It was about thirty minutes left for the study period just before dismissal time in classroom 2-A. 

 

Despite the period opened for studying purposes, it was more likely treated as free time as gossip filled the room, talking about Sylvia Macaulay's comeback from her suspension. That means including her lackeys, Tanya Sandoval from 4-D and Emma Huang from class 1-D.

 

Natalie Louvelle perched on the edge of Yana's desk with her legs crossed, riding her skirt up effortlessly but enough to show her designer brand shoes and socks. Her thumb busily flicked, tapping lightly on her phone with her elegant teal nail polish as she scrolled through endlessly gossiping groups in the school forums. 

"Gosh, she definitely came in like a bomb." Natalie blurted out as she read the endless comments. "School's losing their minds over her like seriously?"

Meanwhile, Yana was just casually staring out of the window, sipping on a packet of strawberry milk and clearly zoning out once more. 

"Yana, are you listening?" Natalie snapped, trying to get her attention.

 

"Who?" Yana returned to her senses and glanced back at her friend, Natalie. "Who are you talking about?"

 

"Sylvia. That bitch and, of course, with her Unholy Trinity, Emma and Tanya." Natalie muttered mockingly under her breath with annoyance. " Gosh... why are they so popular like that. It's not like they deserve such attention," she scoffed in disgust as she fished through the forums once more.

"I see."

Yana didn't seem to be too interested in her as she drifted her thoughts back into the courtyard, still thinking deeply about something else....

Ding!

Natalie's phone received a notification from the school forum. This time, it is a recent scoop from an anonymous user with a video attached, titled: Sylvia Macaulay's grand entrance in class 2-C.

"Oh, look! A video just dropped," she excitedly clicked the post. "It looks like a secret recording in class 2-C."

"Class 2-C?" Yana blinked as she looked back at Natalie.

"Yeah, let's check this out." 

Upon hearing the word, Yana's interest piqued once more. Is she from class 2-C, right? She leaned closer to Natalie, looking over her arm to catch a glimpse of the video.

Meanwhile, the video was stuck on the loading screen for a while before it suddenly played. It was like an amateur recording as the camera angled low, like secretly hidden under a desk or behind a bag, while the user's hand trembled, causing the phone to shake uncontrollably.

The footage caught a glimpse of the three girls, strolling past open doors, before Sylvia, the one in the center, stopped by classroom 2-C. Whispers and stifled gasps could be heard from the background, but were immediately hushed once Sylvia stepped into the room. Fear and demise filled in, reminding everyone once more of her presence.

As the silence continued on screen, their heads dropped lowly to avoid contact. Mr. Davies sighed audibly.

 

"She is always late in class." Natalie rolled her eyes in defiance of her actions. "Nothing new about that."

Yana leaned in closer and narrowed her eyes as the footage panned slowly down the aisle.

Something caught her attention. The way she stared in a certain direction.

Without a word, Sylvia just glided toward the back corner, towards a student sitting at the back by the window, a familiar figure in Yana's eyes.

Raphael.

 

The interaction seemed devious, though. Natalie could feel it as well as the others.

Yana's brows furrowed upon recognizing him. She is interacting with Raphael, but why?

 

"What do you think they are talking about?" Yana asked suddenly, feeling more intrigued.

 

Natalie studied the video for a while. "Well... they seemed to be shaking hands? Agreement or what?" she thought.

 

"I don't think so... and that's the new guy in class 2-C." Yana voiced out with a hint of frustration.

 

"Yeah, right. She is 'introducing herself'." Natalie snorted as she emphasized those words with her fingers. "That's really bad though.... he just got here... and now she's on her radar."

 

Yana tensed up and crinkled the empty strawberry milk packet that she had just drunk from while thinking of the possibilities. 

He is in danger.

Should I warn him? 

 

Natalie noticed the shift in Yana's demeanor and shut off her phone. "Hey, Yana... you okay?" she asked.

 

"Mhmm. It's just that I am worried for him." Yana expressed calmly before heaving a deep sigh.

"Don't think much about it. Honestly, he looks like he could handle himself pretty well. Like not even a flinch or shock etched on his face," she continued, trying to comfort her.

Yana just quietly nodded in agreement with a small forced smile across her face.

"Say, wanna look at fashion magazines instead?" Natalie suggested as she pulled out the latest volume of the famous fashion magazine. "It's the latest products, and I have special codes for some."

"Yeah, sure!" Yana just beamed pretentiously and tried her best to appear calm.

Natalie eagerly flipped the magazine open as the pages rustled from her touch. Meanwhile, Yana leaned in, still pretending to be mildly interested and pointing at a dress, nodding at Natalie’s commentary, but her gaze kept drifting back to the window.

