Chapter 24

Nash

All of the Elites sat in the game room. Caiden lounged across one couch, Elijah sat in front of the computer with his headset covering his ears, and Sophia and Chloe sat on the other couch facing Nash, who stood in front of them and the TV the couches faced. He had his arms crossed over his chest, feeling irritated with the situation they had to discuss.

"So, today's meeting is about Thomas and what we have to do about him," Nash said. "I'll be honest, I don't want to give in to his demands. I want to fight back. They don't deserve to win by treating us horribly. But, that means we prolong this whole situation."

Chloe frowned immediately. Nash tried not to stare at her too often in front of the others, but it was hard not to when Chloe was Chloe.

"I... I don't think they deserve to get their way either," Chloe said. "But, we have to compromise. They're threatening us, causing riots, and just being a nuisance. I don't want to prolong this and we don't have to give up everything. We just have to compromise until we're both happy."

"Then what do you think we should do?" Caiden asked.

"I... I don't know." Chloe frowned. "They seem to be insecure that we have more perks than them so we either have to sacrifice some of our perks or give them some of our perks. I don't know the best way to go about it. I also don't know how much they expect to be satisfied."

"I hate this," Elijah whispered. "Everything was great last year. Why are they trying to ruin it?"

Elijah kept his eyes on the ground, seeming small in the room. These days Elijah kept to himself, often isolating himself in the game room to play games with his friends online, and Nash hated it. He hated that Thomas had scared Elijah and made him this meek.

"You're right, Elijah," Nash said. "This isn't fair at all. I kind of get where they're coming from, but it's not our fault that we worked hard to earn these spots. If they really wanted to, they could work harder to join the elites. I wouldn't care if they took our spots. Because at least they earned it. How is this right?"

"I agree," Sophia said, surprising Nash. "But, I'm more so worried about what Thomas will do if we don't agree to his demands. He threatened us. He hurt Elijah and threatened Chloe in the past. I'm scared of what he's wiling to stoop to."

Nash's jaw clenched. He hated how they all feared Thomas. He didn't. He didn't care what Thomas did, but he could tell the Elites all feared what would happen if they didn't agree to Thomas' demands. And he hated that. They didn't deserve anything if fear was their tactic to win.

"I agree with Sophia," Caiden said. He glanced at Sophia, his eyes lingering on her and Sophia gulped as their eyes remained locked. "But, I also agree with Nash. These jerks don't deserve to get their way with their threats. We can't give in. If we do, we're showing them what they did was ok."

"Exactly!" Nash exclaimed. "There has to be something we can do first."

"Like what?" Chloe whispered.

Nash's eyes met hers and he hesitated at the way her eyes remained widened in worry. He'd fix this. For Chloe especially, he'd find a way to stop this.

"I'll talk to Thomas." Nash grinned. "Convince him that he needs to leave us alone."

"Um, no offence Nash, but is it a good idea for you to do it?" Sophia asked.

Nash narrowed his eyes at Sophia. "Trust me. I'm both assertive and fair, so I'll convince him that messing with us isn't the best way to go about this. He'll finally come to the conclusion that he needs to leave us alone."

Everyone glanced at each other, seeming conflicted and Nash nodded at them, trying to convince them he'd get the job done. He wasn't sure how well the conversation would go. Knowing himself, he was sure he'd become fired up, but there had to be a way to fix this. Giving in to their demands couldn't be the only solution.

"Ok, Nash," Chloe said. "Be careful and let us know how it goes."

Nash nodded at Chloe. He'd definitely make things right for Chloe.

*****

Nash's classes had ended and he went to find Thomas, who had a study break usually around that time. He marched through the hallways of the regular buildings, noticing how empty the building was. It was late and the hallways were mostly empty and he kept glancing into the small classrooms meant for tutorials in search of Thomas.

He eventually reached the last classroom in the hallway and spotted Thomas sitting there, absorbed in his homework. Nash stepped into the room and slammed the door shut, startling Thomas who's eyes flew wide. But upon realizing Nash had entered the room, Thomas bolted up and stormed towards Nash, his eyes narrowing and his body rigid.

"What are you doing here?" Thomas hissed.

Nash crossed his arms over his chest as Thomas stood only a foot away from him. Thomas' body rose and fell with each heavy breath, his eyes glaring at Nash. Nash grew smug. His existence riled up Thomas and he basked in that feeling.

"Drop this whole thing," Nash said. "You're wasting everyone's time. It's not our fault you didn't earn the highest grades, so just drop it and focus on studying harder to become an Elite."

"Never."

"Why do you hate us so much?" Nash's anger rose as he grew fed up by Thomas's stubbornness. He didn't get it. What was Thomas fighting for? "You know if you were in our position you would have basked in all of our perks. You would have used all of them, not caring about the others who aren't Elites, so why? Why are you trying to uproot this school's whole system just because you didn't become an Elite? You harmed people, threatened us, and caused uproars. Is it really worth it? Why not focus your energy elsewhere?"

