Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

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The sun poured through the tall windows of Pulau Rintis High, the high school located in Rintis Island, flooding the assembly hall with warm light.

Chatter buzzed through the students as they shuffled into place, uniforms crisp and fresh, in a mood.

It was the start of the new school year. Same school, same hall, same chaos. The members of the student council were seen arranging seats, keeping the kids quiet, and attending various tasks. Some other kids volunteered to help the council.

The teachers entered the hall one by one, taking care of other necessary tasks and settling into their own seats. The hall was in chaos. Volunteers are trying to quiet the room, juniors are talking continuously, some are fighting, some are shouting, some are, well, trying to sneak out.

“ENOUGH!”

Everyone got startled by the sudden outbreak of a certain pink hijab girl as they all looked towards her. The girl took out her notepad and her pen with a lamp charm, standing on the stage with a smirk.

“Not again”, the blue-haired girl with specs facepalmed as she saw what her friend was about to do. “Yaya is going berserk”

“Whoever wants their name on the detention list may shout,” the girl named Yaya announced, as she scanned the room to see if anyone was misbehaving.

Seems like it works as the students went silent. They knew that messing with the assistant president of the school council was like inviting themselves to the deathbed.

“Yaya!” the latter looked towards the door to see her friend calling her out. “Ying!” she happily greeted her.

“Gempa is looking for you! The chief guest has arrived!” Ying shouted.

“Okay!” She gave a last look at the crowd, especially staring at the three troublemakers in the back and giving them a warning look before leaving the hall.

After some time, the principal, along with today’s chief guest, arrived at the stage. Besides them, other teachers were settled in their chairs, and the members of the school council were standing near the stage.

On the far-right row sat the serious-looking boy, wearing a red hoodie over his uniform, holding a cap in his hand, who was scanning the hall with boredom. He was one of the volunteers and regretted dealing with this year’s juniors.

Next to him, a raven-haired boy with specs was seen yawning.

“I hate volunteering.” The boy sighs. “The kids are too much. Even I wasn’t that troublesome to the seniors”

“So, you accept that you are troublesome?” the red hoodie boy named Halilinter asked.

The specs boy named Fang rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah, I accept it. All because of your lightbulb brother”

“Huh. Skill issues, Fang”

“Hey!”

Halilinter scoffs as he draws his attention towards a certain brother of his who was standing near the stage beside Yaya.

“I can never be Gempa”  Fang sighs. “He has too much patience and leadership”

“Might be the first time I’m agreeing to you”

“Please, I’m always right!”

“Keep being delusional”

Behind them, three identical brothers were seen sitting and doing their own tasks.

The silver-capped boy with golden glasses, Solar, was silently reading a book. Next to him, the boy wearing a baby blue hoodie, Ais, was dozing off while the third brother, wearing a black cap with green patterns, Duri, was looking around curiously.

Of course, some people were ready to run away from here.

Behind them, the boy wearing a crimson half-sleeve jacket, Blaze, was tapping his foot impatiently, arms crossed. His fiery temper was written all over his face.

Beside him, his blue-capped brother, Taufan, was trying his best not to doze off as well.  Their friend, Gopal, was seen trying his best to find a way to run away from here. The girl, Ying, could only sigh seeing this all.

“When did I volunteer to look after them…” Ying sighed again, totally giving up.

“...and so, as we begin this new school year,” droned the Principal, Mr Hasyim, into the mic, “I hope every one of you remembers our school’s motto: Excellence, Effort, and Etiquette.”

Gopal groaned dramatically, leaning on Ying’s shoulder.
“Why must assemblies be as long as my mom’s recipe list?!” he whined.

Ying rolled her eyes. “You’d probably faint before the second line anyway.”

“Hey, that’s offensive! I’ve got stamina!”

“Stamina for food,” Fang, who joined them to settle down, muttered, arms crossed, smirking at their antics.

Meanwhile, Blaze leaned toward Taufan with a glare.
“Bro, I swear, if this speech lasts one more minute, I’m setting the curtains on fire."

