The food attendant had already given the girl beside Ley her order, but she seemed to want to wait for Ley to get his food first.

"Thank you," Ley said respectfully, having been handed a bucket-sized bowl of his food after a minute.

"Hey, do you mind if we sit over there?" The girl clinging on to Ley asked, pointing at the table at the edge of the cafeteria.

"Uhh, yeah. Sure," Ley answered.

Every student, especially Felix, watched as Ley and an unknown girl walked toward the edge of the cafeteria to sit.

"Uhh... Thanks for helping me out there," Ley said, taking the seat at the table in front of the girl. "But can I ask why you did that?"

"It's because you're weird," she casually answered, taking the seat in front of Ley.

"That's rude to say to someone you just met," Ley said unbotheredly.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean it that way," she awkwardly laughed. "It's a compliment coming from someone who's also weird."

"I see. Then I'm Ley, by the way." Ley introduced himself.

"Nice to meet you, my name's Jia," she also introduced herself.

"You're obviously sitting here with me to know something, right?" Ley said confidently.

"Uhh... yes," Jia answered. "Do you mind if I ask questions?"

"Sure, but I need to eat," Ley answered as he started to eat the bucket-sized bowl of his food.

"Can I ask if you're aware of the dynamics in this school?" Jia asked concerningly.

"Not really," Ley answered with a mouthful of food.

"I see. That totally makes sense," Jia responded. 'May I tell you all about the dynamics of this school?"

"Uhh, but why?" Ley said curiously.

"Because willful ignorance is bad," Jia answered snarkily.

"Touche," Ley said clearly, already done chewing the food in his mouth. "Alright, go ahead. I'll just listen while eating."

There is a powerful institution inside the school that is comprised of children of the wealthiest, most powerful, and most influential families called the Star Tried.

Felix Smith of the Smith family, son of the richest family in the village, whose wealth is yet to be measured.

Mikayla Silva, of the Silva family, is the only daughter of two of the most powerful figures in the village, Jaden Silva, who is a three-degree-holder businessman, and Naomi Silva, who is an extremely famous supermodel.

And Jay Takachi of the Takachi families, one of the sons of Takachi Industries, the most influential company in the world.

The three children were given a title by other students in the school. Felix has the title Gold Star, Mikayla of Silver Princess, and Jay of Bronze Wildcard.

There are core rules that everyone has engraved in their hearts, souls, and minds and follows, and that means staff included.

Number one, no one exits the bus before the Star Triad. Number two, no one enters the classroom before the Star Triad. Number three, do not sit at any of the Star Triad's seats or face social death. And lastly, queues don't exist for the Star Triad as they are and will always be the first ones in line.

"Oh... Those are intriguing things to know about, thanks," Ley said nonchalantly. "But... why do you need to tell me those?"

"You kind of broke the three first rules," Jia answered. "You exited and entered the classroom before the Star Triad, and not to mention, you stole the seat of the worst person to steal a seat from, Felix Smith."

"It's probably okay since Felix's a friend of mine," Ley said casually.

"What?" Jia whispers shockedly. "You're friends with Felix Smith? How?"

"I'm not sure if I should tell you just in case it's supposed to be a secret," Ley said. "So, if I tell you, could you keep it as a secret?"

"I promise I'd keep it a secret," Jia replied.

"Mrs. Smith, Felix's mom, adopted me," Ley answered.

"Wow..." Jia whispers. "That makes sense. Mrs. Smith is known for her child and youth volunteering."

"Uhmm. Can I ask if Felix is some kind of bully here?" Ley asks.

"Well, as long as you don't break the rules, I'd say he's pretty nice," Jia answers. "Besides, it's his fanbase of girls who have these massive crushes on him that do the bullying, so you really need to be careful."

"Oh... I've never been bullied before, at least not severely," Ley said humorously. "I wonder what it's like."

"You shouldn't treat it like a joke," Jia said warningly.

"Maybe. But I'm also a Smith by association, and I'm pretty sure there's some societal benefit to the name," Ley said confidently. "And you should eat already."

"You're right, but you should still be cautious," Jia reiterated. "By the way, do you mind if I introduce you to some of the weirdos?"

"Sure, if by that you mean your friends," Ley said laughingly.

"Yes," Jia chuckles. "Let's meet after classes."

As the time reaches one in the afternoon, the student has finished their lunch, making their way back to their respective classrooms.

I probably should have explicitly asked Felix if he's fine with me sitting in his seat. Ley pondered in Felix's seat, despite being aware. But then again, he seemed pretty okay with it... or else he would have said something.

There were only two classes left: Mr. Franc, who teaches physical education, and Ms. Edwina, of social studies.

Felix was already an exempt student athlete for the physical education subject, yet he remained because being good at physical fitness doesn't equate to being knowledgeable about it.

Despite Jia's warning, Ley immediately went outside the classroom—a habit he has even in the Philippines—to wait for Jia.

"Hey..." Ley greets Jia, finally coming out of the classroom. "Should we go now?"

"Yep, but they're at Silver Star and Bronze Star, so we'll pass by there," Jia answered.

Ley followed Jia to the classrooms of Silver Star and Bronze Star, waving to her friends as the two eventually got up to them.

Jia immediately stood with her friends—one female friend and four female friends—standing in front of Ley to introduce.

"Hey everyone, I would like all of you to meet Ley," Jia introduces Ley. "And Ley, these are Rain, Sean, Rui, Xander, and Joshua."

"Nice meeting you," Joshua greeted, leaning forward to handshake Ley.

"Nice meeting you too," Ley greeted back, exchanging the handshake in politeness.

"It's you. I finally met you." Joshua's voice spoke inside Ley's mind.