Ahh high school, where youth is at its peak. It is common for high schoolers to complain about a bunch of stuff. What they don't realize however is that a lot of old folks would often reminisce about their time in high school and would wish to go back and relive the era of youthful exuberance. That is literally impossible and the only thing that is reasonable is for high schoolers to live at the moment. Oh, this is the setting of this story by the way.
Every batch has that one section that sticks out like a sore thumb. Certainly, P. Una Technology Academy is no exception. At section D, is where the protagonists of the story could be found: The B0yz. A bunch of high school kids doing high school things. Pretty standard shit right? Well… maybe. Things change when a foil to their quest in enjoying their youthful days arrives. It's up to the boyz to figure shit out. How would they do this? Guess you need to continue reading…
Dismissal, every high school student's favorite time of the day. You're a stinky liar if you wouldn't say the same. In order to reach this, you have to go through the last subject. Unfortunately for section D, their last subject was a complete nightmare.
"Almost there.. " the words uttered by a student on life support, struggling to stay alive in science class.
There's roughly around a minute left before all of their suffering could end. Everyone realized this and was eager to wait for the bell. The science teacher, Mr. Jojo also noticed the time so he had to improvise.
"Okay since it's already time, this activity is now your homework. Class dismissed" Mr. Jojo said just in time before the bell rang.
Unsure whether they should celebrate because the class already ended or rage because now they have homework, everyone let out a huge sigh anyway. Paul, the class' rare smart kid, overheard the chatter of the boyz.
"I'd rather eat a flat tire than to stay in his class. I'm not learning any of this shit" Josh complained.
"Bro his method of teaching is abnormal bro. It's like the topic is how to dig a plant. It's simple right? Just put some damn water in the soil, super easy. The way he explains it though is that it turns out the soil was actually a sample of a shit from a prehistoric extinct mammoth and that the water to be used must be purified and blessed from the Pope himself" Jan added.
Stan noticed Paul was paying attention to their conversation. He's sorta the pseudo-leader of The B0yz, which comprises every male student in section D. There are around fifteen male students in the class, including Paul.
"What about you, Paul? Oh nevermind, you probably have it easy" Stan asked.
"No, actually. I do agree actually. I just happened to do advance reading from our textbook so that I could get a glimpse of whatever the hell Mr. Jojo is discussing" Paul explained.
Paul goes home immediately after dismissal every single day. As previously mentioned, he's the only rare male student in the class to get consistently high honors. Paul is a hardworking and smart individual, well… at least that's on the surface level. Unbeknownst to everyone, he also has his fair share of secrets. As he arrives at his room, he instantly locks the door, gets a box of tissue and lotion, and opens his desktop monitor.
"It is time" Paul says this while smiling menacingly.
Two hours have passed, the box of tissues is already empty. There is a lot of crumpled tissue scattered everywhere and the lotion is only half full.
"It is beautiful…" Paul exclaimed as he's wiping his tears off with the last piece of tissue.
What everyone didn't know is that he's actually an avid gamer. He plays all sorts of games on his PC such as Story-Driven games, MOBA, MMORPG, Visual Novels etc. This time, he finally managed to finish the story of the Visual Novel he's been playing for almost a week now. He also cries a lot when experiencing a story so that's what the tissues are for. For the lotion… Well, let's just say he has very sweaty hands.
"10/10 story. Magnificent, complete and comprehensive. Anyways, gotta study now" Paul said to himself.
That's the secret on how Paul is able to maintain good grades despite spending lots of time playing on his PC. He always allot some study time before he sleeps. Before he could shut down his PC, he received a message from one of his group chats. He decided to read it first.
"There's a rumor that those who'll fail the exam won't be able to go to the grand ball. What's a grand ball? Beats me. Gotta study hard then" He said to himself.
The following day, it is revealed that the rumor was actually true. Everyone was scrambling in fear of what's about to happen, considering how hard the science class was. Paul was confused so he asked his seatmate.
"Hey, what's the deal with this Grand Ball thing? Why is everyone so afraid of missing the event?" he asked.
