A suffocating silence settled over the classroom.
The sharp sound of breaking glass had startled everyone, and now, every eye was on the petite girl, who stood frozen in her seat.
The teacher, who had just stepped back into the room, glanced around, taking in the tense atmosphere with a frown.
Then, as usual, Abdullah was the first to break the silence.
"What's the problem here?" he asked, his voice laced with amusement. "Is this the first time a piece of glassware has broken in class?"
His nonchalant remark spread whispers and murmurs throughout the classroom. Some students nodded in agreement, others exchanged glances, waiting to see what the teacher would do.
The teacher, looking unimpressed, rubbed his temples before asking the inevitable question.
"Who broke it?"
Before the guilty student could even open her mouth, Abdullah lazily pointed at Cole.
"Cole did."
Cole barely reacted he had already caught on to what Abdullah was doing.
It wasn't unusual for Abdullah to throw him under the bus for his amusement.
And instead of arguing, Cole shrugged as if it didn't matter.
"Yeah," he said nonchalantly. "But it wasn't intentional. I'll clean it up now."
The teacher exhaled sharply. "What's your name? And which class are you from?"
Before answering, Cole glanced around the room.
Every eye was still on him.
Some students watched with curiosity, others with amusement, but one particular gaze stood out Faith's.
She was staring at him, not with amusement like the others, but with disappointment and irritation.
Faith had already had enough of Cole's antics, and now this?
"Why does it have to be him?" she thought bitterly.
Cole finally turned back to the teacher.
"Cole. Third-Year Class B."
The teacher's expression remained indifferent. "It's no problem except your class is responsible for the damage." He turned to the rest of the students. "Carry on with your work and stop staring."
A few more murmurs floated through the room before students gradually returned to their unfinished experiments.
The teacher, still slightly annoyed, looked around again.
"Who is his class representative?"
Faith let out a quiet sigh before responding.
"I am."
The teacher turned to her. "Go get a broom so he can clean it up."
Faith didn't say a word. She simply turned on her heels and walked out of the classroom, her irritation growing with each step.
At the back of the room, the mocking girls started whispering again, their laughter low but obvious.
Ben, who had been silent this whole time, suddenly burst into laughter.
"What an idiot," Stephanie muttered under her breath.
Alex, sitting beside her, smirked slightly. "Yeah, he is."
Stephanie turned to her friend. "You like this"
Alex simply grinned, leaning back in her seat.
"You like what?" Stephanie repeated.
But Alex never answered.
Faith re-entered the room, a broom in hand, walking straight toward Cole without even looking at him.
She just wanted to get this over with.
She extended the broom toward him with a sharp motion, but before Cole could take it, another hand reached out to grab it.
The petite girl who had actually broken the glass had stepped forward, her small frame trembling slightly.
Her voice was soft, hesitant.
"Can I have that, please?"
Faith blinked, stunned.
The girl's hands shook slightly as she reached for the broom, her gaze lowered as if expecting to be scolded.
Faith's first instinct was to refuse. Why would she want to clean it?
She pulled the broom slightly out of her reach, her irritation returning full force.
"Who are you?" Faith asked sharply. "And how does this concern you?"
The girl opened her mouth to respond, but before she could, one of the mocking girls from earlier spoke up in an exaggerated, taunting voice.
"She wants to help," the girl sang, dragging out the words like a joke.
The class erupted into laughter.
Faith let out a quiet chuckle, then turned back to the petite girl.
"No," she said firmly. "He's going to clean it himself."
The teacher, who had been flipping through his notes, looked up again at the scene.
"If she wants to clean it, let her," he said dismissively.
The petite girl reached for the broom again.
Faith gripped the broom tighter.
Something about this situation irritated her beyond reason.
She didn't like the idea of Cole getting off so easily.
She wanted him to take responsibility.
The girl's delicate fingers wrapped around the handle, her determination clear.
But Faith didn't let go.
For several seconds, neither of them moved a silent battle over a simple broom.
Then, something blocked their light.
A shadow loomed over them, cutting off the light.
Faith and the girl instinctively looked up.
Cole was standing right in front of them.
The girl immediately let go of the broom, stepping back.
Faith, however, hesitated.
For the first time, she actually noticed Cole's height.
She had never paid much attention before, but standing this close, she realized just how tall he was compared to her.
It made her feel small.
Intimidated.
She hated that feeling.
Her fingers unconsciously tightened around the broom's handle for a second longer
Then she let go.
Without another word, she turned and walked back to her seat.
The noise level in the classroom resumed, but certain students were still watching, whispering about what had just unfolded.
Cole took the broom, but instead of cleaning, he simply turned and handed it to the petite girl.
She hesitated, looking at him in surprise.
But when he gave a small nod, she took the broom from his hand and quietly went to clean up the broken glassware.
Cole, as if nothing had happened, casually walked back to his seat and sat down.
The mocking girls, who had been making fun of the petite girl earlier, looked both confused and annoyed.
Faith, sitting stiffly in her chair, couldn't focus on anything else.
Her fingers clenched into a fist on the table.
She wasn't angry at Cole.
She was angry at herself.
Because for some reason, she had felt intimidated by him.
For the first time, she felt smaller than him not just in height, but in presence.
"Was he always this tall?" she wondered.
And another thought followed:
"Why is that girl trying to help him? What's their relationship?"
Her chest tightened at the thought.
"Is he bullying her? Why didn't I say something?"
Too many thoughts flooded her mind all at once.
Then
"He's always been that tall," Alex suddenly said beside her, breaking her train of thought.
Faith turned her head sharply. "How do you know?"
Alex smirked. "We've known each other for so long. I can tell what you're thinking most of the time."
Stephanie, listening in, snickered. "Besides, we all saw how you looked at him."
Faith frowned. "And what exactly does that mean?"
Stephanie grinned. "We just can't tell if you admired his height…"
Alex cut in before Stephanie could finish.
"Our class rep is intimidated, apparently."
Faith stiffened.
She hated how accurate that was.