'This is so boring…'
I lazily scribbled in the notes that Mrs. Rivers wrote at the front of the class, in my notebook.
Since I was in Math class first thing on a Monday morning without any friends, there wasn't anything for me to do.
You'd think that since we completed the regents the week before, we'd get a little leeway, but nope.
It was right back to math. Just that we were learning a different kind to prepare for next year.
I sighed inwardly.
'I guess it can't be helped. This place is one of the best schools in the country for a reason…'
As I waited for Mrs Rivers to continue the lesson, my eyes began to wander around the classroom.
And it only took a little while for them to land on Shin.
'I'm like 98.672776436643% percent sure Shin's the freshman doing better than me now, so that's good. Now I just have to figure out a way to beat him…'
My goal of having the best grades in freshman year had never disappeared, I was still very dedicated to it.
And that's how I ended up deducing Shin as the one ahead of me.
You see, overtime I had begun to notice that Audrey was actually communicating with me a lot more often. Usually regarding school work.
Unlike Shin, Audrey seemed to be impressed with my grades and on the few assignments we showed to each other, I had higher grades.
That's why I believed it was likely I was doing better than Audrey academically.
It wasn't a perfect theory, but it was good enough for me.
"Alright, now that you've all copied this down, let's continue the lesson," Mrs. Rivers said.
Then, I focused my attention back on the lesson and class continued as usual.
**
"Did you know that the phrase do not be afraid is repeated 365 times in the Bible?" Nishimoya asked.
"Oh wait, I actually knew that one. I remember hearing somewhere," I replied with a faint sense of pride.
"Both of you, shut up," Mr. Bostav said casually from the front of the class.
Nishimoya and I quickly shut our mouths and stopped speaking.
It was now 2nd period and I had science class with Nishimoya.
It was honestly a much more chill class than the others, but it was still challenging.
So even though I wanted to goof off, I really had to pay attention.
I stretched my arms out before regaining focus and paying attention to class.
'I really hate doing work…'
**
"Bro," I said to Tristan.
"Yeah?" He replied.
"Bro," I repeated.
"Yeah?" He replied again.
"I dunno know," I said.
"Just let me read in peace," Tristan replied in annoyance.
I chuckled softly and turned my attention to Soriel and Nishimoya.
It was now lunch time so we were all sitting at our table as usual.
And Soriel was in a very philosophical and deep conversation with Nishimoya.
"Water has to be wet," Soriel said.
"No, water isn't wet. Water makes things wet,"
"But being wet means you're containing water right? So how is water not wet?"
"Water can't contain itself. So, water isn't wet," Nishimoya rebutted.
"Nuh uh," I said.
"What do you mean Nuh uh," Nishimoya asked.
"Nuh uh," I stated once more.
Nishimoya looked at me with a deadpan expression.
"Why are you like this?"
"Why am I the best human in the world? That's a good question. Maybe you should ask God why he made me so amazing," I answered proudly.
Nishimoya sighed and shook her head in exasperation.
"Self confidence is a very important thing!" Soriel said with an odd smile.
My eyebrow twitched.
'Why does she have to sound so condescending about it?!'
**
"Everyone, Mrs. Moriel is absent today. I, Mr. Sparrow, will be your substitute," A man at the front of the class said.
'Huh?'
English class had just started so I expected to have a boring class, but it seemed like I was wrong.
"Since this absence wasn't expected, no work was left for you all. So all of you will work on any homework you have for other classes this period. You are allowed to talk, just don't be loud," Mr Sparrow explained.
Hearing this, I quickly turned around to look at Soriel, who was behind me.
Then, Soriel flashed me a smile.
From there, I began to work on science homework as I talked with Soriel.
We mainly talked about games but occasionally Soriel mentioned the funny stories from the community service work she did.
It was fun.
But for some reason, Soriel asked me something unexpected.
"Elliot, can I see your hand?" Soriel requested.
I raised my eyebrow.
"Why?"
"I just wanna see something,
"Okay…?" I replied as I slowly and hesitantly brought my hand near her.
Soriel then made my palm face her, as if I was trying to do a high five. Next, Soriel brought her palm to meet mine.
'Cold…'
Although I was confused, I mostly focused on the feeling of Soriel's hand touching mine.
It was not only very soft, but it was also cold. Almost unnaturally so.
"Wow, your hands are big Elliot," Soriel mentioned.
Looking at my hand, I compared it to Soriel's.
"Ah, I guess it is a bit bigger than yours," I replied before I retracted my arm.
For a few moments, we both went silent as we worked on our homework.
But, I made sure it wasn't for long.
"Soriel, I have a question,"
"What is it?"
I paused for a moment and then spoke.
"Which person is more wrong? A person who wants to do good, but always causes harm. Or a person who never has good intentions but always does good?" I asked.
'This question has been bothering me for a while. I shouldn't be surprised if Soriel doesn't answer. But…having a new opinion might help?'
That question meant a lot to me.
It was something I pondered very frequently, yet never seemed to have an answer.
But there was a reason for that.
"Elliot, I think your question is a bit flawed," Soriel responded.
I tilted my head in confusion.
"How so?" I asked.
"Well, you're thinking of people too simply. People aren't one dimensional. If there was a person who truly wanted to do good, with all their heart, they would. Eventually, they would realize they were doing something wrong and change their approach. And for the person who never has good intentions, they'd stop doing good as soon as it stops benefiting them. So your question doesn't actually reflect reality," Soriel explained calmly.
'Huh?'
I thought over what Soriel said for a few moments.
It was an answer I had never considered.
I had never thought that maybe my question was fundamentally flawed.
Yet, it was.
I could've beat myself up over not realizing, and usually I would've.
But for some reason, I didn't.
Instead, I smiled.
"That was a really good answer."