"Wait seriously? Haven't you heard of it?" Elyza, his seatmate replied.
"Umm… nope?" an unsure Paul replied.
"Grand Ball is sorta like a prom. Lots of food, a great venue and essentially, it's a party. You wouldn't wanna miss this once in a lifetime experience. Well, you could actually if you elected not to go as they won't mark you absent that day" Elyza explained.
"Oh, good to know… Sweet hehe. Thanks" Paul said.
He was smiling menacingly which creeped Elyza out. Paul, four steps ahead of everyone, was thinking about how he'll spend his day playing the upcoming in-game event of the game he loves on the day of the Grand Ball.
The whole day has passed yet the announcement is still on everyone's mind rent-free. A not so bothered Paul was fixing his things so that he could go home immediately to play video games when suddenly, Stan approached him.
"So… let me get this straight, y'all are planning up something in order to pass the exams, specifically the science one?" Paul asked.
"Only subject we're worried about," Josh said.
"... And that plan revolves around cheating?" Paul asked again.
"Yep. Still need to figure out how it would go" Stan said.
Paul then went full serious face mode on. He felt he needed to lecture the boyz.
"Look guys, there's no good coming out from cheating alright? Hardwork is the key to all of this and I'm telling you right now, that's my key as well. What I'm trying to say is that there is no shortcut," Paul explained.
"That's where you are wrong my friend, as a matter of fact, we're currently in one of them right now. Do you wanna know what the end of this road looks like? A shitty McDonald's degree. All this hardship only for you to end up working at that restaurant" Stan explained.
"I don't think a McDonald's degree exists-" Paul said.
"Hey, it wouldn't be that bad! Think of all the free happy meals you'll get for lunch" Jan said.
"Dumbass, you'll still have to pay for it. Besides, Stan is right. I don't wanna work for McDonald's. I'm actually more of a KFC guy" Josh replied.
Paul and Stan simultaneously went facepalm on what they heard. The argument continues.
"McDonald's, KFC, 7/11, whatever the hell it is-" Paul ranting.
"I don't think we've mentioned 7/11-" Jan said.
"I'm telling you, I don't want any part of this ok? I don't want to cheat, as simple as that" Paul exclaimed.
Paul left immediately while the boyz was dismantled on the inside by his decision.
"Well, looks like our ace in the plan is out in this crap. What now, Stan?"
"Don't raise the white flag yet . Give him a couple of days and I'm damn sure he'll eventually change his mind" a confident Stan claimed.
The next day arrived and it was time for another science class. Paul studied eagerly last night in order to prove a point to the boyz. As the recitation part came, Paul raised his hand in order to answer the question.
"Mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell.." he recited.
"Correct, but how would you define it in your own terms?" Mr. Jojo asked.
Paul was hella confused as he did not expect to receive a reply like that. Usually, Mr. Jojo would commend him and move on. This one was different which left him scratching his head.
"What do you mean by my own answer sir? My answer is straight from the book" Paul argued.
"Yes I know but I also want to hear your own subjective definition" Mr. Jojo elaborated.
Paul makes confusing noises, at least from the outside. Inside his mind however, he's making an entire monologue.
"Wait, this is illegal. You can't do this to me. What do you mean there's other answers outside of the book? What do you mean by subjective? I simply cannot understand what this man is saying. This is cheating" Paul thought.
"Well it seems like Paul is struggling to come up with an answer. Anyone would like to help him?" Mr. Jojo asked the class.
As another classmate came to the rescue, Paul slowly sat down and felt very ashamed. Deep inside, his hatred towards Mr. Jojo was fuming. He knew what to do after the class ended.
Expectedly, Paul approached The B0yz. He then declared his intention to be part of the plan.
"What changed your mind bro?" Jan asked.
"As much as I hate cheating, there's nothing that I hate more than individuals who break the system in order to cheat. I think to cheat back is only just in this situat ion" Paul explained.
"Well that's nice to hear my friend. Now, the operation will officially begin" Stan said.