Adler | The Aces of St.Sinclair BOOK 1.

Doomsday | A SIXTEEN

Will looked surprised to see me at the Coeus clubhouse. He perked from his slouched posture against the doors to Michael's boarding quarters. "Stevie, how come you're not in chemistry?"

I ignored the inquiry, eyes on the furnished wood behind him. "Is he still in there?"

"Michael? Yeah, why?"

"I want to speak to him before that selfish headmaster and love of your life throw him out." I aimed to make a grab for the doorknob but Will sidestepped to block it.

"Stevie, I didn't know this was what Garren was planning. I swear. I didn't know anything until I got to school and Garren rang me up. I'm just as upset as you are. I get that the article is disregarding all the genuine good things Michael's done and I wonder why the hell he did what he did but, I do still think highly of him. You're not alone there."

I held his earnest gaze with an exasperated patience. "Can you let me through now?"

He was unresponsive for several seconds before shifting to give me way. I turned the knob and let myself in. Frightened eyes met mine and I couldn't stop myself from being a little stumped. I didn't know what I expected to see when entering, but certainly not the great, zealous captain of Coeus curled up in a ball in the corner of the room.

I swallowed, eyes instinctively hooked on the pair of legs I'd grown used to seeing supported by foot plates, properly balanced and bending on their own like any other boy.

"Oh, Stevie." A bit of tension left his shoulders. His voice was unnaturally stiff though. "What are you doing here? Is there a problem? Please don't tell me they're not holding classes anymore because of me."

"No." I shook my head. "Headmaster Shepherd is having all the copies of the paper gathered but she knows it'll still get out so she's doing her best to prepare for when the board and the media come at her. She..." I cleared my throat from the lump. "Doesn't seem to care if you're here or gone already."

"... Oh. That's a relief." Michael attempted to keep a nonchalant expression but the pain in his eyes betrayed him.

I stood gutted at how he's doing his best to be composed like a captain is meant to for the sake of leading his subordinates through any trial. Even though it would perfectly be fine to freak out. To show that he was petrified everything he'd worked for was gone in one moment and he was being discarded like rubbish.

I noticed a copy of the article by his bedside. What a way to have your day start out.

"Why did you do it?" I finally grasped the courage to utter. "You might not have come from a super rich family but your parents are way better off than mine. Your first self-help book became a best seller in the country before anyone knew your face and background- you didn't need a 'handicap act' to go places. So why?"

Michael was painfully quiet, eyes casted to the floor. I knelt down beside him. "If you doubted yourself, then I can understand," I assured him. "I didn't have any confidence in my abilities and wouldn't be here if it wasn't for my parents. I still didn't think I was good enough for this school until recently. People are cruel, things were unfair and nothing was how it's meant to be but, St. Sinclair has taught me something invaluable."

Michael was all ears for me to continue.

"I learnt to appreciate having to work to get here instead of others who got in without lifting a finger. Because for them, it's all too easy to become a victim of greed and ignorance when you can get everything you want. Rather than grooming elites, this academy ends up grooming monsters."

Being so clueless at first, I had been in awe of the Ace title and maybe, it hadn't all faded when Garren offered it. A world of exclusiveness and illusions of control- an ideal fairytale I'd held. Though, people couldn't stay glued in their own fantasies for convenience. Because that was living at the expense of someone else's. And I didn't set out to make something of myself by trampling over others. I took a deep breath. "Michael, the truth is, I- "