprised to see Amy, not expecting to see her there.
"Amy? What are you doing here? Did you need anything in the Student Council room?" Moira asked Amy, who was just standing in front of the Student Council office.
"I got a message from Aiden telling me to report to the Student Council room ASAP" Amy replied as Aaron and Moira stood in front of her.
"So he summoned you too huh?" Aaron asked, Moira was about to grab the doorknob, when she heard what Aaron just said, she turned and faced him.
"Aaron, that's what Amy literally just said" Moira sarcastically teased before grabbing the doorknob and opening the door. Amy chuckled as Moira entered the room, following her inside a few seconds later.
"One moment she's a horror character, now she's a comedian" Aaron snorted as he low-key chuckled before following Moira and Amy inside.
"I wonder what Aiden needs us for?" Moira asked as she placed her bag on top of the conference table, as Amy approached the conference table from behind
"Who knows" Aaron responded as he sat on the couch, his backpack still on his back.
"Where is Aiden anyways?" Amy asked as she pulled out one of the chairs at the conference table.
"Probably in his office, let me check" Moira said before walking towards Aiden's office, knocking on the door twice before entering. When Moira opened the door, a gush of cold air greeted her, causing her to screech loudly. This jolted Aiden out of his nap, quickly opening his eyes to see what was happening.
When his eyes adjusted, he saw Moira standing in front of his office shivering, "Jesus Christ Moira!" Aiden said in a surprised tone, as Amy and Aaron came running from behind Moira.
"Moira you okay!?" Aaron asked, his voice sounded concerned, "What happened!?" Amy added as she and Aaron flanked Moira from behind.
"I-It's cold in here, the cold air blew right at me" Moira stammered as she started shivering from the cold air coming out of Aiden's office.
Aiden, Aaron, and Amy simultaneously facepalmed as Moira continued to shiver. Aiden lifted his head and gave out a deep sigh, his eyes wide open, "You scared the hell out of me".
"So-sorry Aiden, I-I didn't mean to wake you up, bu-but we're all here" Moira reported as she rubbed her upper arms trying to warm herself.
"If you're that cold Moira, just move away from the door" Aiden responded as he got up from his chair, walking towards where the others were standing. Aaron and Amy gently pulled Moira out of the way as they led her to the conference table, Aiden following them as he closed his office door.
"Right, I didn't expect to be woken up like that" Aiden said as he leaned on the conference table, while Aaron, Moira, and Amy sat across from where Aiden is.
"Sir" Amy said as she prepared to salute Aiden, Amy's arm was half-way up when Aiden gestured her to stop, before nodding her head, acknowledging Aiden's order.
"Did something happen Aiden? You summoned us out of the blue" Aaron said as he pulled himself closer to the conference table after taking his seat.
"I wanted to go over the crowd and traffic control for the Student Organization Fair this Friday" Aiden responded, his eyes still looking sleepy.
"Which companies are being deployed on Friday Amy?" Aiden asked, still leaning on the conference table.
"Sir, I have requisitioned the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th ROTC Companies for the Student Organization Fair. The Battalion will be under my command, Cadet-Colonel Belarmino has already approved their deployment" Amy reported, her voice serious and stern.
"Who's the commanding officer of the 3rd and 4th again?" Aiden further inquired.
"That would be Cadet-Major Alexis Montanillo, sir" Amy replied.
"Have him take command of the Battalion; I need you to be at the control booth for the duration of the Student Organization Fair" Aiden ordered as Amy responded with a "Sir".
"Moira, make a rotation list for the members of the Student Council that will man the control booth, make it so that each member has a 30-minute shift" Aiden instructed Moira as she took a notepad out of her bag, writing Aiden's instruction down.
"Aaron, I want you to oversee the crowd and traffic control operations out on the floor, make sure that it's running smoothly, have Cadet-Major Montanillo patrol the venue with you" Aiden continued
"Will do Aiden" Aaron said, nodding his head, "Also, I received word from the Office of Student Relations, they will be lending us at least 30 laptops for the check-in during the event".
"Good. That should suffice. We'll have some of your cadets' man the check-in table Amy, normally members of the Freshman Council would be tasked with that, but I haven't heard anything from them since the semester began" Aiden said as he stood upright.
