The creases in my forehead deepened, my lips pursing in almost a challenge. It wasn't as if I didn't know who this was. Shuuhei Okabe: the Student Council President of Rokura High School. Perfect grades, charming smile, godly looks; he stood at the very top of the social ladder and was both friends with and idolized by practically everyone—students and teachers alike. The number of girls who had crushes on him was an insane feat of its own, and they basically made up the population of this small private school.

But it wasn't only him who had the entire school wrapped around his finger; everyone apart of the Student Council were in a league of their own. The committee was revered at this school.

Each student occupying the four positions were almost as dazzling as Shuuhei Okabe here, and the committee even had their own building for themselves at the back of campus.

But what was the leader of such a group doing here? And his words...

"Shuuhei?" Mr. Jael was evidently flustered at the presence of the male, considering how mouth-dropped he'd become. Soon, a smile masked over his previous expression and he placed the ice pack in his hand onto his desk. "I didn't even hear you come in. What a pleasure to have you visit."

"Excuse me for that. I was merely too excited to pay my respects to my favourite principal." Shuuhei sauntered up to him and extended forth a list of papers. "Also, since it's nearly time for the annual Autumn Dance, I wanted to hand you the rough draft of the entertainment schedule and the necessary fees."

Mr. Jael practically glistened as he scanned the first page of the many sheets in his hands. He'd never given me such approval in our few months of interaction.

"As usual, your work has been done flawlessly," he said, setting down the sheets. "Once I go over this all, I'll give you my thoughts."

"I'd appreciate that," Shuuhei said with that perfect smile of his. Although paying me little mind earlier, this time, his gaze shifted to me, freezing me in place. He then returned his attention forward. "I happened to overhear your conversation earlier. Will you really be expelling this student?"

I narrowed my eyes at him. Mr. Jael flinched.

"Well." He paused, as if uncertain he should disclose such information. Nevertheless, his voice maintained its usual firmness. "Her behaviour has gotten way too out of hand. This is the only way I can see it'll get through to her."

"But, Mr. Jael!" I cut in, trepidation beginning to grip me by the shoulders. Oh no. He was actually serious. "It was an accident!" I said. "I promise it won't happen again! Please give me another chance! Suspension, even!"

"How many times have I given you suspension these past three months?" he hissed, aiming a dirty look my way. "You never learn."

"I'll learn this time!" I promised. "I can't get expelled! Not again! I can't move to another city for another school! My dad said he'd disown me if this happened again! Please!"

The pity in Mr. Jael's eyes was easy to pinpoint. My heart hammered against my ribcage. Loud. Hard. I was being way too frivolous.

"I'm sorry, Kasumi," he said after an agonizingly long hesitation. "But you have to learn your boundaries one day. This behaviour of yours won't get you anywhere in life. And it most certainly isn't acceptable at this high school."

A painful silence flitted into the air, stifling my airways and making it difficult to breathe. My shoulders slumped, my slack-jawed mouth dry as could be. I'd always known my behaviour was a lost cause. And yet instead of trying to fix it, I'd constantly tried to sweep the seriousness of my actions under an invisible rug by exercising my horrible sense of humour. I'd never enjoyed facing reality because it always seemed to disappoint.

Now was one of those times.

Were accidents not meant to happen the older you got? Was it such a sin for someone to make continuous mistakes in their life? I hadn't meant to punch him, too...

As if to answer my depressive wave of thoughts, a small chuckle rang in the air, shattering the seriousness. "Now, now, Mr. Jael," said the voice belonging to the role model student of the school. "As someone once said, 'If everything was perfect, you would never learn and you would never grow.'"

My eyelids shot upwards as both Mr. Jael and I rotated our heads his way. As always, that typically poised smile was slapped across Shuuhei's face.

"Everyone makes mistakes," he went on. "Some, more frequent than others, but that's expected since nobody is the same. Perfection cannot be achieved, and that is why people forgive. We all have our flaws. And Kasumi has hers as well."

My eyes were bulging as I attempted to wrap my head around this outcome. Was he... standing up for me?

"Shuuhei," Mr. Jael said. "I understand where you're coming from, and what you're trying to hint towards, but you don't know of the situations she continuously gets herself into. The faculty has had enough of her uncouth behaviour and school policy infringements so this punishment is necessary."

"Punishment is given when you want someone to learn from their mistakes and repent," Shuuhei replied. "But if it holds true what Kasumi has said—she's been suspended and expelled in the past. She's been punished. And yet she doesn't learn from her mistakes. Why do you think that is?"

I blinked rapidly at his pointed question. "Why...?"

"It's because punishment doesn't automatically mean discipline," he answered in Mr. Jael's stead. "What she needs is to stop involving herself in her typical surroundings and truly be reformed from the inside out. And I sincerely believe if you give her one more chance—just one more opportunity for forgiveness—I can see it through that it happens."

Stillness engulfed the room as Mr. Jael stared at a solemn Shuuhei, brows furrowed in contemplation. No inch of deception was blatant on the Student Council President's face, only proving it true.

He meant what he was saying.

Even if by using deep means, Shuuhei Okabe was trying to get me out of this punishment I'd accidentally dug myself into.

