Queen of the Campus

9

Shawn smiled politely and let me through.

I finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Now you can relax," Sophie smiled, "I didn't realize you were such a p*****t at such a young age."

I swear, this was the first time anyone had ever called me that. I have to say, Sophie's judgment was spot on. Everything that followed proved I was making great strides toward becoming a p*****t.

"How can I let that happen? If that skinny guy sees our relationship, he'll expose us. You're my savior now, I can't let go." After saying that, even I almost believed it, so I held on even tighter.

Sophie smiled, seemingly helpless against me. Walking next to her, I looked like a little brother; no one would suspect anything. "Even if I don't help you today, your dorm mates will," Sophie changed the subject.

"Them? How could they? I tried to befriend them in the dorm, but they wouldn't even acknowledge me." I didn't believe they'd help me.

"Heroes always appear last, right? Besides, they're not sure Shawn and his friend will teach you a lesson," Sophie said, pulling me towards the cafeteria.

Hearing Sophie say that, it really seemed possible. When the creepy guy blocked my way, Brother Biao also walked towards me. He wouldn't beat me up, would he? If he did, I couldn't run away in the dorm. But how did Sophie know? She could see right through it all. I couldn't help but like her more, or rather, admire her. "Sophie, can you be my older sister from now on?"

"Didn't you already call me 'older sister'?" Sophie was somewhat amused and exasperated.

"I was just being polite when I called you that, like calling an older woman 'auntie' on the street. But now I'm treating you like a real older sister, you understand?" I was a little uneasy. I was afraid she would reject me. I'd experienced too many rejections; I should be numb to it, but why did I still care? I also knew that if she agreed, I would never be able to win her over, so I hoped she wouldn't.

Humans, as long as they live, are always in a state of contradiction.

"Didn't you just get a new older sister? She's prettier than me," Sophie said softly. I had a strange feeling that her voice was more beautiful than her singing.

I knew she was talking about Molly. "We've broken up." I wanted to say that Molly's beauty would eventually fade, but my own beauty would never wither, but then I remembered we'd only just met, so I decided against it. Actually, Molly wasn't necessarily prettier than Sophie; it was just first impressions.

"So, you came to me?" Sophie looked at me with a half-smile.

I gave an awkward smile, but she wouldn't agree.

We didn't speak again on the way, but I didn't let her hand slip away. We arrived at the cafeteria quickly, and Sophie told me, "Mouse, go save me a seat, I'll get the food."

"No need, you helped me today, I should treat you." One shouldn't go too far; I had to treat her, no matter what. If it weren't for her, I probably wouldn't have had a good lunch. Even if my roommates helped me, it didn't guarantee I wouldn't get hurt; it might even provoke the skinny guy's crazy revenge.

"No way, how can an older sister let her younger brother pay? Unless you don't recognize me as your older sister anymore," Sophie's words cut me off. "Good little brother, hurry up and save a seat. I've never had a younger brother before, don't you listen to your older sister?"

I had no choice but to obediently find an empty seat, but my heart was filled with anxiety. I didn't know if it was a blessing or a curse; having gained an older sister meant there was no possibility of anything more.

Sophie ordered four dishes, two meat and two vegetable. We ate slowly, and I realized she knew a lot, almost like she knew everything. Although I wasn't a bad student, coming to the prestigious No. 1 High School in the city, my grades were terrible, while Sophie was among the top three in our class.

"Hey, isn't this Luke? What, you've already found a new older sister so quickly? I didn't know!" I didn't expect Molly to be sitting next to us. She was glaring at me fiercely, clearly not going to let this go.

"Mengmeng, have you finished eating? If not, come sit down and eat with us!" Sophie gestured invitingly.

"Hmph, I won't sit with that guy, it's disgusting." Molly gave me a smug look, then said to Sophie, "Sophie, you better watch out, he's pretending to treat you like a sister, he's really after you. Hehe, we're done eating, we won't bother you anymore." With that, she led her group of friends out of the cafeteria.

Could she be the next Tara? I suddenly thought of Tara, equally charismatic, only more provocative and flirtatious, even with a boyfriend she was still involved with other guys. Come to think of it, if you don't give someone something in return, who's willing to follow them around all day? That would drive them crazy! Okay, I admit it, I'm badmouthing her.

Sophie, on the other hand, didn't seem to mind at all, as if nothing had happened.

“Tyler’s a good guy. You can ask him for help if you ever need anything,” Sophie suddenly said before walking her to the girls’ dormitory.

“You two are close?” I didn’t know how to feel. Could it be that the girl I liked had already… I admit I was being disgusting, but the more I tried to ignore it, the less I could control myself.

“We were classmates in junior high,” Sophie said before heading back to her dorm.

So, were they close or not?