"Do we have an update on the music selection for Friday?" Aiden asked as he looked at Moira who seemed unable to answer. Aiden sighed, as he pulled a chair and finally sat down.
"Where on we on that" Aiden further inquired.
"I was going to bring that up with the International Student Council President this morning, but unfortunately she didn't seem interested in what I have to say and basically shooed me away" Moira explained as Amy and Aaron shifted their eyes towards Moira without moving their heads.
"She did what?" Aiden's tone went higher than usually, sounding surprised by what Moira just said, though his expression didn't change, he seemed like he was keen on knowing what transpired that morning when Moira met with the International Student Council President.
Aiden looked at Amy, then Aaron, before looking at Moira again, "I take back what I said this morning, I want a full report on what happened with your meeting".
"Are you sure Aiden?" Moira asked, a little hesitant to share her somewhat rough experience with the International Student President.
"I wouldn't ask if I wasn't sure. This would be a good opportunity to gauge the character and personality of the International Student Council President before we meet her later this afternoon" Aiden responded with a hint of sarcasm in his voice, "Also, control your anger when you give your report" Aiden added as Moira took a deep breathe before narrating what transpired that morning.
As Aiden, Aaron, and Amy listened in on Moira's report, Aaron could not help but feel a little annoyed and pissed at what Moira was telling them, especially the way Monica was treating Feng Mian, and the way she was talking to her own officers. Amy for her part felt a bit embarrassed by the fact that one of his company commanders did not even recognize the Student Council Chief of Staff, but like Aaron, she felt infuriated and also appalled by how Moira describe Monica's treatment of her own officers. Aiden for the most part did not react whatsoever, even Aaron didn't notice any subtle changes in his reaction while Moira was giving her report.
Although Aiden wasn't reacting in anyway, he was listening intently on what Moira was saying, at the same time, he was analyzing what Moira was telling them and coming up with necessary countermeasures and approach in regard to dealing with Monica in his head. Although Aiden won't say it, he feels like Monica would be a troublesome person to deal with, if he was going with Moira's statement and description of her.
"…and so I just left the folder on her desk and went back to the Student Council office. I ran into Min in the elevator and we both headed here, that's when you heard me ranting" Moira concluded her report about her encounter with the International Student Council President.
"Just hearing about it annoys the hell out of me. I mean, who does that to their own officers!?" Aaron vented his frustrations, "I mean, Aiden can be cold and sarcastic at times, but hell, that Monica person seems like she's in a whole different level of rude".
"First of all, I would like to apologize on behalf of my officers for not being able to recognize you. Secondly, I agree with Aaron, she seems like a dictator than a duly elected President of the International Student Council, I find it appalling and horrifying" Amy said as she gave her thoughts and opinions about the matter.
Aiden was quiet even after Moira concluded her report, he was still finishing up his strategy for dealing with Monica, to ensure that the meeting later that afternoon wouldn't go south like it did with Oscar and Prince earlier in the day. Though he already had come up with an appropriate approach should the meeting go south. Aiden suddenly leaned back on his chair, making it creak, prompting Aaron, Moira, and Amy to look at Aiden whose expression remained the same.
"I know Aiden is always expressionless and all, but I can't believe he didn't even react to any of what Moira just told us" Amy though in her mind as she looked at Aiden.
"She sounds like a major pain to deal with" Aiden finally spoke, Moira nodding her head in agreement, "You know what, I take back everything I told you this morning Moira. The International Student Council President sounds troublesome based on your report".
"Very well, change of plans" Aiden announced, "Moira, message all Student Council members, let them know that their attendance in tonight's meeting is mandatory. Amy, I need Cadet-Major Montanillo and four of your cadets to attend this meeting as well, I'll leave it to your discretion who those four would be".
"I'm on it" Moira responded as she took her phone out and started typing her message for the Student Council Members.
"Yes sir, will do!" Amy responded as she also took her phone out and sent a message to Cadet-Major Montanillo and MJU-ROTC Command.
"What are you planning Aiden?" Aaron asked, wanting to know why there was a sudden change of plans for the meeting with the International Student Council.
