Damian Desmond/Synopsis

History
Damian Desmond was the second son born to Donovan Desmond, the Leader of the National Unity Party, and Melinda Desmond. Owing to his birth, Damian was raised effectively as royalty within Ostanian society. His older brother, Demetrius Desmond, is part of the Imperial Scholars.

Eden Beginnings Arc
On Eden Academy's orientation day, Damian Desmond is among the two hundred-eight new students accepted into Eden Academy that year. During the class and homeroom teacher assignments, he is assigned to Cecile Hall along with Anya Forger, where Loid Forger plans to have Anya befriend him to get close Donovan Desmond. When Anya stares at him, Damian arrogantly assumes she has fallen for him.

On the school tour, Damian, along with Emile Elman and Ewen Egeburg, brags about being able to become an Imperial Scholar soon and his father being the chairman of the National Unity Party, quickly gaining the admiration of his classmates, except Anya and Becky Blackbell. He approaches Anya, asking about her father's occupation and mocks her for not being important enough. After Anya smiles at him, Damian gets angry at being made fun of and begins to insult Anya calling her "ugly." He starts harassing Anya by throwing crumpled paper balls and threatens to bully Anya out of school. until she takes then sent him flying with a punch into a chair and some trash bins. He is left with an imprint of a fist on his cheek and begins crying. Henry Henderson informs his parents of what transpired.

The next day, Damian bumps into Anya and Becky, where his followers and Becky begin arguing, and Anya attempts to apologize for the previous day, but Becky pulls Anya away. In class, Damian stares at Anya from behind, getting angry about her being the only one to have ever hit him, and turns away blushing slightly when Anya turns to look at him. At the school cafeteria, Anya approaches Damian to apologize to him. Getting up to face her, he is confused at being tongue-tied and his heart beating faster whenever she looks at him, his face blushing. When Anya apologizes to him in tears, Damian is touched and his face turns entirely red, making an excuse that it is anger. Embarrassed, he reminds himself that Anya defied him, but starts imagining Anya staring right into his eyes. Denying his crush on a "commoner," he adamantly refuses to ever forgive her for as long as he lives and dashes off, blushing.

Stella Star Arc
During the dodgeball match in the physical education period, Damian and his group briefly argue with Becky again. Although shocked by Anya walking away from him, he turns away, focused on getting MVP in the dodgeball match instead to earn a Stella Star. He reveals that his motivation to become an Imperial Scholar like his brother is to get his father's attention. Damian is the first to throw the ball and sends it flying at the students of Wald Hall, but his throw is intercepted by Bill Watkins. He banters with Bill briefly.

After Bill eliminates several of his classmates, their team is left with only five students, with Damian left standing with Anya, Ewen, Emile, and one other unnamed student. While Damian tries to think of a weakness, Emile and Ewen sacrifice themselves to protect Damian from being hit by Bill. Damian is determined to make an impression by being the one left standing, apathetic about others being hit. Damian praises Anya after she dodges several hits. After Anya trips and falls, Damian initially thinks to abandon her but is able to intercept the ball with his hands, though it leaves his hands shaking and unable to grab the ball, eliminating him. Damian is confused at his actions and tells Anya not to mess up. At the end of the dodgeball match, Damian gets angry at Anya for wasting his sacrifice with an awful throw.

When Anya becomes the first in their grade to earn a Stella Star, Damian cannot believe that she beat him to it first. The next day, Damian tells Anya not to get too full of herself before walking away. When their classmates start gossiping about the legitimacy behind Anya's Stella and ask Damian for his thoughts, he tells them that Eden Academy is not a third-rate school that would give out Stella Stars without merit. Damian then says they should transfer somewhere else if they have a problem with the school. However, these words only hurt Damian because he knows he has lost to Anya. At lunch, Damian and his friends pass by Anya, who asks him if he has a dog. Damian shrugs her off but thinks about his dog, Max.

