Chapter 3
Classes ended.
Felix stretched his arms.
"Wow, that almost took forever. Glad it's finally over."
"What? Don't you like it?" Kai asked.
"What?"
"Classes?" Kai repeated.
"I do, but I'm not really the biggest fan of math class."
"Me neither," someone suddenly added.
They both turned.
A boy had joined their conversation without warning.
"Hello, I'm Christian. Chris for short."
He stretched out his hand.
"Kai," he replied, shaking it.
"So you're like the school's celebrity, right?"
"What do you mean?"
"You're popular. Look."
Chris showed his phone. A short clip of Kai entering the school gates played on screen.
"This video of you walking in like a prince is everywhere."
"Really? Let me see," Felix said quickly, grabbing the phone.
"Woah! So you're not just a celeb outside school, but inside too? Daebak."
"What? Don't just randomly use Korean words, it sounds cringe," Kai said flatly.
"Why? I like it," Chris replied.
"I don't."
"Whatever. So can you give me tips on how to look as good as you?"
"Idol benefits," Kai said simply.
"Idol? I thought you were a model," Chris said, half mocking.
"Same difference."
"Well, I want to go into modeling too. Give me tips."
"Sure. Number one tip is be good looking."
"Hey… you're so mean."
At that moment, a chubby girl entered the class carrying a stack of books and placed them on the teacher's table.
"Alright everyone, settle down please."
The class slowly quieted.
"So Mr. Jamie won't be available for English class. He assigned me to give you an exercise and score it. Turn to page 147 and complete it. Thank you."
A few minutes later, everyone submitted their notebooks.
"I'm sorry, but are you going to score my notebook?" a pretty girl asked, dropping hers on the table.
"No, I'll score it on paper. Whoever gets the lowest score will clean the classroom on Friday."
"Whatever. Just handle my book properly. It's worth more than you," the girl said before walking away.
The classroom fell quiet again.
Minutes later, the chubby girl returned with the results.
"Everyone did well, except a few people. The average score was 10. Anyone below that has failed."
She began reading.
"Rei, 6. Daniel, 8. Eliot, 7. Angeline, 9."
"What? Nine?" Angeline stood up immediately.
"Are you crazy? How can you give me a 9? Do you even know what you're doing?"
"I'm sorry, Angeline, but that is your score," the girl replied calmly.
Angeline stormed toward her.
"You crazy girl! How dare you?"
Before she could continue, Asha stepped in.
"I don't understand why you're shouting at her when you clearly failed. Did you expect to be first?"
Angeline turned.
"Stay out of this, Ebony."
"I'm not getting involved," Asha said firmly. "I just don't get why you're attacking her when she did nothing but mark your score. Are you that unable to accept correction?"
"You…" Angeline raised her hand.
"Go ahead," Asha said calmly. "Hit me and face the consequences. Principal Devon would love a scapegoat on the first day."
Angeline froze.
After a moment, she lowered her hand.
"Just remember this," she said coldly. "If I catch you outside, you're dead."
She shoved past Asha and walked away.
"Are you okay?" Asha asked.
"Yes. Thank you for helping me again, Asha."
"No problem. Don't let her words get to you. She's just a bully."
The girl nodded softly.
"Thank you."
Lunch Time
At the cafeteria, the chubby girl approached Asha and her friends.
"Asha, I wanted to give you this."
She held out a lunch box.
"You don't have to," Asha said quickly.
"But I want to. I want to thank you properly for standing up for me, especially against Angeline."
"I understand, but I didn't do it for rewards. It wasn't right. Nobody deserves that kind of treatment," Asha replied gently.
"I know… but please take it."
"Please. It's the only thing I can give you."
Asha hesitated.
"Alright. We'll take it. Thank you."
Aarina immediately took the box.
"Whoa! Asha, this is a Klootbox! These are expensive!"
"You should return it," Asha said.
"Why? It's not that expensive."
"That's exactly why you should return it. You know how hard it is for her family. She's on scholarship. This probably meant a lot to her."
Aarina paused.
"…Still, she gave it to you."
Before Asha could respond, Aarina opened it.
"OMG! Orion Choco Pie! I've always wanted this!"
She hugged it excitedly.
Aeri, meanwhile, was on her phone.
"Aeri, no phones during school hours," Asha warned.
"This isn't class though," she said lazily.
"Still school hours. You'll get in trouble."
"Only if I get caught."
Asha sighed.
"I'll be back."
At Phile's Table
A group of students gathered around Phile.
"Well, well… as usual, the whale of the school is eating again."
Laughter erupted.
"How do you sleep at night knowing how overweight you are? Chubby people probably snore so loudly."
More laughter followed.
"I heard your parents were unlucky to have you. Maybe they're being punished for something."
Phile stood up, shaking.
"Stop it… don't talk about my family."
"Oh? What are you going to do? You can't sue me. You're too poor. You're trash. You should just die."
"Stop it…" Phile whispered, tears forming.
"Your parents probably wish you were never born."
"Stop it!" she cried.
She grabbed Angeline's collar.
"Hey! Are you crazy? Do you have a death wish?"
Angeline slapped her hard.
Asha returned just in time.
"You bitch!" Angeline shouted. "Do you know how much this uniform costs?"
"Stop it!"
Asha's voice cut through the cafeteria as she walked forward.
And the entire room went silent.