"This will be a show of force to the International Student Council, more specifically to Ms. Sawyers. I will not tolerate her behavior towards my officers and the gross disrespect to the authority of this body, letting this slide would only embolden her to continue with her disrespectful attitude" Aiden explained his train of thought to Aaron.
"Amy, assign an additional company for security operations around the International House" Aiden ordered as Amy nodded in acknowledgement, altering her original message to reflect her new orders.
"Moira, call the International Exchange Program and confirm Director Guerrero's attendance, and get Min here as soon as possible" Aiden continued as he expanded his original orders.
"I want everyone to be at the Gazebo Field HQ at 16:30 sharp. I'll be in my office; I need an update as soon as anything new comes in. Amy, you're dismissed. Aaron, assist Moira with anything she needs" Aiden instructed as he walked back in his office.
"Will do Aiden!" the trio responded in unison as Amy immediately got out of her chair and left the Student Council room and return to ROTC-HQ.
Back in the cafeteria, Min was playing PUBG mobile while Bank studied in front of him. The cafeteria was still void of students, except for a few staff and faculty members who were having a quick break or grading papers and conducting work related to the university. It was pretty quiet, except for the occasional sounds of keyboards clacking from the faculty members' laptops, and the ruffling of papers. Min silenced his phone as to not disturb the calm and quiet atmosphere in the cafeteria, and not disturb Bank who is studiously studying in front of him.
As Min was playing, Bank ended his study session, even though he still had time before his 16:00 class. He closed the binder in front of him, taking his earphones out before stretching his arms out. After stretching, he waved his hand in front of Min who lowered his phone down.
"Oh, Bank. You done studying?" Min asked in Thai as he exited his game and placed his phone down on the table.
"Yeah. It was pretty hard to understand some of the words that Aiden wrote in his notes, I had to use the dictionary to look up some of the words" Bank replied in Thai as he grabbed his half-empty mango shake that he got from Jasper earlier, taking a quick sip of it.
"It's part of the learning process. Do you feel confident about the quiz tomorrow?" Min asked, still speaking in Thai.
"I think so. I'll probably go over Aiden's notes again tonight, but I pretty much got the gist of it" Bank replied as he packed the binder in his bag.
"That's good, I'll probably study with you and Ball tonight after our meeting tonight" Min replied as Bank placed his wireless earphones in its case.
"You have another meeting tonight? Have you at least started studying for the quiz tomorrow?" Bank asked, concerned that Min might not have been able to study for their quiz.
"I skimmed through the e-book last night, I'll probably do some proper reading tonight" Min replied as his phone vibrated
"I'm not too worried about you. You're pretty smart" Bank commented while he put his backpack on as Min looked at his phone.
"Anyways, I'm going to go on ahead. I going to go ahead, I want to be early today so I could read my notes for this class" Bank told Min as he typed something on his phone.
"I'll walk with you" Min said as he placed his phone in his pocket before putting his backpack on.
"Where you heading to?" Bank asked as he stood next to Min, holding the mango shake in his hand.
"Moira just messaged me, I'm needed at the Student Council room" Min responded as he stood up and lightly slapped Bank's shoulder as he started walking, as Bank walked beside Min.
"Another meeting?" Ball asked as they walked towards the exit.
"I don't know, Moira didn't say. All she said was that Aiden wants me in the Student Council room as soon as possible" Min replied as they neared the cafeteria exit.
"Anyways, I'm heading this way. I'll see you later Bank" Min said as he split up with Bank.
"See you later Min!" Bank called out as Min walked off in another direction before walking to the opposite direction and head to his class.
Back in the Student Council room, Moira just concluded her phone call with the International Exchange Program as Aaron stood in front of her desk. "I understand, thank you ma'am" Moira said as she hung the phone up, her hand still on the receiver.
"What did they say?" Aaron asked as Moira gave out a sigh, before she got up from where she was sitting.
"Director Guerrero called in sick today, he thought he would be better this afternoon, but apparently not. Assistant Director Nicole Sarmiento will attend in his stead" Moira explained before she started walking towards Aiden's office to give him an update.
When Moira reached Aiden's office, she knocked twice before opening the door, "Oh, the temperature is back to normal".
