Chapter 6

Jacob focused on a few important questions, skimming through the basic ones.

After class, Sophie didn't rush to leave. She was still looking over her mistakes.

Sophie didn't seem to hold a grudge about me almost hitting her, but I was racking my brain for a way to make it up to her.

Explaining the questions to her seemed like a good way to show I was genuinely sorry.

I offered, "I actually know how to solve all these. Want me to walk you through them?"

Sophie glanced at me in surprise, but when she saw how genuine I looked, she could tell I was being sincere.

She pushed the test paper to the center of the desk. Her silent way of agreeing.

[Olivia, don't go spreading lies and trying to set up Sophie.]

[Come on, with grades like Sophie's, does she even need anyone to sabotage her?]

[Sophie's so sweet. She still trusts Olivia.]

I scooted closer to check out the question. "This one's all about splitting up the terms in a geometric sequence, and substituting the numbers in.

"You've got all the info you need, so follow the formula and it'll work out."

I grabbed some scratch paper and wrote out the formula and steps for her.

After crunching the numbers, I said, "Plug in the values from the question, and the answer's B."

Sophie looked at the formula I wrote and didn't say anything for a long moment.

From the look on her face, she still seemed confused. Did I really do such a bad job explaining? "Is there something you don't get?" I asked.

"How did you come up with this formula?" she asked.

"It's a standard formula, you can find it on page 136 in the textbook," I replied.

I glanced at Sophie. Seemed like her main issue was that her foundation was pretty shaky.

Since what she really needed was to strengthen her basics, I met her gaze and said, "You should start by reviewing the main concepts and formulas in the textbook. Once you get those down, you'll be able to solve the textbook questions easily.

"After you get familiar with them, you'll be able to look at a problem and quickly figure out which formula to use. That way, you'll make progress a lot faster."

Sophie didn't say anything, so I scribbled down a few basic formulas. I asked, "Do you know these?" She nodded.

So Sophie only started having trouble with the material in her final year. That meant it shouldn't be too hard for her to get back on track.

I was looking at the next question when Sophie suddenly put her test paper away.

"You're done already?" I asked.

"Didn't you tell me to work on my basics first? I'll ask you again once I've got the textbook stuff down," she replied.

I was honestly a little flattered by how much Sophie trusted me. She really did want to get better grades.

I had no idea how long we'd been talking, but by the time I looked up, the classroom was empty. Felix went home, too.

Sophie used to leave with Felix every time.

But today, since I was helping her with the questions, I didn't even notice when Felix slipped out, and Sophie didn't leave with him.

As Sophie was packing up to leave, I asked, "Did Felix already leave?"

She glanced around and said, "Looks like it."

Felix used to say he walked home with Sophie because she always caught a ride with his family's driver.

But now, with Sophie still not having her big moment, and Felix and the driver already gone, I couldn't help but wonder how she was supposed to get home.

Are they really going to come back for her?

Sophie had already walked out the door, looking totally chill.

I tried not to worry about it. Maybe Felix and the driver were waiting for her outside.

But from what I knew about Felix, he was not really the kind of guy who'd go out of his way for someone. Was the driver actually going to stick around for Sophie?

I hurriedly packed up my stuff and rushed to the school gate, clinging to a last bit of hope that maybe I was overthinking.

When I got there, Sophie was standing at the gate, completely alone, no one else in sight.

Damn, she was really all by herself.

Sophie was standing there alone, holding her phone. It looked like she was making a call.

As I got closer, she heard my bike and footsteps, then looked up at me.

"Did Felix and the driver already leave?" I asked.

Sophie glanced at her phone, the call already ended, and nodded.

Messages started popping up.

[Felix actually told the driver to hang up on Sophie? Does he really think the car and the driver belong to him?]

[The driver doesn't even know who signs his paycheck. He's actually listening to Felix.]

[Sophie was way too nice to Felix before, and now even the driver can't tell who's really in charge.]

[Sophie, hurry up and wake up. The drivers are really getting out of hand now.]

Turns out Sophie was calling the driver.

Felix never called Sophie first. It was always her chasing after him.

Today, I spent a little too long helping Sophie with her questions, so Felix took off with the driver and didn't even bother to wait for her.

"How are you getting home?" I asked.

Sophie sighed, sounding resigned. "I'll call a cab."

"It's not easy to get a cab around here. How about I give you a ride?" I offered.

"Are you offering to take me?" Sophie looked doubtful. "Where to?"

" past a few intersections. It's less crowded there, so it'll be easier to catch a cab," I said. "I'm heading that way anyway, so I can drop you off."

[Is Olivia seriously thinking of giving Sophie a lift on her bike?]

[But if she waits around, with the way things are here, it'll take at least half an hour to catch a cab.]

[Even if Sophie's having a rough time, there's no way she'd ride a bike.]

Sophie stayed quiet for a while. She seemed unsure how to refuse without sounding rude.

From the messages, it was clear my suggestion wasn't exactly foolproof. I was trying to figure out how to smooth things over. "We could wait here for a bit—"

Before I could finish, Sophie jumped in, "Alright, thanks. Hope I'm not too heavy."

I didn't expect Sophie to say yes, and my face lit up with surprise. "No trouble at all. And honestly, you're definitely not heavy."

After Sophie got on the bike, she asked, "Is your house over there?"

"No, I work over there," I replied.

Everyone already knows thanks to Jenny, so there was no need to hide it anymore.

"A part-time job?" Sophie asked.

"Yeah, I work at a dessert shop. I usually go there after school and on weekends," I replied.

When we got to the intersection, I stopped. "This spot's way better for catching a cab."

Sophie hopped off the bike and said, "Honestly, thank you so much. If it weren't for you, I probably would've been stuck waiting at the gate forever."

I felt a little awkward with all the thanks. "Seriously, it's no trouble at all. I was passing by."

"Oh, by the way, I'm actually pretty hungry right now. Where's that dessert shop you mentioned?" Sophie said, rubbing her stomach with a sheepish smile.

"The dessert shop isn't exactly close. Are you starving?" I asked.

Sophie nodded.

I looked around and saw some shops nearby. "How about I keep you company, and we grab a bite around here?" I suggested.

Sophie looked at me, almost pouting. "But I want dessert."

"The dessert shop is bread and cake, nothing special. There's probably some cake here too," I said.

"But I really want to go to the one you mentioned," Sophie replied.

The dessert shop was actually in the opposite direction. I'd only told a little white lie to get Sophie here, but now it felt like my cover was about to be blown.

When I was at a loss for what to do, Sophie's phone rang.

Sophie glanced at me, unsure, and asked, "Which street is this?"

Suddenly, I realized this was my chance to be saved. "Riverside Road."

"I'm on Riverside Road," Sophie said, then hung up.

"Was that the driver?" I asked.

Sophie nodded. "He said he's on his way to pick me up."

"That's great. Now you don't have to bother with a cab," I said.

Sophie's gaze turned gloomy, and she kept quiet.

Now that Sophie's ride was sorted, I said, "Wait here for Lance, okay? Don't wander off. If you keep going, you'll leave Riverside Road."

Sophie gave a quiet nod.

I waved and said, "Guess I'll head out now. See you."

From behind me, Sophie called out, "Olivia."

I was about to hop on my bike when I turned back to look at her.

"See you tomorrow," Sophie said, waving at me.

Hearing her say that, I felt a sudden warmth in my chest. I couldn't help but grin and reply, "See you tomorrow."