2:08 PM.

All the students were in the hall for the second time today. Everyone was confused. They didn't know why they were being called upon. Was this normal? More than half the students were still in their uniforms, while the others wore their own clothing. Conversations were flying around, each student questioning each other on what this assembly could be about. From a Birds Eye view, it was a sea of navy blue from the uniforms and spots of different colours from the students not wearing the uniform. However, one person was sticking out like a sore thumb.

"I told you, you dressed up too nicely. There's no point". Benjamin told Lucas.

Lucas slumped slightly on his chair to decrease his height and attract less attention. "I didn't know we were going to have another assembly", he said, slowly turning his head around like an owl. "And why is everyone still in their uniforms?"

"This is what you wanted, no? People looking at you. You're getting attention from girls", David mocked, resting his hand on Lucas's shoulder.

"No. Everyone probably thinks I'm a doucebag. I don't want this type of attention. They probably think I'm an idiot like Mally".

Malakai looked over at Lucas. "Who said I got bad attention?" he asked.

"It doesn't matter what type of attention you got. Everyone still thinks you're an idiot". William said to Malakai.

Malakai looked at William, thinking before he said anything, "Don't get me started on you", he said, shaking his head.

Ray was sitting to William's left, and to the left of Ray was Maria. So Ray was a little nervous as he wasn't sure if he should talk to her or get involved with his friends. After everyone got the notification for the assembly, Malakai invited Tanisha and Maria to go with them, as it started in 30 minutes, and it seemed like the right thing to do. So, the eight of them went to the assembly together. After a few seconds of deciding, Ray worked up the courage to ask,

"What do you think the assembly will be about?"

Maria looked at Ray. "I'm not sure. Maybe they forgot to tell us something in the introduction".

Ray nervously laughed, "Yeah, maybe".

Mr White made his appearance and walked onto the stage. The noise levels began to dim as they saw him. Mr White stood at the centre and waited for the room to become completely silent.

"Good afternoon, everyone!" he announced. "I know this may be weird as this assembly was not scheduled on your timetables, but I need to address a problem that has caused some students to become upset".

He scanned the students from left to right. "Earlier today in the introductory lecture, a joke was said about an AK-47".

As soon as Mr white said this, all of Malakai's friends turned towards him. Malakai's eyes widened.

"Mally, you fucked up", Benjamin said in a low voice, who was sitting on his right.

"This joke caused some students to become distressed and upset as this is a serious matter. These students know people who fell victim to school shootings, and some students have even been in a school shooting". Mr White looked down momentarily and then continued. "Obviously, this is no laughing matter, as it has caused past traumas to come back to some students and bring back a pain I bet no one here wants to feel".

More eyes started to land on Malakai from the left, right, and behind, and even some students turned around to look at him. Malakai felt all of them. He didn't meet one eye; he kept looking at Mr White. Biting his tongue so he didn't smile.

"Firstly, I need to apologise before anything else. Instead of condemning the action, I called it 'different', disregarding the gravity of the situation and how detrimental this could be for some students". Mr White tilted his head down and raised his hand. "I apologise, and I'm truly sorry that I did not act as a professional and not react in a way that some of you may have wanted. I hope you can forgive me and accept my apology".

He lifted his head and paused for a moment.

"Now I want to call up the student who said this joke, and I want them to apologise to everyone here".

Everyone seated in Malakai's row looked at him. Malakai looked down towards his feet and smiled—his defence mechanism, which could cause the wrong impression in this scenario.

"How is he smiling?" Tanisha mumbled in disgust, seeing Malakai's side profile. Maria silently watched, trying to make sense of his smile in her head.

"Malakai Junior! Can you please come to the stage?" Mr White announced, looking towards Malakai. He knew where he was seated.