"Did you just come in here to comment on my office's temperature?" Aiden said sarcastically as he turned his attention from his computer to Moira.
"Errr.. No, not really?" Moira replied, sounding unsure as Aaron appeared from behind her, "I actually have some updates to report".
"You should've said that first, anyways, what is it?" Aiden asked as Moira and Aaron entered his office.
"I haven't heard anything from the Student Council members, I imagine they're still in class. I did receive a reply from Min, he should be here any minute. Also, I just got in touch with the International Exchange Program, they said that Director Guerrero won't be in the meeting, Assistant Director Sarmiento will be attending in his place" Moira reported as Aaron flanked her.
Aiden looked at the time on his computer – 15:45. "Everyone should be replying soon, let me know their responses, and send Min in here when he arrives" Aiden instructed as Aaron and Moira nodded their heads in acknowledgement as they turned around to leave Aiden's office. As Moira and Aaron were leaving, the door to the Student Council room opened and Min walked in.
Moira stopped and turned back around to face Aiden, "Min just walked in". Aaron then gestured at Min to come to Aiden's office, which prompted him to canter towards where everyone was.
"Hey, what's going on? Did you need me for something" Min said as he entered the office, Moira and Aaron, still standing inside Aiden's office.
"Yes. Inform Monica Sawyers that the entire Student Council will be attending tonight's meeting" Aiden ordered Min who quickly got his phone out and started writing an email to Monica.
As Min was composing his email, Moira's phone started vibrating back-to-back. She took her phone out and saw a notification banner showing her that Grace, Katrina, Angela, and Kobe responded to her message. She opened LINE and all the members said that they were going to make it to the meeting tonight with the International Student Council and agreed to meet at the Gazebo at 16:30.
"Aiden, the other Student Council members said that they will make it to the meeting" Moira reported as Aaron leaned towards her.
"Did you send those messages individually?" Aaron whispered into Moira's ear.
"Yeah, why?" Moira replied, curious as to why Aaron would ask something so random.
"You do know we have a group chat, right? Wouldn't it have been easier to send it there?" Aaron asked.
"I mean, half of us already know the change, besides, if I sent it on the GC, it might blow up Aiden's notification" Moira explained defense of her actions.
"Touché" Aaron responded as he returned to his original position.
"Email has just been sent to Monica, Aiden" Min reported, "Did something happen? What's with the change of plans all of a sudden".
Before Aiden could respond, Aaron spoke first, "Moira gave us a report of what happened with her and Monica this morning. Aiden decided to bring the entire Student Council and some members of the ROTC as a show of force", Min could only cringe in response to Aaron.
"Moira, prep the talking points and agenda for tonight. Min and Aaron, help her with what she needs. We'll head to the meeting place in 15-minutes, be ready by then" Aiden instructed as the trio in his office immediately complied. After 15-minutes Aiden walked out of his office, Moira, Aaron, and Min were waiting by the door.
"Everyone ready?" Aiden asked as he walked towards the trio, the three nodded as Aiden opened the door and exited the Student Council room, Moira, Aaron, and Min followed suit in that order. There were a number of students in the corridor when Aiden and his group left the Student Council room, as usual they had their phones out, taking pictures and/or videos.
"Aaron, assume delta formation when we exit the Student Center, take the rear, let Moira and Min know where they should be" Aiden instructed as they walked towards the elevator. Min and Moira looked at Aaron, confused as to what Aiden meant by "delta formation".
"It's a three-person formation to cover Aiden. Basically, there will be two people walking at least a few feet in front of Aiden, one to his right and the other to his left, the third person would cover the back" Aaron explained as they reached the elevators. As they waited for the elevator to arrive, Aaron continued his explanation.
"Aiden asked me to cover the rear, Min will take up the position on the right, Moira will take the left. Aiden can walk pretty fast, so make sure he doesn't end up walking beside you or in front of you. You have to make sure he's in the center of the formation at all times" Aaron further explained as the elevator doors opened. When it opened, there were four students inside, who screamed as soon as they saw Aiden.
Aiden closed his eyes for a second and opened them again in response. Aaron then asked the students to immediately vacate the elevator as they were heading to an important meeting, to which the students complied, but not before taking a picture of Aiden, then Min, and Aaron as they walked out of the elevator. After the students vacated the elevator, Aaron entered first, followed by Aiden, then Moira and Min.
