"Hi, I'm Isabella Wayne."
The girl said with an innocent smile. Yet, her smile didn't fool Kaiser—instead, it felt like a snake had quietly coiled around him.
Hazel regarded her for a few moments then replied calmly. "I know."
Isabella's smile became a little stiff but she quickly composed herself.
"I'm someone who's a fan of being friends with everyone and I realized that you two mostly don't socialize with the others."
Kaiser turned his eyes towards Hazel, his gaze reflected the same thoughts as her's.
'You don't?'
"My relationships are none of your business." Hazel stated coldly.
"Ouch! That's sad, but you need friends." Isabella said, a hurt expression crossing her beautiful face.
"I don't need friends. I work better alone and I hate bothers." Hazel shut her down again, this time her voice carrying an icy edge.
Realizing Hazel wouldn't budge easily, Isabella turned to Kaiser who was watching their exchange in silence.
"You?" She asked in a low, pleading voice.
"Unfortunately, I am uninterested for now." He replied bluntly with a tiny bit of politeness in his tone.
"Is that so? That shouldn't be a problem, no? I could introduce you to a—"
"No. I'm fine." Kaiser interrupted, his tone firm.
"Alright, if you need anything from me, this is my contact. Thank you."
With that, she left them with joyful steps as if she had accomplished her mission.
"She's not so simple." Kaiser commented in a small whisper.
"I feel like she's hiding something." Hazel muttered but she shook her head, dismissing the thought.
...
After the day's class, Kaiser packed his bag and decided to leave early when Liam came up to him.
"Hey."
Acknowledging the cheerful guy's presence with a nod, he continued on his way out.
"Uh, I wanted to speak with you." Liam said awkwardly, realizing Kaiser probably couldn't entertain him for long.
Tilting his head, Kaiser gestured at himself with a blank expression, delivering a silent question.
"Yeah."
A little unnerved, Liam nodded quickly.
"Do you mind if we talk outside?" Regaining a little composure, he rolled his shoulders and asked.
Being less of a talker, Kaiser simply stared at Liam for a while before nodding.
Once they were outside, they branched an ice cream shop where Liam bought two for both of them before settling down on a nearby bench.
Liam shifted uncomfortably as he felt the weight of Kaiser's gaze. It felt like someone was peeling off his secrets layer by layer.
"So.." Trying to distract himself, he started but fell silent in compliance with the overwhelming silence oozing out from Kai.
"Speak." In a dry voice, Kaiser said with a blank look.
"Alright," Taking a deep breath, Liam continued "Based on what Instructor Itou said cryptically, I made investigations prior but couldn't really get much. Though it seems there is a fierce bias against Class-D in the whole school."
Kaiser's eyes looked deader than before as he silently listened to Liam speak. The boy had a talent for leadership and great fighting skills. Even Kai could feel the soft force the guy was exuding.
"So, could you help me with finding out the problem? I would be very happy if you did. Everyone's cooperation is needed, if possible."
Standing up with a slow and deliberate movement, Kaiser threw the ice cone ito a waste basket efficiently before turning towards Liam.
"No."
"Alright, let's st- Wait What?" Liam's voice cracked, stunned. "Why? Don't you care about the class?" He asked, his voice laced with emotions.
"Why should I care? I can't go around babysitting you all if you can't even think properly." Kaiser retorted with a bored look.
Left speechless, Liam struggled to come up with a perfect reply.
"It's a must to thrive for the betterment of our class. We're all classmates."
"Is that so? That's not enough." Casting Liam a dismissive glance, he turned away with his back facing Liam and said "I am not bound by compassion or sympathy."
Liam could only watch as he left, feeling confused and lost.
...
Liam returned to the class dejected where a few students were waiting for him.
"What did he say?" asked Kiera, leaning on the table with a tired expression.
"He didn't give me a good reply." He said.
"Tch, creepy guy. Why do we even need him?" Kiera lamented with a bitter expression, showing her disgust for him. Well, Kaiser couldn't be blamed, she just had a biased opinion about all boys except Liam.
"Don't worry, I'll talk to him later." Isabella said in her perfectly soothing voice, easing the tension in the air.
"Why do we even need him? We can go on ourselves. Right?" Kiera whined. "And without that Proud girl either."
She added, referring to Hazel who had previously turned them down.
"Indeed, it seems she's quite a lonely fellow." Isabella commented with a seemingly helpless smile. Soon however, she brightened up.
"But that doesn't mean I'll give up on them. If I want to be friends with everyone, I can't leave them alone and isolated."
Jose's eyes glinted with admiration as he gazed at her, his mind ablaze.
'Isabella is truly a great girl. Hehehehe. I wonder if she likes me?'
"Hmph! Let's be quick. I want to go check out the basketball club soon."
Logan snorted, slightly annoyed with the delays.
"Sure."
Smiling, Liam took the stage, facing those available in the classroom.
"Honestly, I'm very happy that everyone here waited behind and it's a sign that we're moving forward.
Alright, not to waste our time, I'll get straight to the point. Based on what I noticed, even though we're receiving 100,000 per month, I still found some upper class students eating free food with unsightly expressions. With this and some notice from Isabella, I deduced that the school has a way of deducting our points. Of course we don't know about that yet, but our next goal is to understand this."
Just then, Joan, an academically excellent student raised his hand.
"Wait, how can you be so sure you aren't just overthinking?"
Liam turned to him and exhaled softly.
"I would have been relieved if I was overthinking, but didn't you notice? We only know things that the school decides to tell us. We didn't even know before enrolling here. I have a feeling we're being led like cattle—and it's frustrating."
Once he was done talking, he was met with silence until a girl spoke.
"U-um, i-if it's as you said, then maybe they just lost all of their points in a bet. R-right?"
Although she said that, everyone including she herself knew she was just trying to comfort herself—having spent most of her points already.
"But if Liam is right, then we have to act fast."
Another girl nodded, visibly concerned.
Another one, looking quite average, smiled thinly and winked at Liam.
"Don't worry Liam. We'll help you. Feel free to use us anytime."
Immediately, Jose and Joshua coughed violently while Kiera snickered, slightly annoyed and amused.
Liam meanwhile was flabbergasted, stunned by such misleading words.
"Ahem. Anyway, I just wanted everyone to please try their best to find any clues."
Isabella immediately nodded.
"Leave it to me, Liam. I'll ask a few seniors I know."