All for you

Chapter 4: The New Girl 1

The chemistry class remained eerily silent as Mr. Anderson's lectures droned on. Despite being their worst subject, they had to pay attention. He was a strict man, yet funny and fair, always wearing pairs of glasses perched on the end of his nose.

" Hope you all are getting my lectures ? " He turned from the whiteboard to face the class.

" Yes, Mr. Anderson ! " the class shouted in unison.

" Alright ," he adjusted his glasses. " If so, distinguish between esterification and saponification reactions of organic compounds ."

The question was met with silence. No one dared speak.

" Stop staring at me! Speak up ! " Mr. Anderson barked, annoyance etched on his face.

The quietness persisted.

" I thought you all knew this. Oh, these bloody fools! Lazy students! " He spat, shaking his head.

The students suppressed giggles. They enjoyed seeing Mr. Anderson flustered.

" A science class? I wouldn't like to believe this is for real ," he muttered, eyeing them incredulously.

His frown deepened. " I see how much you cherish my punishment ."

The students murmured in terror. Mr. Anderson's punishment was legendary and they wouldn't like to be into it.

" Quiet ! " he barked, restoring silence.

His gaze darted around the room, locking onto Emerald's.

"Head girl." He seemed surprised. "Don't tell me you have nothing to say."

Emerald's heart skipped a beat. She scrambled to recall the answer.

" Stand up, Emerald ! " Mr. Anderson ordered.

She rose slowly, every eye on her.

" Saponification involves the breakdown of an ester into an alcohol and a carboxylic acid or its salt, using a base, while esterification... " She paused.

What is esterification? she thought desperately.

"Formation of esters and water," a whisper came from her direction.

Zain! She frowned. Why was he whispering answers instead of speaking up?

"While esterification involves alcohol and a carboxylic acid reacting to form an ester and water," Emerald completed confidently.

"Excellent!" Mr. Anderson exclaimed. "So, what do you mean by esters?"

He tried to stump her, but Emerald was prepared.

"A sweet-smelling compound formed by the reaction of a carboxylic acid with an alcohol," she replied boldly.

"Marvelous!" Mr. Anderson nodded. "You just saved them from my punishment. Next time, a different person must answer my question, or I'll teach you a big lesson."

He scribbled on the board. "This is your assignment for the week!"

As he exited, the class erupted into silent laughter.

Just then, Miss Nora, their form mistress, entered with a girl.

"Hello, class. This is Mandy Hills. She'll be joining you. Try to be friendly."

Mandy was tall, pale-skinned, and stylish, exuding an air of superiority.

"Hi, I'm Mandy. I hate jerks," she said, her tone dripping with condescension. Even the way she looked at them showed her rudeness.

Emerald raised an eyebrow. This should be interesting.

As Mandy took her seat, the class exchanged skeptical glances.

Little did they know, Mandy's arrival would shake up their dynamics.