WARNING: UPSETTING CONTENT.
Mentions of a parent being ill.

To distract herself from the recent news she received, Eloise was doing a quick shopping run before school.

"Ten juice boxes?", questioned the shopkeeper.
"Now, Eloise, you are my best customer, but this seems excessive."

"They're not all for me, Betty.
The basketball team's got tryouts today so I'm making sure they're keeping on top of their sugar levels.

Betty smiled.
"Ah, what a lovely young lass!
Well, here, take an extra one on the house."

"Aww, thank you, Betty!"

After paying, she walked out of the shop.
She gave Atlas a small wave when she saw him, but didn't approach him because she saw that he was already speaking to Zee.

"You didn't need to walk with me, you know", said Zee.

"We're going to the same meeting", said Atlas.

"Yeah, and I'm not entirely happy that you roped me into it, by the way", she revealed.

Atlas' eyes widened, and he laughed in disbelief.

"Oh, I roped you into it, did I?
You're the one that only had to come to one session!"

"Yeah but then you started our bet and I had to defend my honour", she replied.

Zalim could count the amount of people she liked on one hand.
Although she wouldn't exactly call them friends, Zee definitely tolerated Atlas more than most people in the school.

It might be because they both had family in the military, or that Atlas' personality just brought out the more cheeky side of Zee, but she genuinely found herself enjoying his company most days.
Just a little.

They had grown closer since Zee was forced to attend a meeting for a club Atlas had set up a while ago.
It was for students who had family in the military, and they were supervised by a teacher.

The old Head Teacher forced Zee to attend a session, but after Atlas said she wouldn't last a month in the club, she gladly challenged him, and the rest is history.

Elliott observed Zee and Atlas as they spoke.
It wasn't an uncommon practise for him—he was a very observant boy.
Conversations between himself and Zee seemed to last about thirty seconds, whereas Zee's conversations with Atlas were much longer.

That intrigued Elliott.
What was it about Atlas that made him so likeable?
And how could Elliott emulate that?

◆◆◆

"Drink this juice, Rowan", said Eloise, throwing her extra juice carton at the boy.

It narrowly missed his hands and slammed against the laptop screen, startling Rowan.

Eloise covered her mouth with her hand.
"Cr*p, sorry!"

"It's a shame you're not trying out for the basketball team again this year", said Rowan.
"You'd be a shoo-in."

"Wait, why aren't you trying out?", asked Elliott.
"And I thought you were on the football team as well?"

"My grades are still slipping, so I made the decision not to try out this year", said Eloise.

"Still?
I can always tutor you again, if you like?"

"Uh... yeah.
Thanks, Elliott."

All conversations were cut off by Aahan entering the classroom and slamming his bag on his desk.

"I've just been delegated to clean up duty.
I have to clear out my attic to make space for my siblings' stuff, so I really need some good news right now.
Have you thought of an idea to win me that award?"

"We have actually", said Rowan. "Spencer was just ironing out a few details."

Spencer nodded.
"Yeah, it's all sorted."

"Great!", exclaimed Aahan.
"So, what's the idea?"

Before anyone could reply, Irene entered the classroom.

Her dark brown hair was styled into a messy bun.
She had a burnt orange turtleneck on. The faintest rings had formed under her eyes, and even though she walked quickly, it was fairly easy to tell that her energy was dwindling.

Irene was always late to her morning classes.
It's not like she chose to be late all the time.
It's just her and her Dad at home, and his health's been declining for a while now.

No one at the school knows about her Dad's condition, or that she is his sole carer.
Some days she wishes she had help, but other days she worried that no one else would be able to massage his arms like she does, or memorise his routine so that they can make sure he can access everything he needs to
easily—like she does.

It's not his fault.
His body just doesn't work like it used to.

Aahan sighed when he saw Irene.
"I hope this lateness isn't a regular thing.
Every second you're not in my class, you're wasting time.
Valuable time that we need for this mission, remember?"

"She's a lost cause, Sir.
Bookworm's always late", said James, snorting.

"Hey, James, why don't you take a long walk off a short cliff?", suggested Zee.

When James scowled at her, she flashed him the fakest smile, before raising a middle finger up at him.

Irene's mouth opened slightly.
She was shocked that Zee was standing up for her.