Doggy Crisis Arc
After the Forger Family gets Bond Forger, Anya goes to school to tell Damian about it. To her dismay, Damian is indifferent to the information and gets confused when his friends praise him for it. Damian decides to indulge Anya and asks what her dog's name is. Hearing this, Anya beams, to Damian's surprise. She is about to tell him her dog's name but realizes she has not done so. Wishing he never asked, Damian walks away and says she is unfit to own a pet.

Midterm Exams Arc
While heading to class, Anya has a family photo with Bond to show Damian, dropping it on the ground and bringing attention to it. However, Damian and his gang just walk away, ignoring her. Damian at first decides to not take it seriously, but after overhearing that their success in this may go on their secret transcripts, he decides to put some effort in. Henry announces the tables with Damian and Anya at the same table which upsets the former.

After losing her photo to Becky, Anya makes a paper Bond and shows it off to Damian. Damian is unimpressed and calls it garbage which puts Anya into despair. Emile asks Damian what he is making, to which Damian replies that he is making a griffin, the crest of his family. He tells those at his table to not use too much paper as he needs a lot before imagining Donovan praising him. As Damian realizes he will not have enough time and materials to make his griffin, Anya tells Damian that she will help him and he can use all her paper which shocks him. He is even more shocked when Anya explains that she already finished her model. Anya says that she just wants to help Damian, which he reluctantly accepts.

Damian instructs Anya to make the hind legs of the griffin and gives her the plans for the model. She instead proceeds to make jet engines which angers Damian. He tells her instead to make feathers for the wings, to which she makes a few different-sized slips of paper. He yells at her for wasting all his paper, which brings the attention of Henry, who tells him off. As time runs out for the art projects, Anya decides to convert her Bond model into a small female griffin to pair with Damian's, to his confusion. Afterward, Damian is dumbfounded to learn that his art piece ended up winning first prize due to the contingent of board of trustees who saw it thinking it was a powerful vision of the nation's rebound from war. Anya tells Damian that his parents will probably be proud, but Damian tells her that he has no intention of showing the art to his parents.

Damian returns to his dorm and calls his butler, Jeeves. Damian asks how his dog Max is doing before being asked if he will be returning home for the weekend. Damian declines as his father will not be there and also wants to stay at the dorms so he can focus on studying for their midterm exams. Damian is about to tell Jeeves about his art project before instead asking what his father's response was to the incident at orientation. After a short pause, Jeeves tells Damian that his father was very concerned, which Damian does not believe. Damian ends the call and goes to study with Ewen and Emile. He thinks about how Donovan does not care about him and vows to become an Imperial Scholar to please his father and earn his respect.

Henry announces the upcoming midterms and returns the students' history quizzes. After Anya receives her inelegant grade, Damian shows off his higher score to her, mocking Anya's smirk as he does it. On the day of the midterms, Damian gets ready with the other students to start their exams.

Five days later, the midterm scores are posted in the Quad. Damian and his gang look for his placement and find that he got 11th in the class. Not only that, but he also placed in the top 2 for History with a score of 94, earning him a Stella Star. Damian is overjoyed, then sees that Anya placed at 213th out of 228 students. Damian, trying not to laugh, makes an attempt at consoling her by stating she did not fail in any of the subjects before leaving with his gang.

The students of Cecile Hall are outside cleaning the courtyard, and Damian performs a cleaning move he calls: Desmond Style Rolling Sweep." and ends up flinging a bunch of dirt toward Anya and Becky. Emile and Ewen compliment Damian on his cleaning skills. A bunch of other students also surround him and shower him with compliments and ask about having a study group with him before the next exam. Suddenly, George Glooman pulls out a cigarette butt from his jacket and pretends to pick it up from the ground by Damian. He accuses Damian of smoking and calls a teacher over. Damian grabs his shoulder and tells him to stop, but George throws himself to the ground. The teacher comes over and asks what happened. George explains to the teacher that he found a cigarette butt on the ground, and after calling a teacher over, he was attacked by Damian.

