Verdant Hills Academy was a prestigious private high school where many tiger parents sent their children. It was among the schools with the most rigorous academic standards and highest expectations for students in the city. From a skyscraper, its cutting-edge facilities could be seen.
"...Now let's try a slightly more challenging problem. Solve the inequality...remember the goal is to isolate x and find all the values that satisfy the inequality..."
"Uh-oh. This one looks pretty tricky."
As Nova walked through the hallway, the lecture from her classroom grew louder. The time was 9:41 AM. Just as she had predicted, the homeroom teacher was overrunning his period.
Sighing heavily, Nova hesitated at the backdoor before walking inside the classroom. The moment she passed the threshold, the whole class whirled their heads to the back. Even so, Nova tucked her chin down and continued walking to her seat. 'What? Care for an autograph?'
Her desk was located in the first row on the far side of the classroom, second from the end on the rear line of desks. After she had sat down, the homeroom teacher, Kaelen, stopped teaching and stared at her. Nova oriented herself briefly, then fished out a mathematics textbook from her bag and placed it on her desk.
"We were just about to start taking bets on whether your boyfriend would let you go today."
"Huaha!"
The class erupted in laughter, banging desks and glancing surreptitiously at Nova. She slightly leaned forward, cupped her cheek, and gazed longingly at the track field through the window. Different sports clubs were practicing, so she wondered whether the school had announced a sports festival and she hadn't heard.
"We're waiting for you to talk, Celeste."
Nova slowly returned her gaze to the classroom, pondering what Kaelen exactly wanted her to talk about. Her lateness or a boyfriend?
Being quiet for too long would make her look rebellious, so she answered, "Which boyfriend? I don't have any romantic detours."
The class howled with laughter once more, irking Nova. She thought they were simply weaponizing laughter to make her uncomfortable. She bit her lip and stared down at her desk.
"Alright, that's all the new stuff for today. For homework, I want you to tackle those inequality problems we started. Feel free to work together on them if you get stuck, or even ask an upperclassman if they're around. Just make sure you understand it, however you get there."
The atmosphere immediately filled with sighs. Some students stood up and stretched.
"Shame on you. I haven't forgotten about you, Celeste. You know where to find me."
With that, the homeroom teacher walked out of the classroom. Some of the students followed suit.
"Ah, that was a snore." A girl with shoulder-length hair remarked, not caring whether Kaelen had left the vicinity. She got out of her desk and hastened eagerly towards Nova, then, without warning, threw herself on Nova's lap before feeling her forehead with the back of her palm.
"Are you sick, Novie?"
"I'm good. Just got held up on the way."
Although Nova and this girl were both members of the Occult Club, Nova still wasn't comfortable with her. Even so, she couldn't let her know.
The remaining students had formed into little groups, glancing furtively at Nova. It seemed like she had suddenly become the topic of conversation, so she rose from her seat and left the classroom.