As the sun rose its way into a new day, Ley and Felix made their advances for school—having eaten their breakfast with the family, showering consequently, and getting dressed in their uniforms just in time for the school bus.

But before the two could even step outside the house and wait for the bus, their eyes met, having exited their rooms at the same time.

“Oh, hey,” Ley greeted Felix. “I heard that everyone in the family has a custom card with their names engraved on it. Is it true?”

“Yeah, it’s true,” Felix replied. “Do you want to see mine?”

“Yes, please," Ley answered excitedly.

“Here,” Felix responded, handing his custom card for Ley to hold. “So… what are you first planning to do with your card?”

The third-floor hallway filled itself with silence after Ley, who was mesmerized by the two custom cards he’s holding, admiring each card’s unique and beautiful design, didn’t answer.

“Wow… Mine’s black and gold, while yours are gold and white," Ley said happily.

“Yeah, everyone’s are color-coded," Felix replied proudly. “Mine’s gold, yours black, Iris's purple, Alex’s red, Dad’s blue, and Mom’s white.”

“Ooh… I love that,” Ley says happily, handing Felix back his custom card.

“So… for your first, what are you planning with your card?” Felix asked again.

“I don’t know… I never really expected your family to give me a custom card," Ley answered. “But… I am curious as to what you did when you first got yours.”

“Uhh… I guess I bought a TV?” Felix answered unsurely.

“Ooh… That’s nice,” Ley responded. “To be honest, I’m not sure if I’m going to be comfortable enough to spend the Smiths’ money for myself.”

“Well, you still should,” Felix said confidently. “Because it’s actually better for the family reputation if you keep on buying things, which is what the balances of our custom cards can do.”

“I see… I guess I should buy stuff later?” Ley said unconfidently. “I mean… It’s not like I’m already planning on buying foods and snacks from that Asian marketplace I spotted before.”

“See… you already have something on your mind to buy,” Felix snickers, hearing Ley’s oversharing. “But what’s wrong with the snacks I bought for you?”

“Oh… overshared that, huh…?” Ley sighs defeatedly. “Well… if you must know, no offense, but I lowkey got bored of Canadian snacks, and it made me want to go back to my Filipino snacks.”

“I see,” Felix answered flatly. “But talking about later, shouldn’t I accompany you with your friends? Just in case?”

“Uhm… I don’t think hanging out with a group of people who call themselves the Weird Club is good for the most popular person in the school,” Ley said sarcastically. “Besides, I’m still a guy so I can protect myself.”

“Alright, then," Felix answered.

Yey! He bought my lame excuse of protecting myself… I mean, I really couldn’t say I have powers and am almost indestructible, which is why I’m confident I can go anywhere anytime. Ley exclaimed.

“If you’d like, I’ll let you taste some of my favorite Filipino snacks," Ley offered.

“Sure. I look forward to it,” Felix answered.

After their conversation in the third-floor hallway ended, the two immediately boarded the school bus, in which Ley joined Felix in the last row, understanding that it’s probably for the best that he does for the sake of every student on the bus.

“Hey…“ Ley whispered to Felix, leaning comfortably toward him since the bus was still empty. “Was I wrong for exiting the bus first, entering the classroom first, and then stealing your seat?”

“It’s fine since those things are just dumb made-up rules that everyone made," Felix flatly whispered back. “Do you really think we care who exits the bus first or enters the classroom?”

“And the seat doesn't matter to me; it’s just a seat," Felix added, knowing it’s not something worth troubling Ley for.

“I see… I guess when you put it that way, it really sounds dumb," Ley replied. “But I was glad that I got to sit beside you despite picking the seat out of a whim.”

After Ley was informed that the rules held no value or significance, he semi-comfortably exited the bus first because of his motion sickness, which did not seem to get better compared to yesterday.

As Ley exited the bus, he noticed a group of people crowding a news board where the latest or relevant news is upheld there by the journalist club.

Yikes… That is one way to overwhelm an introvert. Luckily, their attention is at the board. Damn it! I’m so nosy. Ley thought as he walked his way to the news board, where everyone’s gazes suddenly fell on him as he reached toward it. Jesus. These stares make me want everyone’s head to just explod… Oop. I probably shouldn’t have thoughts like that anymore because I have powers…

Oh… I can see why everyone’s staring at me. This headline saying, “Another Star… or Another WEIRDO?” With my full-body pic on this huge board… Wait… isn’t this the bullying I was warned about? Ley pondered. Doesn’t really feel like bullying, though… Oof. Everybody’s eyes are more uncomfortable than this news… I mean… they didn’t even pick an unflattering photo of me or edit it to make me look ugly. If anything, this just makes my ego… a little big. And to be honest, I’d feel more offended and insulted if it was a random anonymous Twitter account posting my picture and saying I’m ugly.

