"You all have been invited to the Majesty Club," the nervous student stammered, clearly unsettled by the intense stares of the group. His forced smile didn't do much to mask his discomfort.
"The Majesty Club, huh? That's a pretty big deal," Finn said, raising an eyebrow, nudging Aiden lightly with his elbow. The mention of the club sparked some intrigue around the table.
Aiden's interest was piqued, his gaze sharpening. "So they want us to join? That's cool," he added, looking somewhat pleased at the prospect.
"An invitation?" Rosa chimed in, skeptical. "That's weird. Don't they usually give an orientation before tossing us into the Den of Wolves?" She crossed her arms, clearly not buying it.
Jett's smirk grew as he leaned back, his mind already racing through the possibilities. 'Yeah, it's too early, I guess I've changed quite a lot,' he mused to himself. 'This works out either way.'
"But isn't the Majesty Club exclusive to those with rich and powerful backgrounds?" Seraphina asked, her tone cautious as she eyed the student. "What's the catch?"
At this point, nearly everyone except Marcella had paused their meals, now entirely focused on the student. Even Mystra had abandoned Seraphina's lap, casually helping herself to some of the food on the table, much to Seraphina's amusement.
The student, sensing the growing suspicion, cleared his throat. "There's nothing like that. They've seen your potential and decided it would be beneficial to invest in you."
Finn leaned forward, his eyes narrowing. "Bullshit," he said flatly, causing the student to flinch slightly. "No one gives a first-year an invitation to a club like that without having ulterior motives especially a high class club like this one, even I know that. But I guess it's not that important, seeing as they asked their lackey to invite us, no offense."
The student's forced smile faltered, and he opened his mouth to respond but found himself unable to defend the invitation with any conviction.
"Come on, guys, let's hear him out. We wouldn't want him to get into trouble because of us," Evelina said, her voice gentle as she gestured for the nervous student to take a seat.
"You're too nice, Lina," Asher sighed, leaning back in his chair.
"And you're just a meanie," Evelina retorted, playfully narrowing her eyes at him.
With a small smile, Evelina ushered Bryan into a chair. His confusion was evident as he cautiously sat down, unsure why she was being so kind to him.
Rosa crossed her arms, trying to shake off the tension. "She gives me the creeps. She always accompanies her father to the castle."
"Talk about bring your cold daughter to work every day," Rey mused, chuckling lightly as if trying to downplay the awkwardness. But his comment only underscored the discomfort they both felt.
"The Dyno name says it all," Asher added, his expression serious. "Now we have to attend. Things will get complicated if we don't. They're still the second strongest family in Verena."
As the conversation swirled around Ciara and her influential family, the focus suddenly shifted to Jett, who had been unusually quiet.
"What do you say, Jett? You haven't smiled since you heard the name either," Rey asked, trying to redirect the attention to him, perhaps to ease his own tension.
Jett's expression darkened, and he looked away, visibly annoyed. "Mind your business, man. I'll think about it," he muttered, clearly bothered. His thoughts drifted back to his first encounter with someone from the Dyno family: an uncle who had tried to kill him. The memory left a bitter taste in his mouth.
Sensing the tension, Bryan cleared his throat nervously, lowering his voice. "You don't need to worry. They asked that you didn't come, sir Jett."
At Bryan's words, Finn, who had just taken a sip of water, promptly spat it out in shock, breaking into uncontrollable laughter. Rey, unable to contain himself either, quickly followed suit, his laughter echoing through the hall.
The others, though trying to maintain their composure, were struggling to hold back their own amusement. They avoided eye contact with Jett, biting their lips or looking away to prevent themselves from bursting into laughter as well. The whole scene was comically awkward.
Jett, unamused, just sighed heavily, watching Finn and Rey lose themselves in fits of laughter. "Glad my exclusion's so hilarious," he muttered dryly.
*
*
*
I guess the Dyno's really don't like him.