Beep... beep...
I jerked hearing the honk of the car. And then, I listened to the noise outside my house. The door opened and hearing that fast-paced feet against the floor, I knew it was Jun.
"Wow! you're still being idle?! You should hurry up. If Eugene saw you, tsk.. tsk.." he said.
I ignored him and continued to carefully check my things. I felt that his sharp brown eyes were persistently watching my every move so I asked, "Aren't you the one who should hurry up? I'm almost done."
"Ah, right!" He smacked his forehead, remembering why he's here in the first place. I shook my head in amusement when he ran to the kitchen. I walked outside and it's Belle who first came into my sight.
"Dani!"
She is wearing a white uniform with black blazer. The gray knee-length skirt drew my eyes into her legs. This is our school uniform. As I'm sizing her up, she's doing the same. She stood up straight, walked towards me and stood up in her tip toes as if leveling her eyes into mine. After that, she keep muttering 'It's unfair' or something like that. I didn't know what she's talking about. When I finally noticed the car, I took a step back.
Its glorious crimson form is more glaring than the sun. The mirrors are so clean that I can clearly see my reflection in the window. The headlights are coated in a silvery crystals and the shine of the tires... Isn't this too flashy?
"Get in." The windshield rolled down and I heard Eugene's voice. He sized me up with his dark rich brows and arrogant eyes like an unruly young master.
As I stared at Eugene, Belle stated from the side. "I thought Eugene was the one driving since he was acting so aggressively."
"What?" Eugene asked.
"I mean, in the movies, the male leads would say 'get in' and turn the handle powerfully to reverse the car, right?"
Belle looked at me with that remark, which made me burst out laughing after at a loss for words. Eugene muttered in a fury, "Why are you mentioning my driver's license again?"
"You don't have one." I reminded him.
"You two!"
I got on the car still laughing and Belle sat at my right side. The smell of leather permeated in the air. I stared at Eugene's black hair in front of me. He's rich but this car is not his style. I wondered what made this change but I didn't ask.
"This is really unfair! I wore high heels to increase my height but I'm still short compared to you Dani. I wonder if I would still get taller." Belle crossed her arms with strained voice.
"You're not that short, I'm just tall." I replied in a reassuring voice.
"Yeah, what did you do? Did you eat or drink something special?"
"Haha, no."
"Really?"
"Well, I've been provided with special care." I admitted, looking out the car window.
"What's that?!" she asked me but I laughed it off. You wouldn't not want to know.
She changed the topic when her phone lit up. "Oh, Kenneth said that they will go to the school by themselves. They might be late because he's been having a hard time getting David out of his bed."
"You and David are really alike. Great procrastinators." Eugene commented.
"Then, you should have gone to the school without me."
"And what? let you wander around in school?" he turned his head and offered me a bemused smile. And at the same time, his blatant attitude make me feel guilty instead. I only smiled back because I couldn't refute him. We finally get a glimpse of Jun, and seeing that he's carrying a lot of snacks, Eugene chewed him out.
"We're going to be late and you're still thinking about food?"
"Why were you only pointing at me? Isn't it because of her in the first place? You shouldn't play favorites." Jun responded while pointing his fingers at me.
"May I remind you that the stuffs you're holding are basically mine?"
"Haha, Dani, I'm just kidding."
"After you emptied my fridge, you should be."
The car ignited and I slumped back in my seat. Last night, I kept waking up with a jerk, continuously disrupting my sleep. The feeling of falling again and again... I sighed and only listened on the noise from Jun's eating. My head was splitting from a headache. I wished I could sleep like the dead.
I only opened my eyes when I felt Belle's hand tapping my arms gently. I finally understood why Eugene's car changed. This is crazy... High end cars crowded my sight. Rolls-Royce, Lamborghinis, Porsche, Audi, and Ferrari... What the heck? It seems like they're not here to attend school. This school is more like a stage to show off.
"Hahahaha" I put my hand at my stomach. I don't know if I'm doing it to hold back my laugh or to ease my twisting insides.
"Dani? why are you suddenly laughing?!" The rest turned towards me and gave me a look.
"Dude, you're giving me goosebumps."
"You need to stop this out of the blue habit of yours lest you scare some people."
"Hahaha. Sorry." I firmly tightened my lips to prevent the corner of my lips from rising.
"What's so funny?"
What's so funny? The name of the school is proudly written in the tall arch of the entrance. Trinity University. Are you telling me to make a mess in this kind of place? I'm afraid I will really get famous. It's better to transfer to another school. Colorful banners and posters are displayed warmly congratulating the students. There's also a big board announcing the top students who passed the entrance exam.
"Wow! the first placer got a 94 percent?! The test should be very difficult!"
"I learned that it's also the new highest score recorded in this school's hundred years of history. So, they're really looking forward to this freshman."
I listened to Belle and Jun's conversation. It was really excellent because the second placer only got 85 percent. There is a big difference.
'Lee Dizon'
I heard Eugene beside me clicking his tongue. "If I also took the exam, my scores would be higher."
"Big words. But even if that's true, you would still be in the second place."
"And who's in the first place? You?" Eugene jeered at Belle but the latter pointed at me.
"Are you stupid? Of course it's Dani. Who else?"
"Hey, you two stop. We're so lucky that we didn't have to take the test. So why are you arguing this now? I don't want to be like my friends from other schools who attended cram schools even during summer. It was hell."
"Why are you saying it like that? We're not lucky, we're privileged. If people heard you, they might think we used backhanded means to get into this school." Eugene corrected Jun's words.
"Aren't some people already think so? They said, students like us who came from Trinity High didn't need to take the entrance exam primarily because of our family background."
"It was like that? then would there be a trouble?" Belle asked before clearing her throat.
Eugene answered with a frown. "What trouble? Trinity High is a subsidiary of this school. And accepting students from Trinity High without requiring the students to take the exam is one of their policies. It's been like that for generations. Also, this school is primarily known for the students' good reputation."
"We can't be so sure. I've heard that the students here are becoming more and more arrogant."
Jun put his hands behind his head as if thinking. I raised my left eyebrow. Sometimes, I felt that he was too ahead of us that it seemed hard to understand what he was saying. However... he was still adorable.
"What do you mean?"
"That's according from other schools." He answered simply. At this time, I didn't know that our group will be caught up in this mess in the future.