The boy from another world

CHAPTER 4

CHLOE’S POV

The next morning, after the whole shock about the money, Vanezza and I spent some time planning on  how I was going to spend it.

I woke up early, got dressed for school, and took a few bundles of cash from the bag before leaving the room. For the first time in a long while, I felt a small sense of relief.

I could finally pay my tuition in the first week of resumption.

This was something I had never experienced before , i had always been the last person in my department to pay my tuition. Sometimes I even had to beg for more time.

But this time, I cleared everything.

Every last bit of it.

After the stressful night, I finally made my way to school.

It was the beginning of a new session. Students were everywhere, laughing, greeting each other, and looking refreshed.

Almost every face looked bright and well-rested,except mine.

Mine looked tired and overworked.

We had our first class for the session, and everything was going smoothly until my eyes started getting heavy.

Before I realized it, I was already dozing off in class.

“Hey! Wake up!” My eyes shot open immediately.

The lecturer was staring directly at me.

“Why the hell are you sleeping on the first day of resumption?” he said angrily. “You should have dropped this behavior last session.”

The class burst into laughter.

“Stand up,” he ordered. “You’ll remain standing until the end of my class.” My face burned with embarrassment as I slowly stood up.

Everyone kept laughing,but I ignored them.

This wasn’t new to me.

After his class ended, I hurriedly packed my bag and headed for the door. I wanted to get something to eat before the next lecture.

But just as I reached the entrance, someone stopped me.

“Chloe!”  It was Camilla.

“Why were you dozing off in class?” she asked. “Didn’t you sleep well last night?”

She gently adjusted my hair away from my face.

“You look tired. I hope you’re okay.”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” I replied with a small fake smile.

“Okay then, let's go get something to eat.”

Camilla had been my only real friend in school. She was naturally cheerful and jovial. Sometimes I wondered how someone like her even managed to become friends with someone like me.

We walked to the cafeteria and sat down together with our food.

While we were eating, I noticed a tall, light-skinned guy sitting alone at another table.

He was handsome, really handsome.

Coincidentally, he looked up at the exact moment I looked in his direction.

Our eyes met, my  heart skipped immediately 

I quickly lowered my head and used my hair to cover half of my face before continuing my meal.

Camilla didn’t notice anything.

She kept talking about random things, but my mind wasn’t following anything she was saying.

Then suddenly, the guy stood up. He carried his tray and started walking toward our table.

My heart began beating faster.

“Oh my God.. why is he coming this way?”

“Is he coming to this table?”

Questions rushed through my mind.

Camilla suddenly tapped my arm.

“Chloe! Aren’t you hearing what I’ve been saying?”

“Huh ..yeah, I heard,” I replied quickly, pretending I had been listening.

“Hmm okay,” she said suspiciously.

A few seconds later, the guy arrived at our table.

He pulled out a chair and sat down with us.

At that moment, I knew something interesting was about to happen.

I kept my head down, focusing on my food.

He felt different, I had never admired a guy like this before.

But there was something about him that stood out.

“Hii,” Camilla said brightly.

“Hi,” he replied calmly.

His voice was deep, smooth, and giving a baritone vibe.

“I’m Camilla,” she said, stretching out her hand for a handshake.

He smiled and shook her hand.

I stayed quiet, still looking down at my food.

Camilla kept throwing subtle glances at him. I could already tell she admired him.

“Hey,” he said suddenly. “What’s your name?”

I pretended not to hear.

Camilla tapped my arm.

“Uh…me?”

“Yes,” he replied with a small smile.

“Uhm I’m Chloe.”

“Oh, hi Chloe,” he said. “I’m Xavier. I’m a new student here.”

“I just got back from the States, so I decided to start over here.”

He stretched out his hand for a handshake.

“Oh, that’s nice. Nice meeting you,” I said, shaking his hand briefly while keeping my head slightly lowered.

Camilla suddenly cleared her throat when she noticed the way he was looking at me.

“Yeah, she’s Chloe,” she said quickly. “And we’re best friends.”

“So tell me,” Camilla continued excitedly, “why did you decide to start over here?”

That was typical Camilla. She had always been the talkative and cheerful type.

