Reborn As A Rich Heir

Chapter 3.

I was glad that I didn't receive any attention the entire time the English lesson was happening, however, not having eyes directly on me didn't mean that no one's mind was focusing on my presence in the room. Ever since I sat down, I took to noticing how tense the atmosphere became and how stiff everyone was. They all sat down elegantly, the girls with their hands rested on their laps as they looked on forward to listen to the teacher, and the boys were seated with their arms rested on the table, propped up by the elbow.

Because I was seated in the back in a place where I could see almost everyone in the room, the rows being further elevated starting from the front to the back row, no one dared to turn their heads to the back out of the fear that they would accidentally make eye contact with Sophia Astor; that being me. I didn't like that the name I took on held so much influence over everyone. It didn't help that I was the only one in the room who wore a red tie while the rest of the students wore purple ties. The difference in colors had to signify something, but I was yet to learn what that could be.

The teacher continued to teach for the entirety of the lesson as scheduled, but she refrained from asking any questions as she noticed how nervous her students were. She couldn't help but sigh mentally. For the first time since Sophia started high school, the students had a chance to experience a high school life that didn't revolved around them being looked down upon by those of a higher ranking.

Not that there weren't others who did just as Sophia did, but having learnt that the worst of the worse wouldn't be attending that school year made life a little easier for the students. It was a shame that it would all come to an end, right before the school year would end as well.

"All right, students. I'll dismiss the class a few minutes early today. I have something important to attend to," the female teacher, Miss. Doris as she preferred to be called, called out to the rest of the students. In desperate need to escape the tension that had seized the entire room, they all stood up at the same time and began to make their way to the door. Neither of them looked my way as I sat by the desk in silence. The cat had fallen asleep on the desk because there wasn't much for him to do. I didn't have anything to do other than to listen either, and I had to say that I hated being forced back into high school after I had already graduated.

Right after the last student walked out of the door, I gently picked up the sleeping cat in my arms and stood up, walking to the door. I didn't even notice Miss. Doris staring at my back as I walked out. She had been trying to figure me out for the last few minutes because there was an obvious difference between my present self and the Sophia that she saw a year ago; a very significant difference. She had in mind to inquire about it but did not want to overstep any boundaries. It was best to not force me into a position where I would take drastic measures if I was infuriated.

I expected to find Matt waiting for me as he said he would when I walked out of the classroom into the hallway. But he wasn't there. In fact, no one was around, the students having chosen to evacuate that area to their next class as quickly as possible. I had no idea where I was to go next. Matt was supposed to be my guide but he was nowhere to be seen. I heaved a sigh and looked down at the cat.

"I guess he really is busy. I don't want to keep him from his duties. Where do you think I should next? Left?" I asked, turning my upper body to look down the left side of the hallway. Everything seemed the same but the right side was more inviting. Besides, the cat was still asleep and it's not as if he would have been able to give me an answer if he was awake. With that, I turned to walk down the right side of the hallway. I came across a corner that I turned at and up ahead I noticed the staircase that led to the floor below.

I didn't know the outline of the building but starting from the bottom might give me a good idea as to where I should go next. I walked closer to the staircase and was about to set foot on the second step when I heard a voice call out my name from the distance. Curious, I turned around to see a student walking towards me. Actually, walking was an understatement because he was marching in my direction. I watched him approach me, and I started to grow anxious with each passing second when I noticed that he wouldn't stop.

Once he was close enough, he reached his hand out and grabbed my arm to pull me away from the staircase.

"Where do you think you're going? Have you lost your mind? When have you ever shown interest in visiting the peasants below us?" He spoke with such a deep, authoritative voice that I genuinely became frightened by the prospect of disobeying him, even though I didn't exactly understand what he was scolding me for. He pulled me back down the hallway and once we were far enough, he released my hand and turned to face me.

