Cadmus was almost certain that there had only been a misconception
"Think about it…" he went on, smirking assertively as he tried to reason.
"Even after I shouted at her for being such a klutz, she apologized instead of fighting back. She didn't complain when I told her to grab us something to drink if she wanted to prove she was truly sorry. Not to mention, she was shaking like crazy earlier, meaning she was afraid of me. It gave me the impression that she was nothing but your typical misunderstood oddball."
That had gotten Russell scrunching his brows in deep thought. On the side, Irvin and Jamir exchanged looks of enlightenment. Cadmus leaned back on his chair.
'Indeed, to see is to believe.'
If everything that Russell had told them so far was right, she would not have gone through the trouble of fetching their drinks. She would have felt offended for being ordered around like that, and she would have insisted that Cadmus was the one who bumped into her.
"You have a point, I guess…" Russell started, breaking the silence.
"But isn't that only because it's you, Master Cadmus? No one would dare disrespect you!"
And there he went again.
He didn't necessarily agree with what Cadmus said, and instead, Russell decided to treat him as a different case. Not too long, he, along with Jamir and Irvin, began yet another round of praises.
"It's only right for anyone who'd cross Master Cadmus like that to be terrified to the bones!"
"Especially when he fell so hard his poor butt must've hurt a lot! It must've been painful!"
"You should've set her as an example to those who'd try to do the same, Master Cadmus!"
He would much rather have those without hearing anything about his butt. Still, it felt great to know that he could be the reason why someone would change their behavior.
"If that's actually the case, wouldn't it be interesting if she's in our class this year, Master Cadmus…?" Russell suggested, coming up with an amusing idea.
"Imagine her obeying your every command! You'll be taming a problem student! You will certainly not only look superior! But you'll also do everyone a favor of keeping her in check!"
"You're saying that as if you wanted me to have her as a pet…" Cadmus chuckled, finding the idea amusing as well.
"Well, that'll probably be for her own benefit too. Being a pet for someone like me is better than her ruining her reputation further and ultimately getting herself expelled, isn't it? That'll be interesting, indeed."
And also, she's cute.
There's no harm having a girl that cute around. Her cuteness could be her redeeming quality.
'Genius. I really am a genius…' Cadmus mused, smirking condescendingly.
'It's a fair trade. I'll get to clean her image, and she'll make mine sparkle-"
His thoughts got cut off by the feeling of someone staring at him from behind. His friends also seemed to have gone quiet at that exact same time.
Cadmus turned around.
Staring wasn't the right word for it, he realized then. It was more like glaring.
That girl had been standing there all along.