Larry still hadn't come back. The silence grew so awkward it felt like a guava seed lodged in my chest.
My brain scrambled for a topic. I wasn't the type who talked much. I never forced myself to make conversation either.
But right now, sitting here quietly felt suffocating.
My gaze drifted to Shannon's sweet, pretty face. What did I know about her?
She was the only daughter of the Alpha of the Green Pack, she was smart enough to be in the Best Class, and—
Ting! A little lightbulb metaphorically went on in my head.
I cleared my throat to catch her attention. She turned toward me with those big blue eyes.
"Last year… you won the Rookie Ae-Engineer Competition, right?"
Shannon nodded, then her eyes lit up as if she remembered something.
"This year's competition just opened, didn't it? Why do you ask? Are you planning to sign up, Sister Clarissa?"
I nodded, scratching my neck without realizing it. I felt a bit awkward talking to the reigning champion.
Not just her—Larry Green and Derren Green, the eldest of the Green siblings, had also won in previous years.
The Greens had swept the first-place title for three years straight.
From what I knew, Edwin Green was incredibly talented in aether devices too. So talented he'd made a bunch of illegal stuff.
But Edwin wasn't joining this year. He was still suspended.
Previous champions weren't allowed to compete again anyway.
So this year, no Green siblings were competing—
…unless it counted me.
Shannon grabbed both my hands. "What device are you planning to make? What's your idea? I love talking about aether devices!"
"I love them too," I replied with a smile.
I told her a bit about my idea. She listened closely, commenting with careful detail. Even though her face stayed cheerful, her eyes were sharp and serious.
"So where will you start working on it, Sister Clarissa?"
"I'll use one of the rooms in the academy workshop."
"But aren't those rooms booked all the time? And even if you get a slot, you only get to use it once a week." Shannon's smooth forehead creased as her lips puckered in the cutest way.
"That's all I've got." I shrugged helplessly.
"What if you use the workshop for the Best Class instead?" she suggested. "There are the same number of rooms, but only Best Class students use them. Most of the best class' students have private workshops at home, so they barely use the academy ones. How about it?"
When I thought about it, Shannon's idea made things much easier.
I nodded immediately. Anything that helped me finish my device better and faster, I'd never say no.
Not long after that, Larry finally returned carrying a lunch box that definitely wasn't made of wood.
When he opened it, I saw all kinds of homemade dishes I'd never find in the cafeteria.
"This is from... where?" My words trailed when I saw white traces of flour on the ends of his messy burgundy hair. I also smelled cooking oil on him.
"You made all this yourself?" I asked, shocked.
Larry scratched the back of his neck. "All the cafeteria cooks are… busy."
"Thank you," I said quickly with a big smile.
He gave a small smile back. "Eat before it gets cold," he muttered, pretending to be indifferent—
but the tips of his ears were red.
I suspected my big brother here was trying very hard not to let his tail pop out and wag happily.
'Wait—did I just call him my brother?!'
Just thinking about it made me embarrassed.
Both of us, flustered, decided to focus on eating. Shannon dug in too.
...
The next day, Shannon told me she had secured a room in the Best Class workshop.
I was extremely grateful. I'd been itching to start building my device.
The following days, aside from regular classes, I spent all my time in the workshop.
Shannon always accompanied me. I couldn't enter without a Best Class student, and she also had her own project to work on.
When there was a part that was impossible to find in the West Region, she ordered it for me from another region.
She helped me so much. Whether I won or not, I would definitely repay her kindness.
Because I worked on it every day, my device was finished in just one week.
"You're amazing, Sister Clarissa. One week is insanely fast!" Shannon looked both shocked and delighted.
"Well, the design was done a long time ago. I only had one missing material. So this week was just assembly, that's why I finished quickly," I explained.
"It's still incredible. No one assembles faster than you." Shannon hugged me playfully.
Without thinking, I patted her head. "Thanks." We became closer, slowly.
She nodded with a bright smile showing her perfect white teeth.
That same day, I submitted my device along with the instructions, features, and weaknesses.
Full details, like tools, materials, prior research sources, would be submitted after passing the first stage.
"I believe you'll get the result you deserve, Clarissa." Mrs. Willette gave me an encouraging smile.
I thanked her and stepped out of the faculty room.
Right outside the door, I nearly bumped into trash.
"You almost hit me, Clarissa! Trying to ruin my device, aren't you?!" Oscar shrieked.
"Oscar! Your inner wolf is awakened, isn't it? Why aren't you using that superb hearing and vision properly?!" I snapped back.
He jerked backward in shock. If the door hadn't been there, he would've actually fallen with his device.
I snorted and walked past him, ignoring his angry wheezing.
I was honestly surprised. In Mrs. Willette's class, Oscar clearly couldn't keep up at all.
How did he even make an aether device?
A few days later, I got my answer... in the most unexpected way.
"Clarissa, Mrs. Willette wants to see you in the faculty room!" a student from another class yelled into the room.
Every eye turned to me, including Nadia's, who gave me a look that clearly said:
'What trouble now?'
I wanted to ask the same thing.
I hurried to the faculty room. The hallway in front of it was already crowded with students.
As I approached, they all looked at me with sneers and contempt. I was used to looks like that, but when everyone outside the faculty room was giving me the same expression…
There had to be another big problem.
They parted to let me through.
The moment I stepped inside, the first voice I heard was unmistakably Oscar's.
"That's right, Mrs. Willette. Clarissa copied my device."
…