"Your mind must still be disoriented if you think... Wait, who are you?" The moment his eyes set on my face, they widened in full surprise and he took a step back from me. This allowed him to fully view my figure from up close. Just as Matt did earlier, his eyes skimmed up and down my body, taking in the sight of the attire I wore, and most importantly, the red tie.

"I've never seen you around here before. And why do you have on a red tie? What family are you from?" His questions were the epitome of an interrogation. I examined his attire as well and it was exactly the same as Matt's, including the red tie. It was the first time that I came across another student with a red tie who wasn't Matt. In the English class, out of over 20 students, I was the only one who wore a tie in that color. Since the guy standing before me had it as well, it meant that we fell in the same category, whatever that would be.

"I'm Sophia... Sophia Astor," I said in a low tone. For some unknown reason, me saying the infamous name did not shock him as much as it did everyone else. In fact, I witnessed his eyes lower and his facial expression changed into that of a neutral one. I couldn't tell how he felt at that moment and would've believed that he was either disappointed or mad at me.

"Oh, I see..." he began, "When you mentioned getting your nose done, I didn't think you'd go ahead and change your entire face as well." His expression changed once again as his eyes went down my face to my chest.

"You're noticeably bigger as well. I guess your family didn't put their money to waste." There was something about that comment he made that made me hold on tight to the cat and nudge his body upwards so that it could conceal my chest. Not that I needed to anyway. He only kept his eyes on my chest for a few more seconds before returning his attention to my face.

"Who are you?" I asked, him raising an eyebrow, this time definitely surprised.

"What do you mean? Did the surgery scramble your mind as well? I'm Nero. Otherwise known as your ex," he replied, crossing his arms over his chest. He was definitely disappointed this time around. I tried to warp my mind around this new person and him being the ex of the person who's name and identity I had taken. He wasn't that bad, if I had to be honest.

He was actually quite good looking, with his short, sunset-orange hair and sandy brown eyes being the features that stood out the most. While he was incredibly handsome, that didn't change the fact that he was very intimidating, especially the look in his eyes that basically screamed that he was far better than anyone else around. In simple terms, he was very arrogant, and considering that he was attending a school where only the richest of the rich could attend, he may have had every right to be conceited.

"Matt did mention that you seemed a little looney, but that was obviously an understatement," he continued, his eyes averting down to my chest again only to realize that the cat I was holding was concealing what he wanted to see. I lightly bit my bottom lip not because he couldn't keep his eyes off my chest, but because of the way Matt described me to him. It made me wonder if Nero twisted his words or if Matt really did say it like that.

"Why do you have that cat with you? I thought you despised cats?" He asked. There was definitely something strange about me and he couldn't figure out what it was. The old me would have tossed the cat aside simply because I was afraid it would get its hairs all over my outfit. Not to mention that I wasn't a huge fan of animals in general. I was more timid as well instead of being foul-mouthed and loud as I used to be. I was someone he liked a lot more than he used to before.

"He came in with me through the door," I replied, moving my hand up to rub the top of the cat's head.

"That's strange. Only humans can pass through that door," and he replied. That was the same thing that Matt said as well and it further proved that there was something odd about this specific cat. After learning that, I couldn't just leave him to wonder around the building. He might have something to do with why I suddenly appeared Golden Willow High.

"That's what I heard... by the way, what are the student ties in different colors? It can't represent age or grades, can it? I was in the English class with my peers and their all in the same grade as me," I started after my eyes caught sight of the tie while I was rubbing the cat's head. That was by far the strangest thing Nero had experienced ever since he started talking to me.

The teleportation interfering with my thought process was an expected thing that happened from time to time to almost all students, but it never had so much of an effect as it did with me. But that didn't mean that he wouldn't answer my questions. Had I retained the same attitude and personality as before, he would have walked away a long time ago, but he was starting to like me again now that I was different from how I was before.

"It can't be helped if you forgot," he started, and I listened attentively as he explained to me how the school operated.