THREE WEEKS LATER

4TH PERIOD

CLASSROOM B

Elise POV

“And for your midterm assessment, you will be working on a project... in pairs”, the teacher announced. The class buzzed with excitement, and some students were already forming pairs.

“Before you get too excited, luck will be used to put you all into pairs. So, you might not end up with who you desire to be partners with.”

He added, a mischievous glint in his eyes. The room was filled with complaints and groans. This class brought together students from different arms of year 5, making it an intriguing mix.

“The list and deadline will be displayed on the notice screen before the end of lunchtime today. And, no, you can’t come to me to change your partner. Any other questions?”

The teacher scanned the class for raised hands, but no one had any inquiries. With that, he collected his things and left the room.

As the bell rang, I gathered my notes from the recent class, slipping them into my desk space. Normally, assignments in this class were individual, but now, it was a group project. Massaging my temples with my fingers, I closed my eyes to drown out the conversations around me.

A sudden presence jolted me, and I opened my eyes to find Max sitting across from me. She held a closed book with a black bookmark and adjusted her uniform skirt with precision. Her glasses perched on the bridge of her nose, she looked at me thoughtfully and said,

“Luck is just an occurrence bound to ensue but unidentified, however. There is constantly a plausible justification for everything. Why? Because it was bound to take place nonetheless. We, humans, are just restricted in our capacities. Precisely?”

I raised an eyebrow in response, struggling to understand her philosophical outbursts. She noticed my confusion, pursed her lips, and retreated into her book. Max had a penchant for profound thoughts, even if they bewildered me at times. I couldn’t help but giggle, and she playfully rolled her eyes.

Laughter erupted at the back of the class, pulling my attention. However, my smile faltered, turning into sadness. Max noticed my change in demeanour and followed my gaze. She spotted Samuel and a few others sharing a jovial moment, their laughter filling the air. Samuel caught me looking at him, but he quickly averted his eyes, returning to his group.

“Elise...” Max’s concerned voice snapped me out of my trance. I forced a smile and said, “I’m fine. It just needs a little getting used to. I promise I’m fine.” Max still seemed sceptical, so I gave her my most reassuring grin and playfully shook her. To lighten the mood, I pretended to tickle her, and she responded by lightly hitting my arm with her bookmark.

“Elise, did you start a dispute with Trent?” she asked, changing the topic.

I scoffed at the notion. It wasn’t me who had been avoiding Trent after the cafeteria incident. I had tried to start conversations with him several times, but he kept evading me. It was as if he was running away from me, and I couldn’t recall anyone ever avoiding me that persistently.

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I rolled my eyes, giving Max an annoyed look. “Max? He is the one avoiding me like a virus. I didn’t even do anything... okay, maybe I fell on him. But that wasn’t my fault now, was it?” Max raised her hands in mock surrender, barely containing a smile.

“No, it wasn’t. I just hope you two can reconcile. Who knows, maybe some sparks may fly,” Max suggested playfully, walking away with a laugh.

“Maxine!” I called after her, following her to the group of girls sitting in a circle, engaged in lively conversation. Hannah, in particular, was animatedly chatting away, her blonde waves bouncing as vines danced around her arms, all the way to her fingertips. She noticed us and eagerly invited us to join them for lunch.

I nodded with a warm smile. Sometimes, I wondered where Hannah found her seemingly boundless energy. She and Senza, despite their differences, complemented each other perfectly, which might explain their enduring relationship. Max took a seat in silence, engrossed in her book, her social meter likely fully charged for the day.

As Hannah was about to speak, Bri promptly interrupted her, suggesting they head for lunch before Hannah talked their ears off. The group laughed as they stood up, ready to leave.

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DINING HALL

LUNCHTIME

As we settled down for lunch, I wondered aloud, “Do you think the list will be up by now?”

Bri turned towards Fancy expectantly. Her eyebrows shot up in question. Fancy, however, answered curtly, “Nope. Don’t even think about it.”

Noticing the persistent growing stares at her, she gave up on eating. She sighed, muttering something about stress and peace of mind, and checked her watch. She closed her eyes for a moment and then lazily opened them, her left hand reaching to massage her neck.

Looking at her watch again, she said, “Seven minutes from now.”

Hannah, excited, hugged her. Fancy didn’t seem to appreciate the physical contact and freed herself from the embrace. She ran her fingers through her dark brown hair before returning to her food. The conversation around the table shifted to speculation about the pairs that would be formed, but my mind was too distracted to pay attention.

I couldn’t shake a weird feeling that kept growing within me. As the seven minutes ticked by, Fancy abruptly stood up, her plate in hand, and called out to a boy from the table behind us. He resembled her, with a more defined masculine face. It dawned on us that she must have seen the list of pairs.

“Awesome, let’s go. We need to start researching for the task”

The boy whose attention she called, got up to his feet. His face was very similar to hers but he had more defined masculine facial features. Slowly, it dawned on everyone that she must have seen the names on the list. She looked back at our stunned expressions, wearing a sly smile on her lips.

“You asked for the time, not the names,” she explained, before turning and leading the boy out of the hall.

Fancy had outsmarted us, and without Sophie nearby, we couldn’t have her read Fancy’s mind. For a moment, we had all forgotten about the time we had anticipated. Looking at the clock, the seven minutes were up.

“It’s time, guys”

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CLASSROOM BUILDING

HALLWAY

I hesitantly approached the list. As I found my name and followed it to see my partner, my eyes widened in realization. I had to read the names again to make sure I wasn’t mistaken.

Elise Redfox | Trent Lee

My eyes blink multiple times before widening in realization. I tried to comprehend the words that I was reading.

It was true. Trent was my partner. This wasn’t going to be easy at all.

Out of nowhere, a throat cleared behind me. I moved away from the screen and turned to apologize, but my voice failed me. The culprit behind my concern standing right in front of me concentrating on the list. Trent had seen the list too. His eyebrows shot up in recognition before furrowing into a frown. With an exasperated sigh, he rolled his eyes at me and walked away. This was going to be a challenging midterm project, no doubt about it

Yep, I am going to fail midterms.

Like and Comment or else, Elise will fail midterms and it will be all your fault!

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