The Business News

SINCLAIRE HEIR ENROLLS AT J.S. HIGH AFTER YEARS OF REFUSAL!

Maximilian Leigh Sinclaire—heir to Sinclaire Corp., a luxury hotel and casino company—will be starting his sophomore year on Monday, August 21, 2023, at President Janus Sinclaire's elite school, J.S. High.

Maximilian has kept his life private, especially since the unfortunate passing of his mother, business tycoon Luna Lemieux. In a rare interview held four years ago during the 2019 Business Summit, Maximilian explained that he had no plans to enroll in J.S. High and would rather separate himself from his family's connection when it came to his education.

However, an insider revealed that Maximilian met up with his uncle, Janus Sinclaire, six months ago to discuss his enrollment in the elite school. The public's opinion has also been divided, but news outlets are already preparing themselves to capture the young heir wearing J.S. High's famous white uniform.

The Most Popular Heir of 2023 poll has also shifted after this news. Max, who was ranked third in popularity behind Hans de Vries and Cindy Lin, has skyrocketed back to rank one.

The family has yet to issue an official statement regarding the heir's decision to enroll in J.S. High despite pressure from the public.

Those were the words written on the front page of every newspaper in the city. And the same newspaper was sitting on top of a desk inside the bedroom of the heir who was mentioned in it.

"Who's the idiot who thought it was a great idea to place this garbage on top of my desk?" Max asked, grabbing the paper and throwing it towards the possible suspect, Étienne.

Étienne, the twenty-eight-year-old butler with perfect reaction time, caught the newspaper before it could touch the ground. "I just thought you'd be interested in knowing what the public thinks about this," he told his master, who was standing in front of a full-body mirror while fixing his necktie.

Max laughed upon hearing Étienne's reason and looked back at him through his reflection in the mirror. "As my butler, you should be trying to hide what the public thinks of me, and not directly show it to me, you nincompoop," Max said before going back to fixing his necktie.

Étienne didn't answer and just absorbed the fact that his now seventeen-year-old master had just called him an idiot and a nincompoop in two different sentences.

In silence, Max finished fixing his tie. As he pulled it down, he gestured at his butler to come closer. 

Étienne didn't even have to be told what to do. He took out the white peacoat hanging inside the cabinet and opened it up behind Max, so Max could slide his arms into the sleeves. While Max was buttoning up the coat, Étienne took the black leather belt and buckled it for him. The belt was long enough to go around his waist and over his left shoulder. He then finished it off by handing Max the white peaked cap.

Max took the cap. He fixed his perfectly waxed hair first before putting the cap over it. Once the uniform was complete, Max took a step back and stared at himself from his peaked cap down to his white boots, checking if something was misplaced.

"Did my uncle enroll me in a high school, or did he secretly enroll me in a military academy?" Max asked his butler, even though he wasn't expecting him to answer. He was just concerned over the fact that the uniform looked like a general's uniform instead of a regular school uniform.

"You look excellent in it, Master Leigh," Étienne complimented.

"I've seen this uniform before, but I never paid much attention. It's quite popular, though. The public seems to go mad whenever they see someone wearing it."

"Then you wearing it makes it ten times more eye-catching," his butler claimed, and Max could only shrug his shoulders.

Étienne took his master's leather briefcase and followed behind him as Max stepped out of his room. While the two walked down the hallway, Max couldn't help but ask, "Tell me, Étienne. Why the hell am I heading to school on a Sunday?"

"Today is the freshmen orientation, Master," Étienne answered.

Max stopped walking in the middle of the hallway, making Étienne stop walking behind him as well. Without looking back, Max continued, "What year am I?"

"You're a sophomore student."

There was silence for a few seconds.

Étienne couldn't help but gulp as he waited for Max to say something further.

"That's right, I'm a second-year student. Now, give me a better answer."

Without waiting for Étienne to speak, Max started walking again. Étienne followed behind him once more while answering his master's initial question. "As you are a transfer student, Sir Janus requested that you attend the orientation for your academic welfare."

"And you agreed to this?" Max asked back. But before Étienne could give him another answer, a man appeared in front of them and answered for him, "He didn't. But I did."

Max made a sudden halt to avoid crashing into the man in front of him. When he finished studying the face, Max rolled his eyes in annoyance and walked past him.

