"Done!"
Unlike Scott, who was practically jumping with joy, Aaron Eisenhower spoke calmly.
"Then, goodbye."
Without even saying goodbye to me, he walked back to his convertible.
What a petty guy.
Whatever. My thin short sleeves were no match for the cold, so I quickly got into the Camry.
"Sorry, Chloe. Let's go home now."
Scott rubbed the back of his neck, which was as red as his ears.
"Sorry for making you wait."
"Once is enough for saying sorry."
"Huh?"
"Stop apologizing already."
Scott, who was passing through the school gate, gave an awkward smile.
"Yeah, sorry."
Oh dear, what should I do with this naive guy? I shook my head helplessly and leaned my head against the seat.
Scott was Chloe's childhood friend. Ever since grade school, he had held the position of being her one and only friend. As neighbors, he often gave me rides home whenever my parents were too busy to pick me up.
"See you."
Scott gave an awkward smile and waved his hand.
"Yeah, see you tomorrow."
As I got out of the Camry, Scott looked at me with a face full of hesitation, as if he had something to say.
"What?"
"Uh... You know we've got marching band practice tomorrow, right?"
Ah, right. The crown jewel of nerdiness, the marching band. I nodded, and Scott carefully watched my expression before asking, "Then, since you'll have to come home in this car tomorrow anyway, should I just pick you up in the morning?"
If Scott came to pick me up, I could avoid getting teased on the school bus. But riding with him wouldn't stop the teasing altogether.
They'll definitely go on about how the two nerds are dating.
Just imagining getting teased all day made me decide it was better to endure it once on the bus.
"No, it's fine. I'll just take the school bus."
When I turned him down, Scott slumped his shoulders slightly, looking deflated.
"Oh, sorry. I must've overstepped."
"It's not that. And I told you to stop apologizing."
Scott gave a weak smile.
"Yeah, I don't know why I'm always like this."
Leaving behind his cryptic words, he shifted gears.
"Then, I'll go. See you at school tomorrow."
"Yeah."
After seeing Scott off, I went home, washed up, and went straight to bed.
And the next day, as usual, I sat at the front of the bus, listening to the kids' snide comments.
"Oh my god, look at that loser."
"Kyahaha! Did you see how she sat down just now?"
"So funny!"
I had no idea what was so funny, but apparently, I was hilarious. I pouted and pressed my forehead against the window.
Ugh, what am I going to do about calculus?
As I agonized over whether I could maintain a 4.0 GPA while taking that class, the bus soon arrived at school. Just as I was about to go straight through the front gate after getting off—
"Ah!"
"Ouch!"
That is, at least until I ran into the female lead of this teen movie, Brittany Anderson.
"Are you crazy?"
Her entourage of close friends went into an uproar.
"What if you hurt our Brittany?!"
"Bri, are you okay?"
One of them even pulled out a handkerchief and handed it to her.
"Here, wipe with this, Bri. You'll catch the nerd disease."
Oh, for god's sake. I stared at them with a cold expression, and then our female lead Brittany, spoke up.
"Guys, don't talk to Chloe like that."
Just the fact that she remembered my name was surprising, but then she went even further and asked kindly, "Are you hurt?"
Wow, classic female lead temperament. Honestly, I wanted to ask if she was okay, too, but doing that would only set her entourage off again. Besides, nothing good ever came from getting mixed up with the main characters.
"S-sorry!"
I quickly stepped back, bowing my head deeply.
"Ugh, that nerd."
But it seemed that my reaction must have provoked Bri's entourage.
"She can't even apologize properly, yet she's the teachers' pet."
While I silently fumed, wondering what kind of rhythm I was supposed to dance to with their nonsense, Brittany's voice rang out.
"Hey, stop it. Can't you see Chloe's about to cry?"
…I wasn't, though. I was actually imagining my fist greeting their faces in a very intimate way…
Since I'd suddenly become the "crying girl," I couldn't even lift my head carelessly.
"Y-you go ahead…!"
I waved my hand awkwardly in the air, and laughter burst out from all around me.
"Ugh, what a loser."
At their sneering voices, I quietly clenched my fists again. Just then—
"Move."
The curt voice belonged to Eisenhower.
"Oh my, Aaron…!"
The entourage all stepped back two or three paces as if they had agreed on it beforehand. It was as if they were deliberately making space for just Brittany and Eisenhower. In my view, Eisenhower's clean sneakers came to a stop right next to Brittany's stylish heels.
"You're not the only ones going to this school."
What a rude way to talk. I wanted to lift my head and glare at him, but he was one of the main characters, too.
I'll just slowly back away.
Having made that decision, I started inching backward, but then Eisenhower's sharp voice cut through the air.
"Isn't it basic manners to apologize before you leave?"
Huh? Startled, I quickly raised my head, wondering if he was talking to me. But…
Yeah, he's talking to me.
Eisenhower glared at me without any sign of backing down. He looked determined to get an apology out of me, no matter what.
What should I do?
While my eyes darted around helplessly, Bri gave an awkward smile.
"Sorry, Aaron."
She gently placed a hand on his shoulder and continued.
"Chloe was only stuck here because of me, so don't say anything to her. It's my fault."
Ah, sweet Bri. Just as I was moved again by Bri's gentle nature, the rude Eisenhower simply walked past.
Bri awkwardly lowered her hand, which had been left hanging in the air, and turned toward me.
"Chloe, we'll go first. Sorry for bumping into you earlier."
At Bri's words, I bowed my head deeply again.
"N-no, it's fine…!"
As I waved my hands in denial, her entourage mocked me again and went into the building with Bri.
While I was still watching their backs, there was a loud smack, and pain shot through my shoulder. Who the hell bumps into someone in the middle of a wide path?!
"Why are you blocking the way, nerd?"
…It was Kyle. When I glared at him, he just smirked and shrugged before walking off. That bastard had definitely done it on purpose.
I swear, one of these days I'm going to have a serious fight with that jerk.
Shaking my head, I started walking again. Back then, I didn't know that fight would happen today.
The incident happened during lunchtime.
On my way down to the cafeteria, I ran straight into Kyle Jensen.
"Goddammit, why the hell were you standing there of all places?!"
Really? That's what I get when I'm the one covered head to toe in ketchup and mustard?
"Hey…"
I glared at Kyle Jensen, who was still spewing curses, and asked, "What are you going to do about this?"
He laughed, as if I were the one being ridiculous.
"Hey, what about my lunch, huh? I've got P.E. this afternoon! And after class, football practice!"
"…You can just go buy lunch again."
I held back my rising anger and went on. "But I can't walk around like this."
"Why not? You walk around just fine with that ugly face of yours!"
Then Kyle Jensen pointed at my stained clothes with his chin.
"And you can just wash your clothes in the bathroom and wear them again!"
I was just about to open my mouth and tell him to lend me a spare outfit when someone grabbed my wrist.
"Come with me."
It was Eisenhower. When I instinctively tried to pull away, he replied bluntly, "Can't you see everyone's waiting and not eating because of you two?"
He was right. A crowd had gathered around us, half of them students who couldn't get into the cafeteria because of the commotion.
"So, come with me."
I had no idea why that was supposed to be a valid reason for me to follow him, but Eisenhower acted as if the matter was already settled and led me toward the sports locker room behind the cafeteria.
══════════════════
More chapters are available at NovelsHub.org