Somewhere down there, in Class 2-C, Raphael was still sitting behind Sylvia Macaulay.

He was so close, but far enough. 

Still, she had to stay away and be hidden.

However, watching him walk into Sylvia’s trap without knowing what he got himself involved in, hurt her deeply as she couldn't bring herself to protect him once more.

The hallways were bustling with students right after the bell for dismissal ended today's classes. Harian stepped out of his classroom, 2-A, while waving goodbye to his classmates every time he passed by. 

His soft, fluffy locks bounced along every time his strides glided along the long corridors while his hand clutched the set of books tightly.

Then, he noticed a friendly figure, packing his things inside the locker. 

It's Raphael.

"Hey, Raphael!" he called out in a sweet tone as he approached him. 

The man glanced up and smiled in return upon seeing Harian's familiar face before shutting the locker to greet him.

"Harian. You are here." 

"Yeah. Just gonna put my stuff too," he pointed out as he opened his locker to stuff the pile of books in his hand. "How's your day?"

"It was okay, but the Calculus quiz was rough," Raphael replied as his hand rubbed at the back of his neck. "But I pulled it off."

"Same. I had to rack my brain during the study period for that Calculus quiz." Harian expressed with a sigh. " Glad you made it."

"Yeah. How bout you?"

"Hmmm... not perfect enough, but it was close enough," he chuckled.

They continue to talk about their experience for today like any other students around them. 

By the doorway of 2-C, Alexis and Antonio got out of the classroom with exhausted expressions painted on their faces. 

"Alexis... can you explain to me how genetics works again?" Antonio started.

"How many times do I have to explain it to you?" Alexis huffed. It's probably the third or fourth time he had to discuss the same thing all over again. 

"It's probably cuz my stomach's hungry," he rubbed his belly, to which it replied with a low grumble. "Should we get somethin-"

His words paused mid-conversation after landing his gaze on the two figures standing a few meters away. Raphael and.... Harian? 

"What's wrong?" Alexis nudged him on the side to bring him back to his senses.

"Is that.... Harian Beckett?" his eyes widened with intrigue as he whispered in reply while pointing at the two.

Alexis followed the direction of his finger and saw the two, just as Antonio had mentioned. "No way. He's talking to Raphael?"

Nonchalantly, they rushed forward just in Raphael's periphery to recognize them, trying to play it cool, but their expressions couldn't hide their excitement.

Raphael noticed the two of them approaching with a grin on their faces, which prompted him to pause their conversation. 

"Oh, hey.' he waved back at them.

"Raphael!" they gleefully greeted.

Harian turned his back to check out Raphael's classmates. In Antonio's vision, it felt like the world moved in slow motion, and imaginary flower petals began to fall from the sky when Harian faced him, tucking his hair in his ear.

"Hi," he simply greeted with a small wave, but that gesture sent Antonio into a fawning frenzy like he was dying from a heart attack. 

"Antonio... cut it out." Alexis nervously nudged him in the side to stop embarrassing himself. 

"Harian. My angel! I am a big fan of you!" he began to shower him with compliments while his eyes gleamed with sparkles, and drool trickled down his cheek as he inched closer, but Alexis' hand stopped him in his tracks and slowly dragged him back. 

Harian just smiled politely. "You must be friends with my roommate, Raphael." 

The casual bomb drop caused Antonio and Alexis to jaw drop.

"ROOM MATE?!" Antonio exclaimed in disbelief as he clutched his hair with his hands, unable to handle the sudden information. "Bro, you live with Harian Beckett and didn't tell us?"

"That's insane. No one's ever shared a room with someone this famous." Alexis added.

Raphael just awkwardly laughed. "It's just sharing a room. He's pretty cool."

"He's pretty chill too and not some crazy fan, which is rare." Harian grinned.

"Oh, and how ungentlemanly of me." Antonio cleared his throat and straightened himself up to look presentable. "I am Antonio, and my friend here is Alexis." he reached out his hand for a shake.

"Nice meeting you." Harian accepted his hand and shook it. 

"Now that we know each other. Maybe we should do dorm hangouts." Antonio excitedly suggested as he grinned. " Where are you guys heading? Can I come too?"

Alexis just stared at him unamused. "We should get some snacks, Antonio," he reminded him as he pulled his arm.

"Oh, okay. I should get going, too. Still a long day for me to do some practices." Harian nodded with a sigh. "See you later."

"Alright. See you then." Raphael smiled and nodded in response.

They parted ways as Harian headed out to practice while Raphael, together with Antonio and Alexis, went out to grab some snacks from a vending machine nearby.