Masquerades

Chapter 22 (Part 1)

Disbelief was very evident on everyone’s faces as she finished recounting all the turn of events which had happened the past couple of hours. She eventually returned to Class B, after more of the Masquerades were convinced that the newly-arrived Calista was the real one. Arcane had to follow the majority, though she was not sure if he was still standing by his words.

“So a third one actually appeared out of nowhere again? And they all think this is legit this time,” Kinsley shook her head laughingly. “Looks like every family in Beijing will have a Calista Song in their households now.”

“And the Director would accept them all, because she’s worried she might miss the real one,” Snow snickered before turning to Cali. “The ones who just coincidentally have the name are at a disadvantage, though.”

Skylar crossed her arms as a contemplative look masked her face. “Can’t these girls be investigated? I’m sure those Section M kids can hire someone to do that, right?”

“There must also be rich families backing these girls up,” Calista started. “And they’ve also hired someone to make those fake backgrounds for the girls, the more powerful the family, the harder the real identities of these ‘Calistas’ can be found. I think the third one is either real, real, or has that – an influential backer.”

Shannon, who had been quiet this whole time, finally broke her silence. “Why are these families so determined to impersonate Calista Song? What if the real one suddenly appeared? Wouldn’t they just anger Arcane or whoever they’re fooling?”

“Still, the short-term benefits before the real Calista appears can’t be ignored. Just that mere name can evoke superiority among others. Maybe, they are also hoping for the possibility that the Wongs will genuinely care for the girl – especially Arcane – and still take her in, despite the truth,” Cali explained. She can’t help but get used to talking about herself in the third POV now. What if this becomes a habit? Yikes.

“But… what if Arcane still thinks you’re the real one?” Kinsley suddenly leaned forward, sounding a bit giddy. Her tone and excited actions made Cali frown. Why were they feeling excited about this? Did they not see how miserable she was?! “We all saw how insistent he was to bring you to Hall M! He really believes you’re the one, Cali.”

Snow and Shannon excitedly nodded their heads as well, while Skylar just chuckled, seeing her with an uncomfortable expression.

“I’m sure it was just a passing idea of his, because I defeated his real purpose last week. It’s either he unconsciously wanted me to be the real Calista because I bruised his ego, or he’s intentionally faking it now so he could fool me and get back at what I did.”

“But now that the – possibly – real one appeared… what’s going to happen?” Snow asked.

She shrugged, “I don’t know. Everything’s happening during Penta week, so I’m not sure if there’s actually going to be any obvious changes. So far, other than Dakota taking an interest in the second Calista, nothing’s really happening on the Populars' side. I guess William decided to lie low.”

“Shan,” Snow turned to her best friend. “Did you hear anything from Connor?”

“I just know that Maddox leads the jocks nowadays. William seems to be greatly affected by what happened last week, not to mention, he can’t bully those who he typically bullies even after Penta. The Underdogs getting the Masquerades’ acknowledgement, which he greatly covets, must be a one big hit on his ego.”

“We can’t be so sure,” Cali smirked, “this could be some kind of a ‘calm before the storm’ moment. William won’t be silent for long.”

“Everyone, listen!”

All their attentions averted to the front of the room, and were met by Annie’s usual authoritative stance. Their class president waited for everyone to settle down before starting.

“Sports day will be this Friday. I need participants for each event. Also, I need to ask for all your opinions about an important matter,” the girl suddenly turned more serious. “Now that Class A pretty much lost their superiority over us after what happened last week, should we… go all-in this year?”

Silence ensued throughout the entire class, before someone suddenly yelled, which caused everyone to cheer.

“Hell yeah!”

Cali couldn’t help but watch and clap alongside her excited classmates, slowly feeling the same eagerness in her chest. Her eyes then collided with Warren, who had a broad grin on his face. When the guy realized who he was looking at, his smile faltered a bit, but he continued smiling nonetheless. A sigh of relief escaped her lips.

“It’s our last year in high school, so let’s show them what we got and show them no mercy this time, okay?”

“Okay!”

This, right here, is the reason why she would always choose this class over any other. Class M be damned, she doesn’t need all those fake luxuries. Genuine friendship is the real luxury.