The teacher demands an explanation from Damian. Emile and Ewen insist it is a lie, but the teacher does not trust them because he knows how close they are to Damian. Anya then comes to Damian's defense and tells the teacher what really happened. Wary of Anya, the teacher leaves and tells the students not to call him over for nonsense again. Damian blushes, and Anya says that letting him get expelled would also hurt her, referring to her mission. Embarrassed further by Becky's comments, Damian asks why Anya helped and yells at her to leave him alone. George chimes in, asking why Anya interfered, and Damian grabs him and demands to know why George was trying to get him expelled. George cries out that his life is over, then explains that his family's company has gone bankrupt. Damian asks what it has to do with him, and George replies that the Desmond Group drove the company to bankruptcy.

George believed that if Damian had gotten expelled, his family would be too distracted to mess with Glooman Pharmaceuticals. Damian yells at him, telling him there was no way his father's company drove Glooman's company out of business. George concedes but tells them that it does not make the fact that he will have to leave school any better, and proceeds to explain how his family will be on the street tomorrow. George envies Damian, saying that he and his family is nothing like the trash he is. Emile and Ewen stand up for Damian while putting down George, which the former sees as going a little too far.

George bursts into tears, crying about his desire to spend his springtime at school, then he begins picking up trash while calling himself trash. Wanting to calm him down, Damian offers him juice. George glares at him but accepts. After finishing the juice, he speaks of his regret of never being able to order the deluxe caviar bowl at the cafeteria. Damian gets George the bowl, who always wanted to know what it feels like to wear a Stella Star. Damian gets irritated but lets George wear his Stella after he mopes. After, George starts talking about how sad his life will be from now on in Westalis, but Anya assures him that it will be okay. Happy that all his classmates are being so nice to him, George bursts into tears, and he makes one last request: to sing the school chorus with everyone. Becky is the first to start singing, and eventually, everyone from Cecile Hall except Anya starts singing the chorus together, dancing in a circle.

After they finish, Damian gives George his favorite stationery set, telling him not to forget everyone after he leaves. The other students also give George gifts and bid him a tearful farewell. After learning that he will not be leaving Eden, a humiliated George returns to school the next day, and Damian reminds him to pay back for the juice.

Campbelldon Tennis Arc
For their upcoming social studies project, Henry instructs the students to investigate an occupation that interests them. He suggests various methods and adds that they will each prepare a report about their chosen profession and present it to the class on Friday. Emile asks Damian if he will interview his dad, to which Damian replies that he will if he can get hold of him.

Imperial Scholars Mixer Arc
Damian, Ewen, and Emile look at the school bulletin and see that the Imperial Scholars Mixer will start next week. Although the event has nothing to do with the boys, they eagerly discuss how they will eventually become Imperial Scholars. They then notice Anya staring at them from behind a corner, and Damian tells her to stop. After the weekend, Damian and his friends see Anya and Becky chatting on their way to class, and the sight of the girls' bright smiles catches his eye. One of the boys asks Damian what is up with him, and he dismisses them in embarrassment.

On the day of the Imperial Scholars Mixer, the students of Cecile Hall prepare to leave after finishing class. One of the girls asks Damian if his dad will be there, as his brother, Demetrius, is an Imperial Scholar. Damian does not hear them, instead thinking back to a phone call with Demetrius. Damian asked his brother to deliver a message to Donovan: to meet with him in the courtyard after the mixer. Demetrius agrees but tells Damian not to get his hopes up, as their father is a busy man, before ending the call.

In the present, the girls ask to meet with Donovan, and Damian angrily tells them to leave him alone and stomps away with his friends in tow. Anya follows them, and Damian yells at her to go away. Ewen speaks up to tell Damian why Anya has been chasing him. Damian reddens up, assuming romantic reasons. Ewen explains that Anya might be chasing him to curry favor with Donovan, and Emile agrees, saying Anya is the same as all the other kids. Embarrassed and enraged, Damian calls Anya names before running away.