“Camilla, that isn’t necessary right now,” I whispered, lightly stepping on her foot under the table so she would stop talking too much.

“Nah, it’s fine,” Xavier said with a smile. “Let her talk.”

“Nothing really,” he continued. “I just wanted to stay here and spend some time with my father.”

“Oh, that’s nice,” Camilla said.

When we were done eating, Xavier called the cafeteria attendant.

“How much is the cost of everything?” he asked.

“Uhm you don’t have to worry about us. We’re fine,” I quickly said, trying to stop him.

“Nah, we aren’t,” Camilla interrupted happily. “We’re very okay with you sorting it.”

I stepped on her foot again, but this time she ignored me.

“No problem,” Xavier said calmly. “It’s already sorted.”

“I’ll see you both around.”

“Okayyyy bye!” Camilla said excitedly.

The moment he left the table, I grabbed her ear.

“What the hell was that for?!”

“Leave me!” she laughed, trying to escape my grip.

“Don’t you want to save your money?” she said. “Why would you refuse that kind of offer?”

“Can’t you see how rich he is?”

“And besides” she added shyly, smiling to herself.

“I think I have a crush on him.”

“You do?” I raised an eyebrow. “For someone you just met?”

She kept blushing and honestly i had also felt something strange about him.

But the moment she said she had a crush on him, I immediately buried that thought.

I wasn’t going to let anything come between Camilla and I.

She grabbed my hand and dragged me toward the classroom.

What we didn’t know was that Xavier was actually in our department.

When we entered the class and saw him sitting there, Camilla nearly screamed.

“Chloe!!! He’s in our department!”

I tried to act calm.

“Yeah… you don’t have to overreact,” I said as I dragged her to our seats.

During our second class, the lecturer introduced Xavier as a transfer student from the States.

The moment he mentioned it, whispers filled the classroom. After the class ended, Xavier instantly became the talk of the whole class. 

Almost every girl wanted to talk to him. Some were asking questions, some were laughing loudly just to get his attention but Xavier remained calm and polite with everyone.

Yet somehow, his eyes kept finding mine and every time they did, I quickly looked away.

My heart began beating faster.

“No! No.”

“I can’t afford to fall in love with this guy.”

“What the hell is this feeling?”

Love?

“No! No!”

I quickly stood up and rushed to the restroom,I stared at my reflection in the mirror.

“He can’t love me,” I said calmly to myself.. “I’m not even up to his standard.”

Why am I feeling this way?

This is unusual.

“No,” I said firmly to myself. “I can’t show it.”

“I’ll give him attitude instead.”

I splashed some water on my face, wiped it quickly, and rushed back to the class.

Finally, it was closing hour. Students began leaving the building in groups, heading toward their different destinations.

Camilla and I walked out together. Then suddenly, a very expensive black car drove slowly into the parking lot. The engine was quiet but powerful.

My eyes followed the car immediately.

The door opened. Xavier stepped out of the building and walked straight toward it.

My eyes widened in suprise. 

“Oh my God,” Camilla whispered beside me.

“Is that his car?”

“He has a driver?”

She sounded overly excited.

“Keep quiet, Camilla,” I muttered. “He isn’t the first person to go home with a car.”

“Why the excitement?”

I tried to sound unimpressed, even though my eyes were still on him.

The driver opened the door for him, Xavier got inside the car.

Just before the door closed, he looked through the window.

Straight at us.

I quickly turned my head away.

But Camilla didn’t. She smiled brightly and waved at him.

A moment later, the window rolled down slightly.

“Would you like me to drop you girls at your destination?” he asked calmly.

Before I could even react,  “Yes!” Camilla said excitedly.

She immediately grabbed my hand and started dragging me toward the car.

“No!” I pulled her back instantly.

“We’re fine.” “She’s not going anywhere,” I said without hesitation.

“We’ll get home safely.”

“We don’t need your ride.”

Camilla looked at me like I had just ruined her entire day.

“But why?” she complained. Xavier watched us quietly for a moment.

Then suddenly he smiled. A calm and confident smile.

“Don’t worry,” he said.

“You’ll end up in my house eventually.”

My heart skipped.

Something about the way he said it felt strange.

Almost like a promise, and somehow that sentence would soon become a reality in a way I never expected.