Felix, Mikay, and Jay, curious as to why everyone’s crowding the board, immediately went into the crowd that surrounded Ley only to realize that there had been offensive and incredibly insulting news on the board being read by Ley.

Felix’s eyes widened as he panicked, having read the news on the board, but he knew to not express it and stay calm.

“Well. It was only a matter of time before he'd been hit by your fans, Felix,” Jay said casually.

“True… But he doesn’t look bothered by it at all, though. If anything, it looks like he’s smiling…” Mikay mentioned.

She’s right. I panicked too fast, but rightfully so. This is someone who can kill the entire human race after all. Felix’s mind calmed down, observing the unbothered and smiling Ley.

“Will you two get rid of that from the board?” Felix says nonchalantly, yet his words gave shivers to Mikay and Jay. “If you don't, I will take care of it myself.”

Mikay and Jay stood silent in their positions as they took a deep breath at the terrifying request of Felix. Not because the tone of his voice was scary but by the fact that Felix had never requested anything like that or anything ever.

So, before they could even step inside their classroom, Mikay had already called the head of the journalist club to have the news removed.

“It’s done,” Mikay said to Felix, who’s now on his way to the classroom, trying to avoid the thoughts of what would have happened if Ley were to be insulted by the news.

Felix arrived at the classroom first, having been thinking about consoling Ley and confirming whether he was offended by it.

Jia noticed the news on the board and managed to read it earlier than Ley. Which then made her worried about Ley, who had just finished reading it.

“Hey, you okay?” Jia said concernedly as she latched onto the walking Ley’s left shoulder.

“Why wouldn’t I be?” Ley questioned.

“The news at the board?” Jia said.

“Ehh. I’ve been called worse, and being a weirdo sounds like a compliment to me." Ley shrugged. “I was disappointed that they didn’t make me look ugly in the photo. I mean… that’s the least you should do if you’re trying to hurt someone.”

“You’re right, and you did look good in that photo," Jia replied in relief. “So… did you get permission from the Smiths?”

“Yeah,” Ley said casually.

“That’s great!” Jia exclaimed. “I guess I'll see you later.”

As Ley entered the classroom with Jia, Felix observed Ley’s attitude and mannerisms as he took the seat next to him.

Bothered by the fact that he couldn’t risk Ley being bothered, as it would manifest a negative emotion and convert into a mist, he decides to just text Ley.

“Hey, are you okay?” Felix texted Ley.

“Oh… I didn’t know you were someone who texts during classes…” Ley responded. “But… why wouldn’t I be okay?”

“You read the news on the board, didn’t you?” Felix answered.

“Oh… Whoever did that seriously needs to up their game, because that was weak," Ley replied. “I mean, I couldn’t help but laugh at how good I looked on the photo they chose.”

“So, I take it you’re not offended or insulted by it?” Felix texted, hoping to confirm.

“More like bored by it 😂,” Ley answered, making Felix silently giggle at his chair. “Wow… didn’t know you could smile at school.”

“What do you mean?” Felix texted as he briefly turned to his left to look at Ley.

“Ah-ah. Eyes on the phone,” Ley replied, keeping his gaze on his cellphone, noticing Felix in his right peripheral vision. “I just noticed that you don’t really smile a lot, which you should, because you’re cute with a smile.”

“Think about your fans who would really appreciate your smile,” Ley added. “Because most of the time, you look like a grumpy person.”

“It’s hard to smile when people don’t talk to you because everyone is scared of your family name," Felix responded. “And I can’t talk to them because they get scared when I try to.”

“Ah… That is a valid reason. But what about your two friends Mikayla and Jay?” Ley questions.

“They act the same as everyone. It’s because we’re only friends because our parents are,” Felix responded.

“Oh… That sucks. Didn’t know a rich white boy like you can still have issues like that…” Ley messaged. “I’d offer to help, but I don’t know anything about having rich friends, so… sorry."

“I see. I appreciate the thought, though," Felix replied. “I’m glad we’re friends, because you’re the only person who talks to me freely.”

Huh, what? Did I just stumble into a friendship where I’m friends with an alpha male that everyone is intimidated or scared of? That’s just crazy! Ley exclaimed. And since I’m the only one who can talk to him unfiltered, he slowly falls in love with me, and we get married! Okay… let’s calm down. I might have read and watched too many stories.

