Chapter 2: Transfer Student
The new boy’s footsteps silenced the buzz filling the 11th-Grade Science 2 classroom. He walked calmly beside Mr. Gunawan, wearing a stiff, freshly pressed white-and-gray uniform. He was tall and fair-skinned, with messy hair that looked carelessly tousled yet somehow suited his handsome, almost sweet-looking face perfectly.
“Hi, everyone,” the new student greeted them. His voice was soft and calm. “My name is Reynald Putra. You can call me Rey. Nice to meet you.”
“That’s it? Nothing else?” Mr. Gunawan asked.
“No, sir,” Rey replied shortly.
“All right. Does anyone have any questions for Rey?”
Before any of the girls could say a word, Nayla had already stood up with a warm smile. “Hi, Rey. I’m Nayla, the Class President here. If you need help finding your way around school or getting your textbooks, just let me know.”
Rey turned toward Nayla and gave a slow nod. A faint, measured smile touched his lips. “Thanks, Nayla. Your help will be very useful.”
In the very back row, Kevin suddenly straightened up. His brow furrowed deeply. His gaze sharpened as he watched Rey direct that smile straight at Nayla.
“Whoa,” Dimas whispered from the desk beside him, nudging Kevin’s arm. “Your biggest rival just showed up, Vin. He’s tall and handsome, too.”
“Rival in what way?” Kevin scoffed sharply, folding his arms across his chest. “His hair’s a mess. He doesn’t even look neat.”
“But Nayla’s smiling pretty wide at him,” Aris teased without looking up from his textbook. “Way different from how she reacted to your cheesy pickup line this morning.”
“Aris, can you shut up?” Kevin whispered, growing even more annoyed.
Mr. Gunawan looked around the room. “Okay, Rey. Since the only empty seat is in the very back...”
Mr. Gunawan pointed toward the empty desk right beside Kevin and Dimas’s row. “You can sit there, beside the empty seat near the window.”
“All right, sir,” Rey replied briefly.
Rey began walking down the aisle between the desks. Every time he passed a group of girls, their admiring whispers rang out clearly. Rey merely answered them with a friendly nod. But as he got closer to the back row, he found Kevin staring him up and down with an intimidating glare.
Rey paused beside Kevin’s desk. Their eyes met at close range. Kevin glared sharply at Rey, while Rey continued staring back with a calm expression and not the slightest hint of fear.
“Excuse me, could you move over a little?” Rey asked flatly, pointing at Kevin’s long leg, which was sticking out into the aisle.
Instead of moving his leg, Kevin pushed it even farther out. “There’s still plenty of room. Your EYES aren’t bad, are they?”
Dimas slapped his own forehead. “Oh my God, Kevin...”
Rey looked at Kevin’s leg, then back at the basketball captain’s face. Rather than looking intimidated, he offered a faint smirk that dripped with disdain.
“Oh,” Rey murmured softly. “I thought there was a fallen utility pole in the middle of the aisle. Turns out it was just your leg.”
“What did you say?” Kevin immediately stood straight up. His tall frame towered over Rey. “Utility pole?”
“Kevin! What’s going on back there?” Mr. Gunawan called loudly from the front of the classroom. “We just started first period, and you’re already looking for a fight?”
“It’s nothing, sir,” Rey cut in quickly before Kevin could say anything. He looked at Mr. Gunawan with an innocent, friendly expression. “Kevin was just trying to clear the way for me. He’s actually very considerate.”
“Oh, good, then. Kevin is such a diligent student,” Mr. Gunawan praised him, completely unaware. “All right, Rey, go ahead and sit down. We’re starting Physics.”
“Thank you, sir,” Rey said as he walked past Kevin, who was still standing there frozen, his face red with restrained anger.
Rey sat down at the desk near the window and straightened his bag without paying any attention to Kevin, who was still glaring fiercely from the next desk over.
“You were taking a shot at me, weren’t you?” Kevin whispered—though it came out more like a half-shout—in Rey’s direction.
Rey casually turned the page in his Physics book. “I wasn’t taking a shot at you. I was just stating a fact.”
“Don’t get cocky around here!” Kevin warned in a low voice. “I’m the basketball captain at this school!”
Rey slowly turned and looked at Kevin from the side. A lock of hair fell slightly over his forehead. “So? Am I supposed to salute every time you walk by?”
“You—”
“Kevin, Reynald! Open your books to chapter three. Don’t sit there gossiping!” Mr. Gunawan shouted as he tapped his marker against the whiteboard.
“Yes, sir,” Rey replied politely.
As soon as Mr. Gunawan turned back to write formulas on the board, Rey shot Kevin a brief glance, then spun his pen around his fingers with impressive skill. “Focus, Captain. Your grades will get even worse if you keep staring at me.”
Kevin clenched his fists beneath the desk, his eyes glittering with rage. “You’d better watch yourself, newbie. I’ll make sure you don’t feel comfortable in this class.”
Rey merely let out a quiet chuckle, a faint little laugh that grated terribly on Kevin’s ears. “I’ll be waiting, Captain.”