One Man Band System

Suddenly, before anything could happen, "Ding," a text notification popped up on Chloe’s smartphone. Without breaking eye contact with Ruby, she reached into her pocket and pulled it out. Her finger automatically unlocked the screen and tapped the notification, and only then did she look down to read the message. The sender was Eric.

"Chloe, there’s a new development. Katie sent a summary of the investigation in a PDF to you, take a look if you have time. Also... there’s something I need to talk to you about regarding Melissa, but we’ll do that when you get home."

Chloe’s expression, which had been completely frozen solid, instantly softened, though she still looked distant. Then, another message popped up.

"Don’t worry, our company is safe. Bryan just called me, he already received the report too and is currently asking finance to print out our bookkeeping, so my mind is at ease now. I’m just letting you know so you can relax, okay. I’m going to go work on songwriting now, see you at home."

Reading the next text, a faint smile inadvertently crossed Chloe’s face, her eyes completely softening as a flush crept into her cheeks. Seeing Chloe let her guard down, Ruby suddenly moved fast, snatching the smartphone right out of Chloe’s hand. Chloe gasped and glared at her.

"Hey... what the hell do you think you’re doing?" Chloe snapped, loud enough to make the entire class whip around to look at her.

Ruby scanned the text, her eyebrows knitting together. She turned to look at Chloe, sizing her up from head to toe and back up to her face before handing the smartphone back. Chloe instantly ripped it away.

"So Eric started a company with you, huh? And now you feel like you’re above me just because you share a business with my brother?" Ruby asked with a condescending smile.

Just like that, Chloe lost all of her composure. She erupted. Her face, which had looked like pure snow just moments ago, suddenly turned into a raging volcano. She stood up, both of her hands clenching into tight fists, her smartphone practically groaning under the pressure of her grip.

"Okay... you’re dead."

As Chloe pulled her fist back, just seconds before she could punch Ruby right in the face, Emma and Monica grabbed her from behind. Meanwhile, someone else grabbed Ruby’s shoulder and spun her around.

Slap!

Before Ruby could even register who was behind her, a sharp slap landed squarely on her cheek, whipping her head to the side. The impact sent spit flying across the aisle, forcing the students sitting behind her to jump up and dodge. When Ruby turned back around while clutching her burning cheek, she saw Priya standing there, her hand still raised from the follow-through.

The entire class stared at them in utter shock. "Hey, stop it!" Grace shouted, rushing down from the front of the room. She immediately took in the scene: Chloe, red-faced and hyperventilating, her chest heaving as Emma and Monica held her back, and Ruby, holding her cheek on the verge of tears, glaring at Priya, who was also panting heavily.

"Sigh." Grace let out a long breath, suddenly looking incredibly exhausted as she rubbed her temples. Suddenly, Ruby bolted to her feet, tears streaming down her face. She raised her hand, fully intending to slap Priya back, but Grace caught her wrist in a flash.

Meanwhile, Chloe was violently struggling against her restraints, her eyes locked onto Ruby as Monica and Emma shouted at her to calm down.

"Stop... that is enough! All of you, follow me to the faculty office... now," Grace ordered firmly.

Ruby, Priya, Chloe, Monica, and Emma immediately turned to look at Grace, who stood firm and furious, her face completely devoid of a smile.

"Yes, ma’am," all five of them replied.

Grace released Ruby’s wrist after pulling her out from behind the desk, then escorted her out of the classroom. Emma, Monica, and Priya followed closely behind, still keeping a tight grip on Chloe. The rest of the class fell dead silent, but the second the group stepped out the door, the room erupted into hushed whispers as everyone began dissecting what had just gone down.

When they walked into the counseling office inside the faculty room, Grace sat down, flanked by the PE teacher, Wilson. Ruby, Priya, Chloe, Monica, and Emma took their seats across from them.

"Alright... what exactly is going on here? Why are you all fighting on the very first day back at school? Someone explain everything," Grace demanded.

