Anna Willow playfully stuck out her tongue, then took a bite of her steamed bun. Remembering something, she handed her meal card to Brian Willow. "Brian," she said while chewing, "can you top up my meal card for me? It's out of money."
"Okay."
Brian Willow looked at Holly Winslow and Iris Kensington, his gaze lingering longer on Holly's face. "Holly, Ellie, do you two need to top up?"
Holly Winslow swallowed her bite of bun. "No, thanks. I put a thousand in at the start of the semester, and I still have over three hundred left."
'Wyatt Winslow brought me here at the start of the semester, and he was the one who topped up my meal card. I used to be so immature, thinking he didn't care about me. But now that I think about it, he's been the one to register me for school my whole life.'
'It seems I was the one who didn't care about Wyatt.'
Iris Kensington shook her head and said softly, "I still have sixty on my card. That's enough for this week."
Brian Willow said nothing more.
Just then, Xavier Jennings walked over with a pastry and a carton of milk. He glanced at the boy next to Iris Kensington and raised an eyebrow. "Buddy, scoot over one."
Everyone in their grade knew Xavier Jennings. The boy, who was rather skinny, timidly shifted over one seat.
After sitting down, Xavier Jennings reached past Iris Kensington and placed a carton of milk in front of Holly. "Holly, this is for you," he said. "And don't worry about that business with Clark York. I've already had a little 'chat' with him."
A carton of that milk cost 3.50 at the school store, which was enough for a typical student to buy a decent lunch with one meat and one vegetable dish.
The Holly of the past had been particularly fond of this milk.
Holly pushed the carton back toward him. "I'm full. You can have it."
Xavier pushed it back to her. "Then drink it later. I don't like this stuff, and it'd be a waste to throw it out." He rubbed the back of his neck as he spoke, looking a bit sheepish.
Since he'd put it that way, Holly didn't know what else to say. She couldn't just embarrass him in front of everyone. "Thank you."
Brian Willow shot her a look, his grip on his spoon tightening.
Seeing that she had finally accepted his gift, Xavier Jennings broke into a wide, toothy grin. "You're welcome."
...
First period was Chemistry.
Vivian Sheffield had the chemistry class representative, Jay Chaucer, pass out the workbooks. She slapped the lectern, her voice sharp with anger. "Every time I assign homework, it's bad enough that your work is a complete mess. But to have a dozen of you turn in work with the exact same mistakes? Do you think your teacher is that easy to fool?"
"If you don't want to study, then just drop out! You can make a few dozen bucks a day hauling bricks. I've taught for many years, and your class is by far the most hopeless."
The students kept their heads down, not daring to make a sound. Anna Willow, feeling particularly guilty, stuck her tongue out.
'I think I forgot to change some of the answers,' she thought.
Soon, all the chemistry workbooks had been passed out.
But Holly Winslow didn't receive a workbook. She glanced at Anna Willow and Iris Kensington, and saw that the entire row in front of them had their workbooks.
She hesitated for a moment before raising her hand. "Teacher Sheffield, I don't have my workbook."
Vivian Sheffield glanced at her. "I have your homework up here. I'll be using it to review the assignment. For now, share with Anna Willow."
The entire class assumed her work was being used as an example of what *not* to do. They shot Holly pitiable glances, while inwardly sighing with relief that it wasn't their workbook on display.
Anna Willow slid the workbook to the middle of their desk and whispered reassuringly, "It's okay, Holly. Next time, I'll ask the class president for their homework so we can copy it."
Holly was speechless.
Just then, Teacher Sheffield added, "Holly Winslow's homework was excellent this time. She was the only one in the entire class who got every single question correct."
She held up the workbook for the students to see, its pages densely covered in chemical symbols and notes. "You could all learn from Holly. When she encounters unfamiliar concepts, she writes them out while doing the problems to help solidify them in her memory."
The class let out a collective, incredulous "Whoa!" and turned to look at Holly again.
Seizing the moment, Vivian Sheffield pressed on. "Even Holly knows to study hard now, so why can't the rest of you? Hmm? Don't tell me you're worse than she is."
Holly was speechless.
'Teacher Sheffield, are you praising me or insulting me?'
Vivian Sheffield continued, "If any of you dare to submit such careless work again, I will personally invite your parents to school to watch you do your homework. Do you understand?"
"Understood, Teacher Sheffield!" the class replied raggedly.
Then she began to review the homework, using Holly's workbook for her explanation. "Silicon is one of the key elements that shaped human civilization. In the following list, which substance is primarily composed of silicate? The answer is A, ceramics. For B, the main component of diamond is carbon... C..."
...
After the bell rang, Teacher Sheffield returned the workbook to Holly, offering a few words of encouragement.
The moment she was gone, Anna Willow and Iris Kensington swarmed her. Anna's eyes were wide. "Holly, you're incredible!"
Her very next question was, "Holly, did your cousin teach you?"
Before Holly could answer, she gushed, "Holly, your cousin is so smart! Ugh, I want a cousin like that, too." She clearly didn't believe Holly had done the work herself.
"Me too! I don't care, from now on I'm just going to copy your homework, Holly," Iris Kensington declared, shaking Holly's shoulders.
Holly didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She turned and tapped her friend. "Do it yourself. If you get stuck, then you can ask me."
"It's too hard! The moment I open my chemistry workbook, I get sleepy," Iris whined, her expression one of utter dread.
Anna Willow nodded vigorously in agreement.
"You can copy now, but how are you going to copy during the college entrance exams?" Holly asked, looking at them with amusement.
Instantly, Anna Willow and Iris Kensington deflated.
The bell for the next class rang all too soon. It was time for math.
David Lewis was halfway through his lecture when he suddenly stopped. "I'm getting tired of talking so much. I'll call a student up to solve a problem. Let's do the first question from the practice exercises in the book."
A few students who had been dozing off were instantly jolted awake. They quickly bowed their heads, tense.
"Holly Winslow, you come up."
Holly had just finished taking her notes when she heard David Lewis's voice.
As she stood up, she heard Anna whisper, "Holly, you're so unlucky today."
Holly walked up to the blackboard, picked up half a piece of chalk, and after reading the question, began to write: ∵x0, ln(x+1)
David Lewis said with satisfaction, "Not bad. Holly's steps are all correct. However, the third step is a bit redundant and could be omitted."
...
After second period, an announcement over the PA system urged all students and teachers to gather on the athletic field. It was Monday, which meant it was time for the dean's weekly speech summarizing the previous week's issues.
He droned on for seven or eight minutes before finally dismissing the students for a bathroom break.
Iris Kensington had an upset stomach, so she told Holly and Anna to head back to the classroom without her.
Just as they were about to get up, she suddenly heard a girl say, "Are Holly and Xavier Jennings dating? I saw him give her a carton of milk today."
Another girl replied, "I don't think so. Just last week I saw some other guy waiting for her at the school gate."
"You don't think she's two-timing them, do you?" the first girl asked.
They must have thought the bathroom was empty, because they weren't holding back at all.
"Two-timing my ass! All you do is run your damn mouths and spew bullshit," Iris Kensington roared, storming out of the end stall to glare furiously at the two of them.