With a rare day free from trouble, Silvia’s mood was unusually cheerful as she walked to her maths class with Dane. However, her contentment was abruptly interrupted by an unexpected question from him.

“What’s going on with you and Aiden?” he asked with curiosity.

She shot him a disdainful look for bringing up an uncomfortable topic. “Are you really asking me that?”

Dane pressed on with a more direct inquiry, unfazed by her annoyance. “Let me rephrase that. Why does Aiden like you?”

“As in Silus or myself?”

“You, you idiot.”

“I don’t know. I only met him twice as myself. The first time shouldn’t even count. The second time was when he dragged me to the beach. Anyway, he shouldn’t bother me again since I told him I was studying abroad.”

Dane was bewildered by the unexpected development of Aiden’s feelings for Silvia, which didn’t quite align with his typical egotistical demeanour. As they continued their conversation amidst the bustling crowd of students, Silvia noticed Felicia approaching and greeted her warmly. Felicia, blushing in response, offered a shy wave. However, her bashfulness got the best of her, and she stumbled.

Silvia reacted quickly, wrapping an arm around Felicia’s waist to prevent her from falling. “Be careful next time.”

Felicia, overwhelmed by both her own embarrassment and Silvia’s assistance, hurried off to her next class. Dane, who had been watching the scene unfold, found the interaction amusing.

“I think that girl has a crush on you,” he teased Silvia.

She rolled her eyes in exasperation. “Does your mouth only ever say stupid things?”

He cracked up. “I’m serious, I think she likes you! That’s hilarious.”

Silvia dismissed his remarks as they both took their respective seats in class. She focused intently on Mr. Harmon as the lesson began.

Mr. Harmon’s voice cut through the classroom, breaking the silence with a brief but impactful announcement. “Remember that your yearly exams are coming in exactly a month. I hope you have begun studying, grade 11. Don’t leave your revision until the last second, knowing some of you are still going to end up doing so even after I told you not to.”

The class erupted in laughter at his somewhat unserious advice, but the pressure of the impeding exams hung heavily in the air. Silvia contemplated on how she might help improve her brother’s dismal academic standing without drawing too much attention to herself. Her resolve to assist Silus remained unwavering, even though she knew it would a challenging task given his current academic struggles.

 

Silvia joined Dane for lunch in the busy cafeteria, her joyful mood evident with every spoonful of food she savoured. Yet, the absence of Aiden piqued her curiosity.

“Where’s Aiden?” she queried, her gaze searching the crowded room.

“He got detention for disrupting the teacher in the middle of class.”

Aiden’s circumstances elicited a giggle from Silvia. She soon decided to steer the conversation in a different direction. “Dane, what’s your rank in maths?”

“Second last.”

Her reaction was immediate and dramatic, causing her to spit out her food. “What?!”

“If it weren’t for Silus, I’d be last.”

“I thought you were joking about that.”

Their lunchtime banter took a more serious turn when Dane’s expression soured—his attention drawn to two rowdy figures entering the cafeteria. Silvia noticed his drastic change in demeanour and grew concerned.

“Bob your head down for just a few minutes,” Dane urged.

Silvia complied without understanding what was going on. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s Axel and Noah, the idiots Silus used to hang out with.”

“I thought he hung out with you.”

“Not after he changed. When people started getting scared of Silus, those guys latched onto him.”

“What’s going to happen when they see me?”

Dane cautioned her with a hint of concern. “Probably bother you.”

Anxiety gnawed at the edges of Silvia’s thoughts as she contemplated the potential confrontation. “Are you kidding me? It’s like one problem after another.”

Dane’s agitation escalated as the two troublemakers, Axel and Noah, approached their table. Axel spotted Silvia and greeted her with a forceful slap on the back.

Dane felt irritated by the unnecessary physical contact. “Hey, watch it.”

Axel, with a smirk, decided to belittle Dane. “Why are you back with this loser? I thought you said he annoys you.”

Dane’s jaw clenched in frustration, unwilling to accept being labelled as annoying.

Silvia, standing her ground, defended Dane with steadfast determination. “Take that back; he’s not annoying.”

Axel and Noah grasped this new side of ‘Silus’. Noah spoke up, trying to understand the situation. “You’ve changed, man. Why aren’t you with us anymore?”

Silvia’s anxiety continued to elevate, but Dane intervened, positioning himself between them. “Grow up, you idiots.”

Axel snarled, “Watch what you say unless you need us to teach you a lesson.”

Dane didn’t back down. “I think the ones who need a lesson are you dimwits.”

Axel’s teeth gritted in vexation. “You’re starting to piss me off.”

No longer wanting to drag Dane in Silus’ mess, Silvia courageously stepped in between them. “Can you guys just let this go and stop bothering us?”

“Yeah, sure, after this…” Axel’s response was swift and violent—a sudden punch to Silvia’s face, sending her sprawling to the ground in shock and pain.

This brutal act ignited a fiery anger within Dane. Without a moment’s hesitation, he retaliated with a powerful punch to Axel’s face. The cafeteria erupted into chaos as the brawl between the troublemakers and Dane escalated.