All five of them kept their mouths shut. But before Grace or Wilson, who had his arms folded across his chest, could say another word, Ruby stood up. Tears were streaming down her face.

"I’m sorry, ma’am. It’s my fault. I just wanted to be friends with them, but it turns out they don’t like me. I know they’re The Empress and their songwriter is my older brother. I only wanted to be friends with them because they know my brother," Ruby said between sobs, looking completely pathetic.

Hearing Ruby’s words, Emma, Chloe, Monica, and Priya immediately whipped their heads around to look at her, their expressions turning pitch black. "Bang!" Monica slammed her hands down and stood up.

"Hey... you idiot, you’re the one who started this! You came in here throwing down challenges right off the bat. Besides, you already knew who I was, so stop playing the victim here before I beat your ass," Monica snapped.

"Seriously, shut your mouth. We already ran into you at the festival, and if your brother actually wanted to talk to you, he would’ve done it already, and that video wouldn’t have been leaked in the first place," Emma added.

"Don’t act like we’re the ones bullying you here. I slapped you because you crossed the line. If you actually wanted to be friends, you should’ve just said so nicely," Priya chimed in, standing up as well.

"But... you all look at me with so much hatred... I know I have issues with my brother, but I really want to patch things up with him. I want to be his sister again, and that’s why I wanted to be friends with you guys, to ask for your help to talk to him," Ruby sobbed, pouring her heart out, though it was impossible to tell if she actually meant a single word of it.

"Thud."

Chloe bolted to her feet so fast the desk in front of her shifted forward, forcing Grace to lift her hands off the surface and Wilson to bring his knees up to brace it. Without a single word, Chloe locked eyes with Ruby and lunged across the desk with both hands reaching for her. Wilson immediately sprang into action to restrain Chloe, and Monica, Emma, and Priya jumped in as well, blocking her path.

Meanwhile, Grace rushed over to Ruby, who was bowing her head and crying, looking completely miserable, and wrapped an arm around her shoulders to comfort her. Once everyone was brought back under control, Grace spoke up.

"That’s enough... drop it right now. Ruby just wanted to be friends with you guys. I know about the video incident from yesterday, but you cannot get in the way of Ruby trying to see her own brother. This is a private family matter, do you understand?" Grace said, clearly taking Ruby’s side because she was completely clueless about the reality of the situation.

Emma, Monica, Priya, and Chloe’s faces turned pitch black upon hearing Grace’s words. However, their hands were tied; if they pushed this any further, it would turn into a massive ordeal involving their parents.

Swallowing their rage and biting their lips, the four of them nodded. Seeing that they were finally falling in line, Grace guided Ruby over to stand in front of them and smiled.

"So this whole thing was just a big misunderstanding, right? Ruby, next time you shouldn’t just blurt things out like that. Even if you already knew who they were, you still need to introduce yourself properly first. You can’t just dive in and demand favors like that; anyone would get annoyed by it. Do you understand?" Grace asked Ruby.

"Yes, ma’am... I’m so sorry, ma’am," Ruby replied, keeping her head down and looking genuinely remorseful.

"Alright then, go ahead and apologize to them... and you four need to apologize to Ruby too for misunderstanding her," Grace told Emma, Monica, Priya, and Chloe.

Before Emma, Monica, Priya, and Chloe could even process Grace’s words, Ruby immediately extended her hand right in front of them with her head still bowed, completely backing the four girls into a corner.

If they refused to accept Ruby’s apology, the two teachers in the room would view them as petty and vindictive. But if they shook her hand and exchanged apologies, their pride would be utterly stomped on by Ruby.

Emma, Monica, Priya, and Chloe clenched their fists as their expressions grew even colder and darker than before. They stood frozen like statues, staring at Ruby’s open, outstretched hand. Meanwhile, a faint, sinister, and cunning smirk spread across Ruby’s face, safely hidden from the two teachers in the room since her head was bowed.