James frowned when he didn't see Katherine waiting for him as usual at the gates of the Faith Alive academy building. This was the first time he had not seen Katherine after they had decided to date.
"Is Kate still mad about yesterday?" thought James who found it completely strange. He was used to seeing Katherine's smile greet him in the morning, so when he didn't see it, James had a strange feeling.
"Ah, maybe she just overslept," thought James shaking his head and then immediately walked to his class.
Even though yesterday's events made the atmosphere awkward between them, James was sure Katherine wouldn't prolong the matter and would act as usual.
However, what James thought turned out to be completely wrong. The recess bell had rung and Katherine didn't come to his class as usual either.
"Is Kate really that mad?" thought James, starting to worry. He had thought Katherine would come to visit him as usual during recess, but seeing her didn't come made James believe that Katherine was really mad.
And it was his fault.
James finally decided to go over to Katherine's class to meet her. He knew that Katherine had not been bullied by Mary and the others since the restroom incident had spread.
Mary and the others insisted that Katherine was some kind of monster with strange powers, but people naturally didn't believe her, including James. Even though he had seen several girls collapsed on the floor, James thought Katherine knew how to do self-defense, and that was immediately supported by Luca who said that their family was taught self-defense.
***
"Kate! Your boyfriend came to see you!"
Katherine, who was reading a book, turned to her classmate who called her name, then turned towards the door and saw James who had just arrived and was walking towards her.
"James?" asked Katherine, her face showing surprise when she saw him.
"Hi… Kate," James waved awkwardly and then quickly sat down in the chair next to Katherine.
"Don't you want to go to the cafeteria?" James asked, scratching the back of his head which didn't itch at all.
"Ahh… no, I'll be in class," answered Katherine, turning her gaze back to the book she was reading.
"I see… Hmm… That… I want to ask you something."
"What's that?" asked Katherine, still not looking at James.
"Are… are we okay? Are you still angry?" James asked nervously, seeing Katherine ignoring him like this made James feel uncomfortable.
"Of course. We're fine. I wasn't angry from the start, really!" said Katherine, finally turning to James.
"Why do you ask something like that?" she continued.
"Well… That… I didn't see you in the morning and I didn't see you after the bell rang, I thought you were angry…" James replied while scratching the back of his head which wasn't itchy at all.
"Ahh…" Katherine tried to hold back her smile when she saw James's adorable behavior.
"I'm preparing for the midterms exam."
"Midterm exam?" James asked, widening his eyes. "But it will be on Monday. Have you studied from now on?" he continued, sounding surprised.
Katherine nodded.
"Yes, I want to get good grades. I even challenged Emma," Katherine whispered so no one would hear. Since the incident with Mary, Katherine has tried to keep a low profile and not be overbearing. If anyone heard of it right now they would definitely hate her again.
"You want to challenge Emma?!" Katherine hastily covered James' mouth when he said it out loud.
"Shh… Lower your voice! You don't have to shout about it!" said Katherine glaring at James. After seeing James nod his head, Katherine finally let go of his hand.
"You seriously want to challenge Emma? The student who ranks first in our years?" James asked again in a low voice.
Katherine nodded.
"Yeah, so for the next few days I can't wait for you at the gate or accompany you to eat in the cafeteria. I have to study."
"I see.. I understand. I'm sure you can beat Emma!" said James with a smile. Seeing Katherine finally having her dream, somehow made James feel happy and wanted to support her.
"Thank You. There you go to the cafeteria before you don't get a seat."
***
Katherine walked over to the midterm results announcement with a pounding heart. After making preparations and doing the exhausting exams. Finally, the midterm results announcement was pasted on the academy's bulletin board.
From where she was, Katherine could see the bulletin board being swarmed by students curious about their grades, prompting Katherine to quickly get to her feet before she couldn't find her name.
Arriving near where the bulletin board was, Katherine took a deep breath and searched for the announcements for her class years.
"Well, that's it. Alright first place…" Katherine's eyes then went straight to number one. "Ka… Ah… Emma White," muttered Katherine who was immediately disappointed when she saw that her name wasn't put in the first place.
She had tried so hard that she didn't even date James because she wanted to study. Seeing that the results weren't what she expected made Katherine disappointed.
"It's okay, Emma has indeed been the number one student since the first time she entered. She's a tough competitor. I'm sure I'll be number two," said Katherine, who was immediately excited and looked at the bulletin board again.
"Two… Ka… Luke Brown?!" said Katherine loudly in disbelief at what she saw. She then immediately apologized when the other students stared at her.
"What's this? Luca placed second?" thought Katherine, surprised. She knew that Luca was indeed smart, but she was really trying hard to study.
Luca beat him too?
Katherine sighed, trying not to be too disappointed, but after finding her name at number six, Katherine couldn't help but be disappointed.
"Hey, Kate!"
Katherine turned when someone called her name and put a hand on her shoulder.
"Hey, Em! Congratulations, you're in first place," Katherine said quietly and couldn't hide her disappointment, but her words sounded sincere when congratulating her.
"Ah.. Thank you, but you also did your best, being in sixth place is good. That means you are in first place in your class," said Emma after finding Katherine's name.
"Besides, my position is also threatened," said Emma in a serious tone.
"What do you mean?" asked a clueless Katherine.
"See! My grades and those in second place are only one point apart. Why didn't you tell me that your cousin was good at studying?" asked Emma, noticing her grades.
This was the first time that a student had almost passed it by one point. Usually the difference is tens.
"Ahh… I was surprised too, didn't expect him to be that smart," said Katherine.
"By the way, what are your plans for summer vacation? Are you going back home?" Emma asked as she and Katherine walked away from the crowd.
Katherine was silent for a moment, a confused look on her face. Summer vacation?