Taufan snorted. “Please do so. I’ll deal with the CCTVs.” He let out a yawn. “I don’t know about Gempa and Yaya, though”

“Or,” Gopal whispered loudly, “we all just run away together. Blaze, Taufan—you in?”

The two exchanged looks and smirked. “Tempting,” Blaze muttered.

Fang sighed and crossed his arms. “You guys never learn. It’s the first day. At least pretend to be decent humans for once.”

Ying chuckled, “Fang’s right. If you run, Yaya will find you. And then…” she made a cutting motion across his throat.

“...we’re dead,” Blaze finished, playing at the memory of Yaya’s last scolding session.

It seems that Yaya could literally read their mind as she gave them a  Don't you dare to cause any trouble or else stare.

“Caught.” Duri chuckled lowly.

On stage, the principal droned on, his speech dragging longer than the summer heat.

Just as everyone’s patience was wearing thin, Principal Hasyim cleared his throat with a note of seriousness.

“Before I end, I have an important announcement.”

Every head in the hall perked up. Even Ais woke up from his sleep.

“Today, in front of us, our special chief guest, Mrs Alice, the principal of the Pulau Rintis Girls Academy, is here to give an announcement”

The students gasp at the new information.

“Wait, Girls Academy?” Gopal spoke up. “Wasn’t the school being sent to the capital city?”

“How did you know?” Taufan asked.

“Ya la. I get all the gossip about Pulau Rintis. This is nothing new,” he proudly said, receiving ohs from his friends.

The chief guest grabbed the mic and greeted the students with a pleasant smile.

“Good morning, dear students. I am Mrs Alice, the former principal of Pulau Rintis Girls Academy. As some of you might have heard, our academy is being shifted to the capital city, and some of my dear achievers have decided to join your school for their studies. I hope you all get along and warmly welcome them”

A ripple of whispers shot through the student body. The boys straightened instantly, some interested, some nervous.

“No way, new students?”

“Achievers? Means more competition?”

“Girls?”

“New students?” Taufan whispered, eyes sparkling. “Finally! Something fun!”

“Wait—so… we’re gonna have… more girls around?” Blaze muttered, suddenly sitting straighter. “This just got interesting.”

“Fun for you all, headache for me,” Hali muttered.

Fang smirked. “Careful. If you drool too much, you’ll slip on the floor.”

The principal gestured, and a line of seven girls walked up to the stage, each carrying a different aura that immediately caught everyone’s attention.

“And here they are, my achievers,” Mrs Alice said. “Each with achievements worth celebrating.”

The boys leaned forward in interest as the first name was called.

“Eveliana, our all-around best student from Pulau Rintis Girls’. Top grades in every subject, athlete, volunteer, and more.”

A tall, composed girl with dark hair tied neatly in two braids walked forward, bowing politely. The students who recognised her called out her name and cheered for her.

“Isn’t she the girl who reached nationals?”

“Isn't it EVE? The 'all-in-one' star?”

“She is gorgeous”

Her eyes were calm but sharp, scanning the audience like she was memorising every face.

It was then that her gaze stopped.

Directly on Halilinter.

And at the same moment, Hali’s own eyes locked on hers.

It wasn’t a smile. It wasn’t even recognition. It was confusing,like they’d seen each other before, though neither could place where.

Blaze noticed instantly. “Psss, Hali.”

Halilinter didn’t move.

Blaze elbowed him. “Oi! Stop staring,” he said, Causing him to stop staring at her and look at his brother. “You’ll creep her out.”

Taufan leaned over with a smirk. “Man’s frozen solid. Never thought I’d see the thunder get struck instead.”

Duri chuckled. “Guess lightning can get shy too.”

“Shut up.” Halilinter finally tore his gaze away, cheeks heating faintly.

“Confirmed,” Gopal whispered loudly. “The mighty Hali has fallen in love at first sight."

“Not funny,” Halilinter grumbled, trying to focus anywhere else. But Solar was already grinning at him knowingly.

The principal continued, introducing the others one by one.

“Sera, known for her leadership and team spirit.” A disciplined girl with her arms behind her back, her hair in two braids, bows to them.

