It already lunchtime, and students were making their way toward the school cafeteria. Jennifer was already sitting at one of the tables with her food in front of her.
Yes, apart from her ability to talk, she is quite the glutton. She's the only one who gives Fatty a run for his money in that category.
Of course, to be able to talk, she needs a full stomach.
Vivian had just gotten her food and was making her way toward the dining hall. The moment she stepped in, the hall descended into whispers.
"Wow…"
"She seems like a new student."
"She's really beautiful."
"Finally, someone who will give Sophia a run for her money."
"Which class is she in?"
Questions began flying around, but no one answered them.
Vivian didn't pay attention to them and calmly walked ahead. A voice called out to her.
"Vivian! Vivian! Come over here!"
She looked toward the direction of the voice and saw Jennifer sitting at one of the tables, waving at her.
Vivian walked toward Jennifer and took a seat opposite her.
"It seems you're already popular on your first day at school," Jennifer said with a smile.
"Come to think of it... you're really beautiful," Jennifer said, giving her a proper look.
"God, why did I get this ugly face?" Jennifer pretended to be sad.
A cute smile appeared on Vivian's face. The girl in front of her was really something else.
"Don't say that. You're not bad," Vivian said, trying to console her.
"Seriously?" Jennifer asked, squinting her eyes, brimming with excitement.
"Don't even think about it. You look so terrible that only Fatty would be willing to deal with you."
Before Vivian could respond, a voice came from nowhere, causing the smile on Jennifer's face to vanish instantly. A pair of hands dropped a tray of food on the table as the person quietly took a seat close to Jennifer. The uninvited guest was none other than Jerry.
"What are you doing here?" Jennifer looked at him with a frown.
"Have you seen what I'm talking about? Just look at her face…"
"Wait... has anyone ever told you this?" Jerry asked with a serious look on his face.
"What?" Jennifer and Vivian both wondered, as it seemed Jerry was about to say something important.
"Has anyone ever told you that you look like Halloween? Don't let people spend money on Halloween costumes anymore. You just need to stand in the garden, raise one of your hands, and that's it. No need for a costume, since the real Halloween is here…"
"Y-yo... you... Get out!!"
Jennifer shouted at him and pushed him out of the seat.
"Ha, Fatty is really unlucky..." Jerry threw one last jab before picking up his tray and leaving.
"Hmph... Who wants that fatty friend of yours?"
Jonathan and Joshua had just gotten their food and took the next seats behind Jennifer, continuing their usual chat.
Jennifer simply gave them a look and didn't say anything.
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"Why did you choose that instead of the usual?" Joshua was the first to speak.
"Nah, I'm tired of eating the same thing over and over again," Jonathan said, picking up his fork and getting ready to dig in.
"Suit yourself," Joshua said, clearly displeased that Jonathan chose something different from they usual.
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....
Vivian seemed to have stopped eating for some reason.
"What is it?" Jennifer asked.
"Nothing," Vivian said with a smile. "But why don't you tell me more about the school, especially our classmates? I'd really love to know them."
A smile blossomed on Jennifer's face. Nothing could be more fun than talking about their class. Vivian had no idea she had just pressed Jennifer's "red button," and the smile meant she was about to explode.
She quickly closed her food and pushed it aside.
"Aren't you eating anymore?" Vivian asked, noticing Jennifer closing the food.
"Don't worry about it. I'll deal with it later."
As Jennifer began her rambling, Sophia walked into the hall with a tray of food in her hand. The room fell into silence. She scanned the hall, trying to find a suitable place to sit. Her eyes landed on Jonathan.
"She's here," Joshua said to Jonathan.
"Who?" Jonathan asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Sophia. And she seems to be looking at you," Joshua said with a smile.
Jonathan's back was facing the entrance, so he didn't see her, while Joshua, who was facing the entrance, noticed Sophia as soon as she entered the hall.
"Should I call her to come join us?"
"You want to die this afternoon, huh?"
"Haha…" Joshua laughed, seeing the look on Jonathan's face.
Sophia's gaze lasted a few seconds before she made her way toward a seat in the center of the hall. Lisa and Angela followed closely behind her, engaged in a small argument.
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"Who is she?" Vivian asked, noticing how the atmosphere changed when Sophia walked in.
