In Class Six, some of the students whispered, "Wow, she's trying to wake Forrest up. Is she out of her mind?""Get your popcorn ready! Forrest is gonna show her who's boss for messing with his sleep!"Whenever Forrest was taking a snooze in class, nobody would even think about bugging him. His classmates would talk so quiet, it was like they were sharing secrets.Usually, Forrest would just skip class or take a leisurely walk outside in the afternoon. But to everyone's shock, he was actually the first person to step into the classroom today."Hey, Forrest? Forrest!" Madelyn was, like, gently tapping his shoulder and saying his name, like, a bunch of times.Right when that was happening, Jadie and Serena had just rolled back in from lunch."Madelyn? What brings you here?" asked Jadie.She then glanced over at Forrest, who was still sleeping over the desk. "You're here for Forrest? He seems a bit under the weather. What do you need from him?"'He's sick?' Madelyn pursed her lips
Jadie smiled and said, "Sure!"Timothy was only kidding. His grades were so poor so that even his family had pretty much given up on him excelling. His dad was even thinking of enrolling him in the military after he finished school. His dad went so far as to shave off Timothy's hair.Timothy took the notes from Jadie and looked through them. The notes were super detailed. He was just saying that to make Jadie feel good. He didn't really plan to read them. But since she worked hard on them, he didn't want to waste her effort.The evening classes in Class One were like study time without a teacher.Madelyn had been sick before and missed a lot of these classes. Now, she had to catch up.It had only been a few days, and there were already a bunch of practice tests. They had questions from the books on one side and harder questions on the other.As Madelyn did the practice tests, something felt different. She heard Yvonne and another girl talking as they came back from the restroom.
Another notebook was buried beneath, one that Forrest had copied Madelyn's notes into.Madelyn tilted her head and looked at his handwriting in the notebook. She had thought his handwriting would be messy, but it turned out to be neater than hers.In fact, this notebook was meant for him, as Madelyn didn't expect him to copy it down.She thought to herself, 'Well, copying it might actually help him remember better.'Madelyn woke him up; if he went back to sleep, the school gates would be locked.After a while, she remembered that he was sick.Madelyn noticed a pink thermos and some medicine at the upper right corner of his desk.She called his name several times, but he didn't respond until she reached out and lightly touched his forehead through his bangs to check his temperature.'It's really hot!'In the next second, Forrest, who had been sleeping, suddenly opened his eyes. Madelyn met his gaze calmly, and they locked eyes for a few seconds.The atmosphere felt strangely s
Across the street, near the school entrance, a black Audi was parked. Yvonne sat in the passenger seat, feeling angry as she watched what was happening."I can't believe Madelyn would do this behind Ethan's back. She's befriending that bastard! I need to so something..."Yvonne snapped some photos with her phone, thinking to use them as evidence."They're leaving. Drive after them, Mr. Jardin. I want to see what else they're up to!"Zach found it hard to refuse Yvonne's requests, maybe because of his own thoughts about Madelyn. He slowly followed Forrest and Madelyn.But when they turned into a narrow alley, the car couldn't go through.Yvonne exclaimed in frustration, "My brother treats her so well. How could she be with Forrest? No wonder she defended him last time; they must have a thing!"She added, "Mr. Jardin, she's your sister. She's dating someone while still in high school. Shouldn't you do something?"The moment she looked at Zach, she felt an unsettling aura from him
About an hour and a half later, Forrest shook Madelyn's foot. "Hey, wake up, it's time to go," he whispered to himself, 'She's sleeping so soundly.'Startled, Madelyn roused from her slumber and realized that Forrest's IV drip had been completed. She saw a cotton swab taped to the back of his hand.Checking her phone, Madelyn saw that it was nearly one o'clock. She yawned and asked, "Did you remember what I told you?""Thinking about that now, at this hour? Let's discuss it tomorrow," Forrest replied, slinging his bag over his shoulder and making his way to the counter to settle the bill and collect his medications.The doctor gave Forrest a stern look. "Kid, take your kidney health seriously. I wasn't joking. If it worsens, you might not have children in the future."Rolling his eyes, Forrest retorted, "Alright, enough with the lecture, old man."Madelyn chimed in, "Forrest, show some respect to the doctor." Then she turned to the doctor and assured, "Don't worry, I'll make sure
Madelyn woke up naturally and got out of bed. It was now seven o'clock, and she had half an hour before she needed to leave. That was more than enough time for her.She tied her hair into a ponytail and used a headband to keep it in place before opening the door and stepping out. She glanced at the couch and saw that the blankets and bedsheet were neatly folded and placed on it.She thought to herself, 'Forrest must have left already. 'Suddenly, the door was pushed open, and there stood Forrest, wearing a black bomber jacket with a hat on his head. Snowflakes had settled on his shoulders, and he brushed them off before coming inside."Hey, Madelyn. You're awake."Madelyn asked, "Where did you go?"Forrest held up two bags of food for her to see. "Breakfast, bought downstairs for you."He added, "Hot cocoa and cinnamon rolls."Madelyn replied, "But I'm running out of time.""Oh, then I'll toss it." He said indifferently."You're really wasting food. I'll go brush my teeth and
Madelyn stopped in her tracks when she realized it was George calling her. She wondered, 'Why is Ethan at the school at this time?'However, she had no choice but to get into Ethan's car, taking the passenger seat.The car was warm, thanks to the air conditioning.Sitting in the car, Ethan appeared pale and weak. He had his hand pressed against his mouth, coughing a few times. His breathing was labored, as if he was feeling uncomfortable.Neither of them spoke. After a while, Madelyn broke the silence, "Why are you here today? You're not feeling well. Do you need to go to the hospital?" she said with concern."It's just a common cold, nothing serious," Ethan replied.Madelyn nodded in response.Ethan's voice was soft as he asked, "Yesterday, Yvonne mentioned that Mr. Jardin couldn't find you when he was here to pick you up after school. Where did you go?""He was here to pick me up?" Madelyn responded, a bit puzzled. She wondered, 'Wasn't he here for Yvonne?'Ethan nodded, "Yv
Yvonne's performance was pretty impressive. She rarely did her homework, and she occasionally skipped classes. It seemed like she could perform well academically effortlessly.Today, Yvonne had once again skipped the Math Olympiad training class. Albert seemed unfazed and began teaching at the blackboard.In the final period, the homeroom teacher, Hailey, made an announcement. There would be a parent-teacher meeting this Saturday, and every parent was expected to attend. Additionally, there was a camp during the upcoming break, and if anyone wanted to participate, they needed to sign up. The camp was organized by Ventrocloud High School and was open to the entire school.Madelyn stashed the camp participation form into her drawer.She didn't need to think twice about the parent-teacher meeting. Hayson had never attended any of her parent-teacher meetings before. In the past, she had convinced Zach to attend as her parent.But this time, it seemed unlikely that anyone would show up