Outside the Tower of Wisdom, Imperial Scholars and their families walk through the school grounds, heading to the event. The boys are amazed at how many people there are, and Emile comments that even among all the famous people present, Donovan is a V.I.P., which makes Damian freeze up. He decides not to see his father, shocking the others. Damian reasons that his father is an incredible and busy man that does not have time to waste on people like him. As he turns to inform Demetrius of his decision, he is abruptly stopped in his tracks by Anya.

Damian tells Anya to get lost, but she smugly taunts him, asking him if he is scared, and says she knows he is. Damian wonders if she is reading his mind, and Anya explains that she saw his poor grade on the reading test after looking over his shoulder. Anya says Damian is scared his father will find out about his grade and tries empathizing with him, admitting to getting 17 points. Anya says she does not know if her own father likes her, so she is also scared. Despite that, Anya believes in her father because she loves him, so she will use all her courage to tell him that she failed. Everyone is confused by Anya's speech, but it convinces Damian to stay and wait for Donovan.

While waiting for the event to end, the boys sit in the courtyard, eventually sitting on the grass to play card games. They encounter Loid Forger, who is searching for a sheep keychain that his daughter dropped. Having found the keychain earlier, Damian returns it to the man. The boys connect the dots and realize they are talking to Anya's father, calling him "Pops." Likewise, Loid recognizes Damian and kneels before the boy, apologizes for Anya’s behavior at the orientation. He tells Damian that he would also like to apologize to his parents, and at that moment, Donovan and his entourage arrive. Damian is surprised to see his father. One of the men asks Damian who he is speaking with, and Damian explains who Loid is to him.

Damian and his friends stand in awe in Donovan's presence. After Loid introduces himself, he formally apologizes for the incident at orientation. Donovan recalls the incident and apologizes for being too busy to respond, and Damian thinks about how his father is paying attention to him. After Donovan declines Loid's offer to make amends, reasoning that it was a childish spat, Damian yells that Anya hit him, a Desmond, and asks if he is fine with that. Loid chimes in to, once again, try to make amends, but Donovan brushes him off.

Seeing that his father does not care, Damian tries expressing his humiliation to him, hoping for affection. However, Donovan responds with an exasperated sigh, unnerving the boy. Donovan continues this until Damian apologizes to him, and he smiles in response. Loid speaks up, saying Damian’s anger is justified. He proceeds to talk about Anya and her bizarre behavior. Hearing this, the boys unanimously think about how Loid has it rough. Loid then talks about the challenges of raising children and how uncontrollable they can be. Donovan concurs, saying that despite sharing your blood, your children are essentially strangers, people impossible to understand. He says that, in the end, people will never truly be sympathetic to each other. Damian is stunned to hear his father say this.

Loid agrees with Donovan's sentiment but says that despite everything, what is important is meeting the other in the middle. He relates this to how he tries to talk with Anya by acknowledging her. Loid steps forward to pat a dejected Damian’s shoulder and says that it may have been why Donovan took the time out of his schedule to meet with his son. Donovan supposes so, which surprises Damian. Loid then talks about Damian’s respect for his father, bringing up his school report on Donovan’s work, which he had secretly snuck a peek at in the school. Loid claims that it moved Anya so much that it was all she could talk about at home. He tells Donovan that he was touched by Damian’s respect and knowledge for his father's work as Party Chairman, praising the boy.

After commenting on his opinion of the National Unity Party, Loid wonders if he should attend one of the party’s seminars, again praising Damian’s report. An embarrassed Damian tells Loid to stop, and Loid happily apologizes. Before he leaves, Loid asks Damian not to tell Anya about their conversation. Loid says Anya is at an awkward stage, and if Damian thinks she hates him, Loid suspects otherwise and hopes they can get along. Damian shyly says he does not hate her, surprising his friends. He quickly gets embarrassed and yells at Loid to go away. Loid laughs him off and bids goodbye, leaving the Desmonds to talk.