“Tsume, recognised for her excellence in performing arts and culture.” A bright-eyed girl waved with a stage-worthy smile, clearly becoming the junior’s favourite senior.

“Aries, Pulau Rintis’ pride in fine arts.” A quiet girl, with two pigtails hiding her figure behind her twin, gave a small bow.

“June, award-winning writer and essayist.” A specs girl hugged a notebook to her chest, smiling to the crowd and trying to drag her sister out.

“Beli, winner of the National Science Seminar.” A clever-looking girl, hair done in two side buns, with a mischievous smirk, adjusted her glasses.

“And lastly, Lyal, the National Sports Champion.” A tall, athletic girl with short hair gave a sharp salute that drew a loud cheer from the sports teams. Her charm and beauty attract everyone’s attention.

“Oh shit. She is pretty,” Fang said out of nowhere, causing his friends to look at him weirdly, especially Halilinter and Gopal.

“What? Am I lying?” he asked.

“Fang got a crush ayeee”, Taufan teased him, only to get a nice hit from Ying. “Focus”

The hall erupted with applause and chatter.

Solar whispered, “Whoa… they’re way cooler than I expected.”

Blaze smirked. “Cooler? They’re competition.”

“Or trouble,” Ais muttered.

Taufan stretched and leaned back. “The girls seem interesting”

“Or chaos”, Ying muttered as her eyes went to the athletic girl, and then back to Fang, who kept staring at her.

As the applause died down, Halilinter couldn’t resist sneaking another glance at Eveliana.

To his surprise, she was already looking back.

Their eyes met once more, and this time—she tilted her head, as if silently asking the same question swirling in his mind

Why do you seem so familiar?

Before he could process it, the principal wrapped up the assembly.

“That concludes our opening ceremony. Students, you are dismissed to your classes. Council members, please assist the transfers in settling in.”

The hall exploded into chatter as chairs scraped, and footsteps echoed.

Blaze immediately threw his arms over Taufan and Gopal. “Well, gentlemen, that was exhausting. Shall we escape before someone ropes us into work?”

But Yaya called from the stage, hands on her hips. “Don’t even try, Blaze!”

“Caught again.” Duri chuckled, clearly entertained.

As the boys stood to leave, Halilinter’s gaze lingered once more on the girl named Eve.

And to his surprise, she smiled faintly at him before turning away with the rest of the group.

“Hali!” he turned around to see Gempa calling him out. “The principal wants to see us”

________________

“These are our achievers, Mrs Alice”, Principal Hasyim happily said as he introduced her to the toppers and achievers of Pulau Rintis High.

In front of them, Solar, Yaya, Ying, Halilinter, Gempa, Fang and Blaze were there.

Gempa stood first to greet Mrs Alice. “Nice to meet you, Mrs Alice. I am Gempa, the president of the school council.” Seeing his politeness, Mrs Alice was impressed. “Nice to meet you too, Gempa”

Principal Hasyim happily exclaimed. “Up next, we have our top 3 toppers, Solar, Yaya, and Ying”. The three of them happily greeted the guest with a smile.

“Fang and Blaze are our representatives in basketball and Football, respectively”, the principal proudly said. “Our school has talents of talents”

Lastly, Halilinter comes forward, Greeting Mrs Alice politely. The principal happily patted it on the shoulder. “And lastly, we have our all-rounder champion. Our ACE, Halilinter”

"are you four Quadruplets" Mrs Alice asked, pointing towards the four.

"Oh. We are not Quadruplets. We're Septuplets" Gempa answered. "Our other brothers are outside"

Mrs Alice was amazed to hear that and was impressed to see them all, especially Halilinter.

She turned towards Principal Hasyim.

“Your school... indeed is filled with amusement and talents”, she said to the principal

“I hope my achievers would love to be here.”

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Chapter Text

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The corridor outside the teacher’s office was crowded with students, everyone pressing against the giant notice board to see the new class assignments.

The chatter was deafening, with excitement, groans, and bets being made.

While the achievers were in the principal office, the four boys were outside the office, waiting for their friends and brothers.

Duri was looking outside, admiring the plants near the table. Ais was seen dozing off on the nearby bench, and Gopal was eating a burger in the corner, offering support to Ais.

