The first two days was very torturous. For the first time in his life, James has not touched anything electronic. Maribel did a very good job in clearing anything that was deemed electronic, leaving his room almost empty, except his bed and table. They even replaced his chair just in case he released had tainted it with his fluids.
They restricted his movements inside the house, almost preventing him from coming out of his room, only strictly during meal times. James was mad, not at Josh or anyone, he was mad at himself. He overestimated himself badly, thinking that he could just wiggle his way out of any circumstances.
Even Angel was not allowed to even be next to him. Maribel was afraid that James would do something unhealthy to her, causing James to be very angry. He was so angry that if he saw Josh, he would strangle and kill him on the spot. "I'm not a porn addict alright?"
It was only when he was in school that he was relatively free. It was only two days, and James was relishing every ounce of freedom that he had. Even with all these happening, James did not give up on exposing Josh. He was waiting patiently for the perfect time.
During the break, James did not go to the cafeteria, instead, he went to the library. His mind was already restless having not done anything for the past forty-eight hours. He opened any book that corresponded to computers. These books were lacking in detailed information, but there was the only source of information he could access for now.
James was reading silently when he noticed someone walking into the library. Even though many students walked in and out, James subconsciously ignored them. However, this person was enough to grab his attention.
Henry walked into the library for the first time in years. His demeanour didn't seem hostile anymore, as he appeared calmer than James had seen him be. He strolled to the section that was labelled "sports". After taking a random book out of interest, he strolled to a nearby free seat and sat down.
When the students inside the room saw that Henry was reading a book, they were shocked. They began to murmur to each other, turning the silent library noisy.
"Silence", the librarian ordered. The library became silent again. Although Henry knew the cause of the murmur, he didn't appear to care about it. He continued reading the book, and his expression looked like he was enjoying it.
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Ana sat next to James with widened expression. "James, have you heard? Henry is turning a new leaf, ever since Cherry threw a bomb at him. He was even found inside a library, reading. Can you imagine that?" Ana said with a surprised expression.
James looked up from the book he borrowed at the library and stared dead at Ana. "And what's wrong with that? If Henry is changing, does that concern you or anybody for that matter?" James asked.
Ana pouted her lips. "Come on James, don't tell me you are not surprised. I know I get it, I should be happy for him, but it still seemed weird. I cannot properly visualize him asking questions in class or coming to school early. It just blew my mind", Ana gestured a bomb explosion.
James ignored Ana and continued reading the book before the next teacher came in.
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"Very correct once more, please put your hands together for James, again." The male teacher said boredly when James answered a question for the sixth time in a row. "You cannot be serious class. Chemistry is a very important subject in your exams, and if this is how you are going to perform during your final exams, I'll be sorry for you people", the teacher scolded the class.
"Next question. This is going to be a simple question. I don't expect any one of you to fail this one: List the two types of polymerization.
With this question, all the class raised up their hands, slightly delighting the teacher. The teacher scanned the hands to choose who was going to answer it, but his eyes fell on one hand that stood out like a sore thumb, shocking the teacher to the core.
James' classmates were confused. They turned around to see what was causing the teacher's reaction, and seeing Henry's raised hand, they even wore a more shocked expression.
James could not help but be sorry for Henry. Henry hasn't answered a question from a teacher ever since he got admitted into this school, so the reactions he was receiving was understandable. However, it still made him uncomfortable.
"Alright everyone, face the board, come on", the teacher finally said after ten seconds of torturous stares. "Alright Henry, give me the three types of polymerization.
Henry stood up slightly shakily. Henry's demeanour had changed so drastically. He was no longer the domineering figure of the class. Right now, he looked more like a lost puppy, looking for its owner.
Henry scanned the class nervously, before looking down at his textbook and facing the teacher. "It's conversation polymerization, and addition polymerization, sir."
After he finished, the class fell silent. Even James was amused by the reaction of the class. The class did not respond for straight ten seconds until James could not take the suspense anymore. He clapped once, then twice, then thrice. Ana picked up and clapped alongside James, until the clap spread to the whole class, as they began to cheer loudly and applaud Henry enthusiastically. It was like Henry had scored a goal in a stadium.
The class kept clapping for straight sixty seconds until the teacher was forced to stop them. "Alright it's enough, it's enough!", the teacher said loudly, causing the claps to die down slowly.
"Look at me, Henry. You were correct. Well done", the teacher commended, before continuing in his lesson.
Henry felt the urge to cry. He had never felt this happy in a long time. All these years, he thought everyone disliked him. He always felt very insecure, and so the only way to deal with it was to suppress his weak classmates. But the love the class showed to him caused a feeling he had not felt for a very long time stir in his heart. He looked over at James and muttered "thank you" silently, although James wasn't looking at him.s