It had been almost a week since school started. Everything felt the same...wake up, go to school, study, go home, sleep.
The cycle repeated like a broken record. Honestly, it was kind of boring.
What made it worse was that I got separated from Lucas on the second day. The new seating arrangement messed everything up.
But at least my new seatmates were quiet. I preferred it that way.
It was finally Friday, and that gave me something to look forward to.
I could finally pull another all-nighter playing games. That thought alone kept me going.
But then… the worst teacher of all walked in
Mr. Frednim.
He was our History teacher, and everyone in school knew about him. Out of the eight subjects we had, his class was the most feared.
I still remembered how he entered the classroom for the first time. It was loud and messy.
My classmates were talking, laughing, and doing their own thing. No one noticed him at first.
But then—BANG!
He slammed the teacher's desk so hard that everyone stopped. Total silence. It was like someone pressed the mute button on the whole room.
He walked straight to one of the students who had fallen asleep, grabbed him by the wrist, and made him stand for the whole class without saying a single word.
Only after that did he finally speak:
"Some of you already know who I am, but I'll introduce myself."
"I am Mr. Frednim Cahim. I don't care if you're the smartest one in this room. I don't care who your parents are. I only ask for one thing."
"And that is respect. That's all I need."
Back to the present day, he had just finished giving us the first lesson of the week.
Then he announced something that ruined my mood.
"Alright class, I will divide you into groups of seven. That means there will be eight groups in total..."
I wasn't really paying attention. I was secretly playing a game on my phone, thinking I'd just go along with whatever group I landed in.
Maybe I could help out a bit or just stay quiet.
Then I heard my name.
"Marcus, come in front. You will be the leader of Group 1."
I looked up, stunned.
"Sir, there are better students than me. Maybe you could pick someone else?"
I said.
He gave me a cold stare.
"Are you questioning my decision?"
I quickly shut my mouth.
Just great. Another thing to stress over.
I walked to the group and started listing down the members' names. While doing so, I heard a familiar voice.
"Oh, you're my group mate,"
she said kindly.
It was her.
I quickly replied,
"Ah, yes,"
even though I was panicking inside.
Crap... What was her name again? I had completely forgotten.
She noticed my pause.
"Is there something wrong?"
I shook my head.
"Ah, no. Please ask the others to write their names on this paper. Yours too..."
When she handed it back, I scanned the list and finally found it.
'Calliope Camille Llewellyn.'
Before I could think more, someone tapped my back.
I turned and saw her again.
"Is there still someone missing, Marcus?"
she asked.
"No, I was just making sure everything was perfect,"
I said quickly, then handed the list to the teacher.
Facing the group, I said,
"Alright guys, since we don't have time in this class, let's just add each other on social media to make things easier."
When the bell rang, I found Lucas and dragged him to the canteen. As usual, we bought our favorite corn dogs.
I snatched his hotdog and took a bite.
"Hey Lucas, wanna try that new game later tonight?"
I asked.
"Sure, why not? I've been waiting for the weekend,"
he said.
We sat on the sidewalk, eating and playing games when I saw something that ruined my appetite.
My old…classmate with someone else.
Lucas noticed.
"Whoa, look at that couple. Wait, isn't that—"
I punched his back lightly.
"Shut it. I'm not hungry anymore."
It wasn't like anything ever happened between me and that girl, but it still stung a bit.
Even though months had passed, the memory hadn't fully disappeared.
I left Lucas and went back to the classroom alone.
I pushed the door a little too hard, and it startled someone inside.
It was... Calliope—or was it Calip?
Ugh... Why am I so bad at remembering names?
She looked at me with a worried smile.
"Oh, hey Marcus. You seem upset. Are you okay?"
I tried to hide the awkwardness.
"Ah, yes. The door just wouldn't open."
"Oh, I see..."
she said gently.
We stood there in silence for a few seconds. Talking to girls had never been my thing.
I finally asked,
"So… what are you doing here? It's recess already. Aren't you going to eat?"
"I went to the cafe with my friend, but I came back because I forgot my wallet."
"Oh, I see."
She found her wallet, smiled, and left.
It was just a short talk, but strangely, it made me feel… good.
After a few more classes that I didn't even pay attention to, the school day finally ended.
I was packing my things when she came up to me again.
"Ah, Marcus. I might not be able to help much this weekend..."
"I'm really busy. So could you assign me the research part tonight? I'll work on it early so it's done before the weekend."
I nodded.
"Sure, no problem. I don't have anything else to do anyway."
Walking home with Lucas, I told him,
"Dude, I can't do an all-nighter tonight. Forgot to mention the group activity."
Lucas raised an eyebrow.
"Why not just do it tomorrow? It's the weekend. Even my group leader said to rest today."
"I just feel like finishing it early, that's all."
Lucas grabbed my face and looked at me closely.
"Wait… are you really Marcus? Did someone replace you?"
I swatted his hand away.
"Whatever you say."
He laughed.
"Woah, I didn't expect you got possessed by a hardworking ghost today."
I ignored him, and we parted ways.
Later at home, I picked up my phone and searched for Calliope.
Just as I was about to send a request—ding a notification popped up.
She added me first.
Not even five seconds later, a message came in:
Calliope:
Hey Marcus, it's me. I hope this research is enough for my contribution to the group.
As i checked the file. My jaw dropped.
It had only been 40 minutes since school ended, and she had already finished a full research report clean, organized, and detailed.
All that was left was for someone to present it.
I replied:
Marcus:
No, this is more than enough… are you a robot or something?
She replied a few minutes later:
Calliope:
I did it earlier today since, like I said, I'm always busy on weekends.
I wanted to ask what she meant by "busy," but I decided to respect her privacy.
Instead, I reacted with a funny emoji, edited the research a bit, and got it done quicker than I expected.
With nothing else to do, I leaned back, picked up my phone, and read manga until I fell asleep.