As the elevator descended, Aaron spoke again, "Once we exit the elevator, assume delta formation immediately, and keep that formation until we reach the International House. We'll probably encounter a number of students, and probably some AGs as we head towards the International House, no matter what happens, stay in formation, especially you Min". Min turned around and looked at Aaron, "Me?".
"Yes. After the Gerry's Grill incident, your face has become well known throughout campus. Expect students to take pictures and videos of you, some may even approach you. Try to ignore them as much as possible and just keep walking" Aaron explained.
"I understand" Min responded before returning to his previous position.
"Once the doors open, start walking, make sure to move fast, don't run or jog though" Aaron added before the elevator doors opened. When the doors opened, there were a number of students waiting in front of the elevator. Just as Aaron has instructed, Min and Moira quickly walked out, going to their assigned their positions as most of the students around them gave muffled screams, taking their phones out to take pictures and/or videos.
When they left the Student Center, Aiden spoke, "The AGs already know my location, keep your eyes peeled for students that have a black and blue armband, keep your formation tight".
Just as Aiden said, students with black and blue armband started appearing from different directions as they walked towards the International House. A number of students were also starting to line their path towards their destination, most have their phones out, and some were just looking on. Further ahead, there were a group of students clumped together wearing the black and blue armband, their screams could be heard even from a distance.
"Hey, the AGs can't approach us because of the collective rule right?" Min asked, his eyes focused in front of him as he and Moira tried to keep their formation.
"The collective rule only states that they cannot interact with Aiden, it doesn't say anything about not approaching him" Aaron responded from behind Aiden.
"Shiaa!" (เชี่ยย!) Min loudly exclaimed as his face started looking distressed and panicked. Moira and Aaron looked at Min after he exclaimed something that they didn't understand. Aiden though, in an extremely rare moment, lowered his head a little bit to hide his face from everyone, biting his lips to prevent himself from chuckling at Min's predicament. Lucky for him, Min, Moira, and Aaron were too distracted with their surroundings to even notice his almost-explicit reaction – a complete break from his usual persona. Aiden though, almost immediately dismissed Min's reaction and returned to his normal stoic face, tilting his head up after ensuring that his face was expressionless again. After they passed the clumped AG members that were screaming like deranged fans, a handful of students tried to approach their formation.
"Aiden, one student approaching from 11:00 o'clock, three students from 2 o'clock" Aaron announced, "Min! Three students inbound coming from your direction. Moira you have one student coming from your end!" Aaron called out as Moira and Min started to panic, not knowing how to effectively respond to the oncoming students without breaking their formation.
"This is bad, Moira and Min have no experience in this" Aiden thought to himself, his external expression still the same, masking the worry he was starting to feel. Just as the three students got close to the formation, Mingyu, Jasper, and Ball appeared from the crowd. Mingyu immediately intercepted the three students and prevented them from breaching the formation, while Jasper took care of the other student approaching from Moira's side, Ball walked up beside Aaron as he walked beside him. After taking care of the students, Jasper and Mingyu joined the formation, the former walking beside Moira, the latter beside Min. Seeing Mingyu and Jasper enabled Aiden to subtly breathe a sigh of relief.
"Mingyu! Jasper! Aaron! Elongated bipyramid formation. Mingyu take point; Jasper, take Moira's position; Min, stay where you are; Moira, move to the back; Aaron, take care of the rear formation, you're rear guard" Aiden ordered as everyone moved in accordance with his instructions. Mingyu walked a couple of feet in front of Aiden, a few feet from the other two up front while Min stayed in his position, Jasper taking Moira's place. Moira moved to the back and was instructed by Aaron to walk behind Aiden on the left-hand side, while he placed Ball on the right-hand side, while he walked a few feet behind Ball and Moira.
As they neared the International House, the number of students started getting thinner thanks to the presence of the ROTC around the vicinity. When the number of students went down from lines and clumps to a few scattered, Aiden ordered the formation to be loosened, assuming the delta formation again with Jasper and Mingyu up front, with Aaron remaining in his original position. Ball walked beside Aaron on his right-hand side, while Moira and Min walked on his left-hand side.