"Her? Huh…"
"Her name is Sophia. She's a well-known figure in the school, and she comes from a wealthy family. Guess what... she's in our class, so don't mess with her."
"Why do you sound like she's a bad person? She looks pretty nice to me," Vivian said, continuing to eat her food.
"Ahh… did I just hear you say 'pretty nice'? Seriously!? Forget that pretty face you're seeing she can be scary."
"The last person who messed with her was expelled from the school and banned from attending any school in this city."
Vivian was surprised. "Is it really that serious?"
"Her background isn't simple. Anything she wants, she can get it easily without doing anything," Jennifer said.
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Angela and Lisa walked toward Sophia's table, still bickering about who was going to apologize. They slowly approached Sophia, and Lisa dropped her tray on the table. Angela kept hers in hand, just in case Sophia got mad and threw the food away.
She didn't want to take the risk. Since Lisa had taken the first step, she could be the sacrificial lamb if things went south.
Sophia raised her head and glanced at them.
"What are you two doing here?"
"Sophia, don't be like this, we're sorry, it won't happen again," Lisa said, nudging Angela by the side and blinking her eyes, urging her to speak up.
"So… Sop... Sophia, sorry about what happened. It was Lisa who started it. You know I don't usually make you angry…" Angela stammered.
"What!? Wait... did you just say I started it? Are you crazy?" Lisa was about to snap.
They were here to apologize, but in the end, Angela had tried to push all the blame onto Lisa.
"Aren't you the one laughing when Gabriel was…?"
"Shut up!!"
Sophia shouted angrily and slammed the table.
Bang!
The sound drew the attention of several students nearby, but once they made eye contact with Sophia, they quickly looked away. Lisa and Angela were clearly scared by her outburst.
"Did you come to apologize or make things worse?" Sophia said, glaring at the two in front of her. Her expression wasn't looking good at all.
"Haai... how can we come to make things difficult for our queen?" Lisa said quickly, moving behind Sophia and beginning to massage her shoulders, while winking at Angela to do something.
Angela quickly set her food down on the table, opened a soda can, poured it into a cup, and handed it to Sophia.
Sophia took it, drank from it, and set the cup back down.
"Sit down and stop messing around," Sophia said to them.
"You see those two? They're her friends—or maybe her maidservants. That would be a more accurate term. That's one of the reasons I said you should stay away from her unless you want to become one of her servants too," Jennifer said with a shrug.
"And guess what?" Jennifer said, snapping her fingers.
"What?" Vivian asked, raising an eyebrow.
Jennifer looked around before urging Vivian to lean in closer. Vivian felt a bit weird but complied.
"There's a rumor that she has a crush on one of the two popular, handsome guys in our class, but he's been ignoring her. That's why she's been in a bad mood lately," Jennifer whispered.
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"She's really getting out of hand recently. Are you okay seeing her like this?" Joshua said, glancing at Jonathan.
"What does that have to do with me? Am I her parent?" Jonathan said, not paying attention to Joshua.
Joshua turned to look at Sophia for a few seconds before turning back to Jonathan.
"She's really unlucky to have taken an interest in you. Why don't you look at her for a bit? I think it will make her feel better," Joshua said with a grin.
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"Who are these two popular guys you're talking about?" Vivian asked, setting her spoon down on the empty plate in front of her. She had finished eating.
"Coincidentally, they're the ones sitting at the next table behind me, Jonathan and Joshua. Joshua is the one facing the exit, while Jonathan is facing us. That's the one she's interested in," Jennifer explained.
Vivian raised her head to look at the two guys sitting at the next table.
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"Why are you so worked up about this? If you like her that much, I can take the risk and introduce you two," Jonathan said with a smirk.
"No thanks, you can keep her all to yourself," Joshua laughed.
"Are you ser...?"
Just as Jonathan raised his head, he accidentally made eye contact with someone else, someone who had been staring directly at him.
The atmosphere seemed to freeze for a moment.
Vivian smiled awkwardly before turning away. She was the shy type, and Jonathan quickly looked away too.
"Did she recognize me? What the heck is wrong with me? What's the big deal if she recognizes me? Did I do something wrong…?"
"What are you mumbling about?" Joshua asked, looking at Jonathan strangely.
"Nothing... It's just... nothing actually," Jonathan said, shaking his head.