The President

[Meryl]

"Quiet!" Meryl shouted, her voice straining. She forgot how many times she had mouthed the word that she uttered it bristly here and then.

No one paid her any attention, though. Not when the teacher was absent, and she had to uphold her responsibility as the President to maintain order in the class, a role which she was failing miserably.

"What happened to teacher Henry again?" one of the students asked, and the gossip further went on. No one cared about the 'Self Study' written on the board.

Only Meryl was parched on her chair and reading her textbook and berating her classmates while keeping both her ears open, eavesdropping on their fond murmuring. She liked hearing about the daily juicy news despite her strict display of appearance.

"Heat stroke, they said."

"It is so hot outside. Even at night. Good thing that we have aircon here at school."

"No kidding. Have you heard? Zone 3 suffered a lot of blackouts from the electrical surge. Something is definitely wrong."

"You think it's Global warming?"

"There are rumors that the end of the world is near."

"You guys are watching too many movies. Teacher Henry must have trotted on the wrong side of the road. We know that he is so fat that he has to walk sideways to fit on the door. Everyone saw him walking that sloppy road this morning. In this heat, that ought to roast him."

"You're talking about heat in spring, which is unusual."

"It's HEAT all the same."

Meryl hunched over her shoulders, silent and sullen, when Hilde's screeching voice blocked off the rest of the gossips.

"We can go to Gambi's after karaoke or maybe shop? I couldn't decide." Hilde said with a shrieking laugh, checking at her face in her compact mirror every few minutes.

That girl was vain as she was an idiot and loud. Meryl thought.

"I don't know. You guys know that I don't have any money to shop." Kelly bit her lower lip and waved a hand at the two. "You guys go ahead and enjoy yourself."

Meryl's eyebrow twitched at Kelly's soft curls. They were raised in pigtails, thick, bouncy and light pink in color. They were the source of her envy, for her hair was short, black, straight, and thin.

Without thought, Meryl caressed her hair and grimaced at the rough and dry texture. Looking at the end, she discovered a split-end infestation.

She sighed and muttered, "At least I have the money and can fix it in the salon."

"Oh, come on," Jennie joined in their conversation. "You know that we will treat you in the end. You don't have to pay a single dime. SO stop pretending."

The sweetest of Jennie's smile felt dull to Meryl as she peered in their direction. Jennie was a beautiful girl with straight black hair and an elegant and refined aura that matched her upbringing. But the way her lips pouted and looked at everyone with disdain only made her into a mean girl. A high class mean girl.

Jennie, Hilde, and Kelly were a trio and had an infamous reputation that even the other school knew. They were popular for bullying students and got away with it with their parent's money. The very sight of them made Meryl's mouth go sour.

Speaking of infamous, there was another one in Meryl's class that was popular for his barbaric ways. Her black eyes then settled on Jin. The new guy who just transferred a month before.

Sitting on his chair and looking outside the window with that half-bored, half-distracted way he had, Jin was a looker. If only he wasn't so scary, he would be perfect.

Like hearing her thoughts, Jin's piercing eyes went to Meryl. They were blank and cold. Meryl's insides went cold with dread, and she quickly pulled her gaze to her book, hoping the thick covers would hide her.

Peeking from the pages, Meryl let out a sigh when Jin's attention was back on the scenery outside of the window.

Meryl once recalled rumors like where most of her information came from. Back in Jin's previous school, it was said that he plucked a guy's eyes out because he kept staring at him. She wouldn't have believed it if she didn't saw him fight.

There was no day that Meryl didn't find Jin in a bout. Most were in school, and others were students from another school. And he wasn't a pushover and could certainly hold his own. But the way he fought, brutal and swift, made her stomach coiled tight.

Meryl's eyes then went to Lina without her knowing. Lina's beauty had that effect on everyone.

Lina was the envy of her peers, with her stunning charisma and incredible intellect. She had long, lustrous black hair that cascaded down her back in gentle waves, and her striking purple eyes seemed to glow with an otherworldly radiance.

Despite her many advantages, Lina was no pushover. She was an accomplished kendo practitioner with a fierce competitive streak that was matched only by her intelligence and aloof personality. She was not one to back down from a challenge, and she has never been one to shy away from a fight.

Meryl had known Lina since they were a child. Being in a political family like hers, it was required – no, it was her duty to know everyone in high society. Even as a child, Lina caused those who viewed her to fall to their knees in wonderment at her beauty.

