The Returnee

The first period just ended as Mr. Milton, the teacher for Calculus, exited the classroom while glancing over his watch. Just in time for Raphael to arrive from his orientation before the second period starts.

"Yo, Raphael! You back, homie!" Antonio greeted loudly. "You just skipped the pop quiz. Lucky you."

"Pop quiz?" Raphael looked a bit puzzled as he grabbed his seat.

"It's like a test for your knowledge... it also checks if you really read or study the lessons beforehand." Alexis chimed in to explain.

"Yeah. Only smartass do that." Antonio sneered while eyeing Alexis beside him.

"Really? I prepped myself ahead of time." Alexis just scoffed.

"You should have given me a chance to peek at your answers, man!"

"No, dude. You saw how Mr. Milton was staring intently over you. He knows."

It seemed like these two were arguing about what happened during the pop quiz. It was quite a pleasant sight to see these two banter once more, in contrast to the pretty much boring discussion he had in the orientation.

"Raphael. How did it go?" Feyline approached Raphael casually to ask.

"Oh, hey. It's fine. I think I have a good idea about the school now." Raphael smiled in contentment.

"Cool. I know you might be worried about the class system stuff, but don't think much about it. Sometimes, living free without the pressures of achievement is the way to go," she reassured him with a pat on the back before strolling back to her seat.

No pressures, huh?

He thought about it and looked over the students in his class. Most of them looked contented, carefree, and pretty much at ease.

Nothing's wrong with being part of this class.

If he could say more, it felt more fun, chill, and lax, unlike his homeschooling sessions, where the studies are more demanding and stressful, as they expected him to perform in perfection.

Maybe Class C wasn't much of a punishment like everyone made it seem to be.

After a few minutes, students who were wandering around chatting with their friends began to scramble back to their seats as Mr. Davies entered the room with his usual uninterested look.

Is it going to be about the Gatsby stuff?

"Let's continue our last discussion about The Great Gatsby. Please follow through in your book." Mr. Davies didn't dawdle any longer and proceeded as intended.

Raphael's mind just drifted away after constantly listening to his monotonous voice speaking vague explanations and ideas about the meaning of this passage.

It felt long and dragging.

The time ticked, but not fast enough to hasten Mr. Davies' pace.

At some point, Raphael thought his eyes just succumbed to slumber as his vision faded while gazing over the window beside him. A quick nap should suffice while Mr. Davies is taking a while to finish his explanations.

Amidst the boring discussions and Mr. Davies low voice, reading out a passage from one of the books, A burst of laughter and a trail of giggles echoed along the empty hallways, interrupting Mr. Davies' monotones as three girls passed by, all carefree, unbothered, and loud.

Like a sudden change in the atmosphere, students turned their heads quickly to check, not out of curiosity but out of primal fear at most.

Meanwhile, Raphael snapped out of his nap in an instant.

The one girl on the left has curly brown locks framing her face in a high, neat ponytail. Uniform crisp, but the skirt's side slit flashed dangerously her thick thighs, and the thigh-high socks dug slightly into the soft flesh, adorned by two inches of black heels.

A sight could send anyone to heaven if they caught a glimpse underneath. Her dark brown, voluptuous skin gleamed through the sunlight, and her face showed intimidation and unimpressed as stares from the classrooms followed their figures.

 

The other one on the right side was more of the fair-skinned tone with a thinner body frame, probably close to size XS.

She has a more delicate asian features mixed in with that signature long straight shiny black hair styled into two pigtails and some straight bangs across her forehead.

Her clothes are more unkept, with her blouse tied up like a crop top and skirt rolled up dangerously shorter than usual, like a slight bend can let anyone see through below. Her makeup is more wild and colorful than the previous girl's, with a more natural tone.

She was making giggling remarks, laughing at the students who were currently inside the rooms.

 

Meanwhile, the one at the center gave off a strong presence.

Her calm demeanor and a slight chuckle that escaped from her lips commanded the atmosphere differently, as her laugh seemingly sent most of the students shuddering.

A familiar voice for them.... someone menacing.

 

She tousled up her brightly colored orange ragged hair on the left side, showing her undercut beneath the layers as the darkened red tips of her fringes brushed her shoulder. Her uniform looked decent except for a couple of buttons unfastened from the top, showing a slight cleavage. Her skirt was rolled up too short as well, but her slightly sheer tights covered her thighs.

 

"My god... she is back," Feyline whispered in shock underneath her breath.

 

The girl in the middle stopped by in front of Class 2-C.

She lifted a hand and casually bade farewell to her companions, who continued down the hall still laughing.

Then she stepped inside.

 

Mr. Davies shook his head in utter dismay as a sigh escaped from his lips, as if he had seen this exact entrance too many times.

 

The girl stood for a while glancing over the familiar faces who were now looking down, pretending to be jotting notes or skimming through the books.

The classroom just turned unnaturally silent for the first time.

Then, one thing caught her attention.

 

A pair of eyes caught her glance, seemingly looking confused at her presence. He didn't bat an eye and continued to stare at her.

 

Meanwhile, Raphael just sat comfortably in the back corner by the window, looking relaxed with an open notebook and pen on the side. His head tilted on one side as he watched her with a bit of curiosity.

New face?

Probably a new transferee too?

I guess I am not the only mid-semester new student in class.

He thought to himself, not knowing why his eyes locked in for a long while onto hers.

She studied the person looking. Her hips swayed as she slowly strutted towards him down the aisle.

A new face..... new student in the middle of the semester?

 

Before he could realize, the girl was already in front of his desk, a hand propped over his notebook to support herself while she bent down to meet him at eye level.

A sweet scent of cherry candy and cigarette smoke wafted through the air near her.

Her orange locks fell forward in a slight tilt like a vibrant flame, while her face curved into a playful smile with her soft, plump lips.

"Hmm? You new?" she cooed in a teasing tone like a low purr.

Carefully, she examined his features with a quick heartbeat: jet-black fringes layered and textured while falling naturally into a mess across his forehead, and the calm crimson eyes that seemed unfazed.

Raphael blinked and nodded in agreement casually. "Yeah."

 

"I am Sylvia Macaulay," she extended her hand with her glossy black polished nails while asserting a greeting. "And you?"

 

"Raphael... Kiersten," he calmly replied, and shook her hand in compliance.

 

She held his hand for a second longer than usual, lingering her touch before releasing her grip.

"Pleasure meeting you," she murmured, but with slight intimidation.

Then, without further questions, she turned her back on him and conveniently flumped herself onto that one vacant seat directly in front of him. While her legs crossed together, the skirt rode up another inch, exposing more of the sheer tights as it caught more light.

Mr. Davies cleared his throat loudly, which slightly eased the tension.

"Miss Macaulay. Welcome back. Try not to disrupt the class any further," he reminded.

Sylvia gave him a lazy salute without turning around. "Aye, captain."

A few stifled snickers fluttered through the room.

Raphael just carelessly stared at the back of that orange-tinged hair, spilling over the chair's back rest like a burning flame.

He didn't feel threatened.

He didn't feel intimidated.

He just sensed a wave of curiosity.

The discussion resumed where they had left off as Mr. Davies' voice picked up the last bits of information, but there was a strange shift of energy in the room.

A stolen glance in front.

Toward Sylvia.

The once vacant seat was no longer empty.

Toward the new boy who seemingly challenged the presence in front of him, unfazed.

Raphael opened his notebook and began taking notes once again.

However, ever so often, his gaze drifted to the girl in front of him.

And every time it did, he caught the faintest curve of her lips like she immediately knew before she could playfully pretend to turn away.