Chapter 3
Jason's brows furrowed the instant he saw me, his eyes wide with shock.
But he quickly snapped, his tone sharp. "Please show some respect. I've seen Violet dance with my own eyes. She's the best I've ever seen."
Claire's jealousy was practically written all over her face after she heard that, but she managed to force a smile.
She said, "Yeah, so, Violet, are you going to join? Let's have a fair competition and both take part in the tryouts."
I could feel all those mocking stares on me, and my cheeks were on fire.
But it wasn't shame or anger from their teasing.
It was because I suddenly noticed that Claire's chin seemed to be pulling back a bit.
My deskmate always slept with his mouth open in class, so his jaw ended up all weird.
And now, after borrowing his book, Claire was actually starting to show the same signs.
"Violet, if you're so ashamed, then just leave already. Why are you standing there silently? What, you want us to admire your pretty face or something?" one said.
Some guy was already getting fed up and tried to push me. I clenched my jaw and yelled, "I'm signing up for the cheerleader tryouts! Just you wait. I swear, you'll eat your words!"
Just then, the school administrators and teachers started filing into the cafeteria for lunch, and the students scattered like birds taking flight, not wanting any trouble.
I turned all my frustration into a ravenous appetite, wolfing down my food. The icy cola helped cool me down, chasing away most of my restless mood.
Meanwhile, Claire promised to split the prize money with everyone if she became the cheerleader, which finally calmed the crowd down enough for her to go get her own food.
I'd already been eating for a while when I finally noticed Jason sitting just one row over from me.
Every so often, he'd glance up at me, looking lost in thought.
When our eyes met, he got up and walked straight over to sit across from me.
"Violet, do you remember me?" he asked.
I gave him a little nod. Jason's expression relaxed into a gentle smile.
He said, "That's good. I've got an application form here. Just fill it out and drop it off at the student council office. I'll make sure it gets approved right away.
"Alright then, I'll leave you alone."
He placed the paper in front of me, looked at me for a moment as he stood up, then turned and walked away.
I saw Claire, not wanting to lose, chase after him and start talking to him.
In the end, she got her hands on an application form, too.
All through lunch, the girls' dorm hallway was filled with nonstop gossip about Jason.
One said, "His dad's some big-shot official, and his mom's an executive for a luxury brand in the whole continent."
Another said, "He's just perfect, like he stepped right out of a TV show. He's totally my prince charming."
Someone chimed in, "Forget it. Even though he's never dated anyone, word is he's already got a secret crush in his heart."
One sighed. "Ugh, a guy that pure and dreamy would only fall for a total goddess. I'm so jealous."
Claire suddenly showed up, cutting everyone off. "So what if he's got a secret crush? People change. Nobody stays the same forever."
She let out a cold laugh, crossing her arms and looking like she was out to win.
She went on, "Especially guys. They go on about personality and inner beauty, but honestly, all they really care about is a good appearance."
*****
It was lunchtime and I was still crashed out in bed when Claire just waltzed in and grabbed my school uniform right off the hook by my pillow.
She tried to dig through my cabinet, too, but for once, I'd actually locked it.
"Why does this uniform reek so much? That fatty doesn't even bother to shower now?" she complained.
I could hear her low insults drifting over, but I just rolled over and kept on sleeping.
If my deskmate ever found out his uniform was on his crush, he'd be over the moon.
That afternoon, for the first time ever, I actually volunteered to do my deskmate's homework.
I just randomly scribbled answers, even turning fill-in-the-blank questions into multiple-choice ones.
For the complicated questions, I'd just leave it at that. Even after racking my brain, all I could do was copy the question over.
The room was stifling, and the fan above us creaked as it turned.
My deskmate was too hot to sleep, so he just pulled out a novel and started reading, giggling to himself the whole time.
Sometimes I really had to hand it to him. Whether he was sleeping or reading, he could just laugh his head off and totally tune out the rest of the world.
On the last monthly exam, I scored a solid 250 points, while he only managed 38, and that was just because he picked C for every single multiple-choice question.