Donovan looks to Damian, asking what his son wants from him. Damian starts getting nervous and says it was nothing. He struggles to get the words out, thinking back to Loid emphasizing the importance of creating a dialogue with others. As Donovan prepares to leave, Damian remembers Anya saying she will summon all her courage to tell Loid that she failed. Damian shouts out to his father, informing him of his Stella Star from the midterms, his 50 on his reading test, and how the griffin he made in art class won first prize. Hearing this, Donovan congratulates him. Damian wonders aloud why Donovan agreed to see him. He is interrupted by Donovan, who says he acted on a whim and tells his son to think nothing of it. As he walks away, he tells Damian to continue striving not to besmirch their family name. Damian beams and agrees while Ewen and Emile cheer him on. After Donovan leaves, the boys gather together and make it their goal to earn more Stella Stars and become Imperial Scholars.

In the morning, an alarm at an Eden Academy dorm wakes its residents. Emile and Ewen wake up and tell Damian to do the same, or he will miss morning muster. After morning muster passes, Henry punishes Damian, tasking him with helping the dorm mother with chores and forbids him from leaving school grounds until he finishes. Behind the corner, Ewen and Emile watch worriedly.

As Damian helps the dorm mother, his friends come to check on him. Damian, who studied all night, wants to earn more Stella Stars, and Ewen says he is pushing himself too hard. They mention that their dorm tutor will take all the boys to the movies and get roast beef on the way back. Damian is firm on not going and will study instead, hoping for his father’s praise if he works hard to better himself. After being shooed away by the dorm mother, Ewen and Emile purposefully loiter around the halls to also receive punishments.

Damian is surprised to see his friends join him, who say they will help him so they all can go to the movies. Damian tells them to go ahead without him, but they stay to help him do the chores anyways. Ewen adds that they can pretend to be Imperial Scholars, wrapping a sheet around himself like a cloak. While the boys play around, Damian looks at the sky in a daze. Mr. Green, the school custos, jokes that Damian has the face of someone who would rather be at a picnic, which an embarrassed Damian denies. Henderson decides to give the boys a new punishment for their tomfoolery while doing chores: going on a field research trip with Mr. Green.

Mr. Green takes the now frantic boys on a fast-paced canoe ride, planning to take them to a lake for a picnic. As Damian spots an approaching “waterfall,” he accidentally falls off the canoe. When he cries for help, Ewen and Emile jump after him, only to end up in the same situation. They decide to let Damian survive to live their dreams, which moves him. Green interrupts, revealing that the water is shallow and embarrasses the boys.

After starting a warm fire on land, Green tells them to catch some fish for dinner. With Green’s help, the friends prepare to fish. They look for bait and turn over a rock to find some earthworms, which frighten Damian. After Ewen and Emile chase Damian around with worms, they start fishing and successfully catch fish for each of them. As they enjoy their hard-earned meal, Green tells Damian that it is okay to enjoy oneself every now and then. After eating, he takes the boys to “Stella Lake,” which Damian is excited to see.

Upon reaching their destination, the boys are amazed by the lake, where the stars reflect on its surface and look like they can be reached, hence the name Stella Lake. Damian is shocked there are no actual Stellas but denies that the trip was wasted. He, Ewen, and Emile lie down on the ground and look at the stars. While taking in the sight, Emile says the stars look like sugar sprinkled on the sky, which makes Damian burst into laughter. Green says they should be heading back and reminds them to write out a proper field report. After returning to the dorm, the boys go to bed and Damian sneezes while Henry and Green talk about his report.