"Imagine being treated like second class citizens for earning the sixth rank in this school."

"You act like you're being tortured by not being an Elite! You still have it good at this school. This school is one of the best ranked schools in the world. You're being ungrateful and selfish and if you dare harm any of the Elites, you will regret it."

Nash hissed the last words, feeling his anger boiling up. He had softened up after growing closer to Chloe, but his anger, the anger his parents taught him, still resided within him. And no matter how hard he tried to tame it, it still bubbled up when he became frustrated.

"You would have done the same in my position. If you were the sixth ranked, you would have raised hell because you and I are the same, Nash." Thomas smirked. "And deep down you know that. You know how miserable you'd be if you were me and it terrifies you to become like me."

"Don't you dare ever compare us."

"Remember how you used to challenge Chloe? You spent so many months challenging the poor girl, making her participate in those idiotic contests to prove a point. Just because you were second. Just because you didn't feel good enough. Isn't that the same? If you didn't start falling for her you'd still be challenging her."

Nash froze. Horrified, he opened his mouth to deny it, but no words came out. Because Thomas was right. At one point due to his own insecurities, he put Chloe through so many contests, wishing to prove himself, and shame washed over him.

"Don't bring Chloe into this," Nash said, his voice growing quiet.

"You wanted to be first so badly and for what? Because you wanted to have a better positon. For whatever reason, you wanted to be the first Elite and you put Chloe through so much. Isn't that selfish, too? Shouldn't you have been grateful for your second spot as an Elite? Shouldn't you have kept you mouth shut and accepted the rank you got?"

Nash became speechless. For once, he didn't know what to say, horrified by the truth Thomas threw in his face.

"The reason why I'm resentful of my sixth place is because of my family. My family desperately wanted me to become an Elite." Thomas's voice cracked and Nash's eyes widened at the sudden vulnerability spreading across his face. "They kept forcing me to spend my free time studying, berating me and telling me I'm not good enough, hoping that would drive me to work hard enough to become an Elite. They said if I didn't become an Elite, they wouldn't pay for my tuition, so I worked hard. I did everything I could to become an Elite this year. I gave up my free time, passed on hanging out with my friends, spent sleepless nights studying, and it still wasn't good enough. I still didn't become an Elite and now my parents are punishing me by making me pay my entire tuition by myself. They resent me for not becoming an Elite. And it's all this school's fault for creating this Elites system.

"I don't care about the title of Elite. I don't care that this stupid school gives you guys perks. But, I care about how some of are being treated by our family and classmates simply because we didn't earn the top five scores in a school of thousands of people. Sure, life isn't fair, but this system brings more harm than good. And that's my answer to your question, Nash. I'm fighting for justice. I'm fighting for equality. The only reason why my parents want me to become an Elite is for your perks, so why not share your perks with everyone?"

Still Nash couldn't come up with a reply. As he listened to Thomas's story, he found himself sympathizing. He couldn't say anything. Because even though he didn't want to, he understood. Thinking about his parents pressure for him to be perfect, he empathized with Thomas and he hated it. He hated that Thomas was supposed to be his worst enemy and now Nash felt conflicted about everything he was fighting for. Because he understood. He understood where Thomas was coming from.

"Exactly," Thomas snickered. "You only think of yourself and the people you love, Nash, but we all have skeletons in our closets. You guys benefit from this Elites program, but a lot of us have suffered and felt not good enough simply because of this school's system."

"But, it's not our fault," Nash finally said. "The school system is who you should be mad at. Why are you punishing the Elites when it's the dean you should be talking to?"

"The dean would never listen to me, so I need you guys to talk to him. I'm sorry, I guess you guys got caught in the crossfire, but you guys spent two years reaping the benefits of this program without caring about any of us. It's fair game. And if anything, you should hate the school system for doing this to you guys, too."

"It's not fair."

"Life is not fair, Nash. Give in to our demands or prepare or war."

Thomas stalked off then, bumping his shoulders into Nash's before throwing the door open to storm out of the classroom. And for a moment, Nash stood in his spot, wondering what he could do. Thomas had his points. He understood where Thomas was coming from, but Thomas was going about it all wrong. They didn't have to fight. They could come to some sort of an agreement, but Nash shuddered, realizing Thomas was right.

They were alike. Months ago Nash had been like Thomas, wishing to prove himself, hating the world for making him second to Chloe, even though Chloe deserved to be first. He had put her through so many contest, been cold and rude and Nash closed his eyes. What could he do to fix this? How could he bring justice without hurting anyone? Nash sighed. He didn't know the answer, but he hoped somehow they'd find a way to fix everything. He feared for the Elites otherwise.