Klaus laughed awkwardly.
"What do you mean..? We're friends, of course..." he replied, confused and slightly disturbed by Aviel's sudden confrontation.
Aviel sighed and pondered.
"Friends, huh..."
"Seriously Aviel, what's your problem? You're always like this, getting all that sudden attitude whenever Klaus mentions his name or we're talking about him." said Caleb, frowning. He, too, was confused by the situation.
"Shouldn't I be the one saying that to you guys?. How is it that you can't remember anything about him?" she scoffed sarcastically rolling her eyes.
I had my doubts ever since the first day. Looks like Sevan really is that other childhood friend we had back in grade school—the one who left for France. He does resemble Aviel slightly, especially in his eyes and freckles. Maybe it's because of his mother's genes doing most of the work, with only his father's eyes and freckles passed down. His father is Chinese while his mother was French, his father married into his mother's family which is the reason Sevan inherited his last name 'De Auclair' instead on 'Lin'
Sevan's father, the eldest son, was originally supposed to inherit everything. But due to the favoritism in the family and the huge gap between their talents, everything was inherited by Aviel's dad, the youngest. That bitterness caused a lifelong grudge between them siblings. Naturally, their fathers' animosity bled into their children's relationships, and affecting their friendship thats slowly turned into envy and unresolved tension due to their father's words.
I sighed. "Klaus."
He flinched and gulped nervously.
"What are you scared for I'm not gonna confront you with anything, I'm not like
these fools. I don't give a damn what you're doing with your decision for as long as you're happy with it."
"A-Ah, yes..." He fidgeted and nodded in response.
"Hmph." Aviel looks away while Caleb remained silent. I sighed.
"Benedict's waiting for me at the exit, so I better head out. If you still have things to take care of here, please do. Take care," I said, tapping Klaus's shoulder with a soft smile.
"Thank you, Gab..." He smiled in response.
He must've been quite surprised by Aviel's words, but deep down I know. He's not as dumb as he looks, I can clearly tell that he's already known about Sevan from the very start. He never forgot about him. I mean it's Klaus we're talking about, he and Sevan were pretty much close in the past than with me.
I smirked in amusement as I leave the room.
This whole situation is turning out to be far more interesting than I expected.
Later that night, I got home and logged into my Terranox account to play for one game. However, a notification suddenly popped up in my inbox from someone unexpected.
Mon_leo sent you a friend request.
I tapped my desk, unsure whether I should accept or not. Normally in other players, I'd only just ignore something like this since it does not give me any merits on whatsoever But... he sent a gift. A Christmas Limited Edition Skin and Bow, the very one I missed out on last year.
I cleared my throat. "Well, my parents didn't raise me to be this ungrateful of gifts. Accepting his friend request should be just fine. Just an act of courtesy." I grinned mischievously.
I could afford these kinds of items myself with my allowance, but ever since Benedict got ahold of the receipts on my spendings he would definitely reprimand me for spending another money on this. But, If this mon_leo guy is rich enough to casually give away such rare and expensive gifts... then why not squeeze him dry? That way, Benedict won't have anything to complain about. I mean he would also gain merits with it, being friends with my account is equivalent as being friends of a famous celebrity inside Terranox community.
"Pleased to make your acquaintance, mon_leo..." I say as I clicked on the accept button on the screen.
Morning arrived, and as usual, I went about my daily routine. But today felt off. As I stared at my shirtless reflection in the bathroom mirror earlier, I realized a biggest problem occured in my whole life. I gained weight. And I just can't let that be, it's definitely going to affect with my upcoming photoshoots and modeling work.
Maybe it's finally time to hit the gym. After those sweets. Tomorrow's Saturday so...
Wait. No, tomorrow is Grandpa's birthday. Benedict already reminded me back in the car earlier that after class today, we're heading straight to the main house to start preparing for the birthday banquet tomorrow afternoon. So tedious.
Swish. I slid open the classroom door and stepped inside. Aviel and Klaus were already there, and it was hightly obvious that they still haven't talked to each other yet since the ruckus they caused last night. How immature.
"When will you guys stop acting like kids?" I scoffed sarcastically.
"Especially you," I said, bonking Aviel softly on the head.
"Why don't you just apologize for your attitude last night?" I said as I sat down at my seat beside Klaus.
"Sorry..." she muttered quietly. Klaus smiled in response.
"Klaus said he can't hear you brat!" I said teasing her.
"I said I'm sorry, dammit!" she shouted, immediately going red with embarrassment.
I covered my mouth, trying not to burst out laughing. My shoulders trembled from the effort.
"It's okay.." Klaus said, patting her head while chuckling. She stayed flushed and quiet.
"Lol, what the heck is going on here?" Caleb said as he walked to his seat, acting like he wasn't involved in yesterday's argument.
"None of your business, freak!" Aviel grunted.
"Ehh...? Let me in it" Caleb replied, feigning disappointment and clinging onto her stubbornly.
The bell rang, and homeroom started.
Later, during our third period, Math. The teacher asked to us about who could solve the problem written on the board.
It was a bit tough, but easy enough for me. I raised my hand feeling confident, and to my surprise Lucas raised his too. Our eyes met.
I frowned, scowling at him before looking away.
We both wanted to solve the problem. The teacher, a bit hesitant, decided to write a second problem of equal difficulty and let us both solve them simultaneously. A challenge. Unspoken. A match commenced silently between us. Whoever finishes first will win.
The room filled with the rapid tapping and scraping of chalk against the board. Our classmates and teacher could only watch in stunned silence. Unfortunately, it ended in a tie. We finished at the same time, both correct.
And that wasn't the end of it.
The match extended into Chemistry, and even carried over into Debate class. Neither of us wanted to back down. Every single time it ended in a tie.
"Argh!" I gripped the glass of water in frustration.
"How is it that I'm just as smart as that neanderthal?! This has to be a joke! I wouldn't mind if I was competing with Sevastyan, but Lucas?!" My jaw clenched as I grit my teeth.
"Gab... I think that glass is going to shatter if you keep gripping it like that..." Caleb said nervously, wincing in anticipation.
"You don't understand!" I slammed the glass onto the table.
"Yeah, you're right we don't. So why don't you just eat your lunch before it gets cold?" Aviel said, scrolling on her phone without even glancing up.
"Where's Klaus anyway?" I asked, running a hand through my hair after messing it up from all the frustration.
"Probably at the Arts and Design Clubroom," Aviel replied, rolling her eyes.
"The one at the 3rd building..? Clubs haven't officially opened yet. The Student Council campaign should be first before any of that." I tilted my head.
"Beats me." She responded shrugging while Caleb grinned at me playfully.
"What?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Hmm, nothing. It's just—I heard this very interesting rumor about a certain student with light blonde hair, upturned gray eyes, and a name that starts with 'G' and ends with 'L'... maybe planning to run for the Student Council President... or Vice President~~"
I nearly choked on my own saliva. This guy!
How the hell did he find out? There's only two students in this entire academy know about that, and Grandpa would never blurt it out carelessly. So it had to be none other than that bastard Lucas.
He must've spilled the beans, and It was probably during that time he said he had something to do at lunch. Out of all people he could've spill it out it just had to be Caleb. Crap.