Damian and his friends overhear the gossip concerning the Pastries of Knowledge, made by a formal royal chef and can guarantee a spot as an Imperial Scholar, and rush to Dining Hall 2 to get some for themselves. On their way to line up, the group run into Anya and Becky, who also have the same goal. The server announces that there is only one order left of the special Pierre Pommier Macaron set. The two groups try to be first to get the last set but are stunned when George has already ordered the macarons.

Damian and Becky rush up to George and demand that he give the macarons to them. When George says they are his as he bought them with his allowance, the kids remind him what he owes them. George concedes to give up four macarons out of the set of five macarons. They realize they have five people and decide to have a round of Old Maid to determine who gets the macarons, the loser not receiving any. Anya asks what the rules are, to Damian's surprise, so Becky briefly explains the rules to her. The game begins, and Damian and Emile scheme to stick Anya with the joker, but Anya unexpectedly wins the game flawlessly. Damian and his friends are in disbelief and accuse her of cheating. Damian thinks the only other explanation is that she can read minds if she is not cheating, shocking Anya. Anya panics and suggests they play another round.

During the new round, Anya starts by taking the old maid from Ewen's deck. Damian and his friends laugh at Anya, tempting her to hit them, but Becky calms her down. Damian's turn to take a card from Anya has arrived, and her facial expressions are very easy to read. Damian easily picks out another card from her deck. Everyone else gets rid of the cards, leaving only Anya and Damian. George comments that Damian is also terrible at the game, and he tells George to shut up. Damian observes her face to determine the right card to take when Anya suddenly begins to tear up, stunning him. George gives everyone their share of the macaron, except Damian, after purposefully taking the joker at the sight of her crying face. Anya offers to share half of her macaron with Damian. Damian blushes and rudely rejects her in embarrassment, walking away. Anya becomes fired up after eating the pastry and studies excitedly until the quizzes the next day. When their results come back, Henry shows that Anya's quiz results are just as bad as before, and the other students stare at Anya in disbelief.

Great Cruise Adventure Arc
After the students return to Eden Academy after their midterm break, Anya tells Becky about her cruise trip on Princess Lorelei, adding that she stayed at the third-class suite. Damian and his friends hear this and make fun of Anya for her peasantry. They then watch Anya trying to impress her classmates about her trip and are impressed by how much she makes herself look like a fool as she continues to make things up.

WISE Arc
In class, Henry Henderson berates the student for the recent increase in tardiness and late homework assignments. As the students leave the class, Damian mocks Anya's tardiness and bets she will be the first to be expelled for getting eight bolts. Becky defends Anya and begins to bicker with Emile and Ewen, who declare that they will run through the school in their underpants if Damian gets a Tonitrus Bolt.

Before Damian can rebuke them, Bill Watkins runs towards them, warning them to run away before it is too late. Bill warns the students of Donna Schlag of the Disciplinary Committee. He explains her prior absence and a fearsome reputation for handing out Tonitrus Bolts for any infraction, rumored to have single-handedly expelled over a hundred students. He urges them to run away as his classroom has already fallen victim to 'Old Lady Tonitrus' and faints. Before the students can escape, Donna is already there and introduces herself, instructing everyone to line up and prepare for a bag inspection. Donna checks the bags, giving out Tonitrus Bolts for snacks and playing cards she finds. Damian is relaxed since he and his friends did not bring anything prohibited. To everyone's surprise, Donna punishes a student with a Tonitrus for not bringing a handkerchief.

Donna explains herself by recounting the tale of an honors student who wiped his hands on his pants after forgetting to bring his handkerchief, earning him the nickname of "Mr. Pee Pants" and eventually getting expelled as a troublemaker. The students quickly check for their handkerchiefs, including Damian, who is dismayed to find that he did not bring his handkerchief.

