Charity (1)

The beautiful snowflakes fluttered down like diamonds as I bored into the scene outside my window. Although the temperature regulator was working perfectly fine, the air felt chilly from the atmosphere of the room. It was no wonder since our classmates were encountered with a newly formed school event at such short notice.

"A charity event," Allan sighed.

"This weekend," Charles joined in.

"At least we still have five days to prepare for them," Ellen tried to comfort Allan.

"We still need to choose which charity to sponsor, where to have the event and other small details," Alex took the lead.

"My mansion is open," Luke volunteered.

"Mine as well," Charles wrote his name down.

Everything was done in two pairs ever since the witch hunt in the fall. This meant the class was splitting into two to carry out the school event. Before I could even think of meddling, Luke and I were paired with Alex and Shelly since we were the closest in the same fraction in this room.

Since it wasn't fair to the other class who had harder practical missions, the school arranged easier missions more frequently for our class. So instead of conducting missions twice a year, we had one for every season. But I wasn't complaining because it was a way to earn more points easily.

"Why don't we visit some charities to decide which one to sponsor?" I thought of this as a chance to explore more of the first district.

"That's not a bad idea," Shelly agreed.

"We already have a list from the school to choose from," Alex said as if it was a waste of time.

"But do we really know them from reading all the brochures?" I refuted.

"I think we really need to understand them to help them better," I pushed my idea.

"But when do we have the time? We still have classes to attend while carrying out this mission?" Alex asked me for a solution.

"Then I'll go with Shelly without you," I casually shrugged.

If they were too busy, I could go visit the charities without them. I wanted to know how the average person in the first district lived. I knew the world I lived in was different from them from visiting the mall filled with automated robots to purchase some candles. Plus, the secret hideout was in a middle class area, which resembled the dorm rooms with some additional features.

It was frustrating to be stuck in one area and unable to explore the rest of the vast world. It was like I was living my entire life for the school. Maybe I was feeling more depressed since I had to move out of that luxurious room after I 'recovered' a month ago. Once I experienced the special treatment, it was hard to go back to my prior room.

"I'm not against visiting the charities," Luke surprised both Alex and me.

"But that's after we finish our usual routine from attending classes and our study sessions," he added.

Alex slightly nodded as it meant there was no way I would have the energy to visit the charities from the list. Luke's study sessions were long and intense to the point I would rather go to sleep right after. It had been this way for years.

I sighed as my classmates knew too much about me since we grew up together. But they didn't know how desperate I was to go out of this place called, 'school' from being confined in Luke's mansion for three weeks beforehand. Knowing this was the best option I had, I replied, "deal."

When I returned to my room, I started to study the list we were given which had brief descriptions under the name of the charities. I frowned when I read the first few lines:

[Roselia Fashionista – subset of the Roselia Foundation]

[Donating clothing and accessories to those in need in the first and second district]

[Monete Grocery Bank – subset of the Monete Foundation]

[Donating food and drinks to those in need in the first and second district]

No wonder Alex thought it was a waste of time from visiting the charities that their families operated and owned. I was definitely going to sponsor one that didn't have any relation to any of the elite families in the first district. I changed my objective and began to search for the ones that wouldn't contribute to their family image.

I frowned when there were only three in the list that didn't have a family name attached to them:

[Happy Smiles]

[Brightening one's days as well as helping children with no parents]

[Project Cleansing]

[Making the first district a better place by helping with the cleanup in polluted areas]

[Fate Maker]

[Bringing fated couples closer together]

Happy smiles and Fate Maker didn't seem too bad, but I didn't want to get involved with Project Cleansing. I didn't know why, but that name was giving bad vibes after witnessing the deletion of Lilika Yuri. I could already guess it was something similar among the lines.

"I think I want to visit two places," I showed the places I selected to Luke.

"Those charities are under the jurisdiction of the counsel," Luke analyzed.

The counsel? I had never heard of the counsel before. Maybe I did during class but forgot about it. I wondered if the counsel was an important organization or figure in the first district.

"The counsel?" I asked.