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  —

  I was lying in bed, thinking about the unexpected encounter from earlier. Why was it me that Marcus and Hazel approached? And how should I proceed without igniting Tomiko's wrath? As I was immersed in my thoughts, there was a knock on the door. I got out of bed and walked to the door, expecting my much-anticipated guest. When I opened it, Daichi was there with a nonchalant smile on his face.

  “Sup,” he greeted, raising his hand slightly before sauntering into the room and leaning against the desk. “So, what's up?”

  “I was approached by Marcus and Hazel of Class 1 to join their election team.” I said as I sat on my bed.

  “Seriously?” I was surprised to see the tinge of enthusiasm in his eyes.

  “Yeah, I wasn't expecting it, and now I need advice on what to do,” I said, watching his reaction closely. Could it be that he…

  “Congratulations, first of all. But why do you need advice? Just do as you please,” he said with a casual shrug and I sighed, annoyed by his nonchalant reply.

  “You can't be serious, Diachi. I don't want Tomiko to be angry and think I acted out of line. I know that things have been tense given what Class 3 is doing, so isn't it proper to ask?” I pressed, expecting a more serious response.

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  “First off, Tomiko already did some extensive research into Class 1. She had deduced that they would either come to you or Zane,” he clarified, a cheeky grin appearing on his lips.

  “If you guys had a feeling this might happen, why didn't you tell me ahead of time?” I asked, standing up from my bed, feeling a mix of betrayal and anger at their secrecy.

  “Ah, that's on me. Sorry about that,” Daichi apologised, letting out a small laugh and waving his hands in defeat. “What I'm trying to say is, you are free to decide on your own if you wish to join them.”

  I took a minute to reflect before returning to my bed and wearing a serious expression.

  “No orders to sabotage them?” I asked, needing to be sure.

  “None at all. In fact, I heavily advise against it because that would piss her off. Participate with the intent of winning. Our girl likes a challenge, you know,” he remarked and I let out a slight chuckle, reminded of Tomiko’s competitive nature.

  “That is true,” I agreed and nodded in response.

  “Anyways, forget about all that for now. It has been a while since we played some Mario Golf.” He said with a cheeky sparkle in his eyes and crossed his arms.

  “That’s because your dogshit skills make me feel sorry for you,” I shot back, a smirk appearing on my lips.

  “Want to see if that still holds out? I've been practicing quite a while,” he challenged, raising an eyebrow.

  “You're on. Let's go find a TV we can play it on,” I said, getting out of bed and grabbing my jacket. With a smile on his face, Daichi pushed off from the desk and headed for the door.

  “Prepare to eat your words, Sullivan.”

  As we left the room, the tension from before subsided as we embarked on our hunt for a screen to play on, our friendly rivalry rekindling.