Meryl was already used to it and had long gone overcome her jealousy at her. Now, she only wanted to get close because having a friend like Lina would surely elevate her political merit in the future.

"Whoa, no way! Lala is more beautiful! Just look at these curves! If I could bed her once, just ONCE, I can die a happy man!"

Another loud voice drew Meryl's attention to a group, and when she spot Leon her lips thinned to a sour line.

That guy smiled a lot as if the world was a secret joke that only he was clever enough to understand. When their eyes met Leon grinned wolfishly at her and Meryl in return gave him a long chilling look.

"Hey there, class press!" He beamed, and Meryl braced for the rest of his words. "Who do you think is beautiful, Lala or FanFan."

Leon brought out an adult magazine and brazenly showed it to the rest of the class without an ounce of embarrassment. On the left of its page was a girl posing shyly with twin tails, wearing a skimpy bikini that showed her under boobs, looking cute and scared at the same time. While on the right was a woman with curly lavender hair wearing lingerie that left nothing to the imagination.

If they thought that she would be flustered, they were greatly mistaken. Meryl wore her mask and smiled in disdain. "Ah, yes. Little boys and their magazines. Fantasizing about those girls in pictures. Throwing thousands of money on someone that will never know them or give the barest of care."

The look Leon casted on her was amusement while his friends hooted and teased.

"You only have to pick. It's not that hard," Leon said, laughing.

Meryl rolled her eyes and went back to reading. "If I were you. I would study hard. Then maybe one day, you'll be a respectable man, and those girls would actually give a damn. But first, you have to separate fantasy from reality and know the difference between six and sex."

Laughter boomed, and Leon's scratched the back of his head with an endless supply of smiles on his face while his friends teased and made fun of him.

Everyone in class knew that Leon was bad at spelling and instead of writing six, he wrote the word sex on the board. There happened to be a school administrator at that time and teacher Bernadette, the English teacher, made him stand in the back for the rest of the class after the administrator left.

"A boy got to dream," Leon only said, sighing in the end.

The chatter continued for five minutes, ten minutes until Meryl couldn't hold it and burst out again.

"Everyone, can you be quiet and go back to studying in silence?!"

"Meryl, I don't think yelling at us is going to help us concentrate. Maybe you should try a different approach."

"I'm not yelling!" Meryl defended.

"Sure you're not. You're just projecting your voice really loudly."

George, one of Leon's friends, joined in. "Yeah, Meryl, you should be in a theater with those pipes." And they laughed.

Meryl's vein popped out. "I am not that loud!"

"Meryl, have you ever thought about doing voice-overs for movie trailers? You know, the one where they're shouting in the background. Your voice is perfect for it." Jennie wiggled her brows in mocked disdain.

"Okay, okay, I get it. You guys are hilarious," Meryl spat. Why did she take on the President role again? Because no one wanted the role, and everyone shoved it in her throat. That's why.

Leon grinned. "Glad we could brighten your day."

Meryl batted her eyelids at him.

"Don't worry, Meryl. We'll be as quiet as a mouse. Or should I say, as quiet as you are loud?"

"Oh, ha ha. Very funny." Meryl mocked.

The class chuckled and went back to their chatters, with Meryl doing her best to keep a straight face. Why did she even bother?

Then a sudden stop of the air-conditioner and fans made everyone silent.

"Egh? Blackout?"

"In zone A?"

"That's weird. We haven't had a blackout since . . . forever."

"What are we going to do? It's so hot."

"Just open the window, dummy."

"You're the dum-dum. The air outside is dry and hot. Open those windows, and we'll roast inside this room.

Meryl took a deep breath and turned a page of her book without care. "All of you calm down. Don't be so dramatic. It's only a blackout. Electricity will get back . . ."

Meryl trailed off when her phone buzzed. It was not only her phone. Everyone's phones were buzzing.

Checking, it came from the Zone A Electric Company.

[Due to the sudden surge of Electricity demands in the past weeks, numerous of our supply lines have malfunctioned. We're working to resolve the issue as soon as possible. Our backup power source also couldn't handle the huge load at the moment, so expect a day of blackout until Electricity is restored.

Thank you for your understanding.]

A day?! Meryl's eyes widened. In this heat? That's torture!

And the class erupted into an uproar of complaints.