Chapter 64: Ranking Revelation

Sen, Mori, and Rella slipped back into the ball as discreetly as possible. But Rella’s form-fitting dress and long blonde hair caught more than a few eyes. Mori led her to the refreshment table. Sen headed towards the girls. Milim, Ill, and Samara were giggling and dancing together. 

The ghost musicians were playing a fast-paced tune that filledthe air itself. The room had an atmosphere of energy, the kind that made you want to move your body and not worry about who was watching. In fact, Sen even noticed Oliver bobbing his head as he walked around the ball and tended to his various tasks as a member of the student representatives. 

Samara noticed Sen approaching with a smirk and nudged Milim. “Look who it is,” she said.

Milim turned to look over her shoulder. She cracked a smile as Sen as she saw him. He had to admit that felt good. “Everything okay?” she checked after the thought crossed her mind.

Sen nodded. “Yeah, just a…late arrival. False alarm. I miss anything?” he asked.

Ilm grinned. “They're announcing the rankings soon!” she said. 

Sure enough, he followed her finger, and he saw the ghostly attendants working diligently near the wall, not far from the band. Some sort of display was being erected in record time. It didn’t take much to see it was a replica of the rankings board from the school’s entrance hall. He grew eager to see where he’d end up on the list. How far had his recent quest pushed him forward? How much farther did he still have to go? 

He noticed Ano and Alari were still together, which was surprising. Ano said something that cracked a smile on Alari’s face. It was quick, subtle, like a momentary lapse in her defenses. She caught it almost as quickly and wiped it from her face. But Ano seized on it. He said something. She froze and looked up at him with a confused expression on her face. 

Sen focused on Ano’s lips. Trying to read what he was saying. He caught the word “throw” from Ano. Alari paused. After a moment, she made a disgusted face and pushed him away. She stormed off. Ano threw a hand after her. “Wait!” He called out, louder than he had meant to. But Alari disappeared into the crowd. Ano’s shoulders fell, and he shook his head. He moved in the opposite direction and let himself slouch into the first empty chair he found. 

Sen frowned. What was that about? He wondered. He made a mental note to check on Ano after he had some time to cool off. 

“Who's that?” Ilm asked, sipping her drink and nodding at Mori.

Mori and Rella had made their way to the dance floor. He took her hand and coached her on a simple formal dance. Rella seemed to soak in his every word. Sen chuckled. “That’s our late arrival.”

Milim stared at her, and then looked back at Sen. “That’s who you were talking to?” she asked in what seemed feigned casualness. 

“Mhm, I guess she roped Mori into a dance,” he said.

Milim lifted her cup to her lips and sipped slowly, watching the odd pair. She nodded simply. 

Ilm sighed. “Both of my brothers are falling in love and I’m all alone,” she said playfully.

Samara scoffed. “You’re having the time of your life tonight and you know it!”

The girls laughed. The music slowed to a lull, and Oliver stepped onto the stage. “Attent…attention everyone. We…we’re ready to announce the rankings now. If that’s alright with all of you.”

The crowd cheered. Most of the attendees tonight were third and fourth-year students. They dominated the list more than anyone else. Of course, they wanted to see their rankings. Sen perked up, staring at the board as if his gaze would make it populate with numbers more quickly. He felt something in his hand and looked down to see Milim had grabbed his. She squeezed it. Did she think he was nervous? He folded his lips into a smile. 

Susanna and Girch stood toward the front, waiting expectantly. Joseia balled both of his fists in anticipation. Snake emerged from whatever dark corner he’d been lurking in and glared at the screen. It was time. 

One hundred numbers popped up on the screen, and starting from the bottom, they slowly began to fill up. Students cheered, groaned, clapped, and winced as their updated rankings appeared. Some students had shot up. Others had fallen a few spaces. But everyone grew more tense the higher the board went. Some low-rankers realized hope was lost. They hadn’t moved from the low eighties to the top twenties all of a sudden. This was the point where many realized they’d fallen off the list altogether. Samara and Mori had both moved up the list. 

He caught wind of Rella congratulating Mori, though she didn’t fully understand what was going on. He nodded a polite thank you. Samara downed her drink in one gulp after seeing her rank. “Oh, hell yeah!” she said. 

Prior to their last quest, Sen and Milim had been ranked eighteenth and nineteenth, respectively. As those ranks came and went, Sen was pleased to realize they’d each moved up. As the number ten spot was announced, he realized they’d moved up more than he realized. Joseia took that spot. His fans from the dance circle earlier chanted his name, and he started shuffling around in celebration. It was only when he heard nine…and then eight…that he started to wonder if Milim and he had somehow fallen off the list entirely. They couldn’t have moved forward this far from a single quest. Maybe the dean had taken action in retaliation for Sen’s disrespect of late, but from what Sikar told him, that shouldn’t be possible. The ranking system spell was objective. Even the entire committee couldn’t make such drastic alterations. Even Dean Withershade couldn’t override it.

