That Morning.
"You know we're very lax with our upper echelon of students, especially in your case but the Top 10 meetings are none negotiable, especially if you wish to stay in the top rankings, Valentina. They don't run long just go and sit in, then you can do whatever you want for the rest of the day." Cage says already exhausted.
Valentina nods along, agreeing to attend.
"Ok, who's next?" Cage, already getting the line moving again, the door opening for both Valentina to leave and the next student to enter.
"What'd this one do?" The Principal asks his assistant.
"Couldn't find a toilet is what he's going with." Anya says, her disgust painfully apparent.
"Its not even ten in the morning!" The door thankfully closing before she could hear anything else.
"With this many people around nobody is in class.." Valentina thinks to herself as she makes her way to the miserable sounding Top 10 meeting, rooms littered with carefree chatting students all of which scream spoiled and wealthy.
As she enters the Top 10s designated area the silence catches her off guard, "This is better than I had expected.."
"Through here." The referee from her duel with Santos, Miss Walsh, calls out to her as she stands holding the door open.
"Take a seat." Jacob sitting at the end of a large conference table points his hand in the direction of a empty seat between Freya and Alex.
One look over to the two leaves Valentina looking for any alternative and she finds it at the opposite end of the table next to Jack.
As she had imagined, the entire 10 minutes was a slog, almost boring her to tears until the dictator of the meeting, Jacob catches her attention for the first time, "With the new rankings, say hello to our newest member Valentina." Everyone, except Jack and Freya, turning to awkwardly greet her before turning their attention back to Jacob.
"Hopefully she fairs better in her rise than Santos did. Santos, Ten." Brian lets out a laugh which is quickly cut short, "Brian, 9. Valentina, 8. Henry, 7. Alex, 6. Miles, 5. Karl, 4. Freya, 3. Jack, 2 and I'm Number 1. Obviously." Jacob finishes, ripping up the piece of paper he was reading off.
With the meeting being over, the first one out of the room is Miss Walsh but before anyone else can follow Brian complains, "Why is she above me? We've not fought yet."
"Because you two are equal and she destroyed Santos." Jacob responds, the rest of the Ten deciding to leave before having to listen to anymore. "Equal?!" Both Brian and Santos shout, genuinely insulted.
Being the last of the other six leaving Valentina attempts to get the attention of the person closest to her, Miles. "Why was there only nine of us, I thought this was mandatory?" Miles opens his mouth to answer but his shirt collar is yanked like a dog on a leash.
"Don't talk to her, she's the enemy." Freya says as she puts the shorter Miles into a headlock.
"What the hell?" Valentina thinks to herself as Alex and Karl slow down to speak to her.
"Henry's real sick, he's been gone awhile for some experimental treatment in Switzerland or something." "Kidney troubles." Karl adds on.
"Then why is he still in the rankings?" Valentina asks.
"Because he's crazy strong." Karl answers.
"And his family pumps money into the school. Ever since the school became co-ed with humans influential families and donations have sank. The only awakened students with really powerful families still willing to send them here are Jack and Henry." Alex explains to the attentively listening Valentina.
Karl nudges Alex lightly and attempts to discreetly nod his head towards Valentina.
"Miles doesn't count, he's in a clan." Alex trying to dismiss her boyfriends correction.
"Thank you." Valentina says to the couple as they part ways.
"Bye." Alex says as they leave one another to no response.
"This is just awful." Valentina thinks to herself as she flicks through the book she's reading, making sure to check the page numbers to see how much left she has to read.
Returning to her chapter, she only manages to get half way through the second line before the entire area is filled with the maddening shouting of both Santos and Brian, the noise getting louder and louder until she cant take it anymore, leaving the Top 10s area.
Waiting a moment to make sure she's gone, Freya calls out to the two still making the racket, "She's gone you can shut the hell up now!" Having to shout herself to get the message through.
"That wasn't nice." Miles says sitting beside her.
"She's upsetting the balance. Everyone else steers clear of here, who does she think she is?" Freya, her agitation apparent in both her voice and her gestures.
Miles looks down to her hand, unable to rest as it lays on the table.
"Do you want to duel?" Miles asks, "We'll have to soon anyway if you want to keep your position."
Freya smiles despite her nerves and thanks him, her smile enough for one to spring onto his face too.
Sitting on the benches in the connector, finding her quiet place, Valentina pulls her book out of the bag and flicks back to the page she had previously started, ready to soldier through yet another chapter.
Getting to the end of her page the door to her right swings open, almost catching her by surprise.
Looking up, she sees the only other person she ever sees here, the guy who dresses likes he's a religious nut, "That's probably not his name.." She waits a moment but he carries on walking, "Hello to you too." She thinks as she returns to her book, flicking the page.
