One Man Band System

Noticing the massive, chaotic crowd blocking the middle of the path, a few security guards and a burly male teacher, who looked like a gym coach since he was wearing a jersey, jogged over and tried to push their way through. The teacher was shocked to see Emma, Monica, Priya, Chloe, Heidi, and Laura standing right in the center of the swarm, alongside a young guy he didn’t recognize.

But seeing a bunch of incoming 10th graders, who looked like they had just wrapped up freshman orientation, taking photos with the girls and Eric, the teacher stopped and simply watched with his arms crossed.

"Help me clear out the area," the teacher told the three security guards behind him.

"On it, sir," the three guards replied.

"Alright, let’s go... break it up, don’t crowd around here!"

The guards shouted, starting to disperse the crowd. Once the last student and parent finished taking their photo, the teacher walked over to the girls and the young guy who were the center of attention.

"Emma, Monica, Priya, Chloe, Heidi, and Laura,"

Hearing their names called, all six of them turned around to see the male teacher approaching them.

"Mr. Wilson," the six girls said in unison.

Wilson stood in front of them, crossing his arms over his chest. The girls looked pretty awkward facing him, especially since he had a fierce expression and looked like he hadn’t smiled in ages, as if he was ready to chew them out.

"It looks like you guys actually used this break to make something of yourselves... honestly, the other teachers and I are incredibly proud of you. Right now, you’re the stars of Cultural High," Wilson said.

"Oh... thank you, sir," Heidi said.

"But please, next time you plan on dropping by, at least give us a heads-up... you just dropped a song, and it looks like you’ve gone viral ever since you appeared on TV a few days ago," Wilson added firmly.

"Understood, sir... we’re sorry," Chloe replied.

Then, Wilson shifted his gaze to Eric, who was standing frozen behind the girls. His eyes scanned Eric up and down before locking onto his gaze.

"And who might you be?" Wilson asked sternly.

"Um... my name is Eric, sir. It’s nice to meet you," Eric replied, extending his hand.

"Ah... the songwriter behind that new release and the solo artist who also performed on TV," Wilson replied, shaking Eric’s hand.

"Yeah, sir... that’s me," Eric replied, feeling a bit nervous.

"Alright, come with me to the faculty office," Wilson instructed.

"Huh?" The faces of Emma, Monica, Priya, Chloe, Heidi, and Laura instantly dropped, looking completely terrified at the mention of being taken to the teachers’ lounge.

"Are we... in trouble, sir?" Priya asked quietly.

"Huh... of course not. The other teachers just want to meet you all, let’s go," Wilson replied.

"Oh... okay," the six of us said, sighing in relief.

Then, Wilson looked over at Eric, who was standing there quietly, scanning his surroundings with both hands shoved deep into his pockets.

"And you’re coming too," Wilson said.

"Huh... me too?" Eric asked, completely caught off guard as his plans of wandering around the festival alone completely shattered in his head.

"Of course. Come on... let’s head inside," Wilson urged.

"Alright, sir," the six girls and a very reluctant Eric replied.

They began walking into the main school building. As they made their way through, plenty of 11th graders and fellow rising 12th graders, their own classmates, actively steered clear of them. Unlike the incoming 10th graders, these students knew exactly who the six girls were and chose to keep their distance, even though they were secretly in awe of their recent stage performance.

Instead, all the attention shifted toward Eric. Everyone wondered where this handsome guy had come from, walking right behind the six famous girls they had all seen on TV. Plenty of the male students glared at Eric with sharp, envious eyes, looking ready to kill out of pure jealousy just seeing him walk with the six of them.

Meanwhile, the female students whispered among themselves, clearly wanting to get to know him. However, no one dared to step forward because of the six popular girls who looked like they could kill with a single cold stare. Once they stepped inside the building, rows of tables acting as stalls were set up right outside the classrooms, lining the hallways and selling food, drinks, books, and everything in between.

