Aphrodite Giovanni, the student who was suspended in his first week of school is now able to attend school again. In morning assembly, the teachers had Aphrodi stand before all the first years with a piece of paper in hand. They wanted him to apologize to his fellow student for his violent behaviour. As soon as he went on stage and grabbed a hold of the microphone, he tore the paper given by Mrs Emi. A speech of apology was most likely in his hand. Mrs Emi is definitely the one who wrote down an apology for Aphrodi to read. Without hesitation, he tore the paper and gave all the students an intense glare.
"No matter how hard I try, my hate and anger towards people can't seem to fade. That includes myself too. People lie, take from others and even kill each other. As long as it doesn't affect them, people do whatever they want. Our selfishness makes me sick to the point I want to do something drastic"
...
His words made the whole auditorium silent. A teacher was ready to take the microphone away from Aphrodi but Aphrodi still had one more thing to say. I could feel the negative energy radiating from all my classmates. Many of them wanted him to apologize for his violent actions. Aphrodi spoke in an angry tone and in response the audience gave him an intense stare.
"I told you all how I feel about mankind. If I had a button to reset the world, there's a chance I would push it. I am well aware that there are good people out there as well. I hate those guys too. Good people tend to be idiots and always make the bad rule over them. Don't mess with me and we shouldn't have a problem"
The teacher tried taking the microphone away from Aphrodi but he pushed the man to the floor. He just came back from suspension and there he is pushing a teacher in front of hundreds of students. I don't know what this man went through but he has truly grew to hate his fellow human. Makes me wonder what he thinks about his sister.
"I have one last thing to say. For those who are tired of this world. It's people, it's injustice and it's logic. Join me on my quest to change this world. First I'll change everyone at this school for the better, next I'll change the country and soon the entire world. I can't do it by myself, that's why groups are formed. To accomplish a goal impossible for one person. My rage for humanity is what will drive me to change humanity"
Alice Souken snatched the microphone from Aphrodi then told the first years "Aphrodi will be waiting at the basketball court after school. Anyone who is interested in what he said can talk to him then".
Wooooooo!!!!
The first years screamed excitedly at the sight of Alice Souken. She appeared out of nowhere and took the spotlight from Aphrodi.
Noise escalated between the students. Many reacted upsettingly to Aphrodi's speech. They don't like the idea of changing the world. Some stayed quiet like myself and Aoi while others briefly considered his words. Aphrodi left the stage and apologized to the teacher he pushed. "His behaviour was not surprising. Instead of using his hatred to hurt and possibly murder others. He will instead use it as a drive to persue a difficult goal".
After morning assembly, no one talked to Aphrodi during class. Not even I dare to go near him. Too many classmates have mixed feelings about him. Mrs Emi told the students to give him another chance but none of them listened to her. Fugo, the guy who has been a thorn at my side walked up to Aphrodi during the lunch break.
"Hey!"
Aphrodi left the classroom immediately after Fugo addressed him. As usual, that guy has a zero tolerance for ill manners. Today was a special day for me indeed. Never had I ate lunch with a friend at school. Though Aoi and I didn't speak, it felt exhilarating. Aoi's lunch consist of beef stew and slices of bread. She was kind enough to give me a taste of her beef stew.
"Magnifique! Did you cook this Aoi? You're amazing"
To be honest, I tasted way better stew than this one but it does not hurt to throw her a compliment or two. Her smile was worth the lie I told. After eating lunch, we still had some time left before our break was over. Aoi went to the Student Council Room with me tagging along. I wanted to ask Alice her thoughts on Aphrodite Giovanni. It's also been awhile since I got a whip of her scent. We entered the room, greeting the three students inside.
Stephano, Alice and Ricardo were present. They were in the middle of playing a board game known as chess. Stephano and Ricardo were facing each other while Alice cheered from the sidelines. "Hey guys" I greeted casually. Aoi waved her hands at them as her way to greet them. We sat beside Alice and watched the chess match underway. Ricardo seems to be on the offensive. He managed to have one of his pawns in the enemy lines. Just one more step and he could have changed his pawn into a knight or bishop to end the game. Stephano only had his king piece along with two rooks. His king is unfortunately surrounded by Ricardo's pawn, knight and king. Stephano sent his rook into the same row where the king was in an attempt to protect him. Ricardo immediately gave up on his pawn after seeing the rook. If he moves his pawn forward, it will definitely be killed by Stephano's rook. That's what Stephano wants him to think anyway. If I were a betting man I'd say that Stephano only placed the rook there to scare Ricardo and it seems to be working. If the pawn advance two more tiles then it has the option to become a higher class. Pawn will be in the Rook's attacking range if he advance forward once more. I looked over at Ricardo's knight and deduced that piece was Stephano's actual target. It was the closest to killing the king, Ricardo should be more focused on that than his pawn. He took his time before making a move. In the end, he moved his knight diagonally to the right. Stephano's king was in danger so he moved his piece to the left. Ricardo endanger the king with his knight again but Stephano simply avoids it. His king moved to the left so many times, he managed to be in the same column as Ricardo's pawn. Stephano second rook killed Ricardo's knight on his next turn. Sadly, trapping the king with two rooks is very tedious if the opponent is not dumb. Suddenly, Ricardo was put on the defensive. The match went on for a while until Stephano finally tasted victory.
Aoi applaud the two rivals who finished their game. Alice scratched her head with an embarassed look on her face. "That's too bad" From this angle,bit looked like she was about to cry. "As promised, you'll be in charge of mid-term preparations. Give the teachers aid starting tomorrow" Stephano orders.
