Chapter 7: Acquaintance Party

I ran my eyes across Wide Space. It's triple the size of a football field. It's dark, but the different colors of light effects and party songs liven up the surroundings.

I looked at the gown the Admin Office sent me yesterday. I'm wearing a purple dress, and half of the purple mask covers my face. Matt, Dave, and Jerome have blue masks, like their clothes. Mia's is pink, and Vanessa's is orange, matching their clothes.

"Woah! This is cool!" Matt praised while looking around.

The surroundings are exquisite. The dance floor is in the middle of the function hall, while the tables are on the sides.

We went ahead and sat on one of the tables.

"Girls, don't get too far from us," Dave warned.

"Even though it's a free Bloody Night today, we still can't be sure that the surroundings are safe," Jerome added.

We nodded together. We weren't even going to and didn't plan on dancing.

There were many students in Wide Space, but the party hadn't even started. Waiters were already walking around serving food and wine, and many were already drinking and eating, so we ate. I only took a little because I was still full.

"They are here," Vanessa whispered.

I stopped taking a sip and followed what she was looking at. I grabbed the skirt of my gown. My palms were also sweating. Time seemed to have stopped. There were no words or whispers. Only the deafening party music could be heard.

"Black Blood Gang," I whispered.

They were wearing black formal attire and a black mask. The man at the head of the group is noteworthy. His eyes were serious as he stared directly at the path. The girl holding onto Nazzer's arm also caught my attention--Nicky.

"That guy with red hair," Mia whispered. "He was the person I saw before I saw the dead body of Rouge Silvenia."

I looked at the man next to Nazzer.

My heart pounded even harder when Nazzer Lumia looked at our table before walking to the table on the left and toward the end of the Wide Space. His group, about twelve in number, followed.

I had barely recovered from the arrival of the Black Blood Gang when their rival gang also arrived. They were wearing red masks and white formal attire.

"Devil God Warrior," Matt whispered.

The aura around him grew heavier. I stared at the gang leader. Unlike Nazzer,, who looked at our table, the leader of the Devil God Warrior just kept looking at the path, and his aura was terrifying. There were also twelve of them, and they headed to the right and far side of the Wide Space.

"Raze Silvenia," I whispered.

I looked at the stage when the music stopped, and someone stepped onto the stage. Fritzy, the bitch!

"Hi! I'm Fritzy Saldivar. Before we start, it is my great honor and pleasure to introduce the administrator of Hell University!"

I was stunned when the luxurious cars stopped not far from the Wide Space. The tension seemed to grow heavier, and there was a murmur around.

What's the purpose of those cars when they can't use that out of HU? I said to myself.

"The vice president of Hell University and founder of Bloody Night. Let's give him a round of applause, Mr. Francisco Augustine."

Feeble applause. A man without a mask got out of the car. We were stunned when we recognized him.

"No," Mia whispered.

"I thought..." Vanessa couldn't finish what she was saying due to shock.

The man smilingly walking down the red carpet towards the three seats in the middle was none other than the man who admitted us to Hell University.

"He's the vice president of HU, Mr. Francisco Augustine," I said softly.

The applause stopped when he sat down.

"The head of the student government and SSG adviser, Miss Katherine Velasquez."

We looked again at another car where Miss Kath got out.

"Miss Kath..." Dave whispered.

Our Physics Teacher. Now, I understand Celine's statement that she held a high position at HU. Miss Kath sat next to Mr. Francisco.

Only one car remained with the door closed. I knew who was in it--Black lady.

"And last but not least, please bow your head for our headmistress, Madam Violet Rivera."

Fritzy and everyone else attending the party bowed, so my friends and I also bowed.

I simply glanced at her. As usual, she was wearing black again. Madam Violet was probably in her mid-50s but still beautiful.

"Good evening, dear students. Welcome, and let's start our acquaintance party," Madam Violet said.

We looked at her. I glimpsed at Fritzy, sitting at the table with her group.

