Chapter 5: The Unwritten Rule
833 Words
Ava hated being late.
Unfortunately, life hated Ava too.
The bus she took that morning broke down halfway through the journey.
Then she had to wait for another one.
Then traffic happened.
Then more traffic happened.
By the time she reached Kingsley Academy, she was already ten minutes late.
Which explained why she was practically running through the hallway.
"Great."
She adjusted her bag and hurried toward Class 12A.
What a fantastic way to start her second day.
When she reached the classroom door, she stopped.
Took a breath.
Fixed her uniform.
Then pushed the door open.
Every head turned.
Immediately.
Ava resisted the urge to disappear.
"Sorry I'm late," she said.
No teacher.
Interesting.
The class was still waiting for one to arrive.
Some students nodded.
Others returned to their conversations.
Ava quickly scanned the room for an empty seat.
There was only one.
One.
In the entire classroom.
Her eyes narrowed.
That couldn't be right.
She looked again.
Nope.
Still one.
The seat was near the window.
Second row.
Occupied on one side.
Empty on the other.
Perfect.
Problem solved.
Without thinking much about it, Ava walked toward it.
The classroom gradually became quieter.
She didn't notice.
Students exchanged glances.
Some looked amused.
Others looked nervous.
A few were already trying not to laugh.
Ava frowned.
What now?
She reached the seat.
Placed her bag down.
Then sat.
Simple.
Normal.
Done.
The classroom became completely silent.
Ava blinked.
Slowly, she looked around.
Everyone was staring.
Again.
"What?"
Nobody answered.
A boy near the back lowered his head.
His shoulders shook suspiciously.
Like he was trying not to laugh.
Ava frowned.
"Seriously. What?"
Still nothing.
Beside her, someone finally spoke.
"You're new."
The voice was calm.
Cold.
And annoyingly familiar.
Ava turned her head.
Ethan Blackwood sat beside her.
Leaning back in his chair.
Looking completely unbothered.
"Oh."
For some reason, the entire class seemed to react to that.
Several students exchanged looks.
One girl physically covered her mouth.
Ava ignored them.
"Yeah."
Ethan looked at her.
Then at the seat.
Then back at her.
"Move."
Ava blinked.
"What?"
The class became even quieter.
If that was somehow possible.
Ethan's expression didn't change.
"The seat is taken."
Ava looked around.
Then looked back at him.
"The seat is empty."
A few students snorted.
Others immediately looked away.
Ethan remained unimpressed.
"It belongs to someone."
Ava frowned.
"Then where are they?"
No response.
"Exactly."
A laugh escaped from somewhere behind them.
Quickly followed by a cough.
Ethan slowly turned toward the sound.
The laughter died instantly.
Ava crossed her arms.
"If someone's not sitting here, how am I supposed to know it's reserved?"
"The rest of the class knows."
His answer annoyed her immediately.
"Well, congratulations to the rest of the class."
Several students choked on their laughter.
Ethan stared at her.
Ava stared back.
Neither looked away.
For some reason, that seemed to make the room even more uncomfortable.
Ava didn't understand what the big deal was.
It was a chair.
A normal chair.
Not a throne.
"Look," she said.
"There aren't any other seats."
"Not my problem."
Ava almost laughed.
Almost.
"You're serious?"
"Very."
Something about his expression made it clear he wasn't joking.
Not even a little.
Ava looked around again.
Still no empty seats.
Still nowhere else to sit.
Then she looked back at Ethan.
"No."
For the first time, he looked surprised.
Not much.
Just enough for her to notice.
"No?" he repeated.
"No."
Ava shrugged.
"There aren't any other seats."
"The seat is taken."
"And the person isn't here."
"The rule still stands."
"The what?"
"The rule."
Ava stared.
"What rule?"
The silence that followed was almost funny.
Because apparently everyone knew this mysterious rule except her.
A boy near the front finally whispered:
"Nobody sits there."
Ava looked at him.
Then at the chair.
Then back at him.
"Why?"
The boy immediately looked away.
No answer.
Ava sighed.
Kingsley Academy was weird.
Very weird.
Beside her, Ethan's patience appeared to be running out.
"You should move."
"And go where?"
No response.
"That's what I thought."
Several students were now openly watching.
Like a tennis match.
Back and forth.
Back and forth.
Ethan leaned slightly forward.
His voice lowered.
"I don't repeat myself."
Ava smiled.
A dangerous smile.
"Good."
He raised an eyebrow.
"Because I wasn't planning on moving."
A collective gasp swept through the room.
Someone actually dropped a pen.
Ava almost laughed.
Were they always this dramatic?
The tension between them stretched.
Neither willing to back down.
Neither willing to look away.
For the first time since arriving at Kingsley, Ava felt something other than nervousness.
Annoyance.
A lot of annoyance.
Who did this guy think he was?
Top student or not, he didn't own the classroom.
Before either of them could speak again.
The classroom door opened.
Immediately, everyone straightened.
Conversations died.
Phones disappeared.
Students sat properly.
A teacher walked in carrying a stack of books.
And just like that, the argument was interrupted.
- Writer
