"Malakai and Melody".
Malakai's full smile slowly appeared. He said no one would find his device, and he was right. And to make things even better, his name was the first to be called.
"What are you waiting for?" Ray asked, seeing him still seated. "Go".
Malakai looked at him and smirked, "I'll wait for you lot innit".
"William and Chris.
Ray and Molly.
Benjamin and Marcus.
Lucas and Daniel.
David and Anya".
"What did I say?" Malakai happily said, smiling with his arms out.
"This guy", David grinned as he stood up.
"This feels wrong", William said, feeling a little guilty. "I didn't even do anything for this challenge".
"The perks of being friends with this kid", Lucas smiled.
All the boys stood up from their seats, with everyone around watching, and made their way to the stairs.
"I don't know how you do it, bro", Benjamin said, putting an arm around Malakai's shoulder and bringing him closer as they went down the stairs.
Malakai scoffed, "All I did was hide something. It ain't that good".
"It's good for me", Benjamin said appreciatively, smiling.
"Wow, you really were stressed for no reason", Isabella said, looking at her, surprised. "Your hiding spot must be really good".
Anya stood up, a little surprised herself, "It wasn't even my hiding spot".
The boys reached the bottom and climbed the stairs to the stage, where some of their partners were already standing.
"I'm sorry I doubted you, bro", Daniel said, grinning
"Nah, it's all good", Malakai replied, dapping him up. "It's natural you doubt me innit". He went over and stood next to Melody, "Yes, Melody. You good?" he asked, putting out his fist.
"I'm good", Melody replied, fist-bumping him. "What about you?".
"I'm aryt", Malakai said, looking at her. "I mean, look where we are".
Melody glanced at the crowd in front, "It's a little scary".
"Scary? Bro, you're gonna perform at concerts in front of thousands, this is nothing", Malakai said, covering his mouth.
Melody shyly smiled and looked to the floor, unsure how to respond to that. Performing at concerts was a dream of hers, so standing here shouldn't be a problem if she wanted to achieve it.
"Have you finished the song yet?" Malakai asked.
"Yeah, I have. All the mixing is done", Melody replied, nodding. "I don't know when to release it though".
"Promote it first, innit", Malakai said. "Make a Tiktok and insta account and spam it every day for like a week or two".
"Will that really work?" Melody asked anxiously.
"It's better than just releasing it, and no one seeing it", Malakai shrugged. "You need to get it some attention".
Melody's eyes stuck to the floor, thinking about it. Malakai could see she wasn't confident.
"Trust me, when you see the views start coming in, you'll be happy", Malakai confidently said, like he'd done it before. "Forget about the negative comments, cuz we both know the song is good".
"What about people here seeing it?" Melody asked, pushing up her glasses. "People in my class might think I'm weird".
"PTSD is hitting you right now", Malakai smirked, pointing at her. "Who cares about other people? If people in your class stop talking to you because of this, then they're the weirdos innit", he continued. "And if you do become a loner, you can become friends with the girls from my class", he joked.
Melody smiled, "I wouldn't mind that to be honest".
"The song's cold man. Everyone will like it", Malakai said, having no doubts. "You need to send the finished song. I wanna hear it and have it on my phone".
"Yeah, I will", Melody said.
After having that little pep talk, she was feeling more confident now. She finally looked to the crowd with a little smile.
"Why does Melody look so close to Malakai?" a few girls from 1-B whispered.
"I thought she hated him".
"Did something happen between them two?".
"He's not that bad. I thought he would be more... annoying", Anya quietly said to David, seeing Malakai and Melody smiling together.
"Heh, he is annoying", David said, letting out a mini laugh. "But when you get to know him, he's a good person", he replied. "But he likes to act like an idiot, which makes him unlikable if you don't know him".
While all those conversations were going on, Mr White was still announcing names.
"Alexander and Adam.
Frank and Oscar".
Alexander was quick to get on his feet. It was like he stood up before his name was announced. That's how confident he was. Frank, on the other hand, waited until his and his partners' names were announced.