Some classrooms had been converted into cafes, performance spaces, or games like shooting galleries. The atmosphere inside was way more lively than outdoors. Down on the side field, plenty of group competitions and games were underway, including tag, capture the flag, and airsoft wars. Taking it all in, Eric leaned his head forward, ducking between the girls.

"This place is actually pretty awesome. Do you think we’ll be stuck in the faculty office for long?" Eric asked.

"How should I know... we’ll just have to see," Priya answered.

"Yeah, exactly. Don’t complain and just be patient, okay?" Monica added.

"Okay... okay... but I don’t even go to school here... is this really allowed?" Eric asked.

"Mr. Wilson was the one who invited you, so it should be totally fine," Emma answered.

After heading down the hallway, they finally arrived at the faculty office, which sat right across from the administration desk. Wilson slid the door open and gestured for the girls and Eric to step inside. The moment they walked in, Eric, Emma, Monica, Priya, Chloe, Heidi, and Laura were completely taken aback as the music video they had just shared echoed through the room.

Three female teachers and four male teachers inside, all dressed in casual clothes, immediately stood up to greet them. Once Wilson shut the door behind them, the teachers swarmed the six girls to shake their hands. But right after that, they shifted their focus, completely crowding around Eric and firing off a barrage of questions about where he went to school and everything else.

"Um... I’m actually from out of town, teachers," Eric replied, trying to answer them.

"Is that so? Do you go to an art school too?" a female teacher asked.

"No, ma’am, I went to a regular public school, and I’ve already graduated high school," Eric answered.

"Oh really? You still look like a high schooler. Did you graduate this year? How old are you?" another female teacher asked.

"Yes, that’s right, ma’am, I graduated this year... I’m 18 years old," Eric answered stiffly.

"When did you start playing music? How did you manage to write a song like that?" asked a male teacher who looked polished enough to be a professional pianist.

"Um... a long time ago, sir," Eric bluffed, giving whatever answer felt safe.

Seeing Eric getting grilled, the girls naturally jumped in to help by chatting with the teachers, who already knew they could play instruments but had never pursued music seriously because of their family backgrounds.

After that, the teachers had everyone pose for a group photo and invited them to sit back down for a casual chat, even bringing out snacks and drinks for Eric and the six girls.

As they dug deeper into Eric’s skillset, one of the male teachers grew so impressed that he practically tried to recruit Eric on the spot, suggesting he major in fine arts and come back to teach after graduation. Eric simply replied that he would keep it in mind.

Eric and the six girls ended up stuck in the faculty office for nearly two hours before they were finally set free and told to go enjoy the festival. The second they stepped out the door, Eric let out a long, heavy sigh of relief. Emma, Monica, Priya, Chloe, Heidi, and Laura did the exact same.

"Finally over. So... where to next?" Eric asked.

"Let’s go look around! You wanted to see our school, right?" Emma asked cheerfully. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

"Yeah... who knows, maybe you’ll want to repeat high school," Chloe teased.

"Huh... no way am I going back to school. I’m actually thinking about taking a gap year and starting college next year. I just want to rest up and get my life sorted out first," Eric said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Hehe... fair point. We just thought maybe you’d be nice enough to suffer through another year of high school with us," Monica said.

"Well, since I’m already waiting a year, we can just start college together later," Eric replied.

"Oh, that’s true... that’s going to be so much fun," Priya added excitedly.

Suddenly, the door to the administration office across from them slid open. "Thank you, sir," a girl said as she stepped out. She closed the door behind her and turned around. The moment Eric saw her, he froze.

His cheerful expression instantly vanished, replaced by a cold stare. The girl looked equally shocked to see him, immediately lowering her head and hugging a folder tightly against her chest.

"Um... Eric... you’re... here?" the girl asked quietly.

Eric didn’t answer. He just stood there silently, his jaw clenched. The girl standing in front of him was Ruby, his younger sister, and judging by the folder clutched to her chest, she was in the middle of sorting out her school transfer.

Meanwhile, noticing the drastic shift in Eric’s demeanor, Emma, Priya, Chloe, Monica, Heidi, and Laura instinctively formed a protective wall in front of him, creating a barrier between Eric and Ruby.