3

Another day of torture. 

"I hope...I will do well in this exam. You know how the teacher teaches something else and gives something else in the exam." Leah said while walking into the class with Mia beside her. "Right. I almost failed her exam last time. God saved my ass." Mia said and Leah chuckled. 

"I remember, you were crying because your mama took all your video games away. Seriously, you need to leave that crappy game."  Leah said and Mia passed her a glare. "And you need to stop reading those mangas of yours," Mia said and Leah shook her head.

"You can ask for my life but don't tell me to give up on my manga," Leah said and Mia rolled her eyes. Both of them looked ahead of them when they saw Tobias making his way toward them with his gang. He was passing by. 

He looked at the two of them and winked at both of them. Leah immediately covered Mia's eyes and passed Tobias with a disgusted look. He thought they would faint like his other fangirls. Seriously, they don't understand why girls like a bully like him. Just because he is rich and handsome?

He smirked at their reaction and walked past them. He was used to that disgusted expression of theirs. He found it worth it and something new other than girls simping around him.

Entering their classroom, they did a high five before walking up to their respective places. He was already sitting in his place. What was his name again? 

Igneel.

Such a peculiar name just like him.

Igneel.

But it sounds good and different.

Igneel.

Just like he is different from all of them.

He stood up from his place and let her walk in. She walked in and sat on her chair. She wanted to talk to him since everyone else was talking around. They were so opposite. She was so talkative and he was so silent. 

There was silence between them but it wasn't awkward because they were just some strangers.

Soon the teacher came and distributed the papers. The room falls into silence as everyone begins to gawk at their paper. Some were perplexed. Some were on the verge of crying. It was just as they feared...the paper was from the other dimension. The first one went amazing, everyone was happy. Looks like everyone is crying today.

She took a deep sigh and looked at him, who was silently writing his paper. Does he know? It's totally out of the syllabus. She slightly looked at him and found him keenly reading every question before choosing the right answer. 

He was taking a lot of time to tick the option. It wasn't like before. She looked back at her paper and began to read more deeply. She read it once, twice, and thrice until she understood what the question was. The paper was from the syllabus but the teacher made the paper a little tricky to mess with children's minds. It was a paper that will take a lot of time. 

She smiled and began to do just as he was doing it. If she hadn't read his actions...she would be crying like some other stupid kid right now. She would have been one of them if it wasn't for him. 

They silently continued to do their work until she noticed something. The boy sitting in front of Igneel was throwing something back. She looked down and found a piece of paper lying before Igneel's feet. Her eyes widened once she realized what he was doing. 

He must have cheating slips and since the teacher is checking the students they suspect, he is throwing his cheating slips back because the paper is too out of the syllabus for him.

Before she could bend down and grab the paper the teacher was already on the scene. "Shit." She cursed under her breath and started to fidget with her pen. She gulped when the teacher bent down and grabbed the slip.

"What is this? A cheating slip?" The teacher furiously looked at Igneel, gaining everyone's attention. "What? Say something?" The teacher asked Igneel who just sat there, fidgeting with his fingers.

"I-Its not mine." He said. Her eyes widened when she heard his voice. It was extremely low but she at least heard him. So he can speak. "Do you think I'm a fool? Get up right now." The teacher said and the foolish boy was about to stand up just like that until Leah grabbed his arm and pushed him back down on his chair.

"I'm sorry to interfere but this isn't his. This boy sitting here...he threw them back. If you don't believe me, please check both of their papers." Leah said confidently while still grabbing onto his arm. The teacher checked both of their papers, and the boy sitting in front of Igneel was caught by the teacher.

"You guys continue your paper." The teacher said and Leah nodded. She turned to look at him...who was looking down at her hand grabbing onto his arm. She pulled her hand away and looked at him intently but instead of thanking her...he started to do his paper. 

"You should at least thank me because you couldn't speak for yourself...be more confident in yourself." She whispered under her breath but made sure it was loud enough for him to hear. 

******

"Ahhh...such a tiring day,"  Leah said while getting out of the classroom. She met Mia who was leaning against the wall waiting for Leah. "Miaaaa." Leah jumped on her with a smile on her face. "How did the exam go?" Leah asked and Mia shook her head. "Bad...yours?" She asked with a sad expression. Leah's exam went pretty well but she knew Mia would feel worse if she told her the truth. 

"Same...I don't know what I did. What happened just happened. No need to make that ugly face. Look at me...I'm such a beam of light." Leah said and Mia chuckled as both of them walked out of the corridor while making their way out. Leah paused on her steps when she saw Igneel standing in her way. 

He walked up to her, he looked like he wanted to say something but was hesitant. "Mia...why don't you grab something for us to eat, I will catch up to you," Leah said and Mia frowned. She looked at Igneel and then Leah before walking away. 

Leah looked at him intently.

"Uh...ah.." He paused and raised his head to look at her. She still doesn't understand how he looks around but anyhow she passed him a soft smile trying to make him feel easy and more comfortable. 

"T.....Thank you." He said. His voice was low but she heard him. 

"Ahh... it's fine. I'm more than happy to help you but...you should speak for yourself." She said and he nodded. "Thank you." She said with a soft smile as she pat his shoulder before walking away. "See you later." She said as she walked away from him.

His gaze fixed on her figure which disappeared in the crowd. A soft smile made its way to his lips (oh..he has dimples) but it disappeared as soon as Tobias came into his sight. His figure started to tremble and he immediately turned around. He left before he could catch Tobias' gaze. 

Sometimes staying low is the only way for someone to survive.