Katrina and Angela were already by the Gazebo in front of the International House, conversing with Amy as Aiden's group arrived. When they passed by the formation of cadets in front of the Gazebo, they were greeted by a loud thud from the clicking of their boots, followed by a salute to Aiden, "Stand at ease" Aiden ordered as he walked past them. Ball looked so amazed by what he just saw that his mouth was wide open as he walked passed the formation of cadets.
"Angela, hold these for a second" Moira said as she passed the binder and folders that she was carrying, before putting both her hands on her knees, catching her breathe. Min on the other hand, held unto the railing of the Gazebo to do the same, as Ball, Mingyu, Jasper and Aaron stood behind Aiden.
"Oh my God Moira, Min, are you guys okay?" Katrina asked as she looked at Min and Moira. "Jesus, what the hell happened to you guys?" she added, looking at Aaron, Mingyu, and Jasper.
"It was Moira and Min's first time in delta formation" Aaron chuckled responding to Katrina's question.
"It was also Moira, Min, and Ball's first time on elongated dipyramid formation, though it was on the latter half of the journey though, so Ball wasn't as drained as Moira and Min" Mingyu smiled as he placed his hand on Ball's shoulder.
"They did good though, given that they didn't drill for it" Aaron added as he walked over to Min and patted his shoulder.
"Thanks" Min said as he normalized his breathing.
"Katrina, I don't know how you do it" Moira said as she caught her breathe, with Angela patting her back.
"Well, we've been doing it since our senior year in high school" Katrina said, looking at Moira who looked like she needed a ventilator to help her breath.
"You three did exceptionally good, considering that was your first time" Aiden chimed in surprising everyone who was present, a rare compliment coming from Aiden. His face remaining stoic as Amy passed him a clipboard that contained the situation report regarding the security perimeter. He skimmed through it before he and Amy walked into the Gazebo, where the NCOs and officers of the two ROTC companies currently deployed in the International House vicinity were.
As Aiden was meeting with the officers, Aaron called on Ball who was chatting with Mingyu, "Hey Ball, I have a question for you".
"Hmmm? What is it?" Ball responded as he and Mingyu turned towards Aaron.
"What does 'Shiaaa' mean?" Aaron asked, trying to pronounce the word just as how he heard Min say it earlier, surprising Min and Ball.
"Where did you hear that from?" Ball asked his face was borderline smiling and laughing.
"That was my fault, I accidentally said it while we were headed here" Min chimed in, speaking in Thai, causing Ball to laugh.
"What did Min say?" Aaron asked.
"Oh, he said that it was his fault, and that he said it by accident" Ball said as he translated what Min just said, "Anyways, it means 'Fucccccccccckkkkkkkkkkk!', 'Say whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat', or 'Shit', depending on the context and situation" Ball explained before laughing again.
"That's the first time I've heard Min cuss" Aaron laughed as Min, Jasper and Mingyu listened in on their exchange, at the same time, Kobe and Grace arrived at the Gazebo.
"Have you all waited long?" Grace asked, as she walked towards Katrina, Kobe fist bumping the guys.
"No, everybody pretty much just got here" Katrina replied as Grace looked at Moira whose breathing was just now starting to normalize.
"What happened to Moira?" Grace asked as she walked towards where the girls were.
"She helped with Aiden's defensive formation earlier" Katrina replied, "It can be rough".
"Aiden's defensive formation?" Grace asked, "What is that?"
"It's similar to the ROTC's protective formation, like what they did during the Gerry's Grill incident, though It's mainly formulated by Aiden for me, Mingyu, Aaron, and Jasper", Katrina explained.
"What does that entail?" Grace further inquired.
"Basically, we maintain a formation and make sure no AG or other students could get close to Aiden, he's very particular about his personal space, especially with random people" Katrina said.
"It doesn't sound difficult" Grace responded confidently as Moira gave Grace the "look" in response.
"It's not as easy as it sounds you know" Moira responded, now standing upright, her breathing normalized, "There's more to it than keeping the formation and preventing students from getting near Aiden".
"It seems pretty simple to me" Grace responded in an arrogant tone, the atmosphere between Moira and Grace suddenly turning tense.
