["PLAY THE KING" IS ACT TWO OF THE "PLAY" SERIES. PLEASE READ "PLAY THE QUEEN" FIRST.]
It's been four months since Priam Torres, the once unpopular president of the Elysian University Student Council, assumed office. Thanks to his chief-of-staff Cas...
A/N: This chapter contains a major turn of events. Please be mindful of readers who haven't reached this part yet.
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CASTIEL
IT SEEMED like I was not the only one adept at creating drama.
Last night, I found myself alone in the USC office, , printing three letters in Sabrina's cubicle and signing them off. Tabitha had left early for a party with her friends while the junior officers had departed around six. My phone buzzed twice. Upon checking the alerts, I read the breaking news notification from The Herald: Alaric the Prick had been attacked in the car park.
My initial reaction? Well deserved! Finally, someone had taken action against him. Just to be clear, though, it was notme, okay? Witnesses reported that two masked students assaulted him and fled. My left leg would not allow me to move that quickly, let alone run.
Then a compelling realization struck me. Ever since I began directly confronting Alaric the Prick, almost everyone's attention had turned toward him. He started receiving heavy criticism and scrutiny from students after my interview with The Herald and Valeria's confirmation of my claims. Even Herald columnists chimed in. To top it off, I anonymously started a conspiracy theory on SchoolBuzz.
Alaric the Prick was cornered. No amount of denial could easily erase the stain. My words had permanently tarnished his image in the minds of many students. Did this mean he had no way out? Not necessarily. He could find a way to slither out of this mess. And it seemed that he had found the perfect exit strategy.
Our three junior officers were lounging in the common area, watching CampusTV, so I joined them to catch up. Oh, yeah. There was a press conference from the AEGIS Party playing on the screen, with a councilor from CAS addressing last night's incident. Behind him stood the chairpersons from CCJE, CEA, and CON.
"We're pleased to inform you that CBA-CSC Chairperson Alaric Esteban is recovering from his injuries," the spokesperson announced. "He sustained a concussion at the back of his head, some facial scratches, and bruises on his body. The doctor indicated these injuries are not serious, but he advised him to rest."
I secretly wished that his head injury had caused him amnesia or knocked some sense into him. Too bad The Herald had not published a close-up of his damaged face. I would have paid to see it.
"We strongly condemn the violence that occurred on campus," the spokesperson continued. "We also condemn the divisive rhetoric that likely incited students to harm others. This incident happened shortly after USC Acting President Castiel Seville made baseless accusations against Mr. Esteban. While we don't know the attackers' motives, we believe they were influenced by these accusations. Therefore, we demand Mr. Seville retract his statements and apologize to our party chair."
If that attack was staged, I had to give it to Alaric. It was a strategy I might have come up with myself. Just yesterday, some were ready to crucify him. Now, public sympathy was shifting in his favor. People could indeed be fickle-minded.
