New Student

“Hey, Rosie!!” Aubrey squeal like a rat being squeezed to death. Squeak!

I inhale deeply before turning around with a big smile plastered on my face. “Hi Aubrey!” 

A girl with icy blonde hair is waving across the lawn. That’s Aubrey Black, our neighbor. She lives next door and to this day, I still can’t figure out what I’ve done to make this chick so attached to me. From the first day, since I moved to Belhelm Town a couple of months ago, she literally follows me everywhere I go.

“It’s really a coincidence for me to meet you.” She grins, flashing a row of white teeth. I raise a brow. ‘Is that so? I guess next time I’ll have to wake up earlier than today.’

I don’t particularly hate her. But, I’m not a talkative type and with Aubrey, there’s never a single moment of peace. She’ll twitter like a bird until your ear bleeds, just like now. She keeps chattering what a coincidence, such a fate, whatever rubbish things she says. I just keep silent and try to be patient. It’s better to be called a nerd than a b*tch.

We walk for about ten minutes before we reach the school gate. I nod in greeting when I see the security guard. He smiles back at me. George is always friendly with the students and he’s not an uptight guy. He once let us in for fun at night. No security guard would do that. That’s why we’re close with him.

My first-class today is English while Aubrey has Geography so we part ways at the corridor where I head to my locker and pick up my book and she hers. After I’ve taken the necessary textbooks, I quickly close the locker and rush to the class. My eyes sparkle when I see my favorite seat at the back remains empty.  I always settle down here – near the window and in the very last row – a perfect place to have my peace. To make it even better, the seat beside me is always empty.

Understandable, since not only was I a new student enrolled only in the middle of the semester last month, I’m also not a talker. Most of the time, my face remains expressionless. In my class, they put me in line with the tedious people – can’t really blame them because it’s the truth. I wonder why Aubrey doesn’t find me boring.

A few minutes later, the bell rings, and a twenty-eight years old man comes in with a book and a laptop in his hands. Well, this is our English teacher, Mr. Rick – a pretty fun guy. From the beginning, he always has this approachable aura and his facial nerve doesn’t seem to be tired from smiling all day long. With this kind of teacher, English class has always been fun, even for a new student like me.

“Good morning, Everyone!” He greets us cheerfully.

“Good morning, Mr. Rick!” We greet him back though not with the same spirit as him. Nevertheless, he doesn’t comment and moves on with the class.

“It seems we only have two more meetings before the summer break so…” Before he could finish his sentence, a loud thud rang from the door. All of us turn to the source of noise and discover a guy standing by the door. He’s sporting a pair or jeans and a black jacket. His face is pretty much covered by the hood. Everyone’s in the room so, who’s this guy?

I raise an eyebrow, looking away while covering my mouth. I can’t help but snigger. ‘I bet this dude’s burning in there. It’s eighty degrees outside and he’s wearing black. A jacket not to mention. He must be showering with sweat down there. Pftt…’ 

Additionally, he’s covered up from head to toe. I can’t help but wonder what he’s hiding underneath that hood. A face full of pimples or something? Oops. When I look again, he has already given Mr. Rick a piece of paper.

“Ah…the transfer student, Cain, right?” The guy nods while he keeps his hands in his jacket pocket. I purse my lips. Will it kill him to say a word?

“Damn…he must be rich and smart,” I hear the girls gossiping.

“Obviously, our school might be new in the educational system compares to those institutes who have been there for a long time, but we’re already placed in top ten from last year result.”

“And he transfers late into the semester,” one of the boys snicker to the other. “We got ourselves a smartass, Boys.”

It’s really not an understatement for them to assume that since Darwin High is indeed an elite escalator school that offers education from elementary to university. There are only two ways for you to enter the school. It’s either through connection or exam. Connection relates to wealth and status while the entrance exam only works if you’re a freaking genius.

I still remember the horror of staying up for many nights just to study and luckily, it bore fruits. It granted me an admission letter and a scholarship. The only reason why I even bothered to enroll myself here is that I want an easy time at job hunting in the future. Darwin Institute will definitely make a great CV.

“Careful, Rose, someone is aiming for your seat,” the blondie next to me teases.

I scoff, sneering, before looking away, “Careful, Jay, you’re about to fall another rank.”

“Ouch…” and a series of laughter breaks in soft whisper.

The noise is starting to annoy me and I somewhat pity the guy who stands in the eye of the storm. Additionally, the girls are eyeing him like ravenous beasts stalking their prey. They have yet to see his face but already aiming at him.

“You may take a seat at the empty desk there.” Mr. Rick points his finger at my direction. My body instantly freezes. No freaking way. The only empty seat in this class is next to me.

As mind whirls in a rollercoaster, the new guy arrives at the empty desk and drops his bag beside the chair. After that, he keeps his hand in the jacket and bows his head. I know this stance. This is the position you’ll take when you sleep in class.

I sigh in relief. ‘Yes, please just sleep and ignore me.’

“As I said before, we only have two more meetings before the summer break starts so I would like to give you the assignment to keep you guys entertained during the holiday,” Mr. Rick happily announces his holiday gift to us. Everybody sighs in complaint. Nevertheless, Mr. Rick doesn’t falter as he starts writing on the board.

“Oh…stop complaining. The assignment is easy enough. You only need to write me a paper and I even make the topic free as long as it’s still within the literature study. Lastly, I want at least ten thousand words.” His words fall on a deaf ear as all the students pretend not to listen while staying mute. I hold my laughter in place.

“No complain? Okay, I’ll add more words then,” he suddenly continues. In that instance, everyone explodes with a big NO. Mr. Rick laughs evilly.

“Nope, I’ve already decided. Twenty thousand words but don’t worry, I’ll set you up into a pair. Now that you’ll be working in two, write it well and don’t you dare commit plagiarism.” Mr. Rick might look like an easy-going person but he has zero toleration for plagiarism and laziness. Now, I can only hope my partner has the initiative to help.

“Okay, first pair – Kylie and Noel.” Everyone whistles when Mr. Rick mentions the first pair because they are indeed a pair of lovebirds. My anxiety kicks halfway through the call until finally, Mr. Rick calls mine.

“The next pair – Rose and Cain.”

Thud, went my heart as I hear his name ‘Cain’. My face scrunches up and I can’t help but peer at him. He remains the same. Yet, I can already feel a couple of eyes glaring at me. Girls, I purse my lips. I fix my eyes on my textbook as I try to ignore them.

While Mr. Rick moves to the lesson, my eyes drift to the side subconsciously. I can’t lie. I’m a bit curious about him. He’s going to be my partner. I wonder what he looks like underneath that hood. My gaze burns with curiosity and I have unknowingly stared at him so hard that my eyes seem ready to pop out of their socket any second now.

Doesn’t he feel hot wearing that jacket? Sure, we have an air conditioner but hey, it’s summer. The air is pretty hot and he’s sitting there like it’s no big deal. His pose is a bit…well, he looks cool. I bit my lower lips and hastily look away. Focus, Rosie!!

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to Rose, Cain has discreetly been paying attention to her movement. He raised an eyebrow when she stared hard at him as if she wanted to drill a hole in his jacket. He chuckled softly. He was indeed asleep but woke up when Mr. Rick called his name.

‘Rose, is it?’ he mused to himself before closing his eyes again.