After the juice incident—which I feel like will be featured in the school newspaper as "Top 1 Splash Moment of the Year"—our adviser brought us to a mini classroom session for a so-called "getting to know each other" activity.
Group activity. Very elementary. But fine, whatever.
"Let's form groups of five," said Ma'am Gutierrez. "Share one fun fact about yourself."
Everyone stood up. Me? I pretended to be busy with my bag. But before I could find an excuse, a voice called me.
"Yeli, join our group!" It was Merry—the girl who sat next to me earlier, the one with five different colored pens who wrote her notes in rainbow order. Very organized girlie.
I forced a smile. "Okay, coming."
In the group were Merry, a guy whose notebook was filled with math formulas—yes, really—a super energetic girl in Crocs, and... River. Great.
"Okay, fun fact time!" said Merry with a little clap clap.
"I'll go first," said math guy. "I solve calculus problems for fun."
"Wow. Good for you," Crocs girl said with an eye roll.
"Me," Crocs girl started, "I can memorize any TikTok dance in five minutes."
Actually useful, sis.
"Merry, obviously, is the girl who color codes her soul," said River, sitting on the table instead of the chair.
"Thank you, I take pride in that," Merry replied with a hair flip.
Then everyone looked at me. Oh no. My turn.
"Uh..." I cleared my throat. "Fun fact... I like taho."
Everyone suddenly went silent. Like, not a single word for three seconds.
Then River laughed. "That's it?"
"Taho is delicious, okay?" I defended. "It's a national treasure."
"That's okay. At least she's honest," said Crocs girl. "Unlike some people here who thinks solving equations is fun."
Merry smiled. "You're cool, Yeli."
I blinked. "Me?"
"Yup. Even after the juice splash moment earlier, you didn't make a fuss. And you're not acting like a genius even though people say you're super smart."
I smiled. My first genuine smile of the day.
"Thanks," I said.
And on the side, River smiled too.
"You're kinda cute when you're not panicking," he said.
Okay. Cut to commercial, please. I'm blushing and I hate it.
He's so random.
-
"Attention, students!" the intercom suddenly blared while we were packing up in the classroom.
Everyone paused. Some squealed—hoping it was early dismissal. Me? I silently prayed it wasn't some quiz bee or math Olympics announcement.
"This is your headmaster speaking," the voice said. "To celebrate this year's founding anniversary, we will be holding a week-long inter-class competition!"
Huh? What kind of competition?
"Just got here and there's already a competition," I muttered without thinking, quickly covering my mouth. Oops, that was supposed to stay in my head.
"This is normal in Brilliance Academy," said Merry in front of me.
"Yeah, she's right. Better get used to it, special student," added River, casually munching on chips.
"All students will be grouped by section, and you'll compete in four categories: Science Innovation, Literature and Arts, Performance, and Robotics Showcase."
I instantly heard the collective gasp of the entire Star Section.
"As the top section, expectations are high. Let's show everyone what brilliance really means."
Everyone erupted in excitement.
"YESSS Robotics!"
"I'm doing a piano duet, for sure!"
"Please put me in art team, I don't want to disassemble a robot."
"Why no mathematics this year?! Noooooo!"
Me? I emotionally hid under the table.
Don't they have a category for 'eager but talentless'? I could totally join that.
"Yeli, join the science team, okay?" Merry called out. "For balance."
Balance?
"Huh? Why me?" I panicked.
"So it's fair. Might be too OP if you put yourself with Kairo right away. We'll switch each round anyway, don't worry."
I didn't get any of that, but I just smiled—half-fake, half-resigned. I just hoped the science activity wasn't explosive. I like my eyebrows intact.
Then Kairo passed by the hallway. Holding books, looking like he just came from the library. As usual, quiet. But then he looked at me.
This time, a little longer. Like, one and a half seconds longer than usual.
And then... he smiled.
Wait. Wait. Hold up. Did he just smile?
Before I could confirm if it was a hallucination, he walked away. Leaving me stunned.
Then I heard River behind me.
"Hey," he whispered. "Kairo looked at you again. Don't get giddy, disaster girl."
"I-I'm not giddy," I whispered back.
"Sure? Your ears are bright red."
Great. I'm a walking emoji now. What the heck!
~•~•~