Meanwhile, Taufan kept staring at the principal’s portrait on the hallway wall.

“I have a personal beef with the Principal now”, Taufan sighs.

“Why? What's wrong?” Duri asked as he settled himself beside Gopal.

“See, I am a gold medallist in Baking.” He said, pointing at himself.

“You were selected to represent the school in the bio-med field.” He pointed towards Duri.

“I didn’t get chosen, though. They selected Solar,” Duri corrected him.

“Still, you both won! They chose Solar because they needed only one representative.” Taufan fought back as he pointed his finger towards Ais and Gopal.

“Even Gopal and Ais were selected as the representatives of our school in cooking and Maths. Yet they decided to ditch them”. Taufan added, frustrated due to the principal’s favouritism.

“…No hate to our brothers and Friends, though”

“Ya la. You know how the principal is,” Gopal added as he stood up from his seat, waking Ais up, and resting his hand on Taufan’s shoulder.

“He thinks that only sports and Studies are necessary. And he only praises the experts and toppers”

“Yet they only give them chances. As if we’re invisible.” Taufan added as he released another sigh.

“Don’t worry, Taufan”, Duri said with a smile, now giving support to sleeping Ais. “Let’s do our best this year!”

Suddenly, the door of the principal's office opened, and the students came out one by one. All their faces were screaming boredom.

“Man, I can’t even stand there for a minute. It’s one of my forbidden areas in school,” Blaze said as he let out a sigh.

Both Yaya and Gempa were still in the office. Halilinter was in a corner, secretly admiring his portrait and name, pasted in the school poster as the school’s ACE.

Though he would never admit his secret happiness.

“I think the school prophecy has already decided who would be this year’s topper as well”, Solar announced with his signature arrogant smirk, like he was mocking both Fang and Ying.

Ying just rolled her eyes while Fang let out a laugh.

“Topper? This year?” he asked with a gasp. “Too bad, Solar, because I’m not here to repeat the same mistake,” Fang smirked, mocking Solar, who seemed to be about to explode.

“Your rank was in 5th place last year!”

“You were in 2nd place! You're acting like you achieved first place.”

“Better than you!”

“It was only ONE mistake!”

“The two started again”, Gopal sighed, eating his last piece of burger. Others couldn’t help but snicker at their rivalry.

“By the way,” Duri interrupted them. “The last year’s ranking is out!”

Duri’s words attracted their attention, especially the rival duo.

“Oh, yeah!” Taufan added. “We already saw it. You all should too”

“The new transferred students’ names are also there”, Duri added.

Now this attracted Halilinter’s attention. In the auditorium, he heard that the familiar girl is also an ACE.

Blaze let out a sigh. “I don’t even want to see. I barely passed the year”

“You should’ve studied more instead of crying over your good-for-nothing ex”

“Duri!” Well, Blaze couldn’t argue more. It was true.

“Well, I really want to see who surpasses me last year”, Solar said as he made his way towards the notice board, followed by Ying, Fang, and Halilinter.

“Move aside,” Solar said with his usual confidence, parting the crowd like he owned the place. Blaze rolled his eyes.

“Arrogance”, he muttered but also went to check the list.

Near the top corner of the board was another sheet, last year’s Top Performers List of Pulau Rintis. Naturally, it drew their attention first.

EVELIANA, SOLAR, YAYA, YING, FANG, HALILINTER, GEMPA ,…., ….

“Look at that,” Fang smirked, tapping his own name on the list. “Still in the top five even after doing so badly in the exam. Not that acceptable but okay okay.”

Solar rolled his eyes, a part of him happy for him and another part mourning for his 2nd place.

“Yaya’s here too!” Ying said brightly, pointing at her friend’s name. “And Hali. And Gempa.

Taufan folded his arms. “Expected.”

Halilinter only gave a small nod, though his lips twitched when his siblings nudged him.

“And....Eveliana?,” Gopal read aloud, pointing. “Who’s this again?”

“That transfer girl from Pulau Rintis Girls’ Academy,” Blaze said, recalling the assembly. “The all-rounder.”