"Let's get back on track!
What idea did you guys come up with?", asked Aahan.

The students looked at each other, and they all nodded their head at Eloise, who faced Aahan again.
She grinned.

"Bake sale!"

Aahan's smile faltered, and he stuck his head out just a little, waiting for her to continue.
When she didn't, he threw his arms in the air.

"A bake sale?
Guys, I need award winning ideas here!"

"Hey, the bake sales here are really important", said Rowan.

Atlas nodded in agreement.
"It's where we raise some money for the school."

"Yeah, and our school's always had a long-running feud with this private school that's ten minutes away", said Spencer.

"Getting involved in the bake sale will really show the staff here that you've got good school spirit", said Eloise.

Aahan raised an eyebrow at this, but more in contemplation than anything else.
His frown morphed into a smirk, and he clapped his hands.

"Guys, we're planning a bake sale!"

◆◆◆

After Zee told him that he needed to get a form from the office to register his participation in the bake sale, Aahan wandered the halls in search of the reception area.

It was situated somewhere at the back of the school, and was a medium size room with an elongated curved desk separating the actual office area from the seating area.

Two women were stood by the elongated desk, with one on the seating side and the other on the office side. The women on the office side had golden brown skin, and was of Indian descent.
She had a small scar on her forehead from a biking accident she had when she was eleven.
Her long black hair almost reached her stomach.

The other had pale skin, and had sunken eyes from the lack of sleep that weighed down on her over the years. Her brown hair was tied into a ponytail, but some strands framed her face—less for stylistic purposes, and more because of her frantic lifestyle.

"No way!
No, you need to tell Bill to sling his hook.
He's not worth your time, Sandra."

"I did!", exclaimed Sandra.
"I said, 'listen here Bill, I'm up to my eyeballs in work, I don't have time for your mind games!' "

"Yes, Sandra—that's the spirit!"

"Ah, thank you.
Anyway, thanks for the chat, Nalini.
I have to head home now."

"Right, well you take care now."

"You too, lovie."

Sandra waved goodbye to Nalini, and headed out of the building.
Nalini smiled as she watched her leave, before turning to Aahan and grinning.

"Hello there!
How can I help you?"

"Uh, I was told that I had to get a form from here.
For the bake sale", said Aahan.

"Oh, right!
Yes, one second", she said, before walking into the main office.
Not even a minute later, she returned, her smile just as bright as it was before. She handed the form to Aahan.

"Here you go.
Just write down what you're bringing, whether it's vegan, vegetarian, halal, gluten free... those kind of things.
And make sure you label them all."

"Right, so they need to meet all these requirements?", he asked.

Nalini shook her head.
"No, but for example, if they've got nuts in them, label them as such so people with nut allergies don't eat them."

Aahan nodded.
"Ah, makes sense.
Thanks."

Nalini nodded.
"Happy to help.
You're the new supply teacher, right? You're covering for Mr. More?"

Aahan nodded.

Nalini smiled, before holding her hand out.

"Pleasure to meet you.
My name's Nalini, and if there's anything I can help you with, don't hesitate to ask."

Aahan smiled and shook her hand.

"Uh, thank you.
My name's Aahan."

"Welcome to Marleyport Secondary School, Aahan."

◆◆◆

"Ok, class!
We've got a lot to do, so I'm going to put you in pairs or threes.
It goes without saying that this is not an optional task."

"What are we making?", asked Rowan.

"Brownies, cookies and cupcakes", said Aahan.

"Isn't that a bit excessive?", asked Spencer.

"We need to really impress people, so no, I don't think it's excessive", said Aahan. "

Aahan handed out sheets of paper to the students.
Some had brownies on them, whilst others had cookies or cupcakes on them.

"I took the liberty of printing out recipes, but the designs are up to you. So on brownie duties are Rowan, Spencer and Elliott, on cookie duties are Irene and Zee, and on cupcake duties are Atlas and Eloise."

"These are going to be the best cupcakes to have ever been baked", said Eloise.

"Spend the rest of the lesson planning out everything.
The bake sale is on Friday, so I suggest making everything today and then storing them appropriately", said Aahan.

"How many are we making?", asked Irene.

"Um... thirty of each?"

"Thirty?", repeated a shocked Rowan. "But other students will be making things too.
A lot of food will go to waste."