Malakai stood up from his seat and walked past his friends, not looking at any of their faces. He was now in the aisle. All eyes were on him for the second time today. This felt familiar to him. Malakai walked up the aisle, looking down, not looking at any faces. His facial expression wasn't sad or embarrassed; it was just a straight face. That smile he did helped him compose himself. He walked up the steps towards the stage and lifted his head. He looked at Mr White, who looked disappointed. Malakai gave a small smile and a little nod. He then faced the crowd. Everyone was looking at a 5'6 male in a grey tracksuit about to give an apology. Was this really a prestigious academy? He looked at all the faces he was avoiding earlier, looking from right to left. He inhaled one more time, and exhaled.

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"Uhhh. Hi, I'm Malakai Junior", he was trying his hardest not to smile. "Uuhh, first of all, I want to apologise for what I said earlier. I'm realising now that it was insensitive of me to say that. I joke around and laugh all the time, I had no bad intention or intentionally cause a scene for a joke". Malakai was running out of things to say; in his head, he knew he had to waffle, which he is good at. He wasn't looking at any faces in particular; he was mostly brushing his eyes around the room. Not allowing his eyes to stick to anyone.

"Uuhh, I'm from the UK. When it comes to jokes, anything goes. Taking the piss is how we make each other laugh, not normal jokes. Obviously, school shootings don't happen in the UK because of how strict they are with guns. Sooo, to us, school shootings are like a myth, something you would see in a movie. I didn't realise how serious it was until now".

"BULLSHIT!" someone shouted.

Malakai paused for a second and looked to the left, where the shout came from. Now, he knew he had to be sincere; he couldn't get away with this by making excuses and smiling, hoping people would forgive him.

"I know it might sound like an excuse, but I'm serious. I'm really sorry. I was ignorant and naive", Malakai looked down. "It's a toxic trait of mine. I act like a kid most of the time and don't see the bigger picture sometimes. If what I said really affected and caused you pain, I'm sorry. You can hate me and say whatever you like to me. I don't mind", Malakai didn't look up. Mr White watched on and gave a slight smile; he had already started to like Malakai. Students were whispering to each other, some forgiving while others did not believe him. His friends were surprised at how genuine his apology was, but they were smiling. They thought his apology would be half-hearted.

"I've heard I've been called an idiot by a few people. If you want to call me an idiot, I have to accept that, and I fully understand", Malakai lifted his head. "I'm sorry, and I hope you all can forgive me".

The hall was silent.

CLAP! CLAP! CLAP!

David started clapping, and the rest of his friends quickly joined. Maria began to clap, which led Tanisha to clap; soon after, most students were clapping his apology speech. Mr White took centre stage and stood next to Malakai.

"Thank you. Before I let you all go. The student president would like to speak with you. Give a round of applause for Johan".

A boy with square glasses and black hair slicked back entered with a round of applause to accompany him. Behind him was a girl with long black hair and square glasses; she waited on the right side of the stage while Johan walked towards the centre. Malakai was about to walk off the stage, but Mr White put his hand on his shoulder, signalling him to stay.

Johan was centre stage with Malakai and Mr White standing to his right.

"Good afternoon, everyone. Welcome to Astral Academy. I'm Johan, and I'm the student president. I wasn't here in the morning to see your introductory lecture, so I don't know what happened. But from what I have heard, it is not the standard that is expected at Astral Academy".

Students looked at each other; they expected to hear something positive. Instead, they were getting scolded.

"At this Academy, a high standard needs to be maintained from day one. If you can't do that, you cannot succeed here and do not belong here".

Malakai glanced towards Mr White, who kept looking at Johan. Malakai didn't expect this type of speech.

"I know all of you aren't to blame for what happened. The genius behind me is. From what I've heard, you do not belong here", he said without giving Malakai the respect to look at him.

"And from what I've heard from your apology, I don't think you were entirely sincere. Using the difference in culture to justify your actions. I don't think you're going to go very far. To all of you, let him be an example of what you don't want to be". Johan then turned around to look at Malakai. Malakai looked at him with a look that said who do you think you are? Johan felt his dislike and tension; seeing a face like that unsettled Johan,

"What's with that look? You've got something to say?".