The Lion, The Dragon and The Bird

A sly fox and white hyenas

Soveland Academy athletic stadium was bustling with activity. The atmosphere was more similar to a summer festival than to the first day of school at a prestigious academy. Various groups of students were scattered on the lawn of the soccer field. Some were laying on the ground simply talking, most were running around playing games. The blazing sun in the clear blue sky made it a point to remind them that it was still mid-august.

In the bleachers, the first-year students sat, nervous, supervised by their guardians, most probably their nannies or their butler. The parents of the students at Soveland Academy were too busy to attend such an event. Fresh out of middle school, they were envious of the carefree attitude of the upperclassmen. The most daring of them stood at the edge of the field, inching towards the closest upper-classmen groups.

Another pair of eyes were observing the scene in the stadium from the second floor of the administrative building. The building was across from the stadium and the smallest one on the vast campus. It stood out because of its red bricks that contrasted with the glass and metal design of the other buildings.

"Lucky them," Quinn whispered. Kevin Rodery, the vice president of the student council seated next to her, discreetly cleared his throat. Quinn Malloray brought back her attention to the room and listened as the new vice-principal presented his plans for this school year. Quinn felt like he was mostly bragging about his personal achievements and was quite impressed by how he managed to mention Harvard or Oxford every few sentences.

She let her gaze drift around the spacious conference room - dimly lit at the moment as the projector was being used.

The members of Priceminster school council were seated in a u-shape formation in front of the speaker. At their head, across from the speaker, Mrs. Van deer Sole, the headmistress of Soveland Academy and current president of the council, sat proudly. Priceminster school council was made up of representatives from all the schools inside the borough of Priceminster. Amongst those schools, Soveland Academy was the most prominent thus had the most influence in the council. Its headmistress had been elected president for over 15 years. This year was especially important to her since she was also a municipal candidate. A sly fox reigning over white hyenas, that was the image projected by the school council.

At last, the presentation ended, and the light came back on. There were a few claps and then Mrs. Soveland concluded the meeting.

Quinn attempted to surreptitiously exit the room by mingling in the crowd of greying middle-aged men chatting about their golf swings or stocks. "Ms. Malloray, do you have a minute?" She sadly realized that her dense curls could be easily distinguished from the bald heads surrounding her. Her best friend liked to call it a mane. It was a glorious riot of colours, from golden to ebony with subtle hints of auburn. "Of course, Mrs. Van deer Sole."

She turned around inches away from the doorway and stood near the windows in front of the headmistress. From the corner of her eyes, she noticed Kevin's blonde hair passing by in the corridor. So much for solidarity, she thought.

She faced the intimidating, ageless woman in front of her with her best smile. The charismatic woman had seen at least three generations of students pass through the corridors of her school. Yet, not a single wrinkle was visible under the thin layer of makeup skillfully applied to her face. That and a few seances of Botox, Quinn guessed.

"Mademoiselle Malloray, I have high hopes for you this year." Quinn blinked, surprised. She doubted that she - or anyone else for the matter - could set the bar any higher than she already had. She was the president of the student council, a national athlete, an academically gifted student, a multiple Olympiad medalist and...in short, she was excellent.

"Concerning the choice for your successor," the headmistress clarified. "I trust you understand that this is an important matter for the school and your most important task this year."

Quinn had mixed feelings about all of this. That her successor was the first thing the headmistress mentioned left a sour aftertaste. After three years as the president of the student council, she thought she had developed a somewhat close bond with the stern woman, or at least a trusting relationship. She wasn't expecting a warm "how were your holidays?" but a polite "are your university applications going well?" would have been nice.

"It will be properly taken care of, Mrs. Van deer Sole." Quinn was glad that none of her disappointment transpired through her voice.

"Good," the headmistress concluded while adjusting her glasses, a pair of bright red Ray-bans. "And for that purpose, I had Robert here prepare a list of competent candidates."

That's when Quinn noticed that the new vice-principal had stayed behind and was standing a few steps behind her. He handed her the mentioned documents.

Quinn slightly wrinkled her nose as she opened the document. If it could be called that, even. Just a blank A4 paper with three lonely names typed on it. Moreover, Quinn could easily recognize those names and understood the design behind this list.

While of course, no students at Soveland could match her in terms of cheer volume of achievements, there were still a plentiful of elite students amongst the six hundred that attended Soveland.

"Is this it?" This time, she could not hide the surprise in her voice. She realized a step too late that her words sounded a bit curt to be addressed towards the headmistress. So she turned towards the newly appointed vice-principal. "Um... Mister-"

"Professor Robert, if you please, Ms. Malloray." The chunky round man almost instantly corrected her. What kind of high school teacher wanted to be called professor?, she thought, barely suppressing a sneer.

"Of course, Professor Robert. Isn't this list a bit too short? The candidates should be more representative of the entire student body. Since it will be an election anyway, I do not understand the purpose of this list."

"The students can nominate anyone they want, but when it comes down to the voting, whoever you endorse will have a clear advantage. This is to guide you in your choice."

So, he wanted to use all the influence she had gained over the year to influence the election. Just like a pawn. Quinn was not a pawn on her own home ground. She showed him her best fake smile. She looked forward to crushing the ambitious man. He answered in kind.

The headmistress gracefully cleared her throat and concluded the exchange. "Mr. Robert will be dealing with most of the school business since I will be busy with the elections. Quinn is one of our most brilliant students. I hope that two of you can efficiently cooperate this year."

On that note, she exited the room.

Authors Notes:

WC: 1164

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