Magic Ball: the Billionaire in Ranch

40 Social Classes

Noah took a sip from his almost untouched tequila. The liquid burned a line down his throat, and he followed it by a pleasurable sigh. He adored this tequila’s taste so much. It’s a perfect mix of citrus and mint.

The guys along with him and Michael have been sitting on the bar counter for an hour now. Noah had been busy listening to their ongoing conversation s***h debates about how the US Congress works with a mixture of politics 101. Noah deemed it informative, especially when they talked about how the system works.

“Basically,” William added after he drank from his glass of whiskey, “the USA has three branches.” He eyed the brunette who looked bewildered at what he was saying.

Noah thinks William’s drunk and this attitude of his that tends to resurface when he’s already intoxicated. He just talked a lot about politics in general. Noah had to ask Michael if he’s involved in politics or something, and Michael had told him that he had a few relatives in the said area. Though Noah didn’t mind the topic at hand since he’d just sit back and smoke all he wants while they rant about how the president sucks and that he should immediately be impeached.

“Three branches?” the brunette asked, his brows scrunched deep.

William made a clicking sound with his tongue, “Haven’t you learned anything in high school?”

Then, William, the blond, and the brunette began bickering with each other.

Michael had his palm on his forehead, “These three are too loud I can’t even comprehend why I got along well with them.”

Noah shrugged as he ticked the end of the cigarette on the ashtray beside him. “I don’t mind. They’re actually informative when they’re drunk.”

“No, no! It’s actually Legislative that makes the law!” the blond, whom Noah still remembers his name, shouted with an exasperated look on his face. “Haven’t you learned that in high school?” he asked a serious-looking William that looked as if he had been defeated in a battle between who among them is the brainiest when it comes to how he US Political System works.

“Let me search it up,” William didn’t want to back down.

He pulled out his phone and searched for an entire minute. Then, his eyes bulged. Slowly, he removed his view from the screen. Sighing like a child that had lost in a game, he rolled his eyes at the smirking blond.

The brunette whistled as Michael and Noah silently conversed beside them.

“Ah, so you’re telling me that what blondy over there was right? That the legislators make the law?” asked Noah. His face blanks, but deep inside, the fire had been burning bright.

Michael nodded as he drank from his glass. He pushed the lens toward the bartender and asked him if to refill the drink for him. “They got that one right. Keep on listening and I’ll correct whatever they got wrong this time.”

“…so, why have they separated in three different sectors?” the brunette asked like a curious child—only now is that he’s way too much drunk.

William raised his arm like he was waiting for someone to call him on a class recitation. Michael called from beside him, “Go on now, buddy!”

“It’s to provide a separation of power,” he answered with confidence.

Michael clapped his hands, the cigarette between his lips, “Bravo. Ten points for you.”

“Damn it!” the blond cussed.

The brunette then angled his head, “That means we get to have more points if we get the correct answer, right?”

Noah waved his hand in continuation of what they’re talking about with Michael.

“How about the Executive branch?”

“Noah, Noah, Noah,” the brunette said, “the Executive branch is for carrying out the law. That’s final.”

Noah craned his neck to get a view of Michael’s expression. “On the dot!” Michael clapped as he praised the brunette’s behavior.

“Thank you!” the brunette beamed at him. His smile was unfaltering. “What a great day to live!” he told William who snickered behind him.

“And of course, last but most definitely not the least—”

“Judicial!” the blond man blurted out after he finished his entire beer bottle. Noah had to snatch away the bottle that he attempted to throw quickly.

He wiped his forehead and thought he wouldn’t be able to catch it.

“Why do you always have to steal my spotlight?” said William as he took a swig from his beer. “And what does the judicial part do, if you’re so smart, huh?”

The blond man smiled, “They basically evaluate the law.”

“Damn it!” William groaned and fixed a glare at him. “You’re so good at this!”

“So, there are basically three parts in total,” Michael said as he attempted to summarize what the trio had been discussing since the dawn of time. “Like classes in society. There’s the poor, the middle-class, and the upper-classmen.”

“Why’s there a middle one?”

“They’re those whom you can’t classify as too rich or too poor. Literally, the ones that walk through the normal citizen life,” Michael ended it with drinking the entire contents of his tequila.

Noah’s response to him was a deep hum. He didn’t know much about the social class in America, but he believes that every class has the poor and the rich. And there was no such thing being in the middle class. It’s either you can afford the luxury of the rich, or live availing the things that the poor use to survive the daily struggles of their lives. Unlike the rich, the poor had limited privileges—Noah stopped his tranquil of thoughts.

Does that mean that he wasn’t classified yet as someone who would belong to the upper-class society…? Come to think of it, and if he’d try to assess his situation right now, he looks like he didn’t belong—he wore simple clothes while they wore high-ends suits. He lives in a farm, while they revel in their mansions, probably in luxurious castles from a family heirloom. His family had nothing—at least when he hadn’t found the Magic Ball yet. They had always lived a humble life despite the things that didn’t go well with their way, and he’s proud that he’s slowly making it to the top…

Or was he?

Noah didn’t sit well with the feeling that lingered in his chest. Why did he feel like he needed to fit in with them? Why did his chest swell when the thought of not being classified in the upper-class circle made him angry—perhaps, depressing, too. Even though you have enough money to buy yourself two more cars, Noah thinks it’s still not enough—the greed was making him walk through a path he didn’t want to look back. And hopefully, it doesn’t consume him.