Before she realizes it he's sat on the bench beside her, looking to meet his gaze she feels him analysing her face, the stare holding for a moment.
"What the ?" She thinks, a smile creeping to the corner of her lips.
"Why are you here?" He asks suddenly, his voice making him sound like an airhead.
Trying and failing to stay serious her laugh infects her response, "Why are you here?"
"Sorry I didn't mean for it to come off like that, my friend said you guys have fancy rooms to hang out in now so I didn't think i'd be seeing you again." He responds hurriedly.
"You know me?" Valentina responds, still smiling slightly.
"No, I know of you."
"Smartass" Valentina thinks before actually responding. "But you know my name?"
"Yes." Valentina stares, waiting for him to catch on. Thankfully he does after a moment, "I'm Mark."
"Obviously not that much of a smartass." Her own thought bringing the smile back to her face.
"Are you religious?" She asks.
"What? No, not at all." Mark, surprised at the question.
"You're the only person I've seen wearing the uniform how its meant to be worn.. You look like you're ready for church."
Mark smiles briefly, "Sorry, you were reading." Ready to stand back up.
Valentina lifts the book up and looks at the generic cover, "Don't be. My mother is making me read it, its her favourite from our country." Letting the book fall back down and releasing her thumb that was holding her page.
"Oh god. One of the worst things I've done is read a few lines from one of my moms books." The two share a laugh before Mark asks her again, "But why are you here? I know for a fact you guys have a fancy part of the school all to yourselves."
"No, not really. The top ten have like three rooms to themselves, to be fair one is a big common area but apparently silence isn't a virtue there. The rest of the fancy rooms are filled with idiots who hardly rank or are just rich. I can hardly stand holding a conversation with them." Valentina air quoting the word fancy.
Realizing what she must sound like she continues to the silently listening Mark, "My families rich. I lived in a castle for most of my life. But my father was more interested in raising powerful kids than spoiled ones. Probably why he had so many."
"How many siblings have you got." Mark asks, genuinely curious.
"I don't know, a lot. I don't share a mother with any of them though so we're not close regardless. You?"
"One. We share a mother but we're not close. I grew up apart from my parents for a little while and the places I stayed, it didn't take much to feel like family but when I came home its like there was nothing I could do to stop my brother from hating me. Its weird."
"You seem okay to me, its probably his problem."
"I told my friend you seemed nice and he didn't believe me." Failing to actually tell her he thinks she's nice.
"Really.. only seemed? And why didn't he believe you?" Valentina interrogating Mark, instantly putting him in a little frenzy.
"We hadn't really talked then and he doesn't even believe you come around here from time to time."
Valentina lets up, satisfied with the answer given to her.
"Its not like I'm famous, why would anyone care to lie?" Valentina says, putting her book down on the bench out of the way and holding her hand out, Mark looking at it confused. "I'm going to take a picture. Come on."
Handing her his phone, she turns her back to him and takes a selfie, both of them awkwardly smiling.
"There. You're not a liar anymore." Valentina says handing his phone back to him.
"You'll have to take one with him next." Mark says, stuffing it back into his bag.
"Why?" Valentina, watching him mess around with his bag.
"He likes you." Mark says offhandedly to the surprise of Valentina.
"What about you?" Valentina, not even sure herself why she just asked.
"I just met you." Meeting her face once again.
"And I've never even met your friend."
"I know. I don't get how people look at someone once and like them. Its not like anyone looks at someone and hates them for no reason. What happens if they're horrible? Do you just magically stop feeling that way? In reality you just like how they look, not them as a person." Mark, flipping his bag over his shoulder, ready to leave.
"You don't like how I look?" Valentina asks teasingly.
Mark stops for a moment, as if aware he's potentially just walked into a trap. "I like your nose." He says standing, "Haven't you got a class?" He asks, attempting to brush past what he had just said.
"They're optionable if you're in the fancy part of school." Valentina, fighting the urge to touch her nose while she air quotes once again.
"Well, bye then." Standing for a moment, waiting to hear it back.
"I don't do byes." Valentina says, picking up the book once again.
Mark nods, a light smile on his face before heading back out into the madness which is the halls of the awakened school during down times.
Awkwardly standing outside the gates, Mark keeps checking his phone for the time until Anthony approaches from the side and hands him a drink.
"You still give your brother a head start?"
"My dad asked me too." Looking at the drink he hands it back to Anthony while laughing.
"You bought this for yourself."
Doing his best offended impression he refutes the accusation.
"I hate the orange fizzy crap and its open!" Mark still laughing to himself.
"Well if you're not going to have it I will."
"Probably the worst apology anyone's ever given." Mark remarks as the two begin to walk.
"What do I have to apologize for?" Anthony cry's out suddenly to the horror and embarrassment of Mark.
"Doing that." Mark says scanning their surroundings like a crazy person.