The performances have been wrapped up and Xie Na took the center stage as host for the first day of class. Everyone waited with bated breaths as she announced the six new leaders that will be divided into the two leagues led by mentors Ning Jing and Na Ying.

“To start, Jing jie and Ying jie will have to announce their preferred leader. If the chosen student accepts their proposal, then, they will form part of the mentor’s league.” Xie Na explained.

“Whoa, this is exciting!” Aya remarked.

“What if they were chosen by the mentor and they had a different choice?” Mengtao whispered to her fellow students.

“That will be awkward.” Huang Yi replied, “This is so different from last year.”

“I’m actually scared for the leaders.” Myolie commented.

“Let’s hope the mentors and leaders would choose who’s right for them.” Valen added as she watched the leaders sitting stiffly at the other corner of the stage.

“Jing jie, tell us your first pick.” Xie Na urged as Ning Jing raised her card.

“I choose….”

Everyone held their breaths. Na Ying gulped the lump in as she nervously watched her colleague take her time to name the person.

“Liu Hanya! Aya!” Ning Jing announced.

The senior student smiled back at her mentor before showing off her card with Ning Jing’s name written on it. “I choose Mentor Jing as well.”

Everyone clapped their hands at the successful pairing of leader and mentor. Then, everyone shifted their attention to a nervous Na Ying, who began to speak up.

“I have always wanted to work with her and I can see her potential as a leader so I choose Tan Weiwei to be part of my team.”

Weiwei stood up with a wide smile, raising her card. “I also choose Mentor Na Ying.”

“Wow. Pairing success!” Na Ying commented, very much pleased with the outcomes of their choices.

“Now, for this school year, your dorm assignments will be changed according to your teams. For now, the six leaders will be staying in the primary dormitory with the two mentors. From there, they will discuss further on which of the remaining leaders are going to form part of the rival leagues and which team members they will hope to recruit into their group.” Xie Na announced to everyone, “The team members can still stay at the same dormitories until they have been recruited into one of the two leagues. Tomorrow’s agenda will be concentrated on the selection of the first performances and the recruitment of league members. The rules will be explained tomorrow morning at the Celestial Street. We will see you all in the morning!”   

+++

“Jess, how did you find the first day?” Cyndi asked, curious at how the foreigner felt about the school’s program.

“I am surprised. This is very different from the way they taught students back home.” Jessica replied as they walked out of the grand hall. She was still baffled at how short their first day of school was and couldn’t believe that they were free to do whatever they choose for the rest of the day. “Anyway, I find it confusing. Does that mean the other leaders for the two teams weren’t chosen yet?”

“Actually, I share your confusion too. Mentors Jing and Ying had only chosen Weiwei and Aya jie as leaders of their respective leagues, but the rest were still unassigned. Maybe, they will be sorted out tomorrow…or at the dorms they’ll be occupying.” Cyndi postulated.

“Jessie, just so you know, we were all very much caught off guard by the different method they had come up for the league recruitments. It used to be a very straightforward competition, but I guess our directors wanted some changes to the usual lineups between the leagues.” Xiaolei jie added as she joined the two girls on the way out of the building.

“So, which leagues did you both belong to?” Jessica asked, curious about which teams her new friends had been part of.

“We were both from Na Ying’s team last year.” Xiaolei jie replied proudly, “Our Cyndi here, used to be part of Weiwei’s team last year and they had both won great awards for their performances.”

Cyndi blushed, “Weiwei jie and I were just doing our best.”

“And who formed part of Mentor Jing’s team?” Jessica had wanted to know which student had chosen which mentor. She knew that her choices might also be affected based on which of her friends had chosen whom. 

“I believe Aya jie had been part of Mentor Jing’s team last year. Wenwen and the TWINS were also part of Ning Jing’s team.” Xiaolei responded, “but I think this year’s going to be more exciting since we all somehow get to choose the league we’re joining!”

“I’m up for any of the two teams as long as we get to present really awesome stages.” Cyndi rebutted to which Jessica nodded along in agreement.

+++

The leader’s dormitory felt very tense.

The atmosphere inside was thick with the stiffness that came with the presence of two very imposing mentors. The leaders, who all had been part of the previous years’ competition, felt it when they entered the dorm and saw the imposing mentors already seated at the dining table facing the entrance.

“Come in and eat!” Na Ying motioned for them with her chopsticks while Ning Jing smiled at the tense leaders who made a beeline into the dorm quarters. “We were so hungry that we started without you, girls. Sorry about that. Anyway, grab a seat and don’t be shy. There’s plenty of food to be had.”

“Mentor Na Ying, you’re always so casual despite being so intimidating.” Ning Jing chuckled in an effort to make the student leaders more at ease. She patted the seat beside her, eyes landing on her chosen leader, Aya. “Come sit with us. All of you. Let’s eat first before we get to work, shall we?”

Aya, who was more at ease with the two mentors, gladly obliged and seated herself beside Ning Jing. Momo and Weiwei both sat across Na Ying while Liu Lian and Zhao Meng settled themselves opposite Ning Jing and Aya. The lone chair left at the table was interestingly the one situated at the head of the table, which both mentors refused to occupy when they first entered the dining room.

