After that incident in the corridor, all was quiet for some days.
Cadmus would get forced to talk to her from time to time considering they were seatmates, but aside from that, he had made it good on his goal to stay away from her. It didn't hurt that Blair would hardly ever converse with anyone, and she also kept to herself most of the time, as per usual.
Whenever they'd pass by each other, she'd make the first effort to actively move to the opposite side. Because of his pride, even though their conversation that day still bugged him, he won't bother trying to discuss it.
It was fine by Cadmus.
'Was there more to her?'
Regardless, he didn't want anything to do with her anymore, if he could help it. He did observe that he'd become more irritable since she began to distance herself, though he'd, of course, deny that.
Then, later that week, a certain turn of events had decided to have a say in this.
"We'll be taking a field trip, class, and each of you will be assigned a partner."
"Can we choose our partners?" Russell asked, but more for Cadmus's sake.
"Not this time around. Sorry. I'll be the one to give the pairs."
Russell turned to look at Cadmus, who appeared to be mentally crossing his fingers that he and Blair wouldn't end up together.
Truthfully, he was ambivalent because he knew he had to be professional with her. But he also was hoping that he won't end up as her pair because of her surliness these days. He'd wanted to be with any of his friends or their social circle. Unfortunately, their teacher said they wouldn't know who their partner was until the day of the trip.
When he got onto the school-chartered coaster the following week, he saw that everyone was already sitting beside their designated workmate.
Cadmus looked up at the furthest backseat and saw Blair sitting alone beside the window. He sighed, completely annoyed. Russell gave him a sympathetic look as he walked there while Jamir and Irvin offered him an encouraging pat.
"Hey," Cadmus tried to start amicably but only to be instantly shut down by Blair's wintry exterior.
He glared at her, his brow twitching uncomfortably. There was a neutral line on her mouth – the best she could give to acknowledge him. He's clueless as to what she's thinking, but he supposed he shouldn't care.
Cadmus took his seat on the other side of the aisle.
He's really trying not to stir any drama. But now, they're stuck as partners for the field trip. He absolutely wasn't looking forward to it.
"I guess we're a team, then?" Blair said with a tone Cadmus couldn't quite comprehend.
"I guess, we are. Lucky," Cadmus remarked sarcastically, which Blair simply ignored.
The rest of the ride was mostly silent for both of them, save for the chatter of their other classmates.
When they got to their destination, which was a national park with massive botanical gardens, Cadmus remained stuck walking beside her. He was doing his best not to start any fight, but talking to Blair was like trying to pet a grumpy cat.
'Just what is her deal exactly? I saved her, didn't I? Is this how she wants to repay me?'
At some point during the tour, Blair and Cadmus found themselves lagging behind the rest of the class.