The man laughed at the reaction and jogged towards Max so he could walk beside him. "As expected, you look good in the uniform," he commented, and Max glanced at him, realizing that he was wearing the same uniform as well, but without the cap. And of course, the obvious observation...it was all-black instead of all-white. Max didn't try to ask why the colors were different. He didn't want to start conversing with him now.

"I'm so excited. We're going to school together for the first time, little brother," the man said as they walked down the stairs.

Max pressed his lips together so he wouldn't say a word. But his frustration took over as he said, "Why the hell are you going to school with me, Marcus? Last time I checked, you're a senior, and seniors don't need to attend the freshman orientation."

The man named Marcus smiled to the point where his eyes almost closed. "Isn't it obvious? It's because I want to be with my cute little brother!" Marcus said with an excited tone.

Max looked extra annoyed, while Étienne couldn't help but find it endearing.

"Please stop me from pushing this idiot down the stairs," Max said, and Étienne, as a dutiful butler, pulled Marcus away from his master without a second thought.

Marcus Thompson, Max's ever-cheerful and happy-go-lucky brother, and the reason why Max even enrolled in J.S. High in the first place, was a senior student who was adored by everyone who encountered him because of his bright personality. But the same personality was the reason why Max ended up having murderous tendencies.

"Will I be able to say something that will miraculously make you not want to come?" Max asked as he, his brother, and the butler arrived in front of their family car.

Marcus opened the car door for Max and answered, "You're an idiot if you still believe in miracles."

Max sighed and headed inside in defeat.

* * *

Étienne glanced at the rearview mirror, only to see Marcus staring at Max like he was a four-month-old baby who was sometimes cranky but still adorable.

"Stare at me a little longer, and I'll poke your eyes with my bare fingers," Max warned without removing his eyes from the book he was reading, entitled I Am A Cat by Natsume Sōseki.

Marcus pouted and finally sat properly. "Can you blame me? We never went to the same school before. And I barely see you at home. I'm just glad that I get to bond with you like this in my senior year."

"Please don't tell me you're going to sit with me during lunch break, too," Max said while imagining it. Just thinking about it made his body shiver. The last thing he wanted to do in a school filled with elites was eat lunch with his big brother. And the worst part was, no one knew that they were siblings, so what would the others think if they saw him and Marcus sticking together like glue?

"I guess that's something that I can't do," Marcus answered, which surprised but relieved Max at the same time. He didn't ask any further and continued reading his book. But as he was about to turn to the next page, the car stopped. 

Max looked out of the window to see what it was about, and to his surprise, they were welcomed by a huge gate with the letters J & S written in front of it.

"Since classes officially start tomorrow, the gates are still closed," Marcus explained, even though no one had really asked him about it.

Étienne pulled the tinted window down to greet the guard who was waiting outside. He was about to give his identification card when the guard suddenly spotted Marcus sitting in the back. "Oh, pardon me, Sir Thompson. I didn't know you had a new driver," the guard said as he tilted his cap a little as a way of greeting him.

"Just register the plate number. Next time, the gates should automatically open when we arrive," Marcus said with a serious tone. His personality became so different that both Étienne and Max were at a loss for words. They didn't know Marcus had a side like this.

Max furrowed his brows and studied the situation. His brother was a senior, so maybe the guards already recognized him. But how the guard looked and spoke to him was way too formal, so Max instantly doubted his own theory.

"Sorry for wasting your time. Enjoy your day, Sir Thompson," the guard said right after typing down the car's plate number on his tablet.

Right on cue, the large gate opened, revealing the castle that was hidden behind the enormous walls.

The school was near the mountains, which you could imagine would look amazing in winter. For security reasons, Janus chose a location distant from the people in the city. The only unsettling thing about it was that it was the only structure standing in that area.

The campus was surrounded by three gates and huge walls, but you could still see the massive structure peeking over them. Inside, you would drive past an allée with dozens of trees that were perfectly aligned by the side of the road, leading to a large fountain just in front of the main building called The Keep. The entire school also had a perfect design since it chose medieval architecture, which made everything look like an 18th-century castle.

It was the perfect school for heirs.

"Well then, little brother," Marcus looked at Max, excited and a little worried about what the future awaited them. "Welcome to J.S. High."