Chapter 23: Chapter 23: A Couple Fishing in Troubled Waters
The math teacher, David Lewis, walked two laps around the classroom before finally stopping behind Mortir Quincy. He listened to Mortir explain the problem, his expression kind.
Mortir knew he was there but wasn’t flustered in the slightest. He continued to ticulously explain the test to Holly.
This made things tough for Iris Kensington and Anna Willow. They didn’t dare to make a peep, feigning a struggle with their own math exercises.
David Lewis left just before class was over. A mont later, the bell rang, and the classroom erupted in chatter.
Holly saw Mortir’s Adam’s apple bob and pulled out her empty water bottle. "Want so water? I’ll go fill this up."
"Okay. I’ll go."
Mortir reached out for the water bottle, stood up, and went to the water dispenser at the front of the room. He was around five-foot-nine, and as he bent over slightly, it revealed the handso curve of his jawline.
"Holly, I think your cousin’s voice is so dreamy," Anna Willow gushed, her eyes practically turning into hearts as she watched Mortir at the water dispenser. "When he explains math, I don’t feel confused at all. My heart just flutters."
Holly pinched her cheek and said with a grin, "Snap out of it." With a glance around the classroom, she noticed most of her classmates’ eyes were also on Mortir.
’Hmph. Doesn’t matter if they’re a boy or a girl, none of them stand a chance.’
A sudden THUD drew her attention. She looked at Jared Zimrman, then at the pack of Skittles on her desk. "What’s this for?" she asked, puzzled.
"Here," Jared Zimrman said, one hand shoved in his pants pocket as he quirked an eyebrow. "You helped
with cleaning duty a couple weeks ago. It’s a thank you."
Every week, a small group was assigned to cleaning duty. A group consisted of a vertical row of desks, and Holly was the leader of her group.
A couple of weeks ago, it had been their group’s turn. Jared wasn’t there, so the chore of taking out the trash had fallen to her.
Just then, Mortir returned with the water bottle. Jared shot him a look before walking away, his hand still in his pocket.
After Mortir sat down, he glanced at the Skittles and said, his voice just loud enough for her to hear, "Your teeth aren’t in the best shape, and you’re eating candy?"
Holly: "..."
Before she could say a word, he picked up the candy and handed it to Iris Kensington and Anna Willow behind them. "Holly’s teeth are sensitive, so she can’t eat sweets."
Holly: "..."
She let him.
Iris and Anna both looked at Holly. A few seconds later, they exchanged a glance.
’Was it just them, or did it feel like her handso cousin was jealous?’
Only after dealing with the offering from his "rival" did Mortir pick up the water bottle and take a couple of sips. "Holly," he said in a low voice, "let’s continue."
He scooted his stool a little closer to Holly.
Evening self-study ended.
Holly had Iris and Anna take her things back to the dorm while she walked Mortir to the school gate.
The lights on the path near the academic building had been broken for a week, so it was pitch black.
Suddenly, a large hand took hers. She looked over at the person beside her but couldn’t make out his face in the dark. Her heart inexplicably began to beat a little faster.
Suddenly, a beam of light swept over them, imdiately followed by a shout. "What are you two doing!"
The shout startled Holly, and even Mortir jumped, quickly letting go of her hand.
A voice called out again from a short distance away. "You two, what class are you in? Follow
to the dean’s office."
They both turned to look and saw that the dean of students had caught another couple from the school red-handed. Both of them instantly breathed a sigh of relief.
Other couples who had been taking advantage of the darkness imdiately jumped apart, putting several feet of distance between each other.
Once they were past the dark stretch of road, Mortir let out a low chuckle. "Getting married wasn’t as nerve-wracking as that."
"That scared ," Holly said, a wave of fear washing over her after the fact. ’If the dean had caught us, we’d be dead—or at the very least, forced to write a three-thousand-word self-criticism essay.’
...
By the ti she got back to her dorm, there were only a few minutes left before lights out to wash up.
Holly quickly filled a basin with water and began brushing her teeth. Iris and Anna imdiately flanked her on either side. "Holly," Anna began, ready to gossip, "I heard soone say the dean caught a couple from the class next door. Did you see it?"
