Chapter 28
Coral was clearly dissatisfied with Nathan’s casual response.
Nathan smiled. With mock seriousness, he said, “Coral, I was just wondering how I could
make such a silly mistake, mixing up the chemical symbol for zinc. I must have a zinc–credible brain freeze!”
Another cheesy pun.
Coral was stunned for a moment, but once the joke clicked, her cheeks flushed with
embarrassment.
Unlike most girls, who tended to be more reserved, Coral had a bold and lively personality. She quickly broke into her signature goose–honk laugh.
“Nathan, you’re too much! You really know how to flirt!”
Cheryl watched from a distance, feeling a sharp pang of jealousy. Nathan had never joked. around with her like that.
For a while now, Cheryl had been trying to mend her relationship with him. Every few days, she would find an excuse to bring him something–breakfast, fruit, snacks, anything to reach out to him.
Nine times out of ten, Nathan would politely refuse. On the rare occasion he accepted, only take a small bite, as if to appease her.
he’d
Cheryl, proud by nature, felt deeply hurt. Many times, she’d told herself, “This is the last time, No more. Even if the sun rises in the west, I won’t bring him anything again.”
Yet every time she saw Nathan laughing and joking with other girls in class, like how he did. with Coral, it stung. Her resolve crumbled.
After a restless night of turning things over in her mind, Cheryl would inevitably find herself bringing Nathan something the next day, just for an excuse to exchange a few words.
Nathan’s coldness and distance left Cheryl feeling anxious and unsettled. The truth was, was hurting, but so was Nathan.
He knew Cheryl genuinely regretted her actions and was sincere in her attempts to repair things between them. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have humbled herself over and over again.
she
But Nathan wasn’t interested in getting involved with her again. At the same time, he couldn’t be too harsh.
Cheryl’s close friendship with Viola and Jasmine made it difficult for Nathan to push her away completely. So, he let time take care of things.
Once they all left for college, they’d go their separate ways, and Cheryl would eventually move
Chapt
ΟΠ.
In a new environment, with new people, Nathan was sure she would forget about him. Someone with her looks would never have trouble attracting attention wherever she went.
After a quiet weekend, June arrived.
The 2009 college entrance exams were set for June seventh and eighth. Less than a week remained.
And in terms of actual school days, there were only three or four left.
The school had scheduled no classes on the fifth and sixth, giving students those days off to relax and prepare.
At this point, teachers had stopped teaching new material or giving tests. Instead, students were left to review on their own.
Curiously, during these final days, the teachers started sharing little tips and tricks for the college entrance exam that they would never have mentioned earlier in the year.
“If you see three long answer choices and one short one, pick the short one. If there are three short ones and one long one, pick the long one. If the lengths vary, pick B. If the choices are all over the place, pick D.
“For the twelve multiple–choice math questions, the answers–A, B, C, D–are most likely evenly distributed.”
This was the college entrance exam, after all. Every point mattered.
According to data from the Provincial Department of Education, over 510,000 students in Spicariver were taking the exam that year. A fiercely competitive environment.
Every extra point could push a student ahead of thousands of others.
Even Layla, the typically stern teacher, had softened during these last few days. She went from being ruthless to understanding.
She turned a blind eye to many things in class, like pretending not to notice the couples that had formed, even though she knew full well what was going on.
At this crucial moment, stability was more important than anything.
