After Lucius' introduction to the class, the teacher let the both of them sit on their own chairs. She glanced back at him—sitting at the last row—to confirm he was real.
'Why did he transfer in the middle of the school year?' she wondered. 'Was he bullied in his previous school?'
She scoffed at the thought. He looked like a wimp. Tall, yes, but he's skinny—he probably wouldn't stand a chance if someone threw a punch at him.
She hadn't realized she had been staring at him for a full minute until Lucius turned his head, meeting her gaze with an emotionless expression.
Startled, she quickly looked away. 'Why is he so expressionless? Like a robot...How boring.'
But she didn't care. All she wanted was for time to pass quickly so she could learn more about history, get stronger, and take the next step towards becoming an exorcist.
Her knight was waiting for her.
Thinking about him made her giggle. She lost herself in daydreams—imagining their love story unfold—from falling in love to becoming a couple, getting married, and having children.
Three kids would be nice…or maybe just cats and dogs?
She wasn't excited to become an exorcist for the sake of fighting ghouls—no. She wanted to meet her knight again. She missed him already.
"I need you to pass this activity by tomorrow," the teacher's voice cut through her thoughts.
Rahiya blinked. 'What activity?'
"Class dismissed," the teacher added as the bell rang, signaling the end of the morning session.
She turned to Wyndel, tugging at his sleeve. "What activity?" She asked him, he looked at her confused before looking at the new guy, "What about him?"
"You're not listening, are you?" He sighed before packing his things, "We were tasked to pick a movie, write a reflection, and present it to the class tomorrow with a partner." Wyndel sighed, already looking tired.
Rahiya just nodded, scanning the room to find a reliable partner.
Zandro isn't here…so she can't force him to do it for her.
So she turned back to Wyndel. "Then be my partner!"
Wyndel froze, his face turning red. But he quickly exhaled deeply to calm himself.
"Teacher Ortega already assigned our partners," he explained. "Mine is Zandro."
"Lucky," Rahiya pouted. "Then who's my partner?"
Before Wyndel could answer, a voice behind her spoke.
"Are you Miss Verlice?"
She turned around and found herself staring at Lucius, his face as bland as always.
"Yes. Why?" she asked, narrowing her eyes. 'Why is he talking to me?'
"He's your partner," Wyndel whispered to her.
"Oh." She turned back to Lucius, studying him. "Then…you can do it by yourself, right?"
Wyndel's eyes widened in shock. He knew Rahiya's ways—she was about to dump all the work on Lucius.
"Of course," Lucius replied without hesitation.
Rahiya clasped her hands together and beamed. "Great!"
She packed her things quickly, satisfied with how easy that was. But as she glanced at Lucius again, she noticed he hadn't moved.
"Y'know, I'm a busy person with big dreams," she said smugly. "So I'm not available today. Just do it on your own, okay?"
Lucius gave a simple nod before walking away without another word.
Rahiya smirked and turned to Wyndel.
"That kid is obedient. I like him already."
Wyndel, however, felt uneasy. He watched Lucius disappear through the classroom door, a strange feeling gnawing at him.
~~~
By the time Rahiya arrived at school the next day, she was exhausted.
Andrei had given them a test and three essays to answer—like it was some kind of graded activity. The man enjoyed tormenting her, and she hated him more than anything.
She stomped into the classroom and slammed her bag onto her desk, groaning.
"What happened?" Zandro asked, placing a cold bottle of water in front of her.
"I'm tired of that bastard," she muttered.
Zandro grinned. "I'm glad."
She rolled her eyes. "Not my knight—I meant Andrei."
Wyndel and Zandro exchanged confused looks.
"What about him?" Wyndel asked.
Rahiya froze and realizes that both Zandro and Wyndel don't know that Andrei is the instructor in the church.
Zandro's eyes darkened. "What did you do?"
"W-What?!" Rahiya stammered. "I didn't do anything malicious!"
Zandro wasn't convinced. "Then tell us."
She hesitated. If she told them, Zandro might do something drastic to stop her from going to the church again. Besides, she can't think of a prank to pull on Andrei right now, and she's not going to lose that chance.
Luckily, the teacher entered the room before she had to answer.
~~~
When the last student finished presenting their activity before Rahiya and Lucius'—she thought that Lucius would make her present their activity.
But to her shock, Lucius walked up to the front of the class and started presenting on his own.
Which made her more delighted, since Lucius didn't really bother her.
When he finished presenting it, the teacher frowned when he saw the paper Lucius submitted, "Why did you do this individually, Mr. Haven?"
Lucius glanced at Rahiya and replied, "My partner said I could do it alone, so I did. Since the work is mine, I didn't include her."
The class went silent.
The teacher turned to Rahiya, unimpressed. "Miss Verlice, you will submit your reflection tomorrow but your grade will be deducted. Or would you rather take a zero?"
Embarrassed, Rahiya clenched her jaw. "I'll submit it tomorrow, Sir."
She sank into her chair, her blood boiling. 'This new guy…'
He had the audacity to embarrass her like that. Just like Andrei.
She could not let this slide.
He is just a wimpy guy who doesn't know his place.
As soon as class ended, Rahiya stormed over to Lucius' desk, slamming her hands down with a loud thud.
"How dare you?" she snapped, glaring at him.
Lucius looked up, unimpressed. "What?"
"Are you testing my patience, or are you just dumb?" she hissed, poking his forehead.
Lucius' brows twitched slightly in irritation. "You were the one who told me to do it alone. Am I wrong?"
Rahiya's nostrils flared.
"If you were expecting me to put your name on the work you didn't contribute to," Lucius continued flatly, "Then you're the dumb one."
The nerve of this guy.
Rahiya's hands clenched into fists. She wanted to smack him so hard that he'd learn his place.
Instead, she leaned in, her voice low and venomous.
"Remember this day, Lucius Haven." Her eyes gleamed with cold fury. "This is the day you made an enemy. And I promise you, I will make your life a living hell."
Lucius simply stared at her, unbothered.
Wyndel gulped, already sensing the chaos that was about to unfold.
Meanwhile, Zandro leaned back in his chair, watching the interaction with narrowed eyes.
He had learned from Wyndel that Lucius was new.
But now, he was more curious about something else.
'How tough is this guy?'