Old Wounds
"Alright, Everyone settle down. " Michael said as he prepared to begin the ceremony.
After the usual program lineup for the matriculation program, the time came for the Dean to give his speech, and state the basic rules of the institute and how the grading system for the institute worked.
" Freshmen Students of the North Institute, you are once again welcomed. I hoped you have already read the brochure of the institute. All I am here to do is pinpoint the most important things and the announcement of new programs.
The basic aim of this institute is to prepare our younger generation to be set up with the necessary skills to lead our country to new heights.
At North Institute, assessment tests and examinations are conducted in the institute. Contribution points are awarded accordingly to students who help society through the manifestation of new technologies or through manual labor that will improve the sanitary conditions of our communities. It is a well-known but wrong notion that intellectuals should not get themselves dirty. Helping your community and improving the standard of living is not dirty work.
The final method of gaining contribution points is through participation in quizzes and other outdoor educational and club activities. With this point made, I will like to announce the first-ever, North Institute Freshman Quiz Conference.
This conference is set up by the board to facilitate quick academic growth from the early stages of one's academic career.
Participating and getting placed high on the scoreboard will grant opportunities for rewards and contribution points.
This conference also helps to serve as a platform to launch the Awaiting Students Conference. This conference is set up to help test students who have completed high school with excellent grades but will not be able to afford the fees. This platform will help the institute to reach out to help individuals who will not be able to pay the fees due to financial difficulties. This is the first of its kind and we hope it will be a massive success.
We thank the Lightfield Family for deciding to partner with the Institute to make this conference a success. On that note, the contribution points given to every other family will be stripped to reimburse students of the Lightfield Family for a real job done.
In the North Institute, things are not handed out but earned. You are all welcome once again to the North Institute and also have a nice weekend. " Michael finished his speech as he headed back to his office.
' Haha, I can't wait to see the annoyed looks on those old bastards' faces.' Michael thought with a smirk on his face.
' They seem to forget who runs this place. All they know is asking but never giving anything. Among those guys, only the Lightfield witch is relatively good among them. ' Michael thought as he headed to his office.
' Huh? This is the North Institute? A system ran by contribution and dedication towards one's community. I guess it will be fun to discover this new world through this institute. There is something about that old man.....' James thought as he headed out to look for Tabitha.
" Ohhhh. See who we have here. If it isn't the golden boy. " A black-haired boy looking to be about James' age said out loud as he blocked James' path.
James just left the assembly hall and in a matter of seconds, trouble found him once again.
The boy that blocked him had four other boys with him as they stared James down menacingly.
" Ohhhh. If it isn't the jealous lover boy. " James retorted back as the memory of this person hit him back.
The boy standing in front of him was the one and only Andrews. Yes, the "jealous and all-over Tabitha" Andrews.
"Hey !!! You bastard how dare you call me that. I
didn't know what Tabitha saw in you when she decided to pick you over the manly me." Andrews retorted back as he gritted his teeth in anger.
Andrew was James' childhood best friend.
Andrews lost his dad earlier on since his dad was a soldier who served in the military. Due to the relationship between Andrews' mother and James' they formed an early relationship where they played together.
Everything was going on smoothly in their relationship until that very day. It was this very day that Tabitha Makarov appeared in their middle school. James at first never had the emotions and feelings his colleagues were having toward Tabitha.
He just considered her as a friend. But this changed when he lost his parents at the age of ten. Tabitha never knew her parents and always stayed at the orphans' shelter.
Andrews lost his dad and only had his mom to support him. James also lost both his parents but had to support his little sister.
These three individuals who happened to lose the most important people in their lives and had similar stories bonded quickly and their relationship became much more knitted together.
For the two males in this particular relationship, that feeling of friendship had long since been forgotten and replaced by a new one. The expression of emotions and feelings manifests in individuals in different ways.
Andrews' love manifested differently; an obsession. Andrews became so obsessed that he decided to cut off his best friend from having contact with Tabitha.
The feeling of jealousy continued to grow stronger the more Tabitha and James' relationship grew in front of him. Andrews had a feeling that no matter what he did, Tabitha will never be his.
This further reinforced his hate for James. He finally gave up trying to have Tabitha until that day when they all shared their dream colleges.
As expected, as individuals of a similar mindset, they all had the same college choice and with the grades to back the admission up, they were sure to get in.
The only thing that could hinder them from going will be their financial situation. Andrews' mother remarried a member of the Lightfield Family and Tabitha's "parents" planned to take her back after she ended her high school study.
With this background, they had their financial situation sorted out. Tabitha didn't know how to tell James and decided to hold onto that information until they graduated. But somehow Andrews came to know of it.
One might expect Andrews to spill the beans since that will be in his favor, but he did the unexpected and decided to leave it to rest. He now figured he had a shot since James wasn't around and all.
But as usual, James seemed intent on ruining everything, and somehow appeared in the institute with his fees fully paid.
This right here was all the reason, Andrews' anger peaked dramatically at the mention of his failed attempt to get Tabitha.
" You better watch your back, golden boy." Andrews restrained his anger as he left with his goons.
"Huh? I thought I could provoke him to attack me then I could rough him up a bit. I guess my feat of beating that Ryan guy has spread all over the school." James thought with his hands inside his pocket.
"Ohhh, Yeah. You are quite popular for a freshman...." A voice sounded behind him but he didn't notice the arrival of the person in question.