Hugh got a feeling that Jane knew that he had gotten stronger. Those inquisitive eyes were too focused on him, which meant that she was starting to doubt Hugh's identity.
He chose to ignore those stares because he did not want to give her any more indication that he was strong. He kept his eyes focused on the professor and tried to suppress the feeling of being stared at.
The lecture wore on for hours until professor Kain gave them a warning for their upcoming project.
"Gather yourselves into groups of five. Pick your members and make sure that you all get along. We will have our project sometime next week, so go get your members."
Hugh frowned at the announcement. He detested school projects because it would only cause him misery. He did not have anyone here that he got along with, so he did not have anyone he wanted to be in his group.
Hugh always experienced being the last pick of the groups. It happened in his high school, and it would happen again in this school.
He decided to let others pick the group for him, and just try to work with whoever. He did not care; he just wanted the school project to be over with.
As soon as professor Kain finished his announcement, the students erupted in a slew of chitchats, already creating their groups.
Of course, the girls all lined up next to Serena and tried to get into her group. She looked like she was having trouble deciding who she would pick, but there was an imperceptible smile on her face.
She wanted the attention that her classmates are giving her. It truly felt like she was special, and she cherished those moments. In her mind, she already chose her group mates.
She never wanted to be grouped with the smart girls nor the strong girls. She wanted mediocre group mates so that she could shine even more.
Jane also looked like she dreaded this part of the school. She did not have anyone she was close with, so she was also not part of anyone's group.
Having no other choice, Jane looked towards Hugh. She looked conflicted on whether she should ask him or not. She knew that Hugh was strong and smart, but teaming up with him meant that her social standings would plummet.
Although she had no care for the opinions of others, she could not risk getting denied access to the private parties that only popular students get to attend.
She bit her lips as she debated in her mind. After a few seconds, she got up from her seat and was about to approach Hugh when she got a tap on her shoulder.
Jane looked back and saw that a bunch of students approached her first. She remembered that these students were the geeky students, and were smart like her.
A girl with glasses and braids approached her and spoke.
"Jane, would you like to join our group?"
Jane looked towards the group and assessed their strengths. These students were not the strongest, but they were really smart. She would be a great fit in their group.
Even with their compatibility, Jane was still undecided. She looked back to Hugh who was just sitting alone in his chair.
With one big breath, she nodded towards the geeky students and grouped up with them.
"Great! We'll have a brief meeting tonight, so mark it in your calendar okay?"
"Yes, now that we have Jane, we'll probably score the highest marks."
"Did you hear about the planet that the professor was talking about?"
"Yeah, Braxton? Their history is very interesting I heard that..."
The geeky students continued to converse about geeky stuff that only they could appreciate. Jane was a studious girl, but she was not as geeky as these students. She felt a little bit left out.
With the lecture done and over, the students started to disperse and do their own things. Aric was the first person out of the door, ignoring everybody else.
Some of Aric's friends wanted to ask him about the groupings, but he left too quickly. With Aric being their leader, they would always leave a spot for him.
Hugh had nothing left to do for the day, so he decided to go home for now. He walked out of the classroom and started to walk towards the shifting room.
Most of the students liked to loiter around on the campus, so they did not go in the same direction as Hugh. They socialized with the other sections and built connections with them.
Hugh was not a friendly nor outgoing person, so he went straight back into his house. As he walked through the lockers in the hallway, Hugh felt the deafening sound of silence.
The busy and chattering sounds of the students faded away into obscurity and left Hugh all alone with his thoughts. He felt that something was wrong, but he could pinpoint it.
The cold breeze of the wind blew in his neck, giving him a chill. It only served to warn him more of the oncoming threat. The hallways of the classroom did not have any open windows.
His steps slowed down into a crawl until he stopped completely. He looked at the floor, but he kept his attention on his surroundings at all times.
He activated his eagle eyes, but he could not see anything out of the ordinary.
The cold steel of the lockers and the dim blinking light of the ceiling gave off the feeling of an abandoned structure.
"Who are you? Show yourself."
He waited for a few seconds, but there was no response. Every second of waiting only built up the tension in the air. He readied his armor in case a surprise came at him.
He was confident in his eagle eyes, but there was a feeling in his heart that even his eagle eyes would not matter.
"Hugh. I have a message to deliver."
Hugh heard a robotic voice behind him.