"So, you're Broughton."
"..."
In the gymnasium, Locke sat at his campaign station, shaking hands with the students who came to support him. During a break, a shadow suddenly loomed over him, momentarily dazing him.
He already knew who was standing before him.
Nina Bell.
Locke looked at the fuming girl in front of him.
"Who are you?"
Nina Bell froze for a second. Instantly, her momentum evaporated.
But in the next second, she introduced herself with a huff. "Nina Bell, Vice President of the Student Council. Student Broughton, you should be calling me 'Senior.'"
"Is there something you need?"
"Yes," Nina Bell said heavily. "You should withdraw from this election. If you do, I can nominate you as Vice President after I'm elected."
She knew that in a normal election, she had zero chance of winning. But Nina knew where her strengths lay. Having been raised in a specific environment, she knew exactly how to play her "species advantage."
She stared at Locke, her voice dripping with threat. "I know where you live. You are a practitioner of discrimination!"
Locke remained perfectly polite, the picture of a gentleman. He looked confused. "Where do I live?"
Gentleness and politeness were marks of eternal elegance. Even when facing a enemy, Locke's smile remained as pleasant as a spring breeze.
If the person opposite him had even a modicum of intelligence, they would have understood his implication by now. But Nina Bell had no such self-awareness. She looked around and snapped, "You live in the Star Tower."
As mentioned before, Midtown High wasn't just for geniuses and top students; there were those who were shoved in through various "connections." From a certain perspective.
Furthermore, although she was a "senior," she had been stuck in the twelfth grade for nearly two academic years. This was her third year as a senior.
High schools in US used a credit system. If you earned enough credits, you could graduate early even in the ninth grade—that was how Tony Stark managed to become an honorary graduate of Caltech at sixteen. Conversely, if you didn't have the credits, you couldn't graduate. Your only other option was to drop out.
Nina Bell was one of the stay-behinds.
In truth, she wasn't a "idiot" in the traditional sense. If she actually tried, she could have graduated without being held back. But she had her own calculations.
Most of her peers had experience being held back. By having the same experience, she shared a common language with them. Moreover, if she could make Equity and Animal Rights take root at Midtown.
she would have the political capital to move onto a different platform after high school.
But all of this depended on one foundation: she had to become the President of the Student Council. If she failed, it was all empty talk.
Nina Bell's thick, unsightly lips moved as she glared at Locke. "You better quit while you're ahead. Otherwise, the whole of New York will know exactly what kind of person you are."
Locke let out a light chuckle.
Just then, "Locke..."
Gwen walked in from outside. She glanced at Nina Bell and then turned to Locke. "My class is over. Let's go to the cafeteria."
Locke snapped out of it, looked at the approaching Gwen, then turned back to Nina with a slight smile. "I look forward to your speech, Nina Bell."
Just "Nina Bell." Locke didn't acknowledge her as a classmate, let alone a senior. In fact, he didn't even use the word "Lady" or "Ms."
With that, Locke turned and left with Gwen.
"What did she say to you?"
"She asked if I knew where I lived."
"I heard students say they saw her hiding a voice recorder in the bathroom," Gwen said hurriedly. "I rushed over because I was afraid she'd provoke you into saying something you shouldn't. She didn't get to you, did she?"
"She did."
From the moment Nina Bell spoke her first word—no, from the moment she appeared in his sight—she had been constantly trying to provoke him.
Gwen froze, looking at him hesitantly.
Locke smiled. "Don't worry. Whether I get angry or not doesn't depend on her attempt to provoke me. It depends on whether she is qualified to make me angry."
Clearly, she wasn't.
Gwen breathed a sigh of relief and nodded. "The first speech is tomorrow. As long as she has no physical proof, she has no chance of beating you."
Gwen realized she might have been overthinking things.
As for the "discrimination" label? Only wage-earners worried about losing their jobs over such things. Capitalists could discriminate and still make money.
Gwen felt she finally understood why Locke wasn't afraid.
But once again, Gwen's internal logic was slightly off from Locke's actual thoughts. However, she was close. A true capitalist doesn't just ignore discrimination while making money—a true capitalist knows how to use discrimination to make money.
...
Nina Bell was aware of her advantages and her weaknesses. In that regard, she wasn't lacking in street smarts.
After seeing Locke ignore her, an enraged Nina found another student to detail her plan. Because she had a slight stutter, she knew she stood no chance in a face-to-face debate on stage.
But...
"What?" The student Nina had found—a boy of her team—stared at her with eyes as wide as copper bells. He looked at her in disbelief. "You want me to report Locke Broughton for assault and racial discrimination? Are you crazy, or did your brain get soaked in mercury?"
Nina shook her head. "No, I'm not crazy."
the boy stared at her. "Why the hell would I do that? Do you know what 'level' Locke Broughton is in this school?"
People like them didn't even have the status to breathe the same air as Locke. Most students couldn't get into his social circle even if they tried. Locke's circle was notoriously small—full of geniuses and top-tier students. Average kids didn't bother trying to squeeze in.
"You want me to accuse him of discrimination and assault? I'm not even qualified to meet him! Who would believe such a ridiculous story?"
"It doesn't matter if it's the truth," Nina countered.
"It matters to me!" The boy snapped. He had no politeness for Nina, given they were of the same species. "You disgusting pig, you want to use me as a tool? You want to get me expelled?"
He was definitely not graduating this year, but if he stayed one more year and ground out some "pity credits," he'd finally get his diploma next year. His family was finally going to have a high school graduate.
He might be slow, but he wasn't stupid.
Nina ignored the insults. "Do you really think you'll be living this comfortably once that racist living in the Star Tower becomes the President?"
***
We hit 300 goal so here's the bonus.
I'll keep the goal same as last week, I get 500 stones before reset and you get 3 bonus chapters.
Thanks for support 🙏
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Read 40 Chapters early on P-atreon.com/Redestro666