"Ace and Delilah.
Isabella and Tanisha".
Ace got up straight-faced.
"Don't be so down", Destiny said, smirking. "You get to stand next to her".
"Shut up", Ace replied, annoyed, walking past her.
"Damnnn Tan!" Maria said with a smile. "You did amazing in this challenge".
"It was all my partner", Tanisha replied, shaking her head. "Trust me".
"What are you waiting for?" Maria asked, seeing her still seated. "Go".
"No, I'm going to wait for you", Tanisha replied, holding Maria's hand.
"No, Tanisha, please come with me", Delilah said, putting a hand on her shoulder, already standing. "I don't want to walk up there alone".
"You can wait here with me", Tanisha said, insisting on sitting.
"You don't have to wait", Maria said, taking her hand away from Tanisha. "We'll be there. Don't worry", she ushered her away.
Tanisha hesitated and gave Maria a look like a sad puppy.
Maria giggled, "Go", she said, lightly pushing her out of her chair.
Tanisha sighed, "Fine", she accepted, getting up.
"Ryan and Monica.
Lorenzo and Mark".
"About time I got some points", Ryan muttered as he stood.
"Dillon and Leroy.
Jason and Sydney
Ash and Felipe".
"Even the third years couldn't find my device!" Ash exclaimed, practically jumping out of his seat, patting his chest.
"All three of us got more points?" Jason said, looking between Ash and Dillon. "This semester is starting off good", he smirked.
Dillon said nothing as he got up. He silently went on his way to the stage.
"Sabrina and Emily.
"Naomi and Serena.
Akari and Becky".
Mr White paused and stopped calling out names for a couple of seconds as he scanned the stage.
"These are the eighteen pairs that successfully hid their devices against the second and third years".
Maria's chest tightened. "Oh…" she thought, staring at the people on the stage. Seeing her friends on stage without her hurt. After being so confident, it felt like a punch in the face.
"We didn't make it", Rose said, a little upset. She turned to Maria, who was staring at the stage with her mouth slightly open. "You okay?" she asked, putting a hand on Maria's shoulder.
Maria blinked and switched back on. "Yeah, I'm fine", she lightly smiled at her. "It's just a challenge", she shrugged. "It just means we have to do better in the next one".
Maria could put up a strong, confident front, but on the inside, she was let down. It hurt more seeing her friends there without her. She felt left out.
Tanisha, up on stage, was looking disappointedly towards her. Not disappointed at her, but more of the fact that she wasn't with her.
"How?" Owen frustratedly thought. "Our spot was good. I made sure it was good. How did someone find it?" he scrunched his fists together. "Shit... I missed out again... and I lost points for Maria".
"Tch, how am I not there?" Destiny saltily muttered. "Argh. That's annoying", she mumbled, sliding down her seat, pulling out her phone.
"Look at our girls go", Bri said, taking a picture of the people on stage.
"I'm happy for Isabella", Eve said. "She needed that".
"Ever since we've come back from winter break, she's been confident", Luna added. "It's like how she was at the start of the year".
"Looks like that winter break was exactly what she needed", Eve said.
"I'm kinda sad I'm not there", Bri said, putting her phone down and staring at the stage.
"Same", Luna added. "I should've tried harder".
"That might be us out of the top ten", Eve said.
"No way", Bri denied, turning to her. "This can't be worth that many points. 500 max".
Nada smirked and shook her head, looking at the stage, "After I said I wanted to beat him in a challenge a couple of weeks ago", she thought. "I need to step up".
"Can I get a round of applause for these students on stage, please?" Mr White asked, bringing his hands together to take the lead.
The rest of the hall joined in. The applause rolled through the rows in waves. On stage, the first years stood in a long line, accepting it all. Some stood straight while others shifted awkwardly, unsure where to look.
When the applause started to die down, Mr White started again,
"These students successfully managed to hide their devices from both second and third years", he said. "All of these students earned 1000 points for hiding their devices from the second years", he paused deliberately.
