---
The classroom was strangely silent.
The air seemed still,
Mikel took slow steps toward the seat where Lavinia was sitting.
Alone in that emptiness, as if the entire school had stopped.
He hesitated a little before saying in a low, nervous voice: "Good morning..."
She didn't lift her head toward him except for a fleeting moment, a look filled with cold disdain...
before turning her face away again, as if the air around him was no longer worth acknowledging.
Mikel swallowed hard...
and continued, trying to fix something he knew was much bigger than a passing mistake:
"I… I'm sorry for what I said about you that day. I was stupid… and foolish. I know I hurt your feelings, and I didn't mean to."
Suddenly… a laugh rose from Lavinia's lips, a laugh he had never heard from her before.
It wasn't a simple mocking laugh,
but something like a dagger strike, a slow, sinister laugh that sounded like a declaration of revenge.
She stepped closer, her eyes cold as she said: "You didn't mean it? What exactly? The mockery? Or talking badly about me?"
She stood right in front of him, her shoulders tense, her voice sharp as a blade.
"I don't care anymore, just… leave me alone."
Mikel trembled,
not out of fear,
but from the heavy truth he was hearing from her lips for the first time.
He said in a broken voice: "I didn't mean to offend you… I just couldn't handle the others teasing us."
She raised an eyebrow with bitter astonishment: "Teasing? No one mocked our relationship more than you did."
His heart twisted in pain.
Tears fell down his cheeks against his will as he tried to force the words out between suppressed sobs: "Yes… I'm sorry. Everyone kept saying I should be your boyfriend… not just your friend. And that made me angry… so I lost control."
He breathed heavily, his voice shaking: "I didn't mean a single word I said. You… you're the person I respect the most,The person I don't want to lose the most. I pushed the boys away from you so they wouldn't bother you… or bother our relationship."
Lavinia's expression froze,
then she said with utter coldness: "Mikel… you said you don't see me as a girl. And I don't see you as a boy either. I have no feelings for you other than friendship. And I have no intention of being with you… now or ever."
Her words drained the color from his face, each one another slap.
She took one last step toward him…
and said: "If you're afraid I might fall in love with you someday… then I promise you that will never happen."
He opened his mouth, trying to respond, trying to tell her something: "I… I lo—"
But the loud noise from the door cut his words short;
the students started entering, and the classroom suddenly filled with chaos.
His words remained trapped, suspended between air and silence.
And he stayed frozen in place, swallowed by deep disappointment.
---
---
On another morning…
The school hallways were buzzing with students' voices,
while Lavinia was running wildly through the crowds, her hair flying behind her like a wandering flame.
She was looking for one person: Fred.
At the far end of the corridor,
Fred was surrounded by several girls, slowly brushing his hair back with arrogance…
speaking in a voice full of conceit, until he felt the sting of a piercing gaze from afar.
He turned…
and his expression froze.
Lavinia was charging toward him like a beast released from its chains.
He screamed in terror and hid among the girls: "Aaaah! Don't come near me!"
The students started watching the scene,
the entire hallway shook with laughter and comments.
Lavinia yelled: "Get back here, you idiot! You'll regret stealing my food!"
Fred's heart nearly leapt out of fear,
while she chased him like a madwoman, not paying attention to her steps… until her foot landed on the edge of the stairs.
At that moment…
Mikel and Rocky were climbing the stairs...
exchanging fiery glances as if locked in an invisible competition.
At that exact second…
Lavinia stumbled, her body tipping backward, her hair flying, her eyes widening in fear.
Both moved at the same time.
Rocky grabbed the stair rail…
he grabbed Mikel's wrist…
Mikel grabbed Rocky's wrist with his other hand…
and finally stretched out his left hand and caught Lavinia before she fell.
The scene looked like a three-dimensional cinematic shot.
Lavinia opened her eyes to find herself suspended between them, caught between Mikel's arms and Rocky's gaze.
Then…
the three of them burst into laughter at the absurdity of the moment.
Lavinia suddenly jumped and said: "What was I doing…? Ah! That idiot! I have to catch him!"
She dashed off again, leaving the two of them staring at each other in confusion,
then each grabbed his own arm in pain from the force of the pull.
---
Lavinia searched for Fred for a long time, but he had completely disappeared.
She raised her head and shouted in the crowded courtyard:
"Curse you, you stupid old man!"
Some laughed, while others continued watching eagerly.
By the end of the school day...
Students gathered around the gate.
Lavinia was hiding behind one of the pillars, watching for Fred like a wolf.
Suddenly, he appeared…
walking like a global superstar, hugging one girl and running his fingers through another's hair.
She jumped on him from behind, grabbed his shirt, and yanked him hard:
"What do you think you're doing, you idiot?"
Fred screamed:
"Ah! Damn it! You're ruining my look, you fool!"
One of the girls shouted:
"Leave Fred alone! You're hurting him!"
The second added nervously:
"Yes! Just leave him!"
Lavinia turned toward them with a terrifying look… a sharp glare that made both girls scream and run away.
Then she said to Fred sharply:
"You stole my food! And you even skipped school so I wouldn't confront you!"
He raised his hands arrogantly as he fixed his hair:
"Steal a child's food? That's beneath me!"
Lavinia's eyes flared with anger:
"To hell with you!"
In that moment, a devilish spark appeared in her eyes. She grabbed his arm tightly and dragged him behind her.
He yelled:
"What's wrong with you?! If you're kidnapping me, I'll scream! I'll call the poli—"
She turned to him slowly and said in a low tone:
"I'll tear you apart if you do."
He fell silent.
Minutes later, they arrived at a massive video game hall.
Colored lights moved across the walls,
the noise of games,
the voices of players,
and the computers glowing blue around them.
Fred stared in astonishment:
"What is this…?"
She replied mockingly:
"Hmm… a video game center? Do you not have a brain?"
He said:
"And what am I doing here with you?"
She yanked him by his shirt collar:
"You'll pay for my food… by playing."
She sat him in front of a computer and sat beside him. The game began loading, lights reflecting on her face with excitement.
Fred muttered angrily as he put on the headset:
"This is the worst day of my life."
Lavinia smiled, a bright vengeful smile:
"Your day hasn't even started yet…"
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