Michael and Noah were on the way toward the parking lot. Noah had William hovering behind while he assisted the blond man because he couldn’t bring himself to walk on his own. This is mainly the reason why some of his friends always required that he come with them when there’s a party that involved heavy drinking. That’s because he’d be the one that would do the honor of bringing everyone safely home. He’s the driver, the nurse, the love adviser, the mediator he’s the group’s savior from drunk driving and causing themselves their apparent death.

Noah huffed and adjusted his hold toward the blond who kept murmuring to William that he’d been the one who won their battle of the brains when it came to who knows the US Congress’s system better.

“I’m better,” the brunette said who was slumped in Michael’s arms.

“God, buddy, please don’t talk. You might fall,” Michael pulled him upwards as he seemed to slip away from his grasp.

“This guy,” the brunette pointed at the blond, “is someone that won’t admit that he didn’t listen to what his history teacher had taught him when the topic is all about politics.”

Noah sighed, and the blond fellow shot him an exasperated look. “What are you saying? My parents had placed me in a high-end school and I’ve graduated from an Ivy League university that’s probably in the top ten best schools all over the world!”

He brought his arms toward the brunette as if to punch him in the face. William walked between them and laughed. “Honestly, both of you know nothing!”

“Would you all stop fighting?” Noah said as he tried to drag William and the blond fellow inside Michael’s car.

Michael clicked his key. The car made a noise that indicated it has opened. As quick as the wind, Noah groaned and speed up his walking so that he can place the two drunkards inside. He hauled the blond fellow as he grabbed William’s hand and pulled him toward Michael’s car.

When they arrived in front of it, Michael was already shoving the brunette guy inside. He leveled a stare at the brunette who stared quietly outside the window, mumbling something between wanting to take more lessons in history and regretting the fact that he didn’t listen in history class when he was still in elementary school.

Michael rubbed at his chin while sighing heavily, “They’re grown men who had a fortune at their hands, and yet they act like teenagers scrambling about in the middle of the night.”

Noah cursed as he pushed a talking William inside the car.

“You don’t understand, Noah—” Noah waved his hand in dismissal.

“No more, Wills. Go inside the car,” he ducked his head in the car’s arc to prevent him from bumping on the curved surface. “Just rest. We all know you won the… debate,” he said, a solemn expression plastered in his face.

William halted on the spot. Then, he reached his arms and squeezed Noah in a hug as the blond fellow clung to his arm like a monkey who didn’t want to be separated from his mother.

“Yes, yes,” Noah caressed his back like how he’d put his nephew Evan to sleep, “now, go inside.”

“You’re the best guy in the whole wide world!” William said in a voice that copied that of a child’s.

Michael watched with his arms folded. He leaned on the car the door, the amusement dancing in his eyes.

“How’s it going to be? It’s as if he’d finally found a new favorite friend,” he said while laughing.

Noah didn’t fight the urge—he rolled his eyes.

Footsteps echoed behind them, and it was followed by laughter.

Noah craned his neck to see who they were, and his eyes caught that of an old acquaintance.

The old acquaintance had jogged with him when he first arrived in America, and soon, their relationship leveled into close friends.

Clutching his bag, Nick weaved his fingers through his hair. He looked too tired for a Friday night, but Noah was so eager to see someone familiar that he had raised his hand toward his direction.

The laughing men surrounding him were the first ones that spotted Noah’s waving hand. When they didn’t respond, it was Nick’s turn to squint his eyes at him.

His mouth opened slightly, and what was once an upturned mouth was replaced by a beaming smile.

“Noah!” he said as sprinted toward their direction.

Michael jerked his head to the voice’s direction and saw that it was Nick running toward them.

The disbelief in Nick’s eyes showed once more, “What? Mic? You’re here, too?”

“Nick?” Michael headed to him first.

Noah managed to shove the blond guy together with William and shut the door in front of their ogling faces.

“It’s been a while!” he shouted as he took steady strides to where they were.

“What are you doing here?”

“I’ve been…” he looked behind the group of men that waited for his return. “I’ll catch up,” he said to them casually.

Michael raised his eyebrows, “Who are they? A colleague of yours?”

Nick let out a curse, “If you say so, I guess they are. Asshole co-workers who think they’re better than anyone inside the firm,” face looked too distressed, so Noah and Michael didn’t press on.

“Do you want to ride with me?” Noah offered. He still has a space in his car. Michael had this look that told both of them that he doesn’t have enough space left considering that three idiots had already invaded every last bit of his car.

“No can do with my car. Go with Noah,” he said with distaste.

Nick looked confused, “What happened over there?”

“Drunkards,” Noah said shortly. “We went to an Auction event and these three idiots drank like there’s no tomorrow left.”

Nick let out a small laugh, “That’s why.”

“Come to think of it,” Michael started, “I haven’t seen you for a year. How’s work going on?”

“Fine,” Said Nick that had furrowed his eyebrows. “Well, not that fine. I take it back. It really isn’t fine.”

“What happened?” Noah asked.

“The firm’s not been doing good lately. Retrenchments are happening, and it may take a while before they start getting my ass off that company.”

Michael hummed. “How about you become Noah’s personal lawyer?”

Noah didn’t mind. He’d love to hire Nick as his lawyer for his Stream Ranch.

“Wouldn’t that be awesome?” he encouraged Nick that laid his eyes on the floor like a defeated soldier. 

“If you’re only doing this because I’m losing my job, please don’t. I’d feel really bad—”

Noah took a step forward as he faced Nick, “Would you like to be my lawyer?”

Besides hiring a professional that knows that law around America, Noah also needed to buy other properties and lands to ensure he’d climb to the top of the upper-class society—or maybe just belong to one.

There was this quench where he needed to reach a certain class.