KAYLA

I never dreamed of becoming a teacher my whole life – in fact, that’s the number one profession I would never, ever take even if my family have gone bankrupt! But the moment when Kay flashed a charming smile towards Ms. Ferino…gee, I wish I was the teacher!

“Alright, let’s talk about something else. Do you have any hobbies?”

“Yeah - I like soccer, video games, comic books, anime…”

Ms. Ferino twitched one of her eyebrows upon hearing the odd word. “Anee-may? What is that?”

“-Japanese cartoons,” he said flatly.

Whoa, I never thought that he’s such a geek! But it’s not like anyone would mind to date a cute geek like him! Maybe I should go to the city after school and buy a few comic books, so we’ll have something to talk about-

“Do you have a girlfriend?”

Wait, what was that?

OH MY GOD - I’M NOT READY TO HEAR HIS ANSWER! WHAT IN THE WORLD WERE YOU THINKING, MS. FERINO? WERE YOU TRYING TO CREATE A MASS MURDER BY CARDIAC ARREST ON OUR FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL? THIS IS TOO FAST-

ROBERT

Well...that was surely an odd question from your new homeroom teacher, all right; she left the poor new kid so dumbfounded, while the girls jumped on their seats and started to gasp and squeak like rats being fed with peroxides. Bollocks, I’m really starting to wonder why the bloody hell did Ms. Ferino choose to be a teacher in the first place - her talent to tease people clearly belongs in a bloody American reality shows!

And so, the class turned quieter than a graveyard on Christmas night, waiting for the Bellrose kid to answer. Between the faint, whizzing sound of the heater, the ticking clock on the wall, and the distant laughter coming from the class next door, the air was just so thick with suffocating intensity from the girls.

“...I don’t have any girlfriends, ma’am,”

Upon hearing the answer, the girls cheered like soccer hooligans celebrating for a victorious last-minute goal, sending the guys into cardiac arrests this time. Hoo boy, I can already see the new kid being crowned as the prom king.

“What about your previous girlfriends? What were they like?”

The class quickly dropped into silence again, this time with girls eagerly waiting at the edge of their seats. After finding out that the Viscount of Valenfields was available on the market, they’d probably wanted to know what kind of girls he likes, and how big the chances they got to score him.

“Um…I’ve never had any.”

...Unbelievable.

Had this been a cartoon movie, everybody’s jaws would drop until they touched the floor, eyeballs flying out of its sockets. Like, seriously? A guy like him never had a girlfriend, even once? Hold on, is he-

As if she could read my mind, Ms. Ferino then added to the question, “Boyfriends, perhaps?”

“NO!" he shouted. It made me flinched a little, not expecting that he would lash out like that. I could even see that a few sitting on the front row, including Ms. Ferino herself, was taken aback by that sudden response. “S-sorry. But…I-uh, I’m not interested…in s-same-sex relationships...” he stuttered. 

I could hear sighs of relief – mine included. It’s not that I’m against it, it’s just...

Never mind. Ugh, why the heck did I have to be so worked out about this? And why does his cheeks flushing even more? Come on, such questions shouldn't be that embarrassing now that you're a tenth grader! 

“Well, alright then…I guess that’s enough. You may sit now, Bellrose.”

And finally, it was the Bellrose kid’s turn to sigh in relief.

KAYLA

Right after Ms. Ferino permitted Kei to sit, he gazed around the class for a few seconds before he decided to sit next to Rob. Aww, shucks! Kei, you just went through an empty seat next to two of Sterling’s annual beauty pageant contest winners to get there, do you really have to sit over there at the far back?

As he walked past by however, I just realized two things; One: did he just gave Elle a wink? And two: since when did she got up from her weeping slumber?

ROBERT

As the new kid took the empty seat next to mine, I noticed some girls were glaring at me like as if they're silently praying for my death. Oh bollocks, it’s not that I asked him to sit here on purpose!

After he put away his backpack to the floor, he turned towards me and stared at me for a few seconds before his eyes flickered a sign of recognition. “Hey, we met in the elevator this morning, didn’t we?” he asked.

I felt my stomach lurching instantly. But he didn’t seem to notice anything, so I just calmed myself down and flashed a friendly smile. “I...uh, yeah!” I replied, and offered my hand. “I’m Rob, by the way. Nice meetin’ you.”

As he shook my hand, his face beamed with a different kind of smile that I saw when he smiled to Ms. Ferino just now. Wow, he does have a nice smile indeed - it somehow radiated with kindness and charm that contagiously affect you to reply with the same expression.

“Hey, is that the limited edition Manchester United bag from last season?” he asked, pointing to the sling bag at my feet. The hydrant-red color and the large Red Devils logo print on its side must’ve caught his attention.

“Yeah” I nodded, “You’re also a fan?”

He twitched one of his eyebrows before he reached towards the floor and showed me the Red Devils logo etched near the top zippers of his black-colored backpack with a proud smile on his face. Instantly, I grabbed one of his hand and shook it harder than before. “Oh thank god! Finally!” I hollered. “After being so alone in this class for so many years!”

The Bellrose kid looked dumbfounded. “Oh! Um, sorry!” I mumbled, letting go of his hand and settled back to my seat. “Well, we have a few Gooners and Culés in this class, but I’m the only Man United fan here until you came along!”

“Really?” he cringed, “Unbelievable!”

“I know, right?”

As we talked, the new kid moved his bag to the top his desk when I noticed a particular keychain hanging on one of the zippers’ hook.

“Mind if I take a look?” I asked.

“Go ahead,” he said. “Careful, though - it’s handmade.”

Without pulling it too hard from the hook, I looked at the keychain very carefully. It was entirely made of felt, shaped like MU’s ‘92-93 home kit. On the back side, it was decorated with a large number seven and white block letters that spelled ‘K-E-I-S-H-I-R-O’. Oh, so that’s how you write his name in alphabet! Still, I don’t think I could pronounce it correctly anytime soon, so I’ll just stick with calling him ‘Kei’ for now.

And then, we spent the whole homeroom session chatting about football. It was nice talking with him - even if he’s not an Man United fan, I think I’d still befriend him. He seemed like a nice kid after all.