Five

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The classroom buzzed with the anticipation of a new day as students filed through the door. Gaius settled in his seat by the window next to Korong, his tablet in hand, awaiting the arrival of their class teacher, Ma'am Juliana. Ma'am Juliana, who was also heavily pregnant at the moment, entered five minutes later accompanied by the expected new face. The noise in the room instantly died down and the entire class stood up to greet their beloved teacher. The boys, always trying to pull their favorite teacher's leg, prolonged the pronunciation of each word. "Goooooood moooorning, Ma'am!"

"How uncivilized," spat Juliana with a menacing smirk, causing the entire class to break out laughing with her. "I see you and I know that dark days are upon me."

Ma'am Juliana had been their class teacher since eighth grade. Every morning for three years, the day for this batch began with English Literature class. While her primary subject was literature, her role extended far beyond the confines of textbooks. She shouldered the responsibility of not just monitoring their academic progress but also delving into their personal lives, ensuring their overall well-being. She made sure they read the paper every day, made sure all the boys understood what menstrual cycle is, encouraged girls to talk about it without shame, assisted them in their class activities. . . She was basically their caretaker. The class had adored her ever since that memorable day in eighth grade when she called them all "ugly faces," on her first day as their class teacher. That broke the ice.

"Settle down, children. It's good to see you all back at school," she said, brushing back her hair and exhaling audibly as she wiped her handkerchief across her forehead. "My dear students, we have a new member in our family this year." She smiled at the girl on her right. "She will introduce herself, and we will welcome her in our usual way. Korong, be ready."

The class howled in excitement and Juliana had to press a finger over her lips to shush her children. "Not that loud! We don't want Mother Agnes to hear us. Somebody shut the door." Then she turned to the new student. "Go on. Introduce yourself."

The entire class waited in silence. Gaius, towering over his classmates, enjoyed a good view despite sitting at the back. He saw that the girl stood at average height, and while her appearance wouldn't fit into the criteria of someone hot and attractive according to recent beauty standards, there was nothing wrong with her. She was perfect. And if earlier she reminded Gaius of ripe peaches, it was marshmallows and cotton candy now. She was bright and pink, and delicate.

Looking slightly unnerved, the girl spoke in English, her voice carrying a touch of uncertainty. She'd practiced this for a while in her head, although she was not particularly nervous. "Hi, everyone. My name is Ophelia Grace. I'm from Tamenglong district. I grew up in an orphanage and I used to attend a Catholic school in my hometown. Now, I'm here at Sister Marina's Convent. I'm excited about the year ahead and getting to know all of you better."

She then turned to Juliana, indicating that that was all she had to say.

"Why don't you tell us about your likes and dislikes? Your hobbies?" suggested Juliana. "We'd love to know you better too."

"Okay." Ophelia turned to the class again. Each of them waited in silence as though all they ever wanted to do was know her better. Despite the distance, her eyes came in line with Gaius' for a brief moment. He too was listening intently. His attention was solely on her, meticulous and solemn, and even the whiteboard slapped to the wall could tell he had no intention of looking away.

"Uhh. . ." she began slowly. "I'm into knitting and embroidery. My favorite subject is Social Science. Civics in particular... Favorite color is Green. What I don't like. . . Well, I can't think of what I don't like at the moment." She turned to Juliana again, a sheepish smile on her face, signaling this was truly all she had until a sudden realization struck. "Oh! I don't like peanut butter," she added in a hurry.

Gaius found himself chuckling along with the class. Now, that was an unexpected twist, a detail none of them had anticipated. Most would've expected political opinions or critiques of society, but instead, she gave them peanut butter.

Ma'am Juliana gave her the privilege to pick any seat. The classroom was arranged in four columns of two-seaters. She chose the one right next to Sonia on the third row of the second column, another girl who had been staying at Sister Marina's convent for the last three years. They seemed to have already struck up a friendship as Sonia took her hand with a smile and pulled her down next to her. Juliana then made the rest of the students introduce themselves as well as perform an act to welcome the new member. A handful of them presented songs, acapella, some of them read poems, another gave her a few colorful butterfly origamis, another sketched her portrait, Korong played Mozart's Queen of the Night on his trumpet while Kanwar sang along with his improvised lyrics which had the entire class laughing and applauding, and Gaius played the drum on his desk.

