Greatest Academy's Student: Magic and Money

The students were frightened at the mention of someone being dead. The boy burst into laughter when he looked at their faces; he stood up and placed a hand on his face as he laughed harder.

Suddenly, he stopped laughing and faced the pool.

Taking a deep breath, he said, "Actually, she died last night. I think they said she committed suicide by hanging herself in her room. Though there's an investigation still ongoing, it's very likely it will be closed soon enough and ruled as a supposed suicide."

It seemed the boy was attempting to suggest there was another reason behind the student's sudden death, as she was about to begin at such a highly regarded academy, yet she suddenly decided to take her own life. It was quite suspicious...

"Well, the media has been kept in the dark about it, as it might draw attention to the academy and cause some negative rumours to arise. So, only a few students here know about it, and guess what? You're now one of those students!"

Shortly after, he started laughing maniacally again.

The blonde stood up and walked over to one of the boys kneeling.

She took a drag from the cigarette in her hand, the smoke curling towards the boy's face.

In an instant, he began coughing due to the harshness it posed to him. She smiled and nodded her head.

Following this, she pushed the boy into the pool.

Then, the boy kicked the second male scholarship student in the back, sending him tumbling into the pool. He then gently helped the girl up.

"Would you like to have fun with me? Maybe I can help you have a better life at the academy..." he proposed to her, her trembling eyes slowly meeting his gaze.

She was baffled, as she understood what he meant by having "fun".

His lips curled into a smirk, the corners lifting to reveal a flash of teeth.

...

Academy hours had now ended.

A total of eight hours had been spent, and various students were being picked up by exotic cars, while the scholarship students, including Finn, waited outside the gate for the bus to arrive.

Suddenly, a black car halted in front of them. The tinted window of the passenger seat in the back slowly came down, revealing Daphne inside, a large grin plastered across his face.

"Can I get your number, so that I can come pick you up, or rather, send the address?" Daphne asked Finn.

The other scholarship students were shocked by how Daphne and Finn knew each other. It was literally their first day, and Finn was already making connections with not just ordinary rich students, but those on the Top 10 Billboard list.

There were currently 36 scholarship students present, with three missing, though Finn didn't pay attention to this.

He stepped up to Daphne and gave him his number. Daphne stretched his phone out to Finn so he could type it in.

Thankfully, Finn remembered the number tied to the phone at home offhand.

After typing in the number, he handed the phone back to Daphne, who instantly sent a message to Finn's phone to confirm it.

Daphne waved at Finn and closed the window, then the car drove off.

Finn casually slipped his hands into his uniform's pockets and looked up at the sky.

Now, I wonder what to wear to this party. I surely have good taste in fashion.

That was the total opposite, Ethan, originally, had a notoriously bad fashion sense. He could wear white sneakers with pyjamas and a beach shirt with sweatpants; he had always dressed like a madman.

Unfortunately, Finn, the original one, was also the same.

In just a few minutes, the bus arrived and halted with a hiss as the door opened. The students boarded in an orderly fashion, and once everyone was on, the door closed and the bus drove off.

Finn chose the back seat again, this time being the only one in the five rows of seats. He moved to the window, looking outside as pedestrians walked by, some calling to one another, while cars drove past them.

A couple of minutes later, they arrived at the designated bus stop.

All the students disembarked, some heading off together while others went solo, like Finn.

He held onto his bag tightly and made his way back to the stairs, then to his building, where the landlord was standing outside, talking with a strange man, grinning and shaking hands as if he had just hit the jackpot.

The man was now getting to leave, dressed in a black suit and holding a briefcase. Finn assessed his attire and immediately deduced he was a lawyer.

However, it was none of his concern what they were discussing, so he didn't dwell on it.

He simply greeted the landlord with a slight bow of his head.

Mr Bethlem tapped Finn's shoulder and smiled.

"Welcome! How was your first day? I hope you weren't too stressed."

"No, no, not at all. I also wanted to inform you that I might be heading out tonight and may be late returning."

Finn decided to mention the welcome party he was going to, thinking it best to keep Mr Bethlem informed about his whereabouts incase of anything bad that might happen.

Mr Bethlem laughed, "No problem. Just don't be too late; I know school days can be fun. Enjoy the party!"

With that, Mr Bethlem left, whistling as he walked towards the public staircase, while Finn proceeded into the building.

"I should take a walk around the neighbourhood," Finn thought.

"It seems I'm a bit of an introvert. Two hours of exploration, then I can study when I get back with the others before preparing for the party. I need to gather more information on the rest... something feels off. I have a bad feeling despite not seeing anything suspicious yet..." Finn murmured as he climbed the stairs of the building.