The party music played again, louder than before, because it felt like an earthquake was shaking our table.

The gang members cheered as some pulled the women to another table and then danced.

I accidentally glanced at Raze, who was looking at me, too. I thought he would look away, but he smirked, which made my hair stand on end.

I looked away. It's like he's absorbing my strength. Is he a demon?

"Miss Shion?"

My brow furrowed as a man with a familiar voice approached me. He was wearing a green mask.

"What do you need from me, VP Onel Ty?" I asked.

"Congratulations," he greeted me with a smile that made me frown. "You're the new secretary."

"Do I need to be happy about that?" I asked.

He lost his smirk.

"Just give it to someone who is really thirsty for that position."

"But it's the President's decision, so there's nothing you can do. Plus, because of that position, you'll rise in the rankings quickly, you're already in ninth place. You should be happy, right? No one has ever done that before. Do you know how picky the Supreme Court is when choosing a secretary? So congratulations again," he said, turning his back on me to leave.

I looked at him blankly. Seriously?

"T-Top 9?" Vanessa asked in disbelief.

I couldn't believe it, either. I should be happy, but I feel be the beginning of a new ordeal in my life.

"Zein, you're one of the Highest 10! You can get out of HU now," Mia said happily.

I don't know what made me grab the shot glass of wine from our table that was supposed to be for the boys. I closed my eyes as the warm liquid drew down my throat.

"Don't accept the position..." Matt said seriously.

"Why not, Matt?! Zein will be free from this hell! She can ask for help from the authorities," Jerome said.

Dave continued drinking his wine as if he didn't care what our friends were arguing about.

"Jerome is right. Once Zein is free, she can ask for help," Mia agreed.

I took Dave's wine, which he was about to drink, and gulped it down. Matt also took the shot glass from me and put the wine away.

I stumbled back to the chair and fixed my hair. The wine felt warm.

"It's not easy being Supremo's secretary because everything comes at a price! You might end up in even more trouble, Zein!" Matt insisted.

Even though we were almost shouting, the loud music prevented anyone else from hearing us. As the night wore on, the surroundings became even noisier 

"Calm down, okay? Let's let Zein decide," Dave suggested.

They all looked at me and waited for an answer. I didn't know what to say, so instead of answering them, I stood up and went to the dance floor to dance.

There were a lot of students dancing, so it was pretty crowded. I closed my eyes when my vision suddenly started spinning. Damn that alcohol!

"What's bothering you?" someone whispered in my ear.

I opened my eyes and looked at the person who said that, but my eyes were spinning even more because of the lights and the dancers.

"I heard you were hired. And I think it's a bad idea."

Shit! Who is this talking to me? UGH!

"Get away from me!" I shouted. I stopped moving as if I was about to fall.

"You could have been dead for a long time, but he's protecting you. We know he can't protect you forever. Soon you'll be holding a knife, too, and I hope it's not too late before you learn to use it."

__**__

Vanessa's POV

Zein stood up and joined the dancers. He avoided answering our questions. But why?

"What's your problem, Matt?! You're messing with Zein's mind!" I hissed.

Matt shook his head before taking the bottle of wine and staring at its contents. "I'm just telling the truth. It's not easy to get that position, but she just got it. Isn't it weird?"

Matt had a point. We were silent for a while until Matt broke the bottle of wine. We looked at him in shock.

"Shit!" Dave shouted as he was about to stand up but suddenly fell down.

"Dave!" Mia shouted.

"Shit! Shit!" Matt cursed one after another. His hand bled while holding a plastic bottle with alcohol in it. I guess that's why it broke the bottle.

"W-What's that?" I asked.

"Some kind of illegal drug," someone said.

We looked toward the source of the voice. A girl with a black mask appeared. I think she's a member of BBG.

"D-Drugs?" I asked. My eyes widened. If the alcohol Dave and Zein drank had drugs in it... I looked at the dance floor.

Matt stood up and ran towards the dance floor.

"Damn! Zein drank alcohol too!" Jerome shouted