Ruling silverlake High

Regent's Rule

The silence in AP English didn't break for the entire fifty minutes. Mr. Harrison, despite being the strictest teacher in the building, didn't say a single word about me taking Zander’s seat. He simply cleared his throat, picked up his chalk, and continued his lecture on The Great Gatsby. But the dynamic in the room had completely flipped. The boy across the aisle who had warned me on my first day was now staring at me like I was a ghost.Every time I shifted in the chair, the heavy leather of Zander's varsity jacket rustled. The oversized sleeves swallowed my hands, but the weight of it was anchoring.When the bell finally rang, I didn't rush to pack my things. I deliberately took my time, zipping up my canvas bag as the classroom emptied. When I finally walked out into the corridor, I found Landon Chase waiting for me, leaning against a row of lockers with a smirk playing on his lips."You actually did it," Landon said, falling into step beside me as we walked toward the courtyard. "Tiffany looked like she wanted to murder someone during cheer practice. Principal Vance handles all his calls behind closed doors now. You threw a bomb into their entire hierarchy, Aria.""I just took what Zander gave me," I said, keeping my gaze straight ahead. "But a piece of paper isn't going to stop Tiffany from trying to trip me in the dark. What's the play now?""The play is survival," Landon murmured, his voice dropping low as we bypassed a group of staring underclassmen. "Zander's dad is furious. Charles Sterling found out about the endowment transfer this morning. He can't freeze the funds without an audit, but he can make life miserable for anyone associated with Zander. He’s already pressure-testing my dad’s senate campaign funds to get me to fall in line."

stopped in my tracks, turning to face him. "Landon, if this puts your family at risk, you don't have to—""I’m the quarterback of this school, Aria, and Zander is my brother," Landon interrupted, his eyes flashing with a rare, stubborn intensity. "I don't ride the bench when the game gets dirty. Besides, Zander left a message for you. Before they took his phone at the academy, he routed a secure email through my private server."My heart skipped a heavy, violent beat. "What did it say?"Landon reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, folded piece of paper, sliding it into my palm. "He knew they’d try to squeeze you. He told me to give you this if you successfully made it back inside."I gripped the paper tightly, waiting until I was safely locked inside a stall in the girl's restroom before unfolding it. The text was short, printed out from Landon's server, but the words were pure Zander.Sweetheart,If you're reading this, it means you're wearing my jacket and sitting in my chair. Good. Don't let my uncle breathe easy. Look into the 'Silverlake Expansion Project' files in the school library archives. My father is using the school’s land grants to secure offshore loans. If you find the original 2024 deeds, you hold the leash to the Sterling empire. Hold the line. I'm already counting down the days.— Z.A chill ran down my spine. Zander hadn't just given me an athletic grant to keep me in school; he had left me the blueprints to destroy his father’s leverage.I destroyed the paper, flushing it down the toilet, and washed my face with freezing water. When I looked at myself in the mirror, the faded scholarship girl was completely gone. In her place was Zander’s regent.By the time the final bell rang at 3:00 PM, I didn't walk out to the student parking lot. Instead, I doubled back toward the old wing of the campus, where the Silverlake Library Archives were housed. The room was massive, smelling of dust and centuries-old paper, completely deserted by a student body that preferred digital tablets to physical text.I walked past the rows of towering mahogany shelves until I reached the locked cage marked Historical Land Grants & Endowments.The lock was a standard heavy brass tumbler. I reached into Zander's varsity jacket pocket, my fingers brushing past a small, metallic object he had left in the lining. I pulled it out.It was his silver lighter. Click. Flame. Snap.But as I turned it over in my hand, I noticed a tiny, thin piece of rigid steel folded into the casing—a customized tension tool. The king hadn't just left me his jacket. He had left me his key.

My hands shook as I inserted the metal piece into the lock, recalling the basic lock-picking tricks my older cousin had shown me years ago when we lived in the trailer park. With a sharp, satisfying click, the heavy brass lock gave way.I pushed the iron cage door open, stepping into the dark, dusty archives. I scanned the rows of heavy leather-bound ledger books until my eyes landed on a thick black binder labeled: Silverlake Expansion Project - 2024 Corporate Deeds.I pulled it off the shelf, the dust swirling in the dim light. I opened the first page, and the very first name printed under the primary offshore lender took the breath completely out of my lungs.It wasn't just Charles Sterling's name on the deed.Directly beneath his signature was the official, notarized seal of Principal Richard Vance."Looking for light reading, scholarship girl?"A sharp, menacing voice echoed from the entrance of the archives. I snapped the binder shut, spinning around to see Principal Vance standing in the doorway, his silhouette blocking the light from the hallway, a pair of heavy security guards flanking him from behind.