Chapter 3

"What is wrong with you today? I went out of my way to bring you a frappuccino, and you’re giving me an attitude? Forget it if you don't want it. Gosh, you're so spoiled," he muttered impatiently.

His reaction took me back to when we first met.

It was seventh grade, and his grades were dead last. His parents were fighting every single day over how to deal with him. Mark used to sit all alone in the stairwell, looking as helpless and pitiable as a stray dog on the street.

We were just ordinary classmates back then. I happened to run into him while visiting family nearby.

He looked up and asked me, "Sadie, why are your grades always so good? If I were as smart as you, do you think my parents wouldn't get divorced?"

I didn't know the answer.

But after that day, I took the initiative to ask our teacher to make Mark my seatmate. I lent him my notes and explained the problems to him. Since his foundation was weak, we started from elementary school material. When he couldn't memorize formulas, I sat with him while he copied them down ten, twenty, thirty times.

During that period, the thing he said most often was, "Sadie, why are you so good to me?"

By the end of eighth grade, his grades had climbed from the bottom to the middle of the class, just enough for him to get accepted into a top prep high school alongside me.

The day the results came out, his parents were over the moon. They went straight to court to withdraw their divorce papers.

That night, Mark sent me countless messages.

[Sadie, my parents aren't getting divorced. They don't call me an idiot anymore.]

[Sadie, thank you for tutoring me.]

[Sadie, I really like you.]

I didn't reply, but I still remember how soft the midsummer breeze felt that night as it blew right into both of our hearts.

After that, it became an unspoken truth that we were together. It's been three years since then.

We had made a pact to go to the same university. Since his grades weren't as good as mine, I had given up my early admission offer to him.

And now, both he and I had gone back on our word.

While I was lost in thought, Mark completely ran out of patience. He shoved the frappuccino into my hands, turned around, and walked away. As he walked, he pulled his phone out of his pocket and tapped on the screen.

I lowered my eyes, reaching out to close the door.

The moment the door swung shut, my phone rang loudly.

'Oh no,' I thought.

A few steps away, Mark, who was currently dialing Adele’s number, heard the ringtone and turned around.

…

Keeping a straight face, I immediately hid my phone, shut the door, and hung up the call.

Outside, listening to the automated voice message saying the call was unavailable, Mark frowned ever so slightly. A flicker of doubt crossed his mind, but it vanished just as quickly.

Because Adele had just posted a new update on her story.

[Thanks to a certain someone for bringing me a frappuccino! Buy two, get one free, so he gave the extra one to his charity case!]

Attached was a photo of a frappuccino with a straw stuck into it.

Mark quickly commented below: [As long as you like it.]

Our classmates immediately jumped on his comment, spamming the thread.

["As long as you like it"! Somebody's not even trying to hide his feelings anymore!]

[I told you guys Mark had a huge crush on the school beauty! You didn't believe me!]

The comment section was filled with teasing and laughter. However, a few people brought up valid concerns.

[The college entrance exam is tomorrow, and Mark is running around delivering drinks so late. Does he seriously not care about the exams?]

[If he messes up tomorrow, he’s going to regret this big time.]

Others tried to reason with him.

[Mark, you should really squeeze in some last-minute studying while you still have a little time.]

[Literature is tomorrow morning! Have you actually reviewed all those vocabulary lists and reading passages?]

A few seconds later, Mark replied to all the comments.