"That's why we need to make our items the best!
Any that we can't sell, we'll just take them home ourselves", said Aahan.

"And what about Pepperden School?", asked Spencer.

"What's that?", questioned Aahan.

"The private school?
Our rivals?
They're having a bake sale at theirs too", said Spencer.

"I'm still failing to see your point here", said Aahan.

Spencer exhaled sharply and rolled his eyes.
"Are we going to try and raise more money than them?"

"Why would we do that?"

"It would make our school look good. Plus, if the teachers see that your class raised the most money, then they'll praise you for helping beat our rivals", said Spencer.

Aahan contemplated this.
He grinned and clapped his hands together.
The excited man pointed a finger at Spencer.

"Excellent idea!
I knew getting you guys to help was a good idea."

The students got into their pairs or groups and started to brainstorm different ideas.

"Ok so we decorate the cookies into different flags?", repeated Irene.
"Great, sounds like a plan."

"What time should I go to yours?", asked Zee.

"Oh.
I thought we were going to yours?"

"Why would you think that?"

"I-I don't know.
But I can't...I think it's best if we go to yours."

"What makes you think I'd want you, or anyone at this sh*t show of a school anywhere near my house?"

Irene was completely taken aback, not only by Zee's harsh words but also her defensive tone.
Only a few minutes ago, Zee was defended her and now she was insulting her?

And why was her response so aggressive?
She suggested going to her house, not using her kidneys as earrings.

Truthfully, Zee didn't want anyone at her house.
No one knew about her family situation, and she intended to keep it that way.
If social services found out that she was looking after her parents, they'd deem them unfit to care for her and she'd be put into care.

She couldn't let that happen.

"Uh... right.
Well, I'm not really sure what we can do then."

"You make fifteen cookies at yours and I'll make fifteen cookies at mine", said Zee.

Irene hated doing projects half-heartedly.
She believed in putting all your effort into everything that you do.
That way, you can always be proud of the work you did, regardless of the outcome.

Not baking together just seemed like taking the easy way out, but Irene was hesitant to let anyone into her house.
If anyone were to find out about her Dad, they'd be split up, and Irene refused to let that happen.

Her Dad needed her.

But even though the two girls were going through very similar situations, neither knew of the other's pain.
And absolutely no one knew of theirs.

◆◆◆

Atlas would've given any project partner a tour of his house, but he didn't need to do that with Eloise.
The seventeen year old had been to his house many times.

She had met his family—who loved her, by the way.

"Eloise, honey!", beamed his mother.

She pulled Eloise into a firm hug, making her feel protected.
She was used to her hugs, but today... she felt its warmth as if it were the first all over again.

"Hello, Mrs William–Eiri", responded Eloise, correcting herself when she remembered the countless times Atlas' mother had told her to call her by her first name.

"Colson is at his girlfriend's house, Zeke is at his friend's and Lilibeth is going shopping with me now", said Eiri.
"So the house is all yours."

"Oh, you didn't need to do that.
I hope we're not causing any problems for you", said Eloise.

"None at all, sweetheart.
Lilibeth and my friend are waiting in the car, so I had better get going."

Eiri planted a kiss on her son's forehead, before ruffling his hair.
Atlas reached up and ruffled his mother's hair too—something he used to do whenever she played with his hair.

She gave Eloise a quick hug, and left the house.

Atlas turned to Eloise.

"Let's get baking!"

◆◆◆

Elliott led Spencer and Rowan into his house.
He had only every invited his girlfriends and a couple of classmates to his house, and they all had the same reaction.

Elliott's house was quite expensive, which meant he lived in a different neighbourhood around ten minutes away from Spencer, Rowan, Eloise, Atlas, Irene and Zee's neighbourhood.

"Is that a golden chandelier?", questioned Spencer, his jaw dropping to the floor.

"Oh, it's ugly right?
It needs a good dusting", said Elliott.

A wide-eyed Spencer looked at Rowan, who looked just as shocked.
Before either of them could find the words, a diamond encrusted tray was thrust in front of them.

"Mini chocolate soufflé?", offered Elliott.

Rowan reached for one, although he hesitated to actually pick it up.
The sheepish boy looked at Spencer, seemingly for some guidance.