The raucous commotion immediately attracted the attention of numerous students, who turned to watch the unfolding spectacle with a mixture of shock and fascination. Among them was an enlivened Jared, entertained by the troubles of ‘Silus’.

Silvia, though dazed from the blow, quickly recovered and mustered the strength to intervene, bravely attempting to restrain the brawlers.

In the midst of the chaos, Aiden, having just finished detention, arrived at the cafeteria. Witnessing the large mob making a wild fuss, he pushed his way through, only to discover his best friend, Dane, embroiled in a violent confrontation. He wasted no time and joined the fray to defend Dane.

As the spectacle unfolded, Miss Cowan, the teacher on duty, stormed into the unruly scene. Her voice thundered with fury as she shouted, “WHAT DO YOU BOYS THINK YOU’RE DOING?!”

The outburst silenced the cafeteria’s clamour, leaving everyone breathless and wide-eyed. All eyes turned towards Miss Cowan, and her gaze fell squarely upon Silvia, her irritation clear as day.

“Why am I not surprised to see you in the middle of all this, Silus?” she berated her, her voice dripping with frustration.

Silvia, caught in the harsh spotlight of the incident, felt the situation spiralling further beyond her control.

Miss Cowan issued her stern command. “All of you to the principal’s office NOW!”

 

Principal Cronin’s office bore a severe tension as all the boys, including Silvia, stood before him. His formidable presence radiated an intimidating aura that left no room for defiance. Silvia and Dane, however, bravely offered a detailed explanation of the physical altercation, emphasising that Axel and Noah had been the instigators of the brawl. Confronted with Cronin’s intimidating demeanour, the troublesome pair of boys wisely refrained from arguing back.

In the face of this compelling testimony and the power of Cronin’s authority, he decided to extend a measure of leniency. Silvia, Aiden, and Dane received a stern verbal warning but were spared more severe consequences. In contrast, Axel and Noah were subjected to a lengthy lecture and the looming possibility of suspension.

Silvia, Aiden and Dane walked in sombre silence to the infirmary, their steps echoing the lingering tension from the cafeteria brawl. Aiden eyed their bruises and scrapes, his curiosity getting the best of him.

His demand for an explanation cut through the silence. “What the hell happened?”

“They punched Silus for ditching them,” Dane explained.

Aiden clicked his tongue in annoyance. “So, Silus still causes trouble, huh?”

“He feels bad enough already, so don’t push him any further.”

Silvia, still riddled with guilt, remained silent, her gazed fixed on the floor. She couldn’t shake off the feeling that she was the cause of the fight. Aiden side-glanced at her, recognising the distress on her face.

The school bell rang at that moment, signalling the end of their break. Aiden, realising that he had managed to escape the brawl without any injuries, made up his mind. “I’m gonna head to class now. I don’t wanna risk getting detention again.”

With a nod, he turned and walked away, leaving Silvia and Dane to navigate their way through the infirmary, even though the school nurse was still on her lunch break. They searched for supplies to tend to their own wounds, but Dane’s guilt burdened him.

“Sorry…for not stopping that punch,” he voiced his remorse.

Silvia refused to let him shoulder the blame. “Why are you sorry? Look at yourself first; you’re battered everywhere while only my lip is bleeding.”

Dane struggled to put his feelings into words, his gaze averted. “But still…”

Silvia fed him the words. “Is it because I’m a girl?”

He met her eyes with a worried expression but couldn’t form a definitive response. “I don’t know.”

Smiling genuinely, she attempted to alleviate the tension. “Thanks for helping me anyway.”

Dane eventually located a box containing band-aids and ointment. He gathered them along with cotton buds and stepped closer to Silvia.

“Sit down,” he instructed gently, his protective instincts kicking in.

Silvia complied, perching herself on the edge of the bed, but she insisted she could take care of her own injuries.

Dane retorted, “As if. You can’t even see your own face right now, so just let me do it.”

Reluctantly, she relented, and Dane took care of her injury with utmost care. He squeezed a bit of ointment onto a cotton bud and leaned his arm beside her, his forearm revealing the taut veins beneath the surface. As he carefully applied the cream to the corner of her mouth, his gaze drifted to her soft, slightly parted lips, and he became lost in thought.

Silvia winced as the cream stung her lip. “Ow!”

Dane snapped back to reality and quickly placed a band-aid on her lip as gently as possible. He stood straight up, as if trying to cleanse his mind of any impure thoughts.

Since Dane had helped her, Silvia felt it was only fair to offer her assistance in return. “Let me treat your wounds too.”

Dane, well aware of her innocence, smirked. “Deal.”

He used the opportunity to tease her by casually loosening his tie and unbuttoning his shirt.

Silvia became flustered and covered her eyes with her hands, peering through the gaps between her fingers. “What are you doing?!”

“You said you’ll help me. My back is hurting.”

“At least warn me before you start stripping!”

Dane chortled at her purity, finding it endearing. However, their playful banter was interrupted when the door to the infirmary swung open.

The nurse had returned from her break. She looked sternly at the two students. “I heard about your little mess. Since you’re fine now, you can head back to class, Silus. I’ll treat your wounds, Dane.”

Silvia seized the opportunity to exit, leaving Dane alone with the nurse, his playful antics dampened by her unwanted presence.