Damian starts to worry, imagining himself and his friends running around the school grounds in their underpants in humiliation. He thinks about asking Ewen for his handkerchief, but he cannot sacrifice his friend. He thinks of the worst, believing that if he gets even a single Tonitrus Bolt, he will never be able to face his father again. Understanding his plight, Anya lends Damian her handkerchief, reassuring him that she always brings two. Damian gets called for his inspection, and Donna notices the "A" monogrammed on the borrowed handkerchief, which he claims is the one in his name. Next, Anya confidently goes forward but quickly realizes she did not bring a second handkerchief, and Donna gives her a Tonitrus. Seeing Anya cry, Damian feels conflicted and tries to admit the truth, but Anya stops him. After the bag inspection, Damian tries expressing his gratitude in a roundabout manner, saying that paying her back will be a piece of cake. Anya misunderstands that she is getting cake, which annoys him.

Friendship Schemes Arc
Following Becky's advice on how to get closer to Damian, Anya tries to bump into him while holding a yakisoba burger in her mouth, performing her "Friendship Crash." Damian elegantly slides out of her way, fully aware that she might do something like this. While Anya kneels on the floor with the food in her mouth, Damian and his friends make fun of her lowly appearance. Anya angrily shouts at them but accidentally spits the burger onto Damian's head, making his hair resemble hers. Emile and Ewen tease him for this, and Anya apologizes for wasting the food. An aggravated Damian yells at Anya, who is shocked; his friends warn him not to hit her, while Becky tells Anya they need to run.

The next day, Anya confronts Damian, demanding the cake she believes she was promised. Damian says he never promised her anything, then yells at her for demanding anything after she spilled noodles on him yesterday. Damian wonders if Anya has an ulterior motive but is relieved that she only wants cake instead of asking to meet his father. Anya suddenly changes her mind and says she wants to go to his house with her family. While Damian gets flustered, Becky tells Anya she is being too aggressive, and Ewen and Emile reject the idea of her family interacting with the Desmonds. In response, Anya says that Yor has become friends with Melinda Desmond, Damian's mother.

The others are shocked to hear this, and Damian demands to know if Melinda said anything about him. He thinks that if she learns about any of his dark preschool-era secrets, he is done for. Damian then thinks about said secrets, from wetting the bed to not sleeping without his favorite plush toy. Anya assures him that Melinda did not say much about him, and he quickly becomes stoic. Damian turns around in a huff and says Anya's family is no different from the rest, a bunch of flies buzzing around the Desmond name. Anya gets irritated and says she and her family are serious, referring to the mission, which Damian and Becky interpret as a romantic statement.

Red Circus Arc
All first grade students are seen in school buses heading to the museum. Damian feels disgusted to have to travel in an ordinary bus with so many "commoners" around him and later declines Bill Watkins’s offer of becoming friends. Out of nowhere, Anya throws a piece of crumpled paper at Damian's head and makes a face at him. This act enrages him, and he throws it back at her face. Damian wonders if Anya is still mad about him not repaying her yet and thinks about giving her the treats he bought for her. As he takes it out of his backpack, Emile and Elman notice it and ask Damian for some, screwing his chance to give it to her. George, sitting next to him, extends his hand asking him for some cake, but Damian angrily tells him no. Suddenly the bus starts to take another direction, and two strangers get on. One of them immobilizes the dorm tutor who was on the bus as their chaperone, shoots at their pursuers, then announces to the students that they, the Red Circus, have hijacked the bus, scaring Damian and the others.

Billy Squire walks through the bus with a shotgun in hand, frightening the children. Damian notices Anya getting dizzy, but before he can do anything, Bill gets up and tells his classmates to calm down. He reminds them that their parents are important people and that help is on the way. Billy points his rifle at Bill and tells him to be quiet, and the boy quickly shrinks to his seat. Regardless, Bill's words manage to calm the kids, and gain a little bit of Damian’s respect, who calls him hardcore.

