Chapter 19: Homeroom

A tall youth with a devilishly handsome face was standing behind them as he gripped in one hand a school bag over his shoulder. He had eye-catching red hair, piercings on both his ears, slanted eyes that gave a strange feeling of danger, and furrowed eyebrows that indicated his current mood.

"How about you thirsty thots do me a favor by shutting your damn mouths and getting the hell back to your seats!"

The tall youth glared down viciously at these group of hoes, which made them quiver and instinctively bow their heads in submission. Then, without another word, they scurried away like a herd of rabbits meeting the eyes of their natural predator.

"Jesus, these fangirls of yours are really starting to drive me crazy." He said as he snorted at the direction where the majority of the girls were running off to.

"Well, yeah…" Renan didn't know how else to respond so he simply agreed with his statement. "But enough about that. How are things going for you and the basketball team? Are you guys ready to take on the Rizal Revolutionaries?"

"Heh. Ready to take 'em? More like the Maharlika Conquistadors are ready to beat 'em to the ground and wipe the floor with them." He replied while pounding a fist against his palm and grinning wickedly.

"Oh, is that so? Then I'll be cheering you on next weekend, and hopefully your words today won't amount to pure boasting, Alec." Renan raised a hand to offer him a fist bump.

For introduction's sake, this tall youth is named Alec Herschel, and he is one of the leading figures in UAAP men's basketball. In the collegiate men's varsity teams of the University of Maharlika that play in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines, the premiere collegiate league in the Philippines; he is the top three Center across the country's multiple universities and, needless to say, one of the two star players in the Maharlika Conquistadors basketball team.

"Yeah, don't worry about it. You have my word." Alec said as he gladly bumped fists with him.

But most important of all, he is the sole individual that Renan deems as the one and only true friend he has in this school.

And right at this moment, just before they could continue on with their conversation, the homeroom instructor of 12-Fortitude came waltzing inside the classroom. She wore the standard teacher's uniform in this university, which somehow accentuated her striking curves and well-rounded figure. She held a slender white tablet in her hand while walking towards the teacher's podium that was located in the center-front of the class.

When the students became aware of her presence, they stopped and put down whatever they were doing then hurriedly went back to their seats. Upon arriving at the podium, Miss Reina gently placed down the white tablet on its wooden surface and stood there surveying her surroundings.

Thereafter, she slightly opened her mouth and said: "Alright, everything seems to be in order. Well then, let's start homeroom shall we?"

Next, she lightly pressed the center of her white tablet and a 3D holographic image of a keyboard as well as a transparent blue screen promptly appeared out of thin air. Miss Reina then expertly manipulated the high-tech device and opened up several apps on her screen. After she was done, she shifted her attention and spoke out to the class.

"First and foremost, we will be quickly taking your attendance. Classroom President, tell me the ones who are absent for today."

"Yes, Maam."

A fairly beautiful young lady stood up from her seat and began listing the names of the following students whose absence were apparent. A short while later, Miss Reina nodded her head and gestured for her to sit down.

"Thank you for the swift report, Classroom President. Next I would like to move on to our announcements. The nearest event that we'll be having is the annual inter-school basketball championship starting this Saturday. The basketball team from Rizal College will be coming over to our school at 9 PM. So if you have the free time since it's a non-school day, please be sure to check out the match and support our school's players."

She recited a long slew of lines, all of which she uttered in her usual deadpan expression.

"Lastly is the grade 12 class field trip to the old and preserved Fort San Pedro. More details will be granted shortly in the following week; and I guess that's all for the announcements. Now, I want you all to please rise up as we sing along to the national anthem."

Afterwards, she tapped the play button on the screen with her delicate finger and sonorous music started playing on the surround speakers inside the classroom.

…

Four and a half hours later, it was the time for students to have their lunch. After sitting through and listening to three entire lectures about Writing, Research, and Community Engagement; the students of 12-Fortitude were finally relieved from the lessons and given a one hour break to eat their lunches or take care of their personal needs and whatnot.

Renan was walking together with Alec as they both took an elevator to the sixth floor and then headed towards the direction of the student council room. Upon reaching the door to the said room, Renan turned the knob and pushed it open and was greeted by a similar sight he saw earlier this morning.

Flowing blue hair cascading down like a waterfall on her slender back, and coupled with an angelic face that spoke multitudes of her gorgeous beauty—who could it be but none other than Celestine Sison, the vice-president of the student council. And sitting on the coffee table right across from her was another young lady with a head full of silver-white hair.

Hearing the sound of the door being opened, the two lovely ladies slowly put down their bento boxes and curiously gazed at the doorway.

"Yo, what's wrong dude?"

Feeling puzzled by his best friend's abrupt pause, Alec poked his head inside the room as he said this and directly met the frosty and chilling eyes of the vice-president.

"Oh sh*t…"