Chapter 2

The man glanced at the girl in front of him coldly and haughtily for just a second and then left without apologizing.

 

Zella snorted in annoyance, watching him. With an irritated heart, she picked up the books scattered on the floor, went to the library for a while to return them, and then returned to class.  At that moment, the bell rang to signal the entrance.

 

At the doorway, Zella saw Lily smiling to herself like a crazy person. A prank idea crossed her mind; she slowly approached and kicked the desk hard.

 

“Fuck!” Lily almost tumbled backward. She would have fallen if it hadn’t been for the table behind her.

 

Zella laughed out loud. Lily gave Zella a sharp look, and seconds later, she opened her book and covered her face with it.

 

“What are you doing? You’re covering your face with a book.” Zella hadn’t realized that a few seconds ago, Lector had come and was watching her.

 

“WHO IS THAT LAUGHING?!”

 

Suddenly, Zella’s body stiffened, heart beating fast. Zella swallowed her saliva with difficulty and then turned around, looking down at her face. “Sorry, Sir, I didn’t know Mr. Robert was there.”

 

The middle-aged man let out a long sigh. “Well, for today, I forgive you. But for the second time, there is no apology. Hurry up and sit down!“

 

”Yes, sir." Zella exhaled with a sense of relief.

 

“Next time, don’t be ignorant, Bestie!” laughed Lily softly while whispering behind Zella, who snorted in annoyance.

 

"Today, we will be welcoming a new student from Italy. I trust that you will behave well with him." Please come in,” said Mr. Robert.

 

Zella was surprised, and a moment later, she snorted rudely at the arrogant and haughty man who had bumped into her a few minutes ago. The man's unusual style and appearance surprised her more than the accidental bump.

 

He was dressed in a black hoodie and hat, his pants torn, his black hair disheveled as if he hadn't washed it in two years, and he was still chewing candy despite the presence of a lecturer next to him.

 

“Introduce yourself, and please throw away the candy first. M-meaning to be clear during the introduction,” said Mr. Robert, slightly stuttering when he stared at the man beside him.

 

“Dario.”

 

The man uttered only one word. The female students' hysterical screams captivated Dario as they stared at him.

 

“Alright, Dario, please sit next to Zella. Zella! Raise your hand,” said Mr. Robert.

 

Zella suddenly raised her hand; the man staring haughtily instantly turned 180° and stared at her sharply when he heard her name, only for a few seconds, then changed back. The man walked over to her, sat beside her, and put his head on the table without greeting her.

 

Strangely, the lecturer, famous for being fierce in teaching, just let it go as if it didn’t matter. She snorted rudely.

 

The break time rang, and Zella put her things away and put them inside; at the same time, Lily took her to the cafeteria. Zella turned her head to the side, seeing that he was still sleeping.

 

“Zella, I’ll go first, and you’ll follow,” Lily said as she ran and grabbed Damian’s hand.

 

Zella was about to follow, but her hand was immediately grabbed by Dario. Zella frowned in surprise, looking at the man questioningly.

 

“Be careful; don’t trust anyone,” Dario muttered, still maintaining his sleeping position. Then he released his hand.

 

"What do you mean?" Zella asked, confused and unable to understand.

 

But the man did not answer, leaving Zella confused. A man approached her.

 

“Zella, can we talk?” Zella turned to see Brian, the class president, approaching her.

 

“Yeah, okay.”

 

Zella and Brian walked away; at the doorway, Zella paused to see that the man still hadn’t moved from his position, and then she walked back out.

 

In front of the class, Brian spoke to her one-on-one. “Zella, do you have time after school?”

 

“I do; why?”

 

“So, I have something to talk to you about. I want to tell you something after school,” Brian said, trying to be as calm as possible. The woman he loved was causing his heart to race.

 

“Why don’t you talk about it here? There’s no one here.” Zella gave Brian a confused look.

 

Brian rubbed his neck, struggling to come up with a reason. “Because... you know, you can’t?”

 

“Alright, I’ll be there later.”

 

“Thanks.” Brian’s smile lit up happily, then he turned to leave. More precisely, walking fast, Zella scratched her head, confused at the behavior of her class leader, who was usually fierce and firm but now a little strange.

 

Zella shook her head and walked after Lily in the cafeteria.

 

“Zella! What took you so long? Where have you been?” Lily inquired as she consumed the pasta noodles Damian was preparing for her.

 

“I had something to do with Brian; he said he wanted to talk about something after school, but I don’t know what.” Zella shrugged her shoulders in ignorance.

 

Lily was pensive for a second and then smiled widely and raised her eyebrows.

 

“I just remembered! You know what? When I was going to meet my boyfriend here, I accidentally bumped into Brian, who was carrying the lecturer’s laptop; after that, the cell phone from his pocket was thrown, and you know what? To my surprise, the wallpaper featured a picture of you, Zolla! Lily shouted hysterically.

Zella glared wide-eyed; her hand immediately covered Lily’s mouth; while looking around, some of them sent a sardonic look. Zella looked down in shame. “No need to shout, can you?”

 

Lily shrugged unconcernedly, pushing Zella’s hand away and returning to accepting Damian’s mouthful.

 

Zella snorted an annoyed sigh. “No way, no need to joke.”

 

“No lie! That fix means the kid likes you,” Lily exclaimed enthusiastically.

 

The sound of glasses falling to the floor distracted them both.

 

Lily glared perfectly. “Oh my gosh, honey!”

 

Lily stood up anxiously and walked over to Damian, wiping his hand where he had spilled his hot coffee.

 

Damian smiled. “It’s nothing, no need to worry.”

 

“Why did it spill, darling?!” Lily looked worried, blowing on Damian’s hand, hoping it would improve.

 

“You’re too excited, sweetie; you didn’t realize you’d knocked over the coffee. But it’s okay; I can clean it up.”

 

“It’s because I was careless. Let’s go to the infirmary to change and treat your hand.”

 

“But honey.”

 

“Shut up already; let’s go!” Lily immediately pulled Damian’s hand to the infirmary.

 

Zella gazed questioningly at the couple, pondering whether she misinterpreted what she saw as Damian's hand nudging the coffee instead of Lily's or if she misinterpreted it as Lily accidentally nudging Damian's hand and spilling the coffee. She sighed discourteously, not caring if Damian nudged the coffee.

 

Campus dismissal time had arrived; Zella went to the toilet for a while and then walked to the back of the campus. The campus corridors were quiet, as the students had all gone home.

 

Zella walked leisurely until she reached the back of the campus; a long chair was under a big tree. She saw no one but herself.

 

She sat down and waited, thinking that maybe Brian was still busy and would be late.

 

An hour passed, and there was no sign of him. Zella glanced at her watch; it was 5 pm.

She intended to call the man, but the phone rang and went unanswered. She made three attempts to reach the man but to no avail. With a grunt of frustration, she got up and headed home.

 

She had been hoping that he would confess his feelings for her because Lily had said that Brian liked her, and she couldn’t possibly reject Brian’s affection when she had also been infatuated with him since she entered college.

 

But not today! She didn’t like him anymore; she felt cheated and played.