“Ohhh.” Gopal grinned. “So, she’s like the girl version of Hali.”

The group collectively looked at Halilinter.

Hali glared at them. “Don’t start.”

But Blaze smirked. “Too late.”

Solar tilted his head. “Funny though. She’s the only transfer student in the top list.”

“Also surpass all of us”, Ying said simply. “She earns it. I wonder how other girls are, though”

“Speaking of which, where are the others?” Fang leaned closer. “The other girls, I mean. Also, Ice and Duri? Other students?”

“I remember many students from our school having good grades”, Gopal added. “Seems like the rival schools are not less”

“We delayed marks in some,” Duri answered to Fang’s question. “I guess others also faced the same. It happens”

Just then, Yaya and Gempa returned, Gempa holding a crisp new sheet fresh from the staffroom.

“Here. The official class divisions for this year.”

Everyone leaned in.

________________________________________

Class 1 –Subjects+ Technology + Physics

Boboiboy Halilinter

Fang

Eveliana

Boboiboy Gempa

Sera

June

Tata…

________________________________________

Class 2 – Subjects + Economics + History

Boboiboy Taufan

Tsume

Boboiboy Blaze

Lyal

Ying

Gopal…

________________________________________

Class 3 – Subjects + Biology + Chemistry

Boboiboy Solar

Boboiboy Duri

Boboiboy Ais

Aries

Beli

Yaya…

_________________________________

The group fell silent for a beat. Then—

“NOOO, Economics and Maths?! Blaze groaned. “I’m cursed!”

“Huhuhu” Gopal cried out “I’m doomed this year”

Taufan took the sheets from Gempa, checking them. His eyes widened in shock as he checked the scores.

“No way! I failed Physics, the exam where I wasted 2 pages to prove a single theory?!”

“Skill issues”

“Shut up, Blaze. You’re worse than me”

Ying slides beside him as she looks at the sheet. “What? I got decent grades in Physics and Chemistry. Why did they put my name in Class 2?”

“Probably because you topped the subjects”, said Fang, happy to hear he got a seat in Class 1. "Who told you to apply for all the subjects? Of course, they would put you where you got the highest marks"

“You should've applied in the subject you like", Yaya chuckled as she rested her hand on Ying's shoulder.

"Hmm, well, Economics is also not that bad"

Solar smirked at his paper. “Class 3. Chemistry, my love. I belong there.”

“Yeah, with Yaya keeping you in check,” Gopal muttered.

Meanwhile, Halilinter’s brows furrowed when he spotted the name beside his.

“…That girl. In my class.”

Blaze smirked immediately. “Ohhh, destiny.”

“Shut it.”

“I can’t wait for the chaos”, Ais mumbled as he witnessed the whole thing.

___________________________________

First Day in Class 1

The atmosphere was… balanced in this class. Bright students, sporty students, cultural reps—all in one mix.

Eveliana entered the class, along with her friends, June and Sera. Probably attracting all the attention towards her. She looked around the class and spotted a familiar face talking with two other boys.

“Quite a bright class, don’t you think?” Sera said, keeping her bag in the vacant seat. June settled beside her while Eve was in her world.

“And quite noisy”, June added with a sigh. “I wonder how Aries would be”

Sera reached out a hand to June. “We can go and check the others during break”, Sera said. “Isn’t it, Eve?” she looked towards the dark-haired girl who seemed to be staring at someone.

“…Eve?”

“You guys stay here. I’m coming in a bit,” Eveliana answered as she kept her bag in a vacant seat and went towards the certain red-hoodie boy.

“Excuse me”, she called Halilinter out. He turned around to see the same girl in the auditorium.

“Oh ho, she’s pretty too,” Fang mumbled to Gempa, only to receive an eye roll from him. “Shut it".

“Boboiboy Halilinter, right?” She asked. “I’ve heard a lot about you”. She reached out a hand, offering a handshake. “Nice to see you. I’m Eveliana.”

Halilinter looked at the hand for a moment and accepted the handshake. “I’ve heard a lot, too”

“The girl who’s here to steal my ACE spot. Rumours are going around, you know.”

