Exams were finished during November. All the students from Year 1 checked out the scoreboard for their grades in Quarter 1. It was hanged at the bulletin board at the school hallway from the architecture department.
"Yep, I still got it.", Lila was relieved.
"Aww sick girl! Your grades are higher than the Sears Tower.", Donnie was surprised.
"Shut up.", Lila snapped.
"You said that I need thank you lessons, well you need to work on your attitude young lady.", Lenn seems unamused.
"At least I planned for my future. What about yours?", Lila asked.
"Well, I want to help.", he replied in a straight face.
"Help in what..?", she raised her eyebrow.
"To help anyone in need. Besides, I have an ambition too you know. Isn't this why I chose this course in the first place?", he sounded confident as he spoke.
"Yeah, and I could see that your grades aren't bad either. It's quite high.", Lila spoke in a softer tone as she read the scoreboard.
Then an unknown voice spoke, "Oh check it out, the nerd has done it again!"
Lila turned around cautiously.
She saw the boy that entered the school corridors for students in their architecture course, with his two friends named Nika and Zeus. The boy had a messy dark hair. He wore a dark coat on his spruce blue shirt, and beige pants. He held Lila's waist and leaned to her closer as he softly spoke, "What's up girl?"
"What do you want Ricky!?", Lila panicked. "Let go of me!", then she hit his head with her book.
"Ow, you're stronger than I remembered." Ricky smirked while he stroked his head, "I like that."
"Hey, she is quite uncomfortable man. Leave her alone.", Lenn spoke.
"And who are you?", Ricky spoke in a suspicious way.
"I'm her new friend boy!", Lenn replied fiercely as he smiled. Then he asked as he lost his smile. "Who are you?"
"None of your business.", Ricky replied rudely. "Let's go mates!", he snapped to his fellow friends. Ricky and Nika walked away from the crowd.
Although, one of them whispered to Lenn, "Sorry about that, my brother is quite of an idiot you know." The one who whispered was Zeus. Unlike Ricky, he had a neat brighter hair. He wore a neat blue vest on his polo, and black pants.
"Quite of? He tried to hit on a girl, and that's more of an idiot.", Lenn whispered in fury.
"I got to go, nice meeting you.", Zeus hasten to leave.
The other students left the corridors as the little drama is over.
At lunch time, Lila and Lenn were having lunch together in the same table where they met.
"By the way, who was that guy, you seem to know him.", Lenn spoke as he chewed his apple.
"Oh, he's just a dumb old classmate of mine from high school."
"Oh, that nice!", Lenn said.
"It's not nice at all, he hurted me.", Lila spoke in a furious tone. "I'd report that to my father if I want to."
Lenn laughed, "Really? Why didn't you tell him then?"
"Well, I don't want to add up to his problems. Besides, he gets upset if I did interact with a boy.", Lila sadly spoke.
"But I'm a boy. What's the difference?", he asked.
"Well he doesn't have to know that I'm friends with you, since he won't pick me up from school anytime soon.", she spoke silently.
"Really? You don't mind?"
"Not from you anyway, you seem genuine and kind."
"So we're okay right, no hard feelings?", Lenn asked, he gave a smile.
"Yes we are.", Lila replied calmly.
"By the way, I'm going to ask you again. Why do you read while eating?", Lenn asked, "You could read your book afterwards."
"Well, I find it amusing.", she replied calmly.
"Oh, so you're a bookworm or something..?", he replied as he smiled.
"Well, I kept hearing that. People called me bookworm, nerd, square or something else...", Lila sighed.
Lenn slowly loses his smiles then he softly spoke, "Oh, I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings Lila."
She gave him a stern glare before she replied, "You didn't hurt me. You only asked. And it's true." She continued as she turned her book page, "I am a bookworm, but I'm not the worm who takes someone's apple.."
Lenn choked as he took another bite from his apple. "I'm sorry what?", he coughed.
"I don't take someone's favorite food, unlike what they did to me.", Lila replied.
"Really, what happened?", asked Lenn.
"Well, my old classmates teased me. They wanted to take my lunch, and some of them wants me to do their homework.", Lila spoke in a sorrowful way. Her face looked towards the ground. "I wanted to do something. Revenge at least, but I don't want to cause chaos.", Lila paused then added, "And what's more chaotic than a worm inside an apple on the dining table."
Lenn was speechless. He clasped his hand on his mouth as she spoke.
"Well, I'm very sorry to hear that.", he sighed.
He seemed to have known what Lila meant, but he still didn't understand about the apple sort of thing she just talked about.
"That's okay...", Lila replied, she glanced to Lenn again.
"It's good to be a better apple so the worms won't take advantage from those rotten ones.", she continued.
"Erm..", Lenn didn't understand what she meant.
Then Lila asked, "By the way, the girl, Penelope, the one you hanged out loads of times. Is she your girlfriend?"
"Oh no, we're just friends.", Lenn slightly giggled. "What about you?", Lenn asked. "You got a boyfriend yet?"
"Well..."
"Oh, I forgot, you did said you're not allowed to interact with boys because of your parents right?", Lenn realized.
"Erm- yes...", Lila spoke in a strained tone.
"Are you okay?", Lenn spoke slowly as he dispose his apple with his tissue.
"Yes I am..."
"You don't look okay.", he seemed concerned.
"I said I'm fine, stop jumping into someone's situation.", Lila raised her voice.
Lenn lost his voice as he clenched his right hand to his chest. He tried to calm himself down from what she had said. "I'm sorry for asking too much.", he said quietly.
Lila didn't reply. For some reason, she felt guilty for yelling at someone who was kind to her. She glanced towards Lenn once again, in a sorrowful look. Then she looked directly at her book on the table.
"I- I got to go to my dormitory...", she softly stuttered.
"Okay, thank you for your time.", Lenn spoke in his darker tone before Lila stood up and left the cafeteria around the school garden.
Later on, he decided to walk to his dormitory. He heard something noisy from his dorm, then he rushed to open the door. Then he saw Donnie screamed while he hugged a girl as they stood on their beds. He was curious why those two screamed, until he realized there was a big spider on the floor. Lenn carelessly picked up the spider, and placed it outside the dorm window.
"Oh my gosh, thank goodness you're back! Just in time too mate.", Donnie was relieved.
"You're welcome Donnie.", Lenn replied.
"At least that guy was braver than you, little coward.", the girl laughed.
Donnie crossed his arms, and he didn't think it was funny. "Very funny Jane."
"Hello! I'm his roommate, Lennard, but you can call me Lenn.", he offered a handshake.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Janelle. Jane for short.", she shook his hand as she winked.
"Nice to meet you too Jane.", he smiled.
Donnie broke the eye contact of those two, "Woah, woah, woah! You better stare on my girlfriend like that.", he spoke as he thinks it was suspicious.
"Bro, I didn't know you have a girlfriend.", Lenn spoke as he giggled.
"Don, as if we're not allowed to make new friends.", Jane giggled along.
Then Lenn asked more questions to Jane to know her better. Later on they did their homework together even though their subject was quite different from each other's. Later evening, around 9pm, Jane returned to her dormitory after she said goodnight to those two boys. After that, they went to bed to have a rest.
Lenn asked as he and Donnie lied on his bed. "By the way, what did you both do before the spider came?"
"Er- it's nothing Lenn. Night night bro.", Donnie hastened to go to sleep.
Lenn smiled as he said goodnight. He wrapped himself in a thin blanket and went fast asleep.