"For keeping their devices hidden from the third years, these students earned another 1000 points".
Eyelids around the hall raised.
"So in total", Mr White finished. "They've earned 2000 points".
For a split second, everyone was silent.
Then reactions exploded from everywhere.
A conversation broke out among all the year groups in the rows.
"We didn't get many points when we did that".
"That's not fair".
"1000 points is too much".
On the stage, all of Malakai's friends immediately turned to each other. They couldn't believe it. Their partners mirrored them and also turned to each other in shock.
Alexander remained still, his posture unchanged and his expression the same as ever. Frank, on the other hand, had a little smile.
Ace's bored look finally cracked. He didn't expect to get an additional 1000 points. After that little shock factor, his bored expression came back. He didn't care that much.
Delilah had a hand over her mouth as she turned to Tanisha to see her reaction, but Tanisha was looking towards Maria, feeling bad for her.
Ryan had a satisfied smile on show. From what he'd been told, he thought he was going to get 500 points, so hearing he got 1000 was really good. It kinda made up for messing up in the last challenge.
Ash was ecstatic. He was bouncing on stage. Jason kept his calm demeanour with a smirk on his face. But Dillon didn't react at all. He was unfazed.
Sabrina smiled openly, soaking in the crowd's attention like this was normal for her.
Akari, meanwhile, avoided it entirely, her gaze fixed to the floor.
"This might seem like a big jump in points", Mr White said a little louder to cut the reactions. "But seeing that many of you do so well, we had to increase the reward". He gestured vaguely behind him. "The number of devices that stayed hidden after the second year search was the highest this academy has ever seen".
"These first years are legit", Micheal said, finally leaning back, accepting everything.
"You made a mistake challenging him", Leon said, looking at Malakai smiling on stage.
Micheal blew air out of his nose, "I know..." he regretfully said. "I'm glad I came to this academy when I did".
"Bro…" Leon said. "If I were in their year group, I would struggleee".
"That's our top ten spots gone", Eve said, resting her head on her palm.
"Yep", Bri said with a little smirk.
"It's not guaranteed", Luna said. "We'll have to find out later when the leaderboard gets updated".
"Getting 2000 points in one challenge is nuts", Eve said.
"All for hiding something", Bri bitterly added. "The next challenge must be something crazy with 3000 points on the line or something".
Mr White looked down the line of first years, "Well done to all of you. What you've done is impressive", he said. He paused, letting the weight of it sit.
"Do any of you want to say anything to the rest of the academy? This might be the only chance you get to say something in front of everyone like this".
"Yeah", Malakai instantly replied, stepping forward.
Mr White didn't even have to take a step because Malakai was already walking towards him. There was no hesitation in his step. Mr White could already tell that Malakai was going to make a moment from the look in his eyes.
Mr White handed the microphone to Malakai, who took it with his left hand as if he had planned something for this exact moment. When Malakai got the mic, he didn't stand behind the podium. Instead, he went ahead of it, standing at the very front of the stage.
"Yo…" he said, with the mic close to his mouth, testing it.
After hearing his voice boom around the hall, a smirk sparked across his face.
"Aryt. My name's Malakai Junior". His eyes went up towards the upper rows. "Where's Micheal?" he said. He carefully scanned the upper rows of the hall from right to left until he found Micheal leaning back in his seat. Malakai pointed at him with a smile full of teeth.
"Heh", he let out a little giggle. "Micheal. And to all the second years that sucked his dick!".
Malakai raised his right arm and showed his middle finger towards Micheal.
"Hold that, you fucking dickheads!"
Everyone's mouth hung open after hearing that. Everyone on stage looked towards Malakai in shock. People turned to each other, confused. The only person smiling was Ray. Malakai had his crazy smirk stuck on his face as he stuck his middle finger towards the second years.