Holly nodded.
"Quick, tell us!" Iris urged excitedly.
Holly spat out the toothpaste foam and gave them a quick rundown of what happened.
Anna clicked her tongue. "TSK TSK TSK. Anyone with half a brain knows the dean keeps a close eye on that path. My brother was just telling
this weekend that it’s one of the school’s top patrol spots."
’Why didn’t you say so earlier?’
Holly bit back the retort.
...
Since there was no morning self-study because of the sports et, Holly and her friends slept in a little. By the ti they got to the cafeteria with their al containers, there was no food left.
The trio relocated to the school store, bought so bread and milk, and returned to the classroom to eat.
Just before 8:30, Julian Carlton entered the classroom and gestured for the students to settle down. "A few announcents. Class president, have a few boys carry so desks downstairs. Bring the water cooler down too, and make sure to mark everything for Class 8."
"And keep an eye on the chairs you take down. Don’t want anyone having to stand through class when the sports et is over."
His words made the whole class laugh.
Julian Carlton continued, "Safety first, competition second. Any students participating in the events, if you start to feel unwell, you need to say sothing imdiately..."
He spoke for a few more minutes before leaving the classroom, and the students began to move their chairs.
Anna Willow shook a bottle of correction fluid and wrote her na on the underside of her chair. "Holly, Iris, give
your chairs. I’ll write your nas on them so they’ll be easier to find later."
Once their nas were written, the three girls prepared to carry their chairs downstairs. Xavier Jennings walked over, took all three chairs from them, and grinned. "Heh heh, I’ll carry these for you. You can go on ahead."
Jared Zimrman, carrying his own chair, walked past them and let out a derisive "Tch."
Class 8’s designated area was on the left, near the field. Holly, Iris, and Anna sat in the second row, with the class’s boys right behind them in the third.
As luck would have it, Xavier Jennings sat right behind Holly.
Iris and Anna shot Holly a suggestive look, and Holly gave them a warning glance in return.
"I bought too many. Here, for you guys," Xavier suddenly said, pushing three bottles of a sports drink into Holly’s hands.
The boys behind them imdiately started jeering. "Xavier, how co you didn’t get us any?" That was Beau Sullivan.
"Yeah, Xavier! How co you didn’t get us any?"
Joel Langdon joined in the teasing. He and Xavier were usually pretty good friends.
Xavier gave him a light kick. "I’ll buy you guys a round later."
"Quiet! What’s all the racket?" Julian Carlton walked over to them and snapped, his face stern. After that, he remained standing right there.
This left Holly with no chance to give the drinks back to Xavier.
After the principal finished his speech, the sports et officially began, starting with the cheerleaders hyping up the crowd.
A number of boys wolf-whistled at the cheerleaders’ short skirts, debating which one was the prettiest.
With Julian Carlton gone, Holly took the opportunity to hand the drinks back to Xavier. Her tone was polite enough. "Thank you, but we’re good."
Xavier froze for a second, then scratched his head. "Oh, you don’t like this kind?" he asked, trying to please her. "Want so milk tea instead? I can go buy it."
"No, we’re fine. If we drink too much, we’ll have to keep running to the bathroom."
With half the class watching, Holly phrased her rejection a bit more tactfully.
Xavier, figuring she was just being shy, didn’t press the matter.
The first event of the sports et was the sophomore girls’ 3000-ter run. To her great misfortune, Iris was scheduled to run in it—as runner number eight.
Holly and Anna stood beside the starting line, waving colorful pom-poms with all their might. "Go, Iris!"
"GO, IRIS!!!! VICTORY TO IRIS!!!!"
Iris shot them a miserable glare.
Chris Chaucer, one of the referees for the girls’ 3000-ter, was wearing a school-issued yellow vest with a whistle around his neck and a small flag in his hand.
He went down the line of runners at the starting line, checking to make sure each girl’s bib number was securely fastened. He soon arrived in front of Iris, pressed down on her number tag, and said, "Iris, good luck."
Iris instantly blushed all the way to her neck.
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