Though, I never thought I’d feel bad about someone who’s so rich and powerful that their last name actually terrifies people into freely interacting with them. Ley thought. “I’m glad too, but we should pay attention to classes now. You wouldn’t want to lose your good student status, would you?”

Felix smiled at the satisfaction he felt after Ley ended their conversation during classes, as they now pay attention to the lectures like everyone else.

Despite being a loner on his first day of school, Ley now finds himself surrounded and accompanied by the Weird Club at lunch.

“Hey,” Ley greeted the Weird Club with fistbumps and nods as they sat at the cafeteria table.

“Oh, nice. You guys play that game too?” Ley mentioned as he pointed at everyone’s worn pin. “But… aren’t you missing a lane?”

“Yeah, Jia is our mage, I’m the marksman, Sean’s the fighter, and Xander is the jungler,” Rui answered. “We’re still missing a Roamer because Rain and Joshua don’t play.”

“Do you play?” Jia asked Ley. “If you do, will you join our team? Any of us can adjust if you’re not exactly a roamer. We just can’t keep getting paired with one stupid random because it's a 5v5 game.”

“I mean… I could. But… I’m a little rusty because I haven’t played for a while after it increased my anger issues, causing me to quit," Ley answered. “The good news is, you don’t need to adjust, because I’m already a Roamer, which is probably the main reason why my anger issues kept increasing because I kept getting paired with stupid idiots who needed to be babied every single fucking time.”

“That’s perfect,” Rui responded. “We’ll play later or tomorrow; just tell us your socials so we can add you to our group chats.”

“Great,” Ley replied.

But just as everyone is comfortably eating their lunches with one another, Rain notices three pairs of eyes watching the group.

“The Star Triad has been staring at us for quite some time now," Rain softly informed the group.

“Really?” Ley questioned, slightly turning his head over his shoulder to look. “Oh, you’re right.”

“I think they’re mostly looking at Ley,” Jia mentioned. “Especially Felix Smith.”

“Oh, that? I’m not sure about it either, but I think Mrs. Smith asked him to watch me,” Ley says unconfidently. “He even asked if he could come with us, which I obviously declined.”

At the far, far-away table, where the Star Triad sat, Felix, Mikay, and Jay conversed as they watched Ley and his group of friends.

“He seems pretty cool for someone who’s inside the Weird Club,” Jay said.

“It’s probably for the best, anyway," Mikay said casually.

“Do I come off as grumpy to you guys?” Felix abruptly asked, making the two react confusedly and awkwardly uncomfortably.

“Not really,” Mikay calmed herself as she answered, despite believing that Felix does come off as grumpy.

“Seconded,” Jay said casually.

They’re totally blinded by the Smith name. Felix internalizes, frustrated by the unhelpful answers the two gave.

After realizing that the two will probably never give him a helpful answer that does not actively say something negative about him, Felix frustratedly went on to eat his lunch.

The world felt so slow as the lunch period ended and as the classes went on. But it was primarily so for Ley who had been excited to meet the superpowered leader his friends mentioned named Headmaster Grimm.

“Hey, Felly. I won’t be taking the bus, so you go ahead. I’ll just grab a cab on my way home,” Ley texted Felix, finally meeting the group in the Weird Club room.

“So, guys. Should we go now?” Ley excitedly said to the group.

“Message him," Jia turned to Joshua, firmly informing him.

In a single second, as Jia instructed him, Joshua sent a telepathic message to Headmaster Grimm saying that they’re ready for transfer.

After Joshua sent the message, the group led Ley to the hidden room of the Weird Club, where inside could be seen a black circular base with a metallic border.

Smooth walls, no windows, just a simple room with what looks like a teleportation pad or a teleporter. Ley assumed as he observed the circular pad with a metallic border on the floor.

“Come,” Jia said to Ley, as she enters the pad with Joshua and Rain.

“Oh,” Ley exhaled, stepping onto the pad per Jia’s instruction. “The others aren’t coming?”

“Rui, Sean, and Xander will stay so they can watch over the room and so the school doesn't get suspicious," Jia answered.

Faced with Jia’s answer, Ley complied with the group in silence as he stepped his way inside the teleportation pad with Jia, Rain, and Joshua.

“You can close your eyes if you want to,” Jia said to Ley, while the rest of the group who stayed silently waved their goodbyes.

In an instant, as the teleportation pad activated—no lights, no sounding sequence, just a simple one-second blink—the group was transported from Goltear Academy to a place where they could meet Headmaster Grimm.

Huh…? No lights, no sounds, no immediate warning that it’s about to be activated? Isn’t that some kind of poor design…? Ley questioned. But right now is probably not the appropriate time to question that…

To be continued on the next part...