Without getting too distracted, Rishab and I walked straight to the school's courtyard for the morning assembly.
Something strange caught our attention.
Students wearing golden badges were seated in the front rows. It looked like an Elite VIP section of the courtyard.
Right beside them sat the students with silver badges. Most of them looked like typical bookworms—quiet, serious, many of them wearing glasses and holding notebooks.
The rest of the students, those with bronze badges, were standing at the very back of the courtyard.
The separation was clear.
Gold. Silver. Bronze.
Three different groups.
Three different positions.
What shocked me the most was that not a single student questioned it.
Everyone simply followed the system… as if it had always been this way.
Suddenly, silence spread across the courtyard as the Principal of Saint Aurelius Academy arrived.
The students wearing golden badges — the elite section — didn't even bother to stand up or greet her.
The students with silver badges — the middle section — slowly stood up to greet the principal.
And the students wearing bronze badges — the lower sector — were already standing, as if they had been waiting for this moment from the very beginning.
For a second, Risha simply watched.
Three groups.
Three different reactions.
Three different levels of power.
And suddenly, the system of this school became clearer than ever.
But my attention was fixed on the three students walking confidently behind the principal.
Their uniforms were slightly different from the others. Along with their badges, they wore name tags with their positions written on them.
That was when my eyes stopped on one name.
Vidyantsh Verma.
It was written clearly on the tag pinned to his uniform.
President of the Golden Council.
He walked as if the entire courtyard already belonged to him.
He had an undefined aura around him.
It almost felt as if the students were more afraid of him than of the principal herself.
As he walked past the rows, something strange happened.
Every seat he passed by… the students sitting there seemed to stiffen instantly.
Some lowered their eyes.
Some straightened their backs.
And for a moment, it felt like the entire courtyard was holding its breath.
Then I noticed the other two students walking behind the principal.
Even from a distance , it felt like they were careful around him.... Almost as if they feared Vidyantsh Verma.
I leaned forward slightly, trying to read the nams written on their tags.
Tanvi Singh -- President of the Silver council
Raghav Gupta -- President of the Bronze council
The three of them stood together, yet the difference in power between them was almost visible.
Even the Presidents of the other councils seemed to stand one step behind the Golden President.
Then suddenly Vidyantsh Verma stepped forward and in , a heavy voice , began to speak
" Good Morning Everyone....I Vidyantsh Verma , the President of The Golden council ...Welcomes you all as the First day of the new session starts today "
His voice was calm, yet every word carried a strange weight.
" Many new students entered our academy so to make the most important rule of SAA Crystal clear for them ....I repeat ".
"This institution does not believe in equality...it believes in heirarchy".
A faint murmured spread across the courtyard but it disappeared the moment he raised his hand.
"In this academy...your badge defines your worth".
He glanced across the rows of students
" Golden leads "
" Silvet follows"
" Bronze obeys"
His eyes were cold as he finished ,
" And if anyone here believes they can challenge that order...they are free to try ".
For a moment, the entire courtyard remained silent
His speech was later on followed by The Principle of Saint Aurelius Academy
" Miss Ritika Chadha"
She stepped forward with a polite smile
" Welcome to Saint Aurelius Academy ", she said warmly. " I hope all the new students will quickly adapt to the system of this institution...and will not attempt to interfere with it ".
Her tone was gentle, almost comforting.
She looked like a woman in her early forties.
But judging from her innocent face , no one would have ever imagined that she was the one running an institution intoxicated with such a cruel and heirarchial system.
After the assembly ended, students slowly began walking toward their respective classrooms.
Rishab walked beside me, looking around the campus with curiosity.
Saint Aurelius Academy looked even larger from inside.
Tall glass windows allowed sunlight to pour into the long corridors. Every wall carried the academy's emblem — a golden crown resting above a shield.
But what caught my attention the most were the badges.
Golden badges walked confidently through the corridors as if the entire academy belonged to them.
Silver badge students walked quietly, most of them carrying thick books, whispering among themselves.
Bronze badge students moved quickly, avoiding eye contact with everyone else.
The hierarchy was visible everywhere.
It wasn't just a rule.
It was a lifestyle.
Rishab and I finally reached our classroom.
Students were already taking their seats.
Conversations filled the room, but they suddenly lowered when a few golden badge students entered.
No one wanted to be noticed by them.
I quietly took my seat near the window.
Just as I was trying to observe the room carefully, a few voices from the back caught my attention.
"Did you hear?" one student whispered.
"Hear what?"
"That Rakshat Verma might be coming back to the academy this year."
For a moment, my heart stopped.
That name…
It felt painfully familiar.