Yu Wenwen stood awkwardly as she internally debated on whether to casually settle at the empty seat or move the seat elsewhere.

‘This is a test!’ Wenwen thought as she eyed the chair. ‘I am one of the youngest in this room and the newest student among them. The mentors are probably testing me.”

Ning Jing stared at the hesitant student, amusement twinkling in her eyes as she watched the young student mull over the empty seat. Jing had noticed how everyone of the leaders avoided the seat at the head of the table. None of them wanted the position and power symbolically associated with it.

A nudge from her left made Jing turn to face her fellow mentor. “She’s hesitating.” Na Ying whispered, “Tell her to sit down.”

“She knows,” Jing replied, before shifting her attention to a hesitant Wenwen.

“Yu Wenwen,” Jing said, catching everyone’s attention, “take a seat and eat.”

“But, Mentor Jing…” Wenwen was about to reason when Jing cut her off.

“We’re all hungry and we’re waiting for you.” Jing pointed towards her peers with a nod of her head. Wenwen turned to look at her seniors who were all expectantly staring right back at her. Feeling herself flush at all the attention, she quietly pulled out the chair from the table and staring at Meng, quietly motioned for the latter to make room for her.

Meng obliged in understanding and scooted closer to Lian, allowing Wenwen the grace to avoid being seated at the head of the table. This humbling act impressed both mentors who were expecting the young leader to be quite bold with her choices.

“You should have her in your team.” Na Ying quietly said to Jing.

“I don’t think I can control her.” Jing replied, “She’s like me when I was younger.”

“I know. That’s why she would suit your team. I won’t be able to control her if she was in mine. She seems to be very strong-willed and straightforward like you.” Na Ying expressed, which earned her a playful slap on the shoulder from Jing.

“How about we think about the other three leaders among us first? Who is joining who?” Ning Jing inquired, shifting the topic away from their eccentric young leader who obviously heard the not-so-hushed banter between them.

“Mentor Jing, how about we draw lots between the rest of the leaders to be fair?” Aya suggested as the rest of the crew quietly ate their meal.

“But wouldn’t it be a little unfair if the leaders do not wish to join the mentor’s team? There would be disagreements.” Weiwei questioned, worried that the other silent leaders would have a hard time adjusting to their team if they were forced to join.

Na Ying scanned the room, wondering how to compromise with the other leaders. “How about we make agreements amongst ourselves then? Besides, no one else is present to refute whatever we all chose for ourselves.”

“I guess we can settle with that.” Liu Lian agreed.

“I can go with that, too.” Zhao Meng seconded while Wenwen and Momo both nodded in agreement.

The teams under the mentors were mutually decided between leaders and the teachers that night. Jing’s league comprised of Aya, Meng, and Wenwen while Ying’s team was composed of Weiwei, Momo, and Lian. Each league separated themselves at bedtime with the laid-back Na Ying team resorting to lounging in Na Ying and Weiwei’s shared room. Meanwhile, the competitive Ning Jing team were in deep discussion inside Ning Jing and Aya’s shared quarters.

“Ladies, we have a lot of things in store this year and there’s going to be a lot of competitions and surprises. Now, let me tell you what’s the most important goal for our team. Nothing matters except winning. I will not care what song you chose, what stage you present, or what dance performance you’re going to showcase, as long as you win, it’s going to be a win for the team.” Jing’s determined energy resonated through the room as she stood tall in her pajamas.

“For the win!” Aya hyped, moved by Jing’s speech.

“So, if we want to win. We should choose our members carefully.” Meng voiced out; sitting back against the wall, too tired to move.

Wenwen nodded along, “What kind of members are we looking for our team, Mentor Jing?”

Jing sat down crossed legged on her side of the bed; lips pursed in contemplation. “Hm, let’s see. I want someone who can both sing and dance! An all-rounder! Yes, we need those kinds of members! We need someone who’s really good at almost everything!” She said as she lifted a finger in the air, “We’ll need someone like that to be number one!”

“Eh?” Meng’s face scrunched up, “Do we even know someone like that in this cohort?”

“Aya, didn’t you interview most of them for some of your school paper’s editions before?” Jing asked, “You must have an idea about their backgrounds and talents.”

Aya nodded, “Yes, I did interview a lot of them… most of them were schooled in modelling, acting, singing, and dancing… but only a few were versatile.”

“Hmm, how about Jessica?” Wenwen interjected after a moment of silence, “You’ve seen her sing. And based on what the teachers have mentioned, she’s pretty good at dancing.”

Ning Jing stood up once more, more hyped than ever at the mention of the foreign student. “Yes! Jessica! She has to be one of the top priority members that we have to convince to join! Next!”

“We need to get either Guo Cai Jie, Xue Kai Qi, or Xu Mengtao. They’re also pretty good.” Aya suggested.

“We definitely need Mengtao. She can perform stunts!” Jing agreed.

“We have to convince some of the dancers too. It must be balanced!” Meng added.

“Add Wang Xinling, Wu Jinyan, and Valen Hsu to the list!”

The four founders of Team Ning Jing planned their tactics through the night while Na Ying’s team slept in confusion about the rules of the school’s curriculum.

+++

A/N: Sorry for the long wait. Life has been pretty hectic. Hope everyone's doing well and surviving! :) Cheers!