"ALL RIGHT! EVERYBODY OFF!"

It was a brisk morning in Bruma as the school bus screeched to a halt. The bus doors' creaked open, letting in the cool air as all of the students shuffled out. Hopping out of the bus with a silver backpack slung over his shoulder, Eddie Soriano-Vargas walked down the sidewalk of Bruma Heart Charter's southern entrance. As he strolled under the arches of the school, his eyes caught someone familiar leaning on one of the arches' walls; a girl with chocolate skin that wore the school-appointed vest and shorts, with a varsity jacket keeping her warm.

"What's up?" Eddie said as he walked up to Nico Harris, who was glancing at her phone before she glanced up at him. Instead of reciprocating the welcome, her eyes went over the tall boy top to bottom. After a brief examination, Nico let out a disappointed sigh. Eddie scrunched his face with annoyance. "The hell was that?" He asked.

"Oh, nothing." Nico replied innocently.

"No, it's never 'nothing' with you. Spit it out, it's too early for this!" Eddie walked in closer, demanding to know. Nico continued to lean on the pillar unperturbed, directing her hand towards his clothes. "What is this?" She probed.

Eddie gazed down at his uniform, wondering to see what the problem was. All he saw was his usual wear: An unzipped orange-and-blue track jacket with navy slacks. Under his jacket was a plain white Tee, which itself emphasized his bronze cross necklace that hung over his neck. He looked back up in confusion. "My clothes?"

"No way~" She remarked sarcastically. "Of course it's your clothes. Unfortunately."

"Hey, what's wrong with it?"

"What's wrong? Look at it! How can you make uniform clothes NOT match? It's impressive."

Eddie rolled his eyes at her accusation. "So what it doesn't match?! It's comfortable."

"Of course you'd say that. Your mom must be so embarrassed. D tier uniform."

"D-D tier?! My clothes ain't D tier!" Sputtering, the incensed boy marched past the girl in dismissal. "Oh, whatever! You're just trying to piss me off."

Lifting off the pillar, Nico caught up to Eddie, her hand on her chest. "I'm not trying to piss you off, I'm trying to help you! Really!" She jokingly tried to justify. "I think you need to hear my advice." The taller boy stopped to glare at her.

"Really? And what's that?"

"...You know what, rather than talking, I'll show you." Walking past, Nico beckoned Eddie to follow. "Let's go. Walk with me."

–OD!–

As the two students walked down the crowded hallway, Nico referenced the environment around her. "Tell me Eddie," she requested. "What is the first thing you notice when you look at everyone's clothing?"

Eddie observed the students in the hallway to find the main similarity the girl was inferring. With uncertainty, he answered. "Uh… They all look the same?" Nico nodded in a way that felt patronizing to the tall boy.

"Exactly!" She confirmed. "Uniforms, by nature, are meant to restrict and uphold conformity. I believe it's paramount to stand out from your peers."

"Wait a sec." Eddie stopped walking, squinting his eyes. "If that's true, then what's wrong with MY clothes? Ain't my style different from most people?"

"Let me rephrase; I think it's good to stand out as long as you don't look like a clown doing it."

"Screw you!" Nico snickered at Eddie's reaction before going on ahead. While sauntering down the hall, she noticed two familiar students by the lockers. She then looked back at Eddie. "Here we go! Your first example. Come on."

In a couple of steps, the two go to meet Seina and Oliver, who were conversing amongst themselves. Both of them were wearing the most popular uniform with students: a blue blazer with a sun-orange tie. The Asian girl wore her uniform the neatest between the two, completing her outfit with a pleated navy skirt and Converse sneakers over her knee-high socks. In comparison, the blonde wore his clothes quite lazily, with his loose tie and wrinkled high-water slacks.

"Hey!" Nico called out, interrupting the pair's conversation. Seina was the first to turn around to meet them. "Oh, hey guys!" She greeted, but Nico wasted no time to continue her mission.

"Seina. Do me a favor." The sardonic girl instructed. "Stand up straight."

"Okay!" When Seina did as she was told, Nico walked around her and presented her case to Eddie. "Look at her, Eddie. Not too hard, though."

"Shut up and say what you're tryin' to say" Eddie pressed. Nico complied with his demand.

"As you can see, Seina's style is like everyone else's. Same blazer, same skirt; hell, I'm pretty sure most of the student's wear Converse! C tier, for common."

"Oh…" Seina mumbled as she looked down in response to the sudden criticism. Nico patted her shoulder in comfort. "No offense." Nico then put her arm around Oliver, pulling him into view.

"Hey!" Oliver objected to no avail.

