Luca thought she was disappointed and sought to apologize.
Amidst these, Luca felt multiple eyes gawking in their direction.
"I'm sorry Silvia," he said softly.
"What gave you the idea that I'm angry?"
She said softly yet piercingly.
"You could do as you like but it's better to confront reality and walk the path of a perceived loser than to lose yourself to stubborn pride and misguided resolve."
She said this and walked away Meanwhile Luca stood dumbfounded trying to decipher what she meant.
He heaved a sigh and continued his stride, passing through the space between the two buildings built beside each other, he could hear the sound of a machine being operated on the open school field.
What are they doing?
he thought
Luca's gaze appeared to be drawn to the edge of the side wall of the Computer Lab building; the edge of the side wall was deeply scooped out by something sharp, a four-slant deep narrow depression, which Luca examined closely; it resembled a claw mark.
What the hell?
Luca knew that no claw could scoop out such a narrow chunk out of a side wall no matter how strong the animal was.
He gazed fell at the open school field, a man was there operating a gas-powered auger, using it to dig holes by the far side of the school field for trees to be planted.
Perhaps that man did this right?
But this space is too cramped for a tree to be planted here.
Luca looked with an expression of shock and wonder.
Is that man really okay?
The scrawny man seemed to be struggling to use the machine as it vibrated strongly on his hands, it seemed that at any moment it could send him tumbling away.
I feel sorry for him, it actually looked like he was the one being operated not the machine.
"Case closed, let's move"
Luca said and continued his stride.
Many, many months went by, and Luca showed no signs of retaliating, Eventually, the bullies reduced the frequency of their abuse to once or twice a week; maybe they were sick of Luca's lack of aggression. Luca avoided confrontations during this time, but he did have his fair share of unpleasant experiences.
Similar to the Day of Chemistry Practical, in which students must work in a team to conduct an esterification reaction experiment and answer questions based on observations, materials, and measurements. Luca, who appeared to be by himself, boldly began his own while the other teamed together.
I won't lose to them teams,
he thought and grinned
He read the question paper:
Esterification reaction:
Objective:
To synthesize esters from carboxylic acids and alcohols and identify them by their characteristic smells.
Gloves in hands, mixing necessary drops of chemical together in a test tube, warming them.
Luca smiled,
time to rise and shine my mixture.
he smirked, although the other student teams had started finishing their own experimentation as Mr. Harris, the chemistry teacher sniffed the end product of the students' experimentation like a bloodhound on a mission to find the last piece of pizza at a party.
As expected nothing beats multiple hands.
Luca thought.
Luca could remember that in the esterification reaction in which esters is produced, they typically have pleasant and distinctive fruity smells. For example, the reaction between acetic acid and ethanol produces ethyl acetate, which has a sweet, fruity odor similar to pear drops.
He could clearly recall what he had learned in his notebook and textbook.
Wiping away the sweat forming on his furrow as he warmed the mixture inside a test tube gently in the water bath.
Taking it out, Luca sniffed it lightly, there wasn't any smell.
"Are you through? Mr. Moonfire"
Mr Harris asked as he approached Luca.
"What is this?" Mr. Harris asked as he collected the test tube from Luca with a confused expression. The cooled-down mixture, which was supposed to be colorless, now started bubbling and changing color to deep purple in the test tube like a witch's cauldron bubbling with magical liquid after she accidentally mixed up her spellbook with a cookbook.
Luca's instincts told him that something dangerous might happen at any moment, but Mr. Harris seemed to lack such instincts as he leaned in to sniff at the odd end product of Luca's experiment.
The next thing Luca saw was the shattering of the test tube, with the liquid mixture splattering across the floor and Mr. Harris fainting. Luca then began to smell a very unpleasant odor that wafted through the air like a skunk's bad breath after a bean burrito binge.
Mr. Harris was rushed to the school clinic and spent about one week recovering from Anosmia, a loss of smell, thank God the loss was temporary, while the chemistry lab wasn't used for a month because of the lingering unpleasant odor.
You could guess Luca's punishment thereafter although he wasn't expelled.
As the end of the first year approached, Luca found himself surprised to receive a C in chemistry, a grade he had hoped would be a big, fat F. He figured that perhaps his understanding of the theory had saved him, despite his disastrous practicals, but he thought ahead of time, he had managed to pass this time, what about the next grade? The thought gnawed at the depth of his mind.
Mrs. Brown walked into the classroom with her usual sour expression, as if she had just sucked on a lemon. Her face was set in a permanent frown as she surveyed the students. With a voice as sharp as her demeanor, she addressed the class.
"Well, it seems we've reached the end of another year," she began, her tone as uninviting as her expression.
"So... Luca" she said as her gaze fell on him.
Luca looked at Mrs Brown before glancing left and right.
Eh! Is it me?
Mrs Brown contorted her heavy makeup face, "Don't get cocky!!"
"I'm talking to you!!" She yelled.
"Y-yes Ma'am" Luca flinched and stammered.
"I heard that you have become a target of bully, move your seat to the back row at the last edge beside the window" she ordered.
Luca was dumbfounded for a moment, then his reason came back,
if I heard well, she said I should sit directly beside Silvia right?
Luca looked back at Silvia, the icy princess didn't even glance at him.
He grinned darkly inwardly, here I come.
Luca didn't know how he did it but...
He carried the desk and chair all at once, it wasn't that they were heavy but it wouldn't be comfortable and easy to carry them together, he shoved them up and heaved them to the space beside Silvia, he could feel some ill gaze from his classmates—the boys—especially some that had wanted to sit beside her but wasn't given the chance, the space between her and the window was empty since the start of the academic year.
Luca put the desk and chair down and had his seat, he wouldn't stop smiling like a kid given a blank check to a toy shop.
Mrs Brown started.
"Let's discuss your grades. I trust you all learned something, even if it wasn't immediately obvious from your practical work. I expect to see improvement next year, or else..." She let the threat hang in the air, her eyes scanning the room with a mixture of scrutiny and dissatisfaction, with her heavy makeup, she looked like a talking art project...