Xamuel went together with Katie.
“MAC, I mean Xamuel. Were you the one who sent this dress to our house?” Katie asked. “Yeah. Why? Don’t you like it?” Xamuel replied and asked. “It’s not that. It’s pretty and perfectly fits me but I’m wondering why would you send me a dress like this.” Katie answered. “Well, basically there are two reasons, one is because you can’t afford a dress like this and another is because, I wouldn’t want my date to look like a total mess. Would I?” Xamuel arrogantly replied. “Is that so? I’ll return this dress to you maybe tomorrow. Don’t worry.” Katie said. “No need. You can keep it and I don’t have anything to do with it anyway. HAHAHA!” Xamuel replied. “Okay. But one more question, Why did you let me and other people in the school assume that you’re poor?” Katie asked once again. “Well, seeing and experiencing how these people treat poor people, I’ve never experienced that.” Xamuel answered.
A moment of silence filled the air. Not a word was spoken until the emcee announced the start of the dance. Xamuel and Katie danced until it’s time to go home.
“My FEET hurts! I HATE DANCING!” Katie said with strong disgust.
Monday.
“Monday. I hate it.” Alicia said. “YEAH! I totally hate it too.” Katie said. *BEEP! Katie received a message.
“Katie, this is Xamuel. I’m on the 2nd building’s Roof Top, get me coffee. Okay?.”
“Alice, I think I gotta go. ‘Mr. I’m too lazy to get my own coffee’ wants me to go there.” Katie said. “Yeah, sure. That’s totally fine. HAHA! DO your JOB! Goodluck!” Alicia said happily.
Katie went to the school’s café. Of course, a very exclusive school has its own café. Katie ordered Xamuel’s favorite: Mocha Frappuccino. Katie rushed to the 2nd Building and climbed the stairs to the rooftop.
“Sire.. Here’s your Mocha Frappuccino. The Head-Butler told me that it was your favorite.” Katie said to Xamuel who is currently staring at nothing.
“Thanks. Do you know how hard it is to stay in this school without crazy fake students trying to befriend you?” Xamuel asked. “Well, atleast people are trying to be friends with you. Unlike me, I only have 1 friend. Alice.” Katie said sadly. “I’d rather have 1 true friend than have 10 fake ones. Hate fake people. They act really nice to me and treat me better than the others just because I’m a part of the ‘Circle of 7’.” Xamuel said. “I understand. But you shouldn’t be hiding here. Get a better hiding place would you?” Katie said. “HAHA! Yeah sure.” Xamuel replied.
“Anyway, Katie. Do you know why the ‘Circle of 7’ was established?” Xamuel asked. “Uhm. No actually, all I know is all of you came from very rich families.” Katie answered. “The Circle was established to determine the heir to the throne of the Lee Empire, which Is the most successful empire globally. 100 teenagers from different rich families were chosen for the preliminary rounds. In that round the 100 teenagers, personally chosen by the Emperor would battle out in a virtual-reality room to see which among us could survive the longest. Once a teenager has been touched by a very fast-paced ball, he/she will be eliminated and sent home. The last 50 standing would be left. After that, they tested our mental abilities, by testing our memory, analytical thinking and reasoning, the top 10 highest scorers shall then be moving on to the battle for the top 7. Now, this stage is the most crucial to all of us, It was a week long test. We were encoding datas on a computer, we had to figure out what kind of algorithm was used and other stuff. The first 7 to figure it out will then be the ‘Circle if 7’. But it’s not over yet, the emperor will be eliminating each one of us, until 2 is left. When that happens, the two people left would do a showdown of their knowledge in front of the whole school, and world. It would be televised.” Xamuel explained. “Wow, I never knew that.” Katie replied.
“In the empire, the circle will still be of use. The circle would automatically have a place on the empire even if they’re eliminated. Let’s put it like a chess game, Dmitry Tyler Morse and Alexander Zayn Zulrander are the ‘ROOKS’ since they are the powerhouse in the circle. Zeddicus Kyle Trager and Ashley Moreene McAdams are the Knights, they’re the main protectors and the sly and swift members of the circle. Chloe Rebecca Sparks and I are the Bishops, we are the brains of our team. While Candice Brianna Fulton is the Queen 'cos she’s the dominating female heir. The King is therefore, the Emperor. But once the emperor, steps down the throne, one of us will be moving in as the ‘King’ meaning to say, a piece will be left as ‘blank’. That's where you come in, you’re my pawn. Each member of the circle has their own pawn, the pawns work as their apprentice and you will be fighting over the other pawns to be ‘in’ the circle. Don’t worry, I personally picked you. I sent the slip that Mr. Finnigan gave you, I wanted you to be my pawn.” Xamuel said, “Wait! Who even said that I wanna be your pawn? I don’t wanna be a chess piece!” Katie answered in shock. “It’s inevitable. I’ve chosen you from the very start, I see your potential and technically speaking, you have the biggest chance of taking over a piece, which we shall call ‘promotion’.” Xamuel replied.
“What will happen if I win?” Katie asked. “You’ll be a member of the circle, be rich and make your family proud.” Xamuel answered with a smile. “I’ll have to win then.” Katie said in a very determined tone. “Yes you do.” Xamuel said.
“First of all, you need to know this. The Rooks’ pawns were chosen because they are also a powerhouse, they’d dominate when it comes to physical challenges, but when it comes to mental challenges, that’s when we have the lead. They’re pawns are pretty much ‘pea-brains’ as I call them. Now, the Knights’ pawns are not to be taken lightly, they might not look dangerous but they are very fast and sly, they are sort of clever and is similar to a fox. Now, the Queen’s pawn is one that you should be very careful of, her pawn has all of the characteristics that I already said, except the characteristics of the Bishops’ pawn. The Bishops’ pawns are not much of a big-power house, we don’t do that well on physical challenges, but we are very very clever, we dominate not by using our physical abilities, we like to play mind-games and tend to get really brainy when the challenge comes. I want you to remember that.” Xamuel said.
“Two questions!” Katie said. “What?” Xamuel asked.
“If there’s 7 people in the circle, does that mean that there’s only 7 pawns? What about the King?” Katie asked. “The King’s pawns are the ‘circle’ and yes, technically, there’s only 7 pawns.” Xamuel replied.
“Now we gotta get going. Prepare yourself, the first challenge is a Physical challenge, you’ll meet the other pawns there. Be extremely cautious. I want you to avoid physical contact with other pawns when the time comes, don’t let their hands touch you. They’ll destroy you. This is just the first challenge don’t worry, there’s still more to come. The challenge will be next week. Prepare for it and Goodluck!” Xamuel said while walking towards the door to go down the building.
Katie was left on the rooftop and was thinking deeply about what Xamuel said.
“The Challenge will be next week, I have to win for my family. I can’t let them down, I can’t disappoint Xamuel. I’ll win.” Katie said.
“I have to.” – Katie said in the back of her mind.
