Unordinary: New Student

35: Front Page

Stephanie's POV

I held a copy of the school newspaper in my hands, my eyes scanning over the front page as I walked down the hallway on the way to class. "Students cause bomb threat at Kovoro Mall..." I read, my eyes widening. The school had found out so fast! And here I had thought the excitement was all over.

Ignoring the whispers around me, as usual, I spotted Blyke and Isen not too far ahead. "Hey guys," I called, hurrying over to my friends. I guess I consider Isen a friend now. "Have you seen the school paper?"

Isen muttered a greeting, looking disappointed. "Yeah, we've seen it. My article didn't get chosen for the front page." 

"Cheer up, man!" Blyke elbowed the orange-head in the side jokingly. "Technically, you're still on the front page." The redhead grinned at me. "We all are."

"I...really don't think it's something to joke about." I murmured, reading the whole story over again. "This could get us in more trouble."

"Ah, lighten up." Blyke patted me on the back. "I'm sure nothing will happen."

Of course, it was then the speaker mounted on the wall crackled to life and announced, "Remi, Blyke, Isen, and Stephanie. Please report to the main office."

***

In a few minutes, all four of us were standing in front of the Headmaster inside his office. Headmaster Vaughn placed a copy of the school newspaper on top of his desk, staring at us with his piercing light green eyes. "I'm sure you all know why I called you here. Is everything written in this article true?"

"No, sir." Remi answered, straightening her uniform. "Of course not. We tried to pursue the culprit, but there was a misunderstanding that we set off the bomb. We cleared things up with the security afterward."

"Did you catch the culprit?" Vaughn implored, tapping his finger against his chin. 

"N-no sir," Isen spoke. "He... got away."

Looking away, Vaughn sighed. "Let me remind you. Wellston has a very unique environment, one that allows you to freely exercise your abilities to their full extent, as the damages are easily repairable. But the moment you step off campus, you need to be more careful. Wellston's reputation and others' safety are on the line. You are four of my most powerful students. What you do impacts others around you significantly." He shot us another look. "So don't act impulsively when faced with another situation like this one."

"Yes, Headmaster!" All of us replied, ready to leave the office.

"Good. You may all leave," Vaughn said, before his eyes narrowed. "Except Stephanie. I need to have a talk with you." I gulped as my friends shot me puzzled glances before heading out the door.

Nervously, I faced Vaughn again, wondering what he would say. "So how are you adjusting to this school?" He smiled warmly, and I didn't know what to think. 

"Ah, it's been-" My mind ran through all the events that had happened in the last few weeks. Getting attacked at every corner. Turf Wars. Sera's suspension. Nightmares. And now the mall incident. "-eventful. But I'm settling in fine."

Vaughn cleared his throat. "It must have been hard telling everyone that you're a low tier when you're really not."

I shot him a look. "No, not really. All I had to do was open my mouth and talk."

Vaughn chuckled. "You know what I mean. You are one of my most powerful students, and you choose to present yourself as a low tier."

Gritting my teeth, I shrugged. "I have my reasons. Reasons that I don't wish to share."

"Fine." Vaughn sighed. "You may leave now. I just thought I'd ask. As your headmaster, I hold some responsibility for your well-being, you know." He paused as I opened the door. "But be careful. Imagine what would happen if the school found out that you're an elite tier. It could overthrow the balance in this school."

"Yeah," I closed the door. "I know."

I walked out of the main office to find my friends waiting for me. "I'm back." I announced, tapping Blyke on the shoulder. 

"What did you talk about?" Remi looked interested, her amber eyes gazing into my eyes.

"Uh, he just wanted more details about the mall and the bomb." I lied, looking away guiltily. She didn't need to know.

"Well," Blyke grinned. "That wasn't so bad, was it? I thought we were going to get pummeled."

Isen chimed in. "Yeah. And can you believe that man actually reads the papers? I wonder if he likes my articles." Typical Isen. I thought. Always thinking about his articles.

"I'm going to grab a snack before class starts." Blyke told us. 

"Me too." Isen said.

"No thank you," Remi and I answered. 

"Right, then see you around!" Blyke and Isen rushed off to the cafeteria, chatting eagerly about what food they wanted to buy.

"You know," Remi whispered to me as we walked slowly down the hallway. "It's weird how accurate the article is, isn't it?" As I arched my brow, she continued. "I mean, all the details, even the small ones, are more-or-less accurate. And this only happened two days ago, and on a weekend. So how did someone get ahold of this information so fast?"

I froze, a small chill running down the back of my neck. "Do you think someone's been watching us?" I asked Remi.

She shrugged. "I don't know for sure, but it's definitely possible. Just-" she glanced behind her. "-watch you're back from now on."