Mr White and the two higher-ups were in disbelief. Mr White stood frozen. Mr Miller blinked in disbelief. Mr Watson's grip on his walking stick loosened. Hearing that phrase being said with such conviction wasn't something they expected to hear on a Monday.
"FUCK YOU!" a random second-year shouted.
Malakai's grin didn't falter. He raised both of his middle fingers towards the second years.
That was the trigger.
The noise in the higher rows spiked. Abuse was being hurled at Malakai, with some students even standing up from their chairs. The first and third years didn't know what was going on, but they were enjoying whatever they were watching.
Before it could spiral further, Mr White stepped forward and snatched the microphone from Malakai's hand.
"Okay! Quiet, please!" Mr White firmly said.
He placed a steady hand on Malakai's shoulder, not aggressively, but commandingly. Indicating to him to go back to his space.
Malakai didn't resist. He started walking back, but as he walked, he stared at Micheal, smiling the whole time. Micheal was staring at him too, but he wasn't reciprocating the smile.
"What was that?" Melody asked with a confused look.
"Why did you say?" William asked with his arms out.
"Why did you do that?" David asked, concerned.
Their faces were a mix of confusion, shock and curiosity. They all wanted to know.
"I'll tell you lot later", Malakai smiled, satisfied with what he did.
Gradually, the noise died down. The hall was quiet, but tension still bubbled. Mr White waited until he was certain he had everyone's attention.
"I don't know what you two have going on", Mr White said, switching gazes between Malakai and Micheal. "But I don't want it escalating beyond words", he sternly warned, looking serious. "If I hear anything about any fights or physical altercations, there will be severe consequences".
He looked back at Malakai, whose response was a little smirk, and he put his hands up like he was innocent.
Mr White exhaled, "I think this is a good time to end this assembly", he said, sensing it was the best time. "But before I let you all go, Mr Miller has something he wants to tell all of you".
He handed the mic to Mr Miller, who stepped forward and went behind the podium.
"Good afternoon, everyone", he started off. "My speech won't take too long, so bear with me", he said, looking around. "Since the start of the year, I've been really impressed with the quality shown by everyone this year".
"Bullshit", a third-year quietly commented. "You're only talking about the first years".
"I hope this quality stays the same throughout the rest of the academic year", he continued. "I just wanted to announce that going forward, the challenges will be bigger and better. We still had this challenge, as all of us like this challenge because it includes all the year groups. However, the upcoming challenges will be different from previous years. And I mean this for all three year groups. So be prepared", he smiled.
He stepped back as applause started to roll in.
"Why are we clapping?" Ash whispered, leaning towards Jason.
Jason answered him with a shrug.
"What was the point fo the other higher up?" Ash whispered, leaning towards Felipe.
"I don't know. Aesthetic", Felipe whispered back, shrugging.
Mr White was handed back the mic and stepped ahead again. "One last thing", he said. He turned to the students on stage. "As for you guys, to confirm your points, you need to get your device and bring it to the main office before 6 PM today".
No one on stage looked worried. If anything, they looked even more confident now.
"Second and third years", Mr White said, turning towards the crowd. "Please leave first through the exit at the back", he gestured to the doors at the top of the hall.
"That's that", Leon said, standing up and picking up his bag. "Let's go". He put on his bag, but he still saw Micheal sitting down staring at the stage. "Yo, lets go".
Micheal was stuck to his seat, "I don't wanna move", he said quietly.
"Are you angry you lost the bet?" Leon asked, surprised to see Micheal like this.
"Not angry", Micheal replied, lightly shaking his head. "It's just… reality has hit me. I lost to him".
Leon looked towards Malakai on stage, "Yeeaah, but it's not like he beat you in something good, you know", he said, not impressed by Malakai. "It's not THAT skilful".
"I just...".
"What are you guys doing?"
Micheal and Leon both looked up.
"Let's go", Richard called out, looking tired.
Leon put a hand on Micheal's shoulder, "Don't worry. We'll figure it out. You'll speak to him later".
Micheal stood up, but even as he stood, his eyes couldn't look away from the stage.