Rowe's gaze landed on Archie, his eyes sparkling with anticipation. He had been patiently waiting for Archie to stir from his slumber since the onset of the lunch break.
Caught off guard by Rowe's presence, Archie jolted, a reaction that knotted his stomach and intensified his discomfort. He clenched his teeth to suppress the pain.
'Why is this bastard here?'
Archie mused, but his rumbling stomach urged him to eat.
Rowe, the picture of calm, observed as Archie got up from his seat, left the room, and headed towards the cafeteria.
'I will ditch him in the crowd.'
Archie formulated a plan, aware that Rowe was on his heels.
Rowe continued to trail Archie in silence.
Despite his attempts to merge with the crowd and shake off Rowe, Archie found himself under Rowe's persistent gaze. Rowe doggedly followed him, even to the underground level where the cafeteria was located.
Upon stepping into the cafeteria, Archie was met with a sprawling space, larger than two football fields put together. The modern aesthetic architecture, an array of wooden dining tables scattered around, and numerous food counters serving a variety of fresh meals, from burgers to pasta, contributed to the atmosphere.
The cafeteria was buzzing with students, the entire freshman year was there. Some students bypassed the queue while others waited patiently. Each pair of eyes mirrored a different sentiment: arrogance, happiness, sympathy, and sorrow.
Archie scanned the crowd for a shorter queue, hoping to grab a quick meal and make a hasty exit. However, his search led him to Ron and his sidekick, the pair who had roughed him up, now seated at a table, relishing their meal and engaged in lively conversation.
Memories flooded back, causing Archie to ball his fist in anger. However, his anger was not directed at them; he was seething at himself. Overwhelmed by these emotions, Archie spun on his heel and exited the cafeteria without grabbing a bite.
Rowe, still silent, followed Archie like a faithful shadow.
Archie took the elevator back to his classroom and settled into his seat. Rowe resumed his position, kneeling before the table.
Archie did his best to ignore Rowe, but Rowe's silence gave him the impression that Rowe wouldn't leave until he addressed the matter. Left with no other choice, Archie finally broke the silence,
"What do you want? Why are you following me?"
Rowe clicked his tongue in irritation, feeling that Archie had disrupted their silent rapport, but quickly retorted in an engaged tone,
"I'm interested."
"Interested! By what?" Archie was puzzled by Rowe's cryptic words.
"By you!"
"Huh!" Rowe's words incensed Archie. Rowe's behavior seemed mocking to him, and he responded in a chilly tone,
"I'm not in the mood for your jokes. Tell me why you are here."
Rowe finally rose from his kneeling position and replied with a smirk,
"I've already told you, you are the one I'm interested in."
Rowe perched on the table, his words cascading freely, while Archie's countenance remained frosty.
"Everyone in the entire academy knows about your past life, myself included. When the Principal nominated you, we thought you were the illegitimate child of a high clan. After thorough research, we realized you are nobody and there's nothing special about you.
You don't have any Ethereal, even after you ate the egg stone. You can't use the E-screen and your family is nothing like you."
Rowe paused, his gaze locked with Archie, whose visage was a mask of rage. He clenched the chair tightly, wrestling to rein in his emotions after hearing Rowe's words.
Rowe flashed a grin, soaking in Archie's reaction, and articulated the thoughts that had been gnawing at him,
"There's nothing noteworthy or interesting about you save for one aspect. Your behavior!"
"My behavior!"
Rowe's words shattered Archie's fury, and Rowe proclaimed,
"Yes, your behavior. Be it in middle school or around your relatives. You are a loner, lethargic, and have no character. That's exactly how everyone who knows you described you."
Rowe smirked and added,
"And let me guess, you climbed to the top during the ROT trial because you didn't want to associate with anyone. So, you chose the highest stairs, didn't you?"
Rowe glanced back to gauge Archie's reaction, but Archie remained silent, his gaze drilling into Rowe.