The seventh spot appeared, and Sen let out a breath. 

7. Milim Alma.

Milim’s eyes stared blankly at it, turned to Sen, and then back to the board. “How…?” Samara and Ilm crashed into her. 

“Seven? We need proper drinks to celebrate something like this!” Samara said, spilling whatever drink the attendant had brought her to replace the one she'd chugged.

Ilm hugged Milim tightly. “That’s amazing, Milim!” 

Sen had to admit he was proud of her. He placed a hand on her back and nodded his approval. 

She grinned, and her smile filled him with warmth. 

When they’d last moved up the board, it had been together. So he assumed he’d have the next spot. But it went to some fourth-year he wasn’t familiar with. So did the fifth spot. 

Once again, he was wondering if something weird had happened when his name finally popped up.

4. Sen Locke.

Fourth? Now he was wondering if someone was cheating in the opposite direction. Had he really moved that many spaces at once? 

The students erupted into gossip. Milim reaching the top seven was surprising, but a first-year reaching the fourth position? That should be impossible. He suddenly felt all eyes on him. 

Susanna nodded proudly toward him. Girch chuckled and gave him a thumbs-up. 

Snake glared like he wanted to sink his teeth into Sen’s neck. 

Most people would be satisfied with this ranking in their first year. But Sen wasn’t most people. All this meant was that he had three spots left to go. Two of which were occupied by his friends. 

3. Girch Hammerrock. The giant man grumbled at that. His rank hadn’t moved, but that wasn’t necessarily unexpected. Susanna and Snake were in a category of their own.

The last two numbers would be revealed together.

Each of them had held the top spot at various points earlier in the year. Susanna had started with it, but it had bounced between the two of them throughout the year. It was time to see who held the spot now, as they approached final exams and graduation duels. Who was in the lead? Who stood before Sen and the completion of his class quest to hit the number one spot? 

The numbers popped up at that moment.

1. Susanna Tower.

2. Snake

The students flipped out at that, and the room became chaotic. Sen wrapped a ward around himself and the three girls to keep any of the other students from knocking into them. One boy jumped, throwing himself towards Sen only to bounce off the ward instead. When he realized what had happened, he did it on purpose a few more times before Sen glared at him and he skulked off. The fourth-year girls surrounded Susanna, and she laughed as they celebrated. Several attendants walked up and led her by the hand onto the stage as the musicians played celebratory music. 

Sen arched a brow.

Milim happily explained. “Whoever’s number one at the time of the ball is considered the ‘King or Queen’ of this year’s Ball!” 

The attendants bowed before her, while a third one entered the room from elsewhere. The students split apart to make room for it. It carried a magnificent golden tiara that matched Susanna’s dress on a bright red pillow. When it reached her, the two kneeling attendants each stood and grabbed opposite sides of the tiara. Then they tenderly moved together to place it on her head. 

Susanna smiled, showing off perfect white teeth, and waved to the crowd. Once again, Sen thought her the spitting image of royalty. He was glad she’d won. Even though he knew what it meant. Sen would have to challenge her before the year was over, but for tonight, he thought she made an excellent queen of the ball, even if he’d preferred to see Milim on stage. He blinked at the thought. Where was that from? 

Glass shattered on the ground, and the sounds of music and talking came to a halt. 

Everyone turned to look at the one who’d dropped it. 

Snake.

His eyes were green slits, and snake scales had crawled up his hands and then under the sleeves of his black and green-trimmed suit. He made his way toward the stage. Ano and Girch moved to intercept him. 

“Calm down, Snake. Don’t be a sore loser,” Ano said. 

Snake glared at him. Then he turned to look at Susanna on stage. “So she can only retain her position from behind bodyguards?” Snake asked. So he fully intended to make a scene here. Sen shook his head in disgust.

“She hides behind others, behind her family, behind her name.” Snake looked around. “She was given that spot because of who she is. Not what she’s done, and she knows it. She knows she doesn’t deserve it.”

Girch took a step forward and stared down at Snake. “Say one more word and I’ll crush your head.” 

A blinding light filled the room. Girch and Ano both turned to look back. 

Susanna’s dress glowed so brightly she looked like a goddess had descended among them. Even her tiara was caught in the effect. “If you want to see why I’m number one, then I’ll show you.”

Snake’s eyes twinkled. 

Sen had a weird feeling. This was what Snake wanted. He’d been trying to goad her into a fight, but he wasn’t the type to do that unless he knew he could win. Snake had a trick up his sleeve. He’d never challenged Susanna openly before. If he were doing so now, something had changed. 

Sen brushed through the crowd, trying to reach her. “Susanna—” But before he could stop it, he heard the words he dreaded.

“Then let’s duel,” Snake said simply, holding his arms out to the side. 

Girch looked toward Susanna for instructions. She nodded to him, and he stepped to the side. It seemed the Brightsail Ball had devolved into a competition between the top two ranked students.