When it was Gaius' turn, he stood up from his place, met Ophelia in the eyes, and said, "Hey! I'm Gaius from Bethel village. Welcome to St. Peter's. Since I'm not as talented as these other guys I have no act to perform for you. But you are most welcome to join the Chess Club this year." He ended with an amused smirk, and Kanwar slammed his palm on the desk. "That's cheating!"

In just a week, the whole school would turn into a battleground of club campaigns. Presidents and organizers would dive headfirst into promoting their respective clubs, and the rest of us would be left juggling options. The Chess Club had just fired the first shot at a potential lead by sending out their invites, and as Gaius expected, the class erupted in a mix of laughter and mock paper-throwing, with some admiring the slick move and others retaliating with crumpled notes aimed back at the Chess Club's representative. Gaius casually settled into his seat laughing at the reaction around him.

When he briefly looked over at Ophelia, she was neither laughing nor throwing papers, instead, she was staring at him looking like a rat caught surprised, quite immovably. When their eyes met, she dropped her gaze and looked away.

No other periods turned out as fun and entertaining as the first one. Most teachers came and went after going through the syllabus and making lesson plans for the fall after consulting the students' interests and needs. And soon after lunch break, the bell buzzed and the zoo was let loose once more. Schoolbags were packed up and students swarmed the hallways.

Gaius ran into Ophelia at the locker area just around the main entrance. Their lockers happened to be adjacent on the same side. Initially, he didn't pay attention as her upper half was concealed behind the locker door. It was only when she closed it that he noticed her face and the cascade of her long hair. Sonia was there too, casually leaning against the locker behind her.

"Hey!" he quipped when they noticed one another.

"Hey!" the girls returned, Ophelia a little shy.

He felt he ought to say more.

"So, how are you finding this place?" he asked casually.

"Huh?" Ophelia looked up at him, surprised. When the question registered, she answered, "Oh, well. So far so good. I don't really know yet."

Gaius found himself laughing a little at how flustered she appeared. "Well, I'll ask you again a week later then."

"Huh. Yeah." She smiled and looked away.

"And how was your summer?" he inquired, turning to Sonia, who was still behind Ophelia.

"It was nice," she shrugged. "I went to my grandma's place in the hills. The weather was just perfect over there."

"Yeah. I bet."

"I heard you vacationed in the Maldives."

"No. We didn't go anywhere. I stayed home with my grandma."

"Liar."

Gaius smiled and walked away. "See you tomorrow."

When he'd gone far enough, Ophelia turned to Sonia and asked wide-eyed. "Vacation in the Maldives?!"

"Rich kid." Sonia stared back at her. "His father is a Lieutenant Colonel in the Indian Army. Recently promoted. You should see him. I mean I shouldn't fawn over my classmates' father but he is so hot!" she giggled. "He's so attractive and so neat, especially in his uniform. The entire family is invited every year during the school foundation day. They sponsor some awards here."

"Oh!"

Ophelia watched behind him and quietly brought up a question that had been bugging her since he introduced himself.

"What's his last name?" she asked Sonia.

"Ronglo. Why?"

"Gaius Ronglo from Bethel Village," Ophelia mumbled to herself, watching him get farther away, the name lingering in her mind.

"Yeah. Why?" Sonia's curiosity piqued.

"Nothing. He just sounded familiar."

"You too? Have you already fallen for him?" Sonia grinned at her, poking her side. "I wouldn't be surprised. A lot of girls are after him. He's cute, eh?eh?"

"Oh, it's nothing like that. He just sounded familiar, I told you."

"Well, he likes Hringni anyway. That pretty princess," Sonia sighed sadly and shrugged. "Come on. Let's get going."

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From here on you will be seeing changes from the first draft. I hope you enjoy it. And thank you so much for reading and supporting us!

Much love,
Hermyne ❤️