Queen of the Campus

16

This time, Sophie went to save a seat herself, while my small frame squeezed through the long window to buy food. Even if I'm shameless, I had to treat Sophie to a meal, after all, she treated me last time.

While eating, I racked my brains to tell jokes I'd read in magazines, but Sophie didn't laugh at all, which greatly disappointed me. I didn't want to talk anymore and just started wolfing down my food.

“I saw what happened this morning. You're really disappointing. We're not here to fight, we're here to learn,” Sophie suddenly spoke. “I misjudged you.”

I immediately retorted angrily, “Are you expecting me to be bullied? You even apologized to that traitor! Humph, I'll get my hands on him sooner or later.”

Sophie smiled, her tone ambiguous, whether mocking or sarcastic, “You can't beat him.”

To expose me so blatantly, even with my thick skin, I couldn't help but feel angry. "Whose side are you on anyway? He's the one who complained first, okay? Why can't I get revenge on him?"

"Didn't I tell you you could ask Tyler if you needed anything? He'd help you." Sophie's words only made me angrier. "What's your relationship with him? You want me to go to him? Humph, I'm not going to go to that pretentious guy." The more I thought about it, the angrier I got. I jumped up. "I'm full. You can eat slowly." I knew I shouldn't get angry at her, after all, she's not my biological sister, and she even helped me, but I was still angry, and a little jealous.

Sophie was still slowly chewing her food, then softly uttered, "Whatever."

I was truly hurt and hurriedly ran out of the cafeteria. I swore I would never speak a word to her again. Now I knew nothing was reliable except myself.

I ran into Chase as soon as I stepped outside.

"What the hell are you looking at?" My anger flared the moment I saw him looking at me, completely forgetting how he had almost scared me to death that morning.

Chase was already unhappy with me because Molly had completely ignored him, and now that I had insulted him, his eyes were filled with the venom of a wronged woman. As the saying goes, enemies meeting are especially hostile. Considering we were at the cafeteria entrance, Chase only glanced at me, then went inside without saying a word.

Just then, Sophie came out of the cafeteria. Needless to say, she had seen everything clearly. "Now what do you have to say?" Her tone was accusatory. "Don't call me 'sister' anymore, unless... unless you stop fighting." Sophie looked at me, hesitated for a moment, but still said it.

Ultimately, Sophie was a kind girl. How many girls truly like boys who fight? She helped me that day because she saw me as the victim, that I hadn't done anything wrong. Now, she'd discovered I wasn't a good person either, and she felt she'd misjudged me, or rather, she regretted taking me as her brother. She wanted to take this opportunity to retract her decision.

Actually, she had given me a way out, unless—you stop fighting.

But sometimes, can you really escape it? Would Chase let me go? Would that skinny guy let me go? Even a fool would know it was impossible.

Besides, I had a feeling Tara would reappear, and she wouldn't let me go either.

Most importantly, I'd had enough. My lips moved, and what came out was, "Whatever, Sophie."

Sophie was startled. She hadn't expected me to address her that way. Her lips twitched, but she said nothing.

Is it possible that because of those words, the only person in high school who cared about me would choose to distance themselves?

From then on, we were strangers. Under the same roof, yet like complete strangers.

If only life could be like our first meeting.

Sophie, thank you!

That afternoon, entering the classroom, I habitually glanced at Sophie's seat. Sophie and her deskmate were chatting and laughing, seemingly unaffected.

Have you ever felt this way? Always feeling good about yourself, thinking a girl would like you, only to find out you were wrong.

The flower falls, but the water flows indifferent. She doesn't care about you at all. Thinking of this, my mood plummeted. Rubbing against Molly's body, I went to the window seat and slumped down. As for Chase's vicious gaze, I completely ignored it. Whatever, I'm going to sleep. At noon, I kept thinking about Sophie's every smile, every gesture, every glance, but now I'm utterly disappointed. I'm completely despondent.

Molly doesn't want to talk to me either; she's still angry. Whether it's anger at Chase or mine, I don't know. Although Molly is beautiful and refined, I always feel there's something missing about her. I'm only 14, and I already know all this—I admire myself. When I opened my eyes, I found the classroom buzzing with noise; two afternoon classes had already passed. It was a long break; because of the rain, there was no morning exercise. Looks like I've really fallen behind. Even when I was being tortured in junior high, I still studied very diligently!

"I really admire you! You slept through two classes, and the teacher didn't even dare disturb you because you slept like a log, hahaha." I was about to retort when the classroom door was suddenly kicked open.

"Who's Luke?" a young man with dyed blond hair yelled, followed by a large group of thugs. They were clearly gangsters, dressed differently from ordinary students—they practically screamed "I'm a thug!" as if they wanted everyone to know. There were probably a dozen or so of them. Forgive me for using the word "group," but I'm starting to get scared again. I despise myself.

The whole class turned to look at me. I was doomed. I was just about to hide under my desk when my face flushed red. I cursed inwardly, "You've betrayed me!" I even saw Molly give me a pitiful look, like I was doomed. Damn it, she must have done it on purpose.