Billy begins to say that everyone knows how important the children's parents are and calls out children from influential families, including Damian. He tells the students why they have been taken hostage: to use their lives to negotiate with the government. If they comply with his demands, the children will return home alive and unharmed. He menacingly tells them to pray that their parents will use their power to save them. Later, Anya manages to figure out where they are heading and, along with Becky, starts making a S.O.S. message. Damian notices their strange behavior, and he throws them a letter, asking what the girls are planning, and warns them not to do anything reckless or else they will get killed. Anya throws a reply telling him their plan, but it is illegible, so Becky writes it again and throws it at him.

Damian, aware of the plan, decides to create a distraction by telling Billy he has to poop. Billy is confused but thinks Damian is making a fool out of him, and he grabs him by the collar. Becky and Anya take advantage of the situation and throw the container out the window, which attracts the attention of some people who find out about their predicament. Billy notices what Becky and Anya did, so he releases Damian and angrily goes to his bag. Billy then grabs a strange collar and puts it on Anya. He reveals it to be a bomb, and while he threatens to blow it up if the students try anything else, Damian listens in shock.

After Billy orders the students to do as he says, Anya casually plops back to her seat and says she is hungry. Becky and Damian are shocked by Anya's lack of distress, and Damian wonders if she was raised by an assassin. Anya proceeds to taunt him by whacking on the bomb with her smug smile, which frightens everyone. After seeing Anya get dizzy afterward, Damian assumes she was just doing it for show and did not want the others to be scared.

Damian decides to approach Billy and asks him to attach Anya's bomb to him instead. Damian reasons that because he is Donovan's son and popular among the kids, he is the perfect hostage. Damian then tells himself that he is the scion of the Desmond Family that will one day become a politician and protect his country. He adds that Donovan fought all kinds of enemies during the war and says he can fight too. Billy acknowledges Damian's courage, and decides to honor it by also putting a bomb on him. Damian is shocked by this and nervously chuckles while Ewen and Emile worry for him. On the other hand, Anya happily says they match, which annoys him. Damian wonders why he was trying to save her the way he did but tells himself that those who lead must protect their compatriots, saying that Donovan must have done the same.

Damian tries to think calmly, but the fear of death gets the better of him, and he begins to think about the things he will never get to do, like becoming a politician or studying and playing soccer. Scared that he will die, Damian starts dropping some tears and thinks about his parents and how he wants to live. To his surprise, Anya holds his hand, assuring him that it will be okay and not to be scared. She then whispers to Damian that she overheard the terrorists saying the bombs are fake. Damian quickly denies his fear and her comfort, yanking his hand away from hers. Becky calls Anya mature for this, which makes her so proud that she knocks on her bomb. This scares Becky and Damian, who start calling Anya an idiot. Suddenly, they are interrupted by a loud pop, and the bus starts to swerve around. Damian angrily tells Anya that if he dies, he will haunt her forever when suddenly the bus makes a stop. The students are surprised to be unharmed, and shortly after, the bus is surrounded by police, who the children are relieved to see.

Cornered by the police and the SSS, Billy orders the students to cover all the windows with black sheets. He then steps out of the bus with Damian in tow and tells the police that if they plan on doing anything, he will blow up everyone inside the bus. After stating his demands, Billy and Damian return inside. Damian walks back to his seat, embarrassed to have everyone see him like that, and worries that this will cause trouble for his father. Bill cheers him up, saying that while they are still kids, he did a great job keeping it together and that their only hope is to wait for their parents to do something. Emile and Ewen agree with him and also try cheering up Damian, but he calls Bill a 40-year-old grade-schooler, offending the boy.

After Billy notices some of the students squirming, he orders anyone who needs to go raise their hand as they will go outside to do their business at the shrubs, one at a time. Damian is put off by the idea, while Emile is the first to raise his hand, saying he really needs to go. Billy reminds him not to run away, which Emile will not plan on as he worries for Damian and the neck bomb. Master Henderson arrives with food and water supplies for the students, and everyone is relieved to see him. After receiving their rations, Damian and his friends complain about the food, but Bill and Becky tell them not to complain.