INTRACTABLE

Ahead of them was a long building divided into ten rooms, each marked with a number. None of the school buildings had more than one floor, and this was the same.

Vivek led the way to the first room, Room 1. Christan stood at the door, his eyes narrowing when he noticed the lock. The door had a broken lock, which meant anyone could enter.

He simply pushed, and the door swung open. He took a breath to prepare his mind for anything he might find. When he glanced around the room, he noticed three bunk beds, meaning six students per room.

Vivek put the suitcase aside, sat on one of the beds, and took a deep breath. "I wish I could take a nap. If only it weren't class hours."

"I can manage from here," Christan told him.

"Hey, you'll never find a nice guy like me here who helps without expecting anything in return. Trying to send me away would be your loss. Do you even know where your class is? What about the school schedules?" He shook his head. "Tsk tsk, you really know how to mess up your luck."

Christan looked at the boy with raised brows. He knew there were people who found it easy to interact with strangers—unlike him, who had taken an entire year just to make a single friend. But he felt uncomfortable with him.

"Stop thinking too much and pick up your bag so we can return to class."

Christan sighed but took his bag as Vivek suggested and started packing the necessities for class. When he finished, they left together.

However, not long after, he found himself standing in front of the school dean. From what Vivek had told him, every new student had to be assigned a desk.

"Without this strange system, they would be at a loss every day." That was the only thing Vivek told him.

Christan was given a wooden desk and chair, both marked with code numbers. If anything happened to them, he would be responsible for the payment, whether it was his fault or not.

He carried the chair while Vivek helped with the desk, and they walked toward the classrooms. All the way, Vivek talked while Christan barely paid attention.

What he did instead was move his eyes around, inspecting the surroundings. He noticed that not all parts of the school fence were made of bricks, and not everywhere was paved.

The path he walked on was a normal dirt path, and part of the fence was made of wire. Beyond that, there were only trees. His brows furrowed as he looked at the bushes. Wouldn't there be dangerous bugs...?

"Chris!"

Vivek's call snapped him back. He glanced at him.

"You weren't listening. Ask. What are you curious about?"

Suddenly, someone tucked behind Christan, grabbed his shoulder, and moved him forward hastily startling him. Failing to keep pace, his chair slipped from his hands and crashed to the ground. He froze, eyes widening as he stared at the chair.

He had only just received it, and now he had to face the consequences. He moved his glare to the one responsible.

Vivek put the table down and rushed to pick up the chair. He inspected it for any damage and, luckily, it was still in one piece. Then he turned to face the person who had dared to do that.

Seeing who it was, Vivek's forehead wrinkled.

"Oh, I mistook you for someone," the boy who had pushed Christan apologized to him. "I'll help you pick it up." He rushed to where Vivek was to retrieve the chair.

But Vivek, who knew the boy well, knew he was lying. The boy had pale skin with red spiky hair. His gray eyes shone almost like watercolor.

"Nathan. What the hell?" Vivek asked through gritted teeth, glaring at him.

"What do you mean?"

"You could have hurt him!" Vivek scolded.

"Shit! Didn't I already apologize? You always have a problem with me! Besides, don't you realize where we are? Two steps, and we'll be at the office. Are you trying to grab the teachers' attention or something?"

He reached for the chair, but Vivek got to it first, throwing him a dark look. "I have a problem with you? I know you did that because of me. Now that I think about it, did you, bastard, follow me?"

Nathan frowned and scoffed. "Who do you think you are? Don't I have better things to do? You wish I followed you? Use your brain to improve your pathetic grades instead of daydreaming!"

Vivek watched him in disbelief. He wanted to say something but failed. How could someone be that shameless? He was the one who was supposed to say those words. Talking to him drove him nuts, so he picked up the chