I gritted my teeth, enduring and enduring, but there was a limit to my patience.
Intentionally, I had avoided staring at the one who rested his gaze on me, but it was getting too annoying.
And so, with a swift turning of my neck, I faced the left—toward Edward’s direction.
The moment I did so, I could see him turning his head as well, trying to avoid my gaze.
‘What the heck?!’
Edward had been staring at me frequently, even as we had Homeroom. I was clueless as to why.
‘I’m not about to play this childish game!’
First, he sat close to me. Now, he was looking at me. Was he trying to distract me or something? Was this his idea of revenge?
It made no sense whatsoever, and I felt it was just childish. Still, considering our age, it wasn’t beyond consideration.
My eyes darted to the second row, on the left side of the Lecture Hall, and I saw Anabelle—Edward’s friend.
She had some sort of frown written on her face that somehow distorted the gentle and timid image she usually had. It didn’t diminish her beauty, though. Rather, the unusually angry expression planted on her face gave a certain charm that made her look cute—like she was pouting.
‘Is she angry at someone…?’
My mind went to Edward, but it seemed unlikely. Perhaps she was upset by his decision to sit beside me and not beside her. No, even yesterday they didn’t sit beside each other. That was most likely not the problem.
As I considered this, I felt Anabelle Frederick’s eyes move toward my direction, and for a split second, our eyes met.
I could feel myself drawn to the crystal blue in her eyes, different from the brilliant golden glow in mine.
It only happened for an instant, but the burning glare I had previously noticed on her face intensified as we exchanged glances and she quickly looked away.
It was at that moment that I became aware. Her animosity was directed at none other than me! It made me a little flustered, just thinking about it. But, just as I did for everything, I approached the matter rationally.
‘What did I do to her, though?’
Was she upset by my actions against her friend? He started it, so I wasn’t to be blamed. I barely scratched him too—a benevolent act considering others would end up having injuries after a Duel.
Then, perhaps the young girl was still hung over my little cough when she was speaking about her goals. It wasn’t in my intention to be rude, but I certainly came off that way.
Usually, I would wave it off. However, I slowly considered making an exception for her.
‘I still have no friends, and being honest… she’s the only one who still has my attention.’ I reasoned.
It would be foolish to live a school life all alone—with no allies or anyone to call friend. If I could get on good terms with her by apologizing, then it was a small price to pay. I wasn’t so overly fixated on my ego, after all.
‘I suppose I’ll talk to her after General classes today…’ Considering the fact that Specialized classes started after that, it was the best solution.
And so, after making up my mind, I brought out a book I had been studying and continued with it. Since I tried a bit of experiment last night, I had more understanding of what I had been studying for some time and now—this made reading much easier.
**********************
Neron returned to the class at the appointed time and began our first course for the day. From the corner of my eyes and also as a result of my heightened senses, I could see and hear several students studiously writing down what was being taught.
Many would consider this behavior to be scholarly, but it was far from it. Simply writing down words that could easily be traced to textbooks was a waste of time and energy. It would be better to pay attention to the lecturer and critically examine all he said in case he said something interesting that would be worthy of highlighting. That would definitely be more efficient both in learning and preparing for tests and exams.
My hands barely moved throughout the lecture as I only wrote down the things that were of utmost pertinence. This would have caused some stirs among the other students who were fond of monitoring my movements, but they were all too busy trying to diligently imprint our Lecturer’s words into their sheets.
As expected, Anabelle didn’t work as hard as the others, though she still wrote quite a bit. Edward, the musclebrain kept moving his well-trained hands and wrote with vigor. I had no idea why I even bothered noticing him.
‘Maybe because he’s beside me… sigh.’
I was grateful, though. The boy didn’t have enough leeway to stare at me the way he frequently did. That alone gave me inner satisfaction.
*************************
“Alright. That’s enough for today. The lecture is over, get ready for the next one.” Neron said, stepping down from the lectern.
I looked at the clock conspicuously hung on the wall. It was 10:49 AM, and get was supposed to finish by 11:00. Well, considering the fact that the Martial Arts division had a Specialized course by exactly 11:00 AM, he must have finished early because of them.
‘But, he’s just going to leave like that?!’ I stared at Neron, puzzled.
Wasn’t he going to mention where our halls were situated for each department’s distinct Specialized courses? Neron did nothing of the sort, though, and kept heading for the entrance.
“Excuse me, professor! You haven’t told us where our Specialized Courses will be held! It starts shortly!” Edward bravely spoke up, a split moment before I decided to take action.
Neron paused, the entire class watched in expectation, hoping for a proper response, stemming from good guidance. No one could have expected what would come out of our Lecturer’s mouth…
… Not even me!