Rowe, as always, offered a faint smile and continued his soliloquy,
"What piques my interest is what happened to that loser Archie. If you were that Archie, you would have never chosen for this academy, not even in a million lifetimes. And more importantly, your mocking words to Ron's lackeys. I heard from Ron's lackey that you mocked Ron directly to his face before getting roughed up."
Rowe paused, stroking his chin with a broad grin, and posed the final question that had been plaguing him since yesterday,
"What happened to you? You went from being a nobody to standing shoulder to shoulder with the high clans in just two months. What's the story behind that transformation? Tell me."
Rowe swiftly closed the distance between him and Archie, bringing his face just a few centimeters away from Archie's.
Archie swallowed hard, feeling Rowe's warm, restless breath on his face, awaiting his response.
Archie pondered, filled with confusion,
'Did I really change? Did Mechanic and Deadbeat change my behavior?'
Archie sensed his behavior was gradually evolving, but he didn't realize that these behaviors were always latent within him. He had locked everything away once his mother passed away. Gradually, time and destiny unveiled everything.
As Archie ruminated over his predicament, he found himself tongue-tied with Rowe's face so close.
Archie struggled to find the right words to ask him to back off. His mind went blank, as he had never encountered such a forthright and tenacious individual before. He was the archetype that Archie loathed the most.
"What is your an…"
Before Rowe could finish his sentence, someone tugged his shirt from behind with such force that he was sent tumbling off the table, his head colliding with the floor on the way down.
"What are you doing, Cody!"
Even after landing on his back, Rowe's words echoed in the room, laced with a hint of irritation. He quickly rolled over to get back on his feet.
"Why are you interfering with my time with my best friend?"
Rowe stood and addressed the fellow student standing before Archie.
Archie instantly recognized him as one of Rowe's friends whom he had encountered yesterday at the cafeteria.
The student, Cody Blair, had long, untamed white hair that flowed elegantly down his back. A few strands framed his face, adding a touch of sophistication to his appearance. His golden eyes sparkled with a unique brilliance, complementing his smooth, pale skin that contrasted beautifully with his slender frame.
Standing nearly six feet tall, he was dressed in a jet brown jacket coat over the crisp white shirt and brown waistcoat of his academy uniform, paired with dark brown pants and formal shoes.
Cody's mere presence captivated those around him, and even now, a few girls in the hall couldn't help but steal glances at him, their eyes filled with a mix of admiration and longing.
Cody Blair was, without a doubt, the embodiment of beauty that drew others in— a symbol of both adoration and underlying tension.
But Cody seemed oblivious to all of that, his sharp gaze fixed solely on Archie.
Archie felt a sense of relief wash over him, grateful that Cody had intervened. But before Archie could relax, Cody apologized in his melodious tone,
"I'm sorry for this pervert. He doesn't know what personal space is."
After speaking, Cody grabbed Rowe's collar from behind and effortlessly dragged him out of the classroom, despite his slim figure. He tossed Rowe outside, shooing him away. Surprisingly, Rowe complied, stayed silent, and left the place.
Archie gulped as Cody's radiance overwhelmed him and shattered his small confidence.
Cody reached into his pocket, retrieved something, and placed it on the table. He stated,
"Take this as your payment for entertaining Rowe."
Cody quickly retreated to the back of the room and settled into a chair, instantly becoming the center of attention for the girls surrounding him.
'Is that white-haired guy in the same class as me?'
Archie realized that Cody was indeed a classmate.
Just from interacting with Rowe and Cody for a few minutes, Archie felt as though he had been hit by a tsunami. He was utterly drained from exhaustion. Glancing at the object Cody had placed on the table, Archie realized it was a potion bottle.
The green liquid inside the bottle indicated it was not poisonous, based on what he had read in books.
Archie stashed the potion inside his pocket, saving it for a special occasion.
Yes, the moment Archie had been waiting for finally arrived—the [Cumulative Sign-in] of 30 days was here at last.