"They're not poisoned", said Elliott.

"No, I know.
I just... I feel like it's illegal for me to touch them", said Rowan.

Elliott chuckled.
"They're not gold bars from a bank! Here, just take one."

Spencer grabbed one soufflé pot.
He studied the detailed marbled swirls on the ceramic pot, before gently poking the top of the chocolate soufflé.

"If you don't mind me asking, why do you go to our school?
You're so rich you could afford to go to any private school you like", asked Rowan.

"Ah, all this?
It's my family's.
Sure, we can afford nice things but that doesn't mean I want to go to some posh private school."

Little did they know that Elliott's brother Jacob actually attends a private school—Marleyport Secondary's rival school, Pepperden School.

All of his brothers went there at some point, but Elliott decided against it.
He already knew parents loved to compare their children, and didn't want the added pressure of being paired against Jacob for sports events or group projects.

He was more than happy for Jacob to thrive at private school, whilst he thrived at his school.

"The kitchen's just down the hall.
I'm just going to say hi to my brother then I'll meet you there", said Elliott.

Spencer and Rowan navigated their new surroundings.
Rowan felt like they should've asked for a map, but it was too late now.

Jacob ran down the stairs, a delighted grin on his face.
He grabbed Elliott's shoulders and turned him so that Elliott was facing him.

"Elliott!
I heard about your bake sale."

"Yeah, we've got big plans for it."

"Good, good.
Well, so do we.
In fact, we really need to pull out all the stops for it.
You know, raise the most money."

"How are you going to do that?"

Jacob paused, before raising his eyebrows and giving his brother a goofy smile.

The realisation washed over Elliott, and he nodded his head.

"How can I help?"

"Well, nothing too out there.
Perhaps you could knock a few things over?
Just ruin the bake sale enough so that Crockerden earns the most money?"

This was an absolute no brainer.

He had no loyalty to the school, but to his brother?
He most certainly did.

Sabotaging the bake sale wouldn't impact him negatively at all, and it certainly wouldn't ruin Mr. Patel's plans, so there would really be no repercussions for him at all.

"You've got it, Jacob."

◆◆◆

Eloise and Atlas were on their final batch of cupcakes.
Baking was proving to be a really good distraction for Eloise, although it could also have something to do with the company she had.

There was never a dull day when she was with Atlas.

Atlas furrowed his eyebrows and squinted, his gaze on Eloise's hair.

"What?
What is it?"

"You've got something on your–", he started, before cutting himself off to crack an egg on Eloise's head.

The older girl's eyes widened, and she gasped loudly.
She clenched her jaw and looked down at the table, her eyes scanning the area for the perfect weapon to exact her revenge.

They landed on the piping back, which had a little bit of white frosting left—a colour they no longer needed.

Atlas' eyes widened when he saw her reach for the piping back and aim it at his face.
He held his hands up.

"Hey, hey, wait!
We can talk about th–"

"The time for talking is OVER!", she exclaimed, before pressing down on the piping bag.

The frosting flew right at Atlas' face, making him let out a little shriek.
With his vision obscured, Atlas fumbled around, attempting to find some more ingredients.

He picked up some flour and threw it at her.

"Oi!"

The pair grabbed anything they could find, and continued their battle, with Atlas even hiding in the cupboard at one point, to avoid being attacked.

◆◆◆

The bad smelling school hall was transformed into a bustling hive of activity, with students, teachers, parents and members of the local community popping in to see what's on offer.

Aahan instructed the students to wear something matching, so they all opted for atleast one black item of clothing.

It wasn't quite the coordinated fashion statement he was looking for, but for tired school kids, it'd do.

"Do we have to stay here?
We baked the things, can't we just go?", asked Zee.

"No, I might need your help", said Aahan.
"Just, stay close."

Zee rolled her eyes and turned her attention to her phone.

Irene and Zee's cookies actually looked quite good, but their lack of communication meant that some flags were repeated.

"What about the allergy information?", asked Aahan.

Eloise nodded.
"We brought them all in and I went through them.
I gave each one their correct label. Irene suggested putting them on a toothpick and sticking it in the items so people couldn't get mixed up."

"Good idea, Irene", said Aahan.

Elliott slipped into the crowd.
He weaved in and out of the groups of people, in search of two of his brother's friends.
When he spotted them, he hurried over to the pair.