"Hah! I'd like to see you try, you're always all talk, but when it comes to it you fail to deliver" Moira responded in an equally arrogant tone.
"I'm not the one out of breathe here" Grace shot back as Angela, Katrina, Aaron, Kobe, Jasper, and Mingyu looked on.
"Woah, what's happening between them?" Min asked in a worried tone, "Should anyone intervene?"
"Nah, let them be. I wouldn't worry too much" Kobe casually dismissed Min's concern, to the surprise of Ball, Jasper, and Mingyu who were standing close to him.
"It looks and sounds like they're about to fight though" Ball shared his concern as he watched and listened to Grace and Moira who was talking back to each other. Min turned his attention towards Aiden, who was merely a few feet away from Grace and Moira, and he didn't seem concerned about what was going in, flipping through the papers on the clipboard as if nothing's happening.
"What's going on here? I don't understand. Why are the Student Council members so calm about this?" Min asked as he looked at everyone present. The cadets in formation, although seemingly at an at ease stance, were obviously watching as their eyes were all focused on Grace and Moira as they exchanged heated words between each other.
"Grace and Moira have had this rivalry between them since we were in the Freshmen Council, they'll stop at some point" Aaron explained the situation to Min, Ball, Jasper and Mingyu.
"Really? They seem like they're good friends though. I've never seen them argue like that before" Min commented as Aaron placed his hand on Min's shoulder again.
"It'll be fine, they'll be talking to each other later as if nothing happened. Just think of it as a semi-friendly rivalry between them" Aaron said as he tried to reassure Min.
Katrina and Angela seem to have their own rivalry, in the form of betting who would blink first between Grace and Moira. Katrina have always bet on Grace, while Angela always placed her bet on Moira, so far the count has been tied between Grace and Moira ever since Katrina and Angela started betting.
"Who do you think would blink first?" Aaron asked Kobe, "Want to bet 200 pesos on it, Kobe?"
"Not a chance, lesson learned after what happened during orientation" Kobe responded confidently, "I'm not falling for that one again"
"Alright, no bet. Who's your pick?" Aaron rephrased his question to Kobe.
"I'll go with Moira on this one" Kobe said, placing his hands on his hips as he chose his fighter.
"I'll go with Grace" Aaron picked with confidence in his voice. Jasper, Mingyu, Min, and Ball just looked at each other, watching as things unfold between the Student Council members.
As Katrina, Angela, Kobe, and Aaron watched the war of words between Grace and Moira, five silhouettes coming from the east, appeared - it was Cadet-Major Montanillo and four other cadets behind him. As they approached the Gazebo, Cadet-Major Montanillo turned his attention to where Grace and Moira were, confused, but curious as to what was happening between the two. He quickly shook his head and focused his attention on the Gazebo, stopping in front of the steps the led inside the FHQ.
Cadet-Major Montanillo and the four cadets clicked their heels as they saluted Aiden and Cadet-Major Del Rosario who were in the Gazebo, "Cadet-Major Montanillo reporting as ordered!" he announced as Amy and Aiden looked at them, Amy returning the salute while Aiden only nodding his head in acknowledgement.
"At ease" Cadet-Major Del Rosario ordered as Aiden read through one final page of the report before handing it over to Cadet-Lieutenant Policarpio before walking out of the Gazebo, Amy walking beside him.
"You could stop your petty fight now" Aiden called out in a loud voice, referring to Grace and Moira who immediately complied as Aiden stood a few feet from Cadet-Major Montanillo, Amy flanking him on his right-hand side.
Angela and Katrina simultaneously rolled their eyes, knowing that it was a tie between Grace and Moira. Kobe was confused as to who won that round until Katrina made a gesture similar to tying a necktie to inform Kobe and Aaron that it was a tie, to their disappointment.
"Mingyu, Jasper, and Ball you all can go. This is a Student Council matter from this point on" Aiden announced as Mingyu and Jasper gave Ball, Min, Aaron, and Kobe fist bumps. After they finished first bumping the guys, Jasper and Mingyu called out to Katrina, Grace, Angela and Moira showing them the peace sign as they both walked away from the Gazebo.