"So he is nothing more than a commoner... You know, this is only making me hate him more."

Langley laughs. "I figured it would."

It's been a little over a week since the incident with Quinton. Langley and I have dug around a bit to discover what we could about the spawn of Satan. Sadly, I did not find out much about him. It seemed that every person I spoke to knew little to nothing about the boy. Most said that he is quiet and keeps to himself. The few that knew things only knew that he is not a noble and that he spends most of his time studying in the library. He is as nerdy as I imagined him to be.

Langley got more information on him than I did, so we met up today to speak about it. "People don't know much about him. He doesn't have any friends. His roommate says he keeps to himself, studies, and trains. He's never even seen him play a video game or watch TV, says he's always got his nose in a book."

I should have figured. He seems like the bookworm type. It should be a crime to be smart, strong, and good-looking. Girls flock to him like flies to a carcass. He must release some type of pheromone. It's ridiculous! What is it with women being attracted to secretive, dark men? Do they have a fetish? I don't understand! He gives them the death glare whenever they come near. He's so cold-hearted he could stop global warming with a single look! Why can’t he make himself useful and actually go do that? The polar ice caps are so far away that I would probably never see him again. I smile just thinking about it.

"His roommate heard him call home once before and heard him speak with his mother, but it seems he doesn't do that often. He tried speaking to him about his home life before but he said he got huffy and stormed off, insisting he never bring it up again."

So, a home life he doesn't wish to speak of? I could try to dig deeper into that, see if that will ruffle him a bit. Let’s see how he likes his parents being brought up. Freaking jerk.

"He has excellent grades, always did; the best in our school, actually. And he's here on a full ride scholarship. If he doesn't place in the top five of our grade, he will lose his scholarship and have to go back to his old school."

My interest piques at the last sentence. So he has to keep his grades up in order to stay here... interesting. I should have known that when the other students said he wasn't from a noble family. Commoners don't have the money to pay for the tuition here. Some of the cheaper books cost over $300. The uniforms are an entirely different story. Most people would rather not touch that subject with a ten-foot pole. He'd have to have a scholarship or work three full-time jobs, live on the street, and never eat in order to pay for it all.

"He’s in Dorm D, then?" I ask, which causes Langley to nod.

There are four dorms altogether. They have no special names and simply go by Dorms A, B, C, and D. However, dorms A and B are for the elite of the elite, sons and daughters of nobles, like Langley and myself. In fact, I share a room with Langley. It is larger than the other rooms in Dorm C and D, I hear. We also have our own bathroom connected to our room with both a bathtub and shower, also something not in the other dorms. Dorm C is for those who are still high in the social rankings but not to the point where they are noble, more like sons and daughters of doctors and lawyers. Then there’s Dorm D, for the kids who come in on scholarships or are picked up through sports, academics, the arts, whatever.

It would be strange for me to go to Dorm D. It's on the opposite side of the campus from my own dorm. I couldn't say something like I mistook it for my own. They look totally different. Dorm A and B are made to impress. They look more like mansions than dorms. Dorm D... well, it looks like a dorm.

I suppose I could just say that I'm having a hard time in class and wish to speak with Quinton about tutoring me. It wouldn't seem fishy, seeing as he is the top student. But then what? I get into the dorm, knock on doors until I find his room and... what? Kick the shit out of him? I can barely take him on in training, so I know that won't work. Langley won't be of help, either, considering he’s worse than me. He can't fight for shit.

Scholarship... scholarship... I have to do something about his scholarship. A scholarship can be lost easily if his grades mess up even a bit. If he gets into too much trouble he could get kicked out for making the school look bad. I would stick to fighting with him on a regular basis, as it would probably be easy, but seeing as I've already learned that fighting isn't the best idea, his grades are my only option to get what I really desire: his expulsion.

"We need to mess up his grades somehow," I say, my mind going over all the possible ways to do so. What would be the most efficient way to take his mind off class in order for his grades to drop? What can we do to affect him in such a way that he loses his scholarship? Surely there must be something.

Langley hums to himself as he tries to think of something. It takes the boy a moment before he snaps his fingers in realization. "Quinton's roommate says every night he goes out to the training yard for about an hour and a half!"

"So?" What does him training for an hour and a half like a damn overachiever have to do with anything? Seriously?! Almost two hours?! Every night?! He's a nut. He's definitely a nut, stupid overachiever. Does he want to make everyone else look bad? God, he's an ass.

Langley rolls his eyes. "We have over an hour to break into his dorm room and take all his studying material for every subject. We have that huge test in Professor Bennett's class in two weeks. It's worth 20% of our grade!”

"Could that work?" I ask, wondering if we would get caught. Not to mention, will 20% really do that much? It's only for one class. And wouldn't it be weird if his stuff suddenly disappeared? What if he suspected us? There are cameras in the dorm hallways. We'd definitely get caught. I know I wouldn't get in much trouble, but I’d rather not have Quinton confront me about it.

Langley grins in a way I didn't know he could. He looks positively evil and, deep down, I am a bit proud. "Of course! I'll ask some of the guys to make a commotion outside of the dorm before we go in. That way the guards will go out, won't even see us sneak in. Besides, everyone bugs Quinton about his notes before a test."

"Really?"

"He's top of the class. His notes are guaranteed to get you an A! He'll just assume some desperate kids broke into his dorm and took his notes. He won't know that it was us... besides, the guards won't go look over the tapes for the disappearance of a notebook. We just have to make sure not to take anything else or break anything." Langley points accusingly at me, making me flush a bit. I bite back a grin. "I'm serious, don't do anything."

"I wasn't planning to." Okay, that's a lie. I had planned to mess his room up, break a few things, and search for something that could embarrass him to no end. But my plan is ruined... I can still look around, though. Just can't break or take anything else. Even if this one test does not bother him too much, we can try messing him up more and more until he's too far gone to even help himself.

Langley is a genius. Even if we don't mess up his grades as a whole, we can at least screw up that test in Professor Bennett's class. I grab my friend by the shoulders and say, "I could kiss you right now."

"Though I am flattered, My Lord... please don't." Langley and I laugh.