ISH MOTRANGA's POV
"I nominate myself for the position of Class President." – Dy Grimony
None of us could speak out of shock at what she did.
Was it bravery? Confidence? Or was she just plain shameless?
Some of us were impressed by her guts. But was it really courage? She probably overheard someone nominating me, so she decided to nominate herself too.
Sir Askad Tala raised an eyebrow. He probably thought Dy did it because she was overly confident. "You're really bold, Ms. Grimony."
All I could do was sigh. Why did someone nominate me?
Yesterday, we arrived safely at Roots. Now, we're electing class officers. Those of us nominated for Class President stood in front of the class. Someone just randomly nominated me.
"Everyone! Proceed to Gym Gama."
"Yes, Sir!"
We immediately headed to the mentioned gym. It was big, but we weren't inside—we were out on the field. The field was wide, great for practical activities.
"What will happen now? I'll test your abilities and I'll decide who's worthy of being the President of my class."
We only then noticed that Sir had someone with him—a female student who summoned fire in her palms and twirled it until it grew bigger and bigger. The fire slowly took shape—bird-shaped creatures.
Flames? Tsk! My exskill feels so basic now.
"Whoa! What are those?"
"Isn't it obvious?!"
"Wait? What are we supposed to do with them?"
"Grab a bucket of water."
"KIMIHAMUT! Stop joking!"
"Ugh.. I have a bad feeling about this."
Some of my classmates panicked.
Sir Askad Tala rolled his skyblue eyes, not even hiding his irritation. "This is a test to reveal your hidden talents and skills. You will defeat those one by one. Use your exskills. Your performance will determine your fate, and I will be the one to decide."
I gulped. What am I supposed to do with those flame creatures?
First up was Mirasol Zedlav. She blew wind at them, but the fire only grew stronger. Oh, right, she was the unknown classmate who helped another student with cold wind powers during the demo. Mirasol was helpful during that demo, so seeing her struggle now is worrying.
If she's struggling, what more can I do?
You could say this isn't fair. The results depend on your exskill. But, the world is unfair from the start. Oh, well… it's not like I even wanted to be the President anyway.
Next was Lila Sotniuq. She backed out before even trying. She said her shapeshifting exskill were no match.
"I'll just back out. I don't want to become fried bird. I'm not ready yet," she joked, nervously laughing.
Then Gino Smith went up. His exskill didn't work either. The leaves he used to attack just burned.
Next was Senon Lowenthal. He easily defeated them using ice. As expected.
By the way, Senon was the guy with the cold wind in the demo.
"Guys! Senon for President!" Seth whispered, making some of us laughed.
Then it was Dy's turn. I watched her closely. What trick does this girl have up her sleeve?
First, she tried to use solarblast, but the creatures regenerated. So, she created a large light orb that absorbed the heat from the flame creatures until they vanished. The glowing yellow orb turned bright red. Everyone was amazed by her performance.
"Not bad," I whispered, my palms starting to sweat.
"Who's next?"
It was me. I'm dead!
I gulped as Teacher called my name. All eyes turned to me.
"You got this, Ish! Just go for it!"
"Go! You're handsome!"
"Ish for President!"
Some of my classmates tried to cheer me up. That's good, but—
"What do you think he'll do?"
"Fire versus fire? No chance."
"You're right. He's gonna struggle."
"He can just quit. Save us some time."
Not everyone was cheering me on.
I looked at the ones who spoke. They weren't wrong, but… don't they have faith in me? Even just little?
Yeah, I know we have the same element. Everyone's questioning whether my fire stands a chance. What I can't accept is how they're already doubting me, how they concluded the result when I'm not even starting yet.
I didn't even want to be the class President… but now? I've changed my mind. I feel like I have to do well. I have to prove them wrong!
"What's his tactic?"
"Obviously, he's not gonna do anything useful."
I heard Dy and Sol. I looked at them.
"Don't count him out yet, Sis. We don't know his strategy."
"Whatever it is, it's useless," Dy gave me a challenging look.
'Loser.' She mouthed.
Loser? Let's see how you react after what I'm about to do.
I inhale, exhale, calm myself, and focused.
I studied the flame creatures. They didn't have physical forms it means physical attacks won't work. Would fire even work on fire? I couldn't use my personification either.