"On the other hand, Oliver here is a mess. Loose tie, wrinkled clothes… I'm surprised he combs his hair every morning…"

"Wow, thanks-"

"BUT," she added. "It's because of his laziness that he stands out. It would be so much easier to point him out in a crowd than Seina. Therefore, C plus tier."

"What?! That's not fair!" Seina contested. "Why is he higher?!"

"I told you, Sei. Your clothes are just too common." Nico reasoned.

"B-But what about my bag! It stands out a lot…" The younger girl held out her mascot-themed messenger bag, with plenty of accessories attached to it. Nico shook her head. "That's not part of the uniform. Doesn't count."

"Don't beat yourself up, Seina. Some people are just born with more style." Oliver subtly bragged. The older girl simply side-eyed him.

"Oh, don't get me wrong." Nico remarked. "You're still a slob. Pick up an iron once in a while, huh?"

"...Noted. Now unhand me, Nico."

–OD!–

Bruma Heart's Cafeteria, Lunchtime…

While everyone continued to stay in line to receive their lunch, Eddie and Nico were already sitting at a table nearby. As Eddie began to take another bite from his salad, his supposed friend bumped his elbow to get his attention. "Look over there, another example." Nico said.

Eddie raised his head in exasperation. "Christ, are you still on this?"

"Yeah I am, until it sticks. Now look." The person that Nico pointed at was a russet-skinned boy with curly hair and glasses. His clothes were slightly different, with him wearing a blue sweater vest with a vertical orange stripe covering his left side, along with the school insignia plastered on the heart of the vest. Under his vest was the standard undershirt and tie, along with khakis to complete the outfit. "What do you think?" Nico asked.

As Eddie looked at the boy, nothing noteworthy came to mind, so he settled with a simple answer. "Good, I guess."

"Pretty good, actually." She clarified. "While it's still uniform, he made it at least slightly different from most people. Looking at him, you can tell he put thought into it. B tier."

"...Good for him."

"Yeah, but it gets better. Observe the girl in front of him." Nico then points at a ginger girl with freckles on half of her face. Parallel to the boy behind her, her uniform choice was far simpler. Similarly to Nico, she wore a buttoned-up vest with no tie, with the sleeves of her dress shirt rolled up to her forearms. To finish the outfit, she also wore a skirt with biker shorts that stretched to the end of her thighs, along with leather combat boots to match.

"What's so special 'bout her?" The taller boy asked.

"It's the simplicity. No big quirks or flashy stuff, just the little things. The sleeves, the boots… those things add up, Eddie. Our first A tier."

"Yippee." Eddie said sarcastically before he continued to eat his salad. Not too far away, the boy with curly hair was gleaming with joy as he chatted into the redhead's ear.

"You hear that? We have top tier styles!" Vincent exclaimed.

"Yeah, I heard. Now could you back up? You're breathing on my neck." Veronica replied.

"Oh, sorry." he took a small step back. "But come on. You gotta be a bit happy about being called an 'A tier.'"

"..."

–OD!–

C.L.U.B Room, After-school

"-Do you finally get what I'm saying?" Nico asked as she entered the shed. Following her, Eddie walked over to his seat to sit down, mentally checked out of this conversation. "I don't know… that I suck at dressing myself?" He grumbled.

"Sort of, but no. The point is that you do have the potential to be better! You can even be an S tier if you try hard enough."

The taller boy scoffed as he leaned back on his chair. "Why would I care about that?"

"Because look!" Nico twirled around, showing Eddie her stylized uniform. "Don't you want to look as fine as me?"

"You? You're the S tier?" Eddie inquired, perplexed.

Nico affirmed herself as she pointed to her clothes. "Of course I am. Don't you notice what's unique?" After the boy remained silent, she answered her own question. "The shorts! Girls were only able to wear skirts and pants until I came along. What better way to reject conformity than to change the rules!" Eddie stared at the girl for a couple of moments before responding. "Narcissistic much?"

"What's that? You DON'T want help on your math test?"

"Alright, alright! I'm sorry!" He retracted. Suddenly, the door to the C.L.U.B room opened, with Seina running in with a fervor. "Nico! There you are!" She gasped out.

"Hm?" Nico inquired.

"Notice something different?" Seina stood straight, her uniform in full view. Upon further examination, the junior did notice something different; on the left side of the blazer, there was now a white star accessory pinned on the lapel. "You put a star on?" Nico answered.

"Yup! That makes my uniform better than a C, right?!"

"...Yeah sure. B minus tier."

"Yes!" Seina shouted as she pumped her fist in celebration.

END!