William met Mr. Anderson's puzzled gaze and said, "There's no reason, you can punish me however you want, but don't take the book away."
The book belonged to Ellie and couldn't be taken away by Mr. Anderson.
Just as William finished speaking, he saw Ellie come out.
He was taken aback, about to ask why she was coming out, when he heard Ellie say, "Teacher, that book is mine."
"Is it your book?" Mr. Anderson looked at the book in his hand and then at Ellie.
"Yes, it's my book. If you have to punish, punish me too."
Mr. Anderson looked at the book in his hand and then said, "Alright, both of you will clean the sanitation area downstairs for three days this afternoon."
Ellie said, "Okay."
"No, the book was what I was reading, it has nothing to do with her, punish me alone."
Mr. Anderson looked at the two and said angrily, "One brings extracurricular books, the other reads them, you both are at fault. It's high school, time to focus, not just play all day. What will you use to get into college later, huh? Can you play your way into university?
I've said it many times, no novels, no reading any other extracurricular books at school. Instead of reading, you could be solving math problems. Reading extracurricular books won't teach you anything, but solving math problems, each one you solve might teach you something new. You both need to reflect on this, understood?"
Ellie whispered, "I understand."
William wanted to say something more, but Mr. Anderson, holding the book, prepared to leave. He turned back to the two and said, "Clean it thoroughly, I will check."
...
The two returned to their seats.
Daniel curiously asked, "William, did Mr. Anderson catch you playing with your phone?"
William indifferently replied, "No."
"What was it then?"
"An extracurricular book."
Daniel continued to press, "Did Mr. Anderson take the book away?"
"Mm-hmm."
Daniel wanted to ask a few more questions but heard William say to be quiet.
He promptly shut his mouth.
It might have been William's illusion, but he felt Ellie had been especially quiet since they returned. Although she was usually quiet, he thought a good student like Ellie probably had never been scolded before.
Ellie was looking for something with her head down. William, seeing her face buried, thought she might have been crying from being scolded. He hesitated for a while before nudging her sleeve.
Ellie looked up at him, her expression somewhat bewildered: "What's up?"
William stared at her for a moment, made sure she wasn't crying, and then said, "Are you silly? He could have punished me alone, why did you come out and take the blame with me?"
Ellie said, "Because you were sleeping, and I woke you up. The book was also given to you by me, so I should be punished with you."
William looked at her obedient appearance and still didn't say anything, just said, "Let's clean the sanitation area together this afternoon."
Ellie said, "Okay."
William wanted to say he would get the book back, but after thinking about it, he decided to tell her after he got it back.
...
In the afternoon.
Ellie, holding a broom and dustpan, was about to go downstairs.
William walked beside her, took the things from her hand, and Ellie didn't compete with him, walking side by side with him.
The sanitation area was not small, a large area with many fallen leaves scattered on the ground.
William handed the broom to Ellie and pointed ahead, saying, "This large area is all ours."
Ellie looked at the leaves in front and said, "Okay."
William stood behind her, watching her obediently sweep the floor, and soon they had a pile of leaves.
There was something on the ground that attracted a large number of ants. Ellie, seeing those ants running in the same direction, couldn't help but stop sweeping.
William turned his head and saw her squatting on the ground, looking at something. Her uniform was quite loose on Ellie. She lowered her eyes, looking at the small creatures on the ground, not even noticing when a leaf fell on her head.
Ellie was watching intently when she suddenly felt a shadow over her head. She looked up and met the teenager's black eyes. William suddenly reached out his hand.
Ellie looked at his outstretched hand, her eyelashes trembling slightly.
William took the leaf off her head and threw it on the ground, saying, "Are the ants on the ground interesting? Little prude."
"Not bad."
Listening to her serious answer to his question, William was somewhat amused and then squatted beside her, watching the ants with her.
It turned out to be a dead caterpillar that attracted a large number of ants.
Ellie watched for a while, then picked up the broom again.
William said, "Wait a moment."
When William came back, Ellie looked at the big broom in his hand and couldn't help but smile, her eyes curved like apricot eyes, her eyes filled with a smile. She pointed at the broom in William's hand and said, "Where did you get such a big broom?"
William said, "I borrowed it from the school's cleaning lady." He finished speaking and said, "This sweeps faster. After we finish cleaning, I will return it."
"Can I try it?"
William said "Sure," and then handed the broom to Ellie.
He watched Ellie sweep for a while and said, "I'll try too."
With the help of the big broom, the two were much faster than before and soon swept up all the trash and leaves in the sanitation area.
William said, "I'll return the broom."
"Okay."
When William came back, he saw Ellie sitting on the steps, her head down, seemingly thinking about something.
She was dressed in a uniform, sitting quietly on the stairs.
William walked up to her, handed the milk to Ellie, and sat down beside her.
Ellie said, "The ground is dirty." She was about to take out paper from her pocket.
"It's okay, the pants will be washed anyway," William said nonchalantly, and sat down next to her. He opened the can.
Ellie looked at the milk in her hand and then at the cola in his hand.
Seeing her looking over, William said, "Want to drink?"
"No." Ellie shook her head.
William put the cola in her hand and then magically took out another bottle, saying, "You drink it."
Carbonated drinks are a bit harsh on the stomach, and Ellie hadn't had cola for a long time. She whispered, "Thank you."
William watched her take a small sip of cola, then opened another can of cola and took a big sip.
The wind still carried some heat, and the two sat on the steps for a while.
The ice-cold cola dispelled some of the heat.
William said, "Where were you before?"
"I was at a high school in New York before."
"Oh." William finished speaking and then said, "By the way, don't drink milk after finishing the cola."
Ellie looked at the milk in her arms and said, "I know."
...
Ellie glanced at her watch, stood up, and said, "Class is about to start."
William walked behind her and said, "Let's go."
The long path was lined with sycamores, their leaves already yellow. Below, there were two people walking side by side.