"Fine" Alice said while looking at me.
"I have been seeing you two's faces a lot recently. Interested in the work we do?"
She put us on the spot without warning. I immediately thought of three suitable answers for her question, I just need to decide which is the best one. "Yes I am interested. Anything that will get me to spend more time with you" I told her sincerely. She hardly reacted to what I said. I thought I could get a blush out of her if I hinted that I like her. What a shame.
Alice grabbed both my hands while sobbing. "You're a life saver. Could you help me out with the teachers tomorrow. Just meet here like you usually do".
"Sure about that Alice? He's a freshman at the school. It's a bit too early to be giving him responsibilities. It's better to ask one of your classmates" Ricardo advises.
"Victor should do just fine. All I need is the company really"
When that segment was over, they put away the chess board and began doing paperwork. Ricardo seemed to have the biggest workload out of everyone in the room so Aoi offered to help. I followed her example and watched Alice do her work. To my surprise, she was writing exam questions for the students. That should be a teacher's job, not hers
"Why are you writing an exam? Isn't that a bit unfair"
"This isn't an official exam I'm writing. Not even us have that privilege. I am just preparing something for the students in my grade. If they pass the test I create with flying colours then they are sure to pass the real thing"
So Alice goes out of her way to help her fellow seniors. Wish there are more people like her, who would just help others and seek nothing in return. Selfless is the hardest characteristic to maintain but she makes it look easy. That's why I love her.
"Oh!"
"What is it?"
"I wanted to ask you about Aphrodite Giovanni. The student who spoke on stage during morning assembly this morning. What do you think of him?" I almost forgot that this question was my main reason for coming here today besides from Alice's scent.
"That guy is interesting for sure. He looks tired, frustrated, enraged by the people around him. Who knows what made him this angry? All I can say for sure is, he lacks friends. That's not a good thing". Alice crossed her legs and rubbed her chin as she spoke.
"Nothing is going to change. What is he going to do? The world is a mixture of everything good and bad. His goal is too crazy even for me. Humans are not perfect, we do wrongs but we also do good. I don't find that as a bad thing ya know. A coin has two sides that correspond with each other don't they, the same goes for us people too. Whatever hurdle life throws at you, no matter how dark. There should be someone out there who can lend you aid. That's why we have friends. Being surrounded by friends fills you with positivity which should overwrite the darkness someone's carrying. Something that Aphrodi lacks. His goal to change the world is admirable, if his drive to change the world, is his hatred for this world. He won't make it, soon he'll either find comrades who will fill the void in his heart. Once the void is filled, the drive he had will disappear or he will die trying"
From what she told me, I realized the importance of weighing the bad and the good. There may be people like Fugo who I despise but there are also people like Alice who I love. Aphrodi is consumed by the bad side, forgetting about the little things that makes him happy. I agree with Alice, one day Aphrodi will make friends and his mind-set will slowly change.
"Speaking of friends, Aoi! I hear you don't talk to anyone at school. Not even Victor who is your only friend in class. You should talk more, talking to others build bonds and broaden your horizons. Consider using your words, I don't know your circumstance but if you can talk then you should".
Clap! Clap!
With a clap of his hand, Stephano told us it's time to head to class. "Aww, see you two tomorrow" Alice waves goodbye. During class, an idea popped into my head. There might be a few students in this class that is worth using.
....
I need students who will work under me, do anything I say at any given notice. The only way I see myself attaining such students is by Blackmail. "Hmm, let's see. Who should I pick". My first thought was Xavier, he is extremely popular in the school, loved by everyone and will most likely become our Class Captain soon. A guy like him would be an excellent puppet to use. Puppet?
"Gah! I'm doing it again without realising. Settle down Victor, no point with playing with other's lives" old habita die hard. I'm trying so desperately to change my ways, blackmailing is wrong. I won't do it.
...
Although Nayeli or Darwin would be perfect to work under me. Filthy rich and stupid, those are traits I would love to have on board.
Time to get ahold of myself again. I already slipped up big time by killing Nayeli's brother for my own benefit. I cant afford to stray any further. "Trying to change is hard" I said while staring at Aoi. She was reading a book I loaned her while class was in session. Takeshi, the guy who sat in front of me was also reading a book. The difference being that he is reading a porn magazine in secret. Takeshi Osugawa, he is the tallest guy in class if not the entire campus. His muscular figure makes people think twice before picking a fight with him. He is a degenerate under the rug. The only thing on this guy's mind is sex. Thanks to my seat at the back, I got to see Takeshi's behaviour everyone seems to not notice. Whenever he looks at girls he normally stares at their chest or thighs causing him to get erect. It pains me that nobody realizes this guy is a pervert in disguise. I have decided, he will be my puppet for thos semester. His life will be ruined when I'm finished with him. It's his fault for eating my lunch the other day.
I did a loud sigh behind Takeshi and said these words, loud enough for him to hear.
"Aoi is a dream come true. She doesn't talk in any circumstance and she's a beauty. Perfect for prey" While saying these words, it felt like I have went to a new low. I made the thought of Aoi enter Takeshi's mind and now he's probably thinking about the deed. Suddenly he begins to look over at Aoi longer than normal. If he is the guy I think he is, I will have something to blackmail him over by time mid-terms are finished.
After school, I went to the basketball court to watch Aphrodi from a distance. He was surrounded by dozens of students who seems to share his view on things. They want to change the world, die trying if it may. They might not see it yet but this gathering will heal their broken hearts soon enough. "I hope they become good friends".