Porcelain behind Glass

Chapter 19: Humbled

Augustus Daniel elected again, screamed the headlines. Jay made a face and scrolled down the article published in the Bangkok Central Post.

"The overwhelming success of the Independent Labour Party shows that its policies resonate with the people of Thailand. ILP always puts the needs of the people in the forefront and it shall continue to do so", stated Mr Augustus Daniel in his victory speech. "The opposition parties must now accept the referendum of the people and allow for a smooth formation of the new government."

On being questioned about the numerous allegations of corruption made against him by the Democratic Front, Mr Daniel was quite candid in his reply. "All I can say is that these allegations are politically motivated and a move to tarnish my image. The Democratic Front has been making claims in the media without any specific evidence. Unfortunately, they have stooped to such low-level gimmicks. If they continue their unfounded attacks on my integrity, I shall have no option but to seek necessary legal help."

Jay tossed his iPad aside in disgust. They would have had enough evidence to take that rascal down, had Viper not attempted to double-cross Venom. Viper's Ryan had sought to extort Daniel instead of handing over the evidence to Mew. Unfortunately, the DVD that Mew's trained assassin recovered from Viper turned out to be corrupted.

It had taken Jay several years of extensive planning, to tempt an unaware Daniel into an alliance with Venom. He couldn't afford Daniel questioning Mew's loyalty before they had solid evidence. He was well aware that Daniel was a dangerous man, having connections with other mafia gangs. Therefore, he would have to be cautious in his approach.

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Rachel expertly wove her BMW through the Monday morning traffic, before getting stuck at a red light. She tapped the steering wheel impatiently as she waited for the signal to turn green.

"Guys, please head to the debate club after class. We will start the training from today," reminded Rachel.

Monica groaned from the backseat. "I have to hand over the assignments to the Professor after class, now that I am running late today. Thanks to a certain sleepy head."

"Hey!" exclaimed Marisa. "Not my fault the alarm didn't go off."

"Did you set it at all?" asked Monica aggrieved.

"Probably not," commented Rachel in the ensuing silence. "But how are we going to manage the debate club now? I am currently overwhelmed by my VP duties for the Student Council and Monks is overburdened by the Class President duties. We have to enrol for upcoming debate competitions and also put out admission notices for the new academic year. We were late last time thanks to my injury."

"Monks, couldn't you have refused to take on the Class Presidentship?" whined Marisa.

Monica snorted indignantly. "I did not waltz in there and beg for this honour. Professor P notified me. I had no choice."

"I'll take on the debate club responsibilities then," volunteered Marisa in a resigned voice.

"Fine. But you have a habit of forgetting," replied Rachel as she aggressively honked at the car before her. "Take out your phone and take notes."

Marisa pulled out her phone. "It's on audio record."

"Lazy," mumbled Monica. "Firstly, design and print out notices for the club admission, put them up on the notice board of every faculty. Also, post it on Instagram tagging the university. Secondly, scroll other university websites for upcoming debate competitions and register for our debate club."