And even Mr. Jael was showing signs of being convinced.

"You said... that you'd see this 'discipline' through," Mr. Jael said after a pause. "What do you mean by that?"

"Nothing too complicated," responded Shuuhei. That innocent smile back on his face, he reached out his arm and wrung it around my neck, yanking me towards his body. "I was merely suggesting that the Student Council take her in and put her to work. We could use an extra hand."

His grip around my neck was oddly rigid. I couldn't pry away. My lips caving inwards, I digested his words. Wait...

"Help out the Student Council?!" both Mr. Jael and I yelled.

"Me?" I demanded.

"Her?" screeched Mr. Jael.

"Yes," Shuuhei laughed. "She's sure to learn a thing or two about discipline with us and by the end of the year, I guarantee she'll be a refined young lady. If not, you may expel me along with her."

The outcome of this man's rambling had successfully knocked a decent amount of wind out of me. Then again, my breathlessness could've originated from the fact that his arm was currently choking the life out of me. Nonetheless, I was too wallowed in shock to really pay it any mind.

"A-are you sure about this, Shuuhei?" Mr. Jael sputtered. "She's a lost cause."

"Yeah," I agreed. "I'm lost and I don't have a cause in life. I'm a human doomed for failure."

Shuuhei merely smiled as his eyes roved between us. "If the Student Council can't do this much for one student, we wouldn't be able to call ourselves the leaders of the school now can we?"

Mr. Jael abruptly shut his mouth, as if in surrender. I clamped my mouth together as well.

It was known by everyone that the Student Council were in a category of their own. They were prime examples of how human beings should be. Ignoring what Shuuhei said about humans not being perfect; if you were to label people as the such, this committee was it. That was why it wasn't so incredulous for Mr. Jael to believe that they'd be able to reform me. Still, I could barely believe it myself.

I wasn't getting expelled.

"All right, Shuuhei. She's in your hands," Mr. Jael caved. "But if she gets into any trouble at all, she's out of here." He spared me a pointed glare. "You hear that, Kasumi?"

A triumphant grin grew on my face. I held up a peace-sign. "Yes, yes! I, Kasumi Yonamine, promise to behave! Believe it!"

Mr. Jael face-palmed, already seeming to regret it. Shuuhei, on the other hand, produced another hearty chuckle.

"Thank you, sir," he said, releasing his grip on me and performing a courteous bow.

He also grabbed my head and forced it down. I winced, but knowing his intentions, forced out, "I-I mean, thank you for being so very kind to me, sir."

Shuuhei let go of me after I said that. I stood taller, sparing him a short scowl, but he was already spinning around.

"If you'll excuse us," he said, grabbing me by the arm and dragging me out alongside him.

The door to the principal's office clicked shut behind us. After slipping out of the vacant office—Shuuhei flashing the secretaries charming smiles that immediately caused those prunes to giggle—we entered the hallway. Classes were in session so no students flooded the halls. In fact, it was just the two of us.

I mustered a laugh, leaning to pat his shoulder. "Wow, thanks, man! I seriously thought I was a goner."

My pat must've pack a lot of strength because it resulted in him teetering over. "Man...?" he slowly said.

Nodding, I placed my hands on my hips. "Look, I appreciate you doing that for me; I owe you one. But working for the Student Council doesn't sound appealing, so can you just lie to that baldy and say that I'm helping? Whenever he appears around me I'll act all square-like too so don't worry about me tarnishing your reputation with him."

Even though I was speaking to him, Shuuhei didn't answer. Instead, he dusted off the place where I'd touched him and swivelled to face me. His expression wasn't the typically charming one I'd always seen. No, for some reason, it had morphed into such a dirty glower I had a hard time believing I was seeing straight.

I rubbed my eyelids and even scrutinized my vision. I knew my eyesight sucked but was it really this bad? I needed to start wearing my glasses.

"Kasumi," Shuuhei said my first name, his low-toned voice chilling me in place. I craned my neck upwards as he continued, "I know you're not very bright but do I really have to spell everything out for you?"

My eyelashes fluttered. "I'd appreciate that actually," I said. "I'm a horrible speller."

My honesty didn't mend well with him. His eyes tapered into slits, making my skin crawl. He advanced forward, leaving me no opportunity to escape. I backed into a wall, my eyes glued to his piercing grey ones.

"I'll make it very clear," he snapped. "I did not do this favour just to leave you alone and get your sorry butt into trouble all over again. I'm going to discipline you."

I gulped, forcing back the lump forming in my throat. "Discipline me...?"

"If treating you like a human and giving you human punishments hasn't allowed for you to change throughout your entire life, we must fix that." The left side of Shuuhei's mouth twitched into a wicked smile. Bending over so that we were eye level, he simpered. "The Student Council's dog seems fitting to me. Maybe I should get you a collar?"

My body went stock-still, eyes bulging wider than plates.

Huh?

Did this guy say collar? Who was getting a collar? Me?

No way... right?

A forced laugh pushed past my lips but seeing Shuuhei's eerily sadistic countenance, it soon got caught in my throat.

Crap, my mind seemed to blare like the sirens of a police car. What exactly was going to happen to me?