“That’s too rude for them”, she chuckled as she took a step forward. “I wanted to break the information to you myself”

Halilinter stared at her with amusement. “Quite overconfident, ain’t you? Maybe you should be careful about what you say”

“Well, it became a habit”, she chuckled. “I like to prove myself right”

Fang and Gempa, who witnessed the scene, were quite amused.

Sera facepalmed after seeing all this. “This girl…”

“Unbelievable”. June said with a chuckle. “You should go and rescue her before this serious-looking guy snaps”

Sera looked towards the direction again. But now her eyes fell on the red-hoodie boy lookalike, looking calmer than him. Their eyes met for a moment. The guy nodded politely at her, and she smiled back at him.

“Eve, let’s go to the office, shall we?” Sera shouted to her.

“Of course,” she answered as she let go of his hand.

“I’ll see you around, Hali”

She said before leaving the class with the two girls, not minding the stares she was receiving in the class.

“Well, that was something else”, Fang chuckled as he settled in his seat. “I would love to see the rivalry”

“Fang!”

“Hehehe”

Halilinter’s eyes were fixed on the hand she held. The warmth was still lingering in his hand.

“Hali…”

___________________________________

First Day in Class 2

This classroom was louder, filled with sporty students and energetic kids. The moment Tsume and Lyal walked in, the chaos started.

“Class Two, your superstar has arrived!” Tsume announced, showing her cuteness and her chaotic nature.

All the attention went towards her.

“What a grand entry”, Gopal said. “I could smell the future of this class”

“You’re acting like you’re the sane person”

“Ying!”

Taufan, without thinking, clapped for her like a loyal audience. “Encore! Encore!”

Ying groaned. “Why me?”

Tsume’s attention went towards the blue-capped boy “Oohh, I already like this guy!” she said to Lyal with a grin.

“Never knew Chaos had two silent Ts”, Lyal said, as her eyes went to Blaze. She saw him somewhere.

Without thinking, Lyal approached him. “I’ve seen you in the game before!”

“And I’ve seen you too,” Blaze said, trying to remember where she saw her. “….OH! You were the female inter-school football champion last year!”

“OH! You were the male champion!”

“Yes, that’s me!”

“Good to see you, buddy!” Lyal happily slung an arm around Blaze’s shoulder.

“Teammates now, huh? Sports champs together.”

“Teammates? Hell yeah,” Blaze responded. “But don’t slow me down.”

“Slow YOU down?” Lyal laughed. “You’ll be eating my dust.”

A vein popped up in his forehead. “Eating your dust? In your dreams!”

Gopal plopped down loudly. “I can already tell this class is going to be the loudest in the whole school.”

“No kidding,” Ying sighed, massaging her temples.

___________________________________

First Day in Class 3

 

The quietest, most serious classroom. Where no one was talking to each other at all.

Solar strutted in first, claiming a seat by the front. “Perfect. Surrounded by intellectuals and robots”

Yaya sat behind him. “Look who’s talking. The robotic academic weapon maniac.”

Solar chuckled. “Better than being an academic victim or burden"

“Valid”

"My answers are always valid"

Duri leaned back lazily, sitting in the window corner, staring at the pot he brought with him. “I only signed up for the extra bio knowledge. Don’t expect me to compete.”

Beli spun around in her seat, sitting in front of Duri. “Is that a Venus flytrap?”

“Uh-huh”, Duri answered. “Its name is Allele”

Beli blinked. “Your plant name is Allele? Like in biology?”

“YES!” Duri answered. “Allele, the different versions of Genes. I thought it might be a cute name!”

“It IS!” Beli said with excitement. “I was also trying to give my peace lily a name.”

“You have a peace lily?” Duri asked with curiosity.

“Yes! Just got a week ago, but I can’t decide its name yet”

Duri grinned. “Maybe I can suggest some names!”

Beli’s eyes sparkled with joy “Yes, please!”

Meanwhile, Aries slid quietly into a corner seat, sketchbook clutched tight. She didn’t even lift her head when Ais walked in and sat by the window.

The two exchanged a silent glance before both turned away without uttering a word.

 

….The chaos has just started.