"Hey... I'm Elliott.
You're Jacob's friends right?"

"Yeah", said one of them.
"I'm Otto."

"And I'm Axel."

"Ok, you know the plan right?"

Meanwhile, back at the stall, the cupcakes were a hit with the crowd. The brownies weren't too far behind and the cookies were only a little less popular.

"This was a fantastic idea", grinned Aahan.

A small group had formed next to the stall, and Rowan was talking them through all their options.
His smile was bright and reassuring, and his posture was straight—a contrast to the boy Aahan saw on his first day.

"We've been working tirelessly to make sure we give you the best products we can", said Rowan.

"What's stopping us from just buying them at Crockerden?
They're basically the same things", questioned one of the customers.

"Crockerden would sell you a cookie for thirty pounds and justify the price by sticking a gold leave on it—one that's been painted on at that.
We poured our love, time and effort into these.
So, no, they are not the same", said Rowan.

Some parents cheered, whilst a few students clapped.
Rowan could talk at length about what he was passionate about, and it honestly felt like a superpower.

"Wow...", whispered Aahan.

Eloise chuckled.
"That's Rowan for you.
He was born for this kind of thing."

Aahan caught Zee watching Rowan.
Her full attention was on him, and she listened carefully to every word.

"Zee, even you?", questioned a surprised Aahan.
"I thought you were Little Miss Cynical?"

Zee shrugged.
"He's good at commanding a crowd. Plus, there's no BS with him.
Nice to know some people aren't fake."

"Help!", exclaimed Elliott.
"I-I think he's dying!"

Jacob's friend, Otto, was kneeling on the floor, his hands clutching his throat.
A crowd had started to gather around him, but a teacher with curly brown hair pushed them back.

Aahan didn't recognise the teacher, and he was more focused on the chaos in front of him, but there was no denying that he thought she was very good-looking.

"What's going on?", asked Aahan.

"I-I think he's allergic to nuts or something", said Elliott.

"He ate something from your stall", said Jacob's other friend, Axel.

Eloise shook her head.
"No, that's impossible, we labelled–", she started, before turning to the items.

She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion when she saw labels that were either in the wrong place, or missing.

"Hang on, they weren't like that before!"

Irene turned to Elliott, Otto and Axel.

"Does he have an EpiPen?", she asked. "Check his pockets, his bag, now!"

Irene moved towards his back, worrying Axel.
Otto must've had something in his bag that tied them to Crockerden, because Axel quickly grabbed it.

"Uh, no, I've got it!
He gave it to me to keep safe."

"Well, what are you waiting for?
Jab him!", exclaimed Eloise.

"I-I need everyone to stop crowding him!
He gets self-conscious about people seeing him like this."

"You heard the boy!
Move away please!
Let him save his friend", called out the teacher from earlier.

Eloise exhaled sharply and shook her head.
She buried her head in her hands.

"I don't know what happened..."

"It's an easy mistake to make", said Elliott.

"A mistake that could've kílled someone", said Aahan.

"I'm really s–"

Eloise was cut off by Aahan, who had turned around to see a group of people return their items.
Every single person demanded a refund.

The students groaned, knowing all their hardwork had been for nothing.
Irene and Zee were especially upset, because they could've spent this time at home with their parents.

"Well that was a complete waste of time", said Spencer.

___________

Hi.

I'm sorry this is so long, I just wanted to do the bake sale in the same chapter.

Pacing this story is something I'll struggle on, because it essentially runs like a show, so I've got each 'episode' if you like, to get through, and find ways to cover everyone's storylines.

That being said, I am so excited for you to see more of Aahan's backstory. You've all already seen the forms for the cast, but you're in the dark about Aahan's backstory.

I always plan detailed backstories for my characters, but I planned Aahan in so much detail, and I can't wait to drop little hints along the way and see your reactions.

Elliott is proving to be quite the troublemaker! Will someone catch on to his antics?

Can Rowan do all of my presentations for me please and thank you?

Irene and Zee have more similarities than they think. Could they end up helping each other?

What are your thoughts on this chapter?

starryeyedturtle

DoodleYeet

LeMystical-Puffle

1-800-SHAWNHUNTER-

Tornado-Jockey