I glanced at Teacher Askad and my classmates. They were waiting. Waiting for me to flop or top.
"Looks like Senon will be the class President," I heard again. Those annoying snickerings.
There's no doubt Senon's the top pick. But I'll still try. No harm in that, right? Will see if they change their minds after this.
I summoned fire into my palms. The flames dancing angrily much like what's boiling inside.
"Seriously?" – Sol
"Ish is really gonna use fire against... fire?" – Seth
"Wait... looks like he has a tactic." – Azure
"He's got nothing." – Dy
"Tactic?" – Maye
I saw Sir Askad Tala tilt his head at what I did. What did I do? I just copied the Diwan.
The flames on my palms slowly dances as it take shape.
I created my own flame creatures and sent them after the Diwan's flames.
"Don't tell me…" I heard them gasped.
It looked like a dance battle between the flame creatures until mine caught hers. Then they began to merge. Eventually, the red ones turned blue. It was beautiful watching the single blue flame creature fly.
The creature flew back to me, circled me, and disappeared into the air. And, that's when I heard applause from everyone.
Not just my classmates—even Sir and the Diwan were impressed.
"That's so cool, bruh!"
"So badass!"
"Wow! You're amazing, Ish!"
I smiled at their compliments. I glanced at Dy. She looked very unimpressed.
"Tsk. That's the problem… why judge so quickly? Now you're all eating your words," I muttered to her. I smirked at the anger on her face.
"Ish for President! Ish is the GOAT!" cheered some of my classmates.
Dy stared at me with a scowl and arms crossed. So she noticed?
I didn't just copy the Diwan—I copied Dy's idea too but I made my own version.
Sir clapped to get everyone's attention. "Alright! I've seen it all. Now, I'll announce who will be the Class President of Class Tala."
We all fell silent and listened. The candidates stood up front. Teacher looked at us one by one. My heart felt like it was skipping.
"I chose this person because they were unique. I saw something in them," Teacher began.
Was he walking back and forth for dramatic effect?
"A President should be disciplined and responsible. They must be smart and easy to work with. Don't forget—they must also have compassion and be able to keep up with the other Class Officers from Hanan and Mayari. That's why I choose you."
"Who could it be?"
"Probably Senon."
"Don't jump to conclusions. I'm sure it's not me. I'll even bet on it."
Everyone waits. Who will be the new President?
"And that person is… Mr. Ish Motranga."
Huh? Me? That was fast. No suspense at all!
"You're now the Class President of Class Tala. Congratulations."
"Me?"
"Can't believe it?"
It's just surprising since Senon was so impressive.
Sir stopped in front of me. "I saw how you found a solution to your problem. Instead of fighting, you found a way to dance around it and tame it. A wise decision."
"T-thank you, Sir."
"Hmm... Your Vice will be Ms. Dy Grimony."
"HUH?!" – Dy & I
"Why—OUCH!" Dy was about to protest, but Lila and Mirasol elbowed her.
"Dy, don't complain!" – Mirasol
"Yeah! Sir might get mad." – Lila
Sir explained his reason. He admired Dy's confidence. He believed she'd be a great help to me. He had no idea this would start the chaos in the classroom.
"Mr. Senon Lowenthal will be the secretary."
Everyone looked at Senon. "According to rumors around the academy, Senon has great handwriting. We need a secretary who's alert, smart, and writes fast. We saw how quickly Senon solved problems, so he deserves the role," Sir explained.
Is that even valid?
Everyone clapped.
Wait—unfair! Why didn't anyone clap for me earlier?
When Teacher announced me as the President, no one clapped! What the heck… Am I really your President or is it Senon?
"Ms. Mirasol Zedlav will be the Treasurer. I like Mirasol's courage and determination. She deserves the position. Meanwhile, Gino Smith will be the Auditor."
Everyone looked at Gino.
"Even though Gino's exskill were ineffective, he didn't become negative. He knew the leaves stood no chance against fire, but he still tried. That's something all of you should learn—to try and never give up."
How is that connected to being an Auditor? Please explain!
"The P.I.O. is like a messenger—the bearer of news and I picked Lila. Lila can turn into bird so the role fits her."
Everyone clapped while I am left contemplating if this new role will do me good or disaster.
To be continued...