“Felix, how long are you going to keep ignoring me?!”
The young man poring over his Biology book didn’t budge, as if he hadn’t heard her. His eyes scanned every line while his right hand busily wrote down the conclusions he’d drawn.
“Lix?” the girl called again.
After six years of being friends with Felix, Wulan knew all about his worst habit: the silent treatment, something he gave people whenever he was angry with them.
Wulan knew he was still mad about what had happened yesterday. “Do you think I’m a demon or a human being?!”
So frustrated that she couldn’t take it anymore, the girl started snatching the pen from Felix’s hand to make him stop writing.
Felix glanced over, looking at the pen now in the girl’s hand. “Wow, amazing! My pen can fly by itself.”
The girl’s face turned bright red. Was she annoyed? Of course! Wulan was already struggling not to smack the young man sitting in front of her on the head.
“Felix!?” Wulan cried in frustration.
“Huh, Wulan? How long have you been there?” The young man’s eyes went perfectly round, as if he were shocked to discover someone had suddenly appeared in the desk in front of him.
Wulan growled in exasperation. “When you get sulky, you’re exactly like a girl, damn it!”
“Whatever,” Felix shot back. “I want you to realize what you did wrong.”
“I realize it, okay?” Wulan lowered her voice, trying to keep herself under control. “I’ve apologized over and over, but you don’t even care.”
“Lan.” The young man leaned forward, closing the distance as he stared straight into the girl’s dark brown eyes. “Your apology shouldn’t be to me. You need to apologize directly to the person you hurt.”
“I—I...” Suddenly, the girl’s throat felt tight.
Felix raised an eyebrow. “What? Too proud?”
Wulan fell silent.
“Lan, pride only makes things harder for you,” the young man remarked as he went back to reading his Biology textbook. “Be gentle, Lan.”
ㅤㅤㅤ ** I’m Proud to Be Me ** ㅤㅤ
An oppressive silence once again descended over Class X IPS 3. This time, two guests had arrived—the same two people who had successfully made them forget how to breathe yesterday.
Even though Wulan and Felix weren’t wearing their student council jackets.
“Good afternoon, IPS 3!”
Unexpectedly, Wulan greeted them with a cheerful smile. Felix did too. Though the young man chose not to say much, at least the expression on his face was softer—not like the one he wore when carrying out disciplinary action against students.
“We’re both representatives of the North Star High School Olympiad Club. So, we’re here to give you all a brief explanation about the club.”
Every student let out a simultaneous sigh of relief. The tense atmosphere immediately became more relaxed.
“In the Olympiad Club, we offer almost every subject. Even for the social sciences track—”
“Whoa, Felix?! What a coincidence that you’re here!”
The entire class’s attention instantly shifted to the girl who had interrupted them. A mysterious smile spread across her face, her eyes gleaming playfully. She leaned against the doorframe with her arms crossed, looking back and forth between Wulan and Felix.
Felix cleared his throat indifferently. “Go on, Lan.”
“For the social sciences track,” Wulan continued, “we have Olympiad subjects in Economics, Sociology, Geography, and History. Oh, and if any of you are more interested in Math, you can sign up for that too. Each student can choose three subjects they like.”
Wulan glanced at Felix for a moment before continuing. “Our club president once competed in five Olympiad subjects and won a medal in every single one!”
All the students were amazed to hear it, and applause began to thunder through the classroom. It turned out that the scary guy was incredibly smart.
“If you’d like to join the Olympiad Club, you can fill out this form! I’ll leave one copy in the classroom, and you can photocopy it later. That’s all from us. Any questions?”
A student in the corner of the classroom immediately raised his hand. “When’s the deadline to turn in the form?”
“Oh, right. All extracurricular forms have to be turned in by the closing ceremony of New Student Orientation at the latest. You can also check the school bulletin board for the date of the club’s first meeting!”
“That’s probably all from the Olympiad Club. Thank you for your time!”
The pair began moving aside, intending to leave the classroom. For a moment, Wulan and Felix exchanged glances with the girl who had been standing in the doorway the entire time. The meaning behind those looks was impossible to decipher.
The girl returned their gaze—or rather, Felix’s—with a deliberately warm expression. Now she spread both arms wide, as if she wanted to pull Felix into a hug.
But before she could make good on the gesture, Felix stopped her. She froze awkwardly.
“This is a school, not a drama set, Tania.”
Wulan instinctively giggled when she saw the girl’s embarrassed expression.
Tania only smiled bitterly. She then stood beside Felix, sneaking a glance at him with an unreadable look.
__“Still the same cold guy...”__ Tania murmured.
The heated situation made the students of Class X IPS 3 hiss softly. No one could hold back anymore, and little whispers filled the air.
The young man walked past Tania, while Wulan, following behind him, eyed her suspiciously.
“Hi, IPS 3! I’m Ellamina Tania, president of the modern dance club,” the girl announced, drawing Class X IPS 3’s attention back to her and putting the rumors on hold for a moment.
“Let’s get right to it! If you’re interested in joining, just fill out the form and check the modern dance club box. Oh, and don’t be afraid to join even if you don’t have any skills yet—in other words, even if you’re starting from zero. We’ll teach you everything from the beginning in modern dance club! The important thing is that you’re willing to move your body. All right, see you!”
Ellamina Tania strode out immediately, leaving Class X IPS 3 in confused silence for a few moments. But the very next second, the classroom suddenly erupted, everyone talking about what they had just seen.
“Short, sweet, and savage,” Zora whispered to Cheresse, who was still her seatmate today.
Meanwhile, Cheresse didn’t remain idle. The girl’s sharp jaw clenched tightly. She stared fiercely at the wall in front of her. If her eyes had lasers, that wall would definitely have been full of holes by now.
Should I join the modern dance club? the girl wondered.
“Damia?” Zora’s hand waved back and forth in front of her face. “Dam, are you listening to me?”
“Uh—what?” The girl blinked rapidly, just coming out of her reverie.
“What club do you want to join?” Zora repeated the question Cheresse hadn’t heard.
“Not sure yet. I still haven’t found one that feels right,” Cheresse replied firmly.
A lie.
“Hmm... same!” Zora muttered with a little pout.
“Has anything caught your interest so far?” Cheresse turned toward Zora so she could see her friend’s expression.
“Yeah, but I’m still hesitant to sign up.”
“What club?” Cheresse asked again.
“Basketball.”
“But,” Zora objected before her seatmate could comment, “I’m kind of slow, and I’m always tripping over my own feet. If I fall just walking, imagine me running around with a ball! Wouldn’t it be hilarious if I suddenly tripped over the ball I was dribbling?”
“Don’t think like that. It’s better to regret trying than to regret never trying, right?”
Zora blinked repeatedly, her eyes sparkling as if she’d just received divine inspiration. “DAMIA, THANK YOU!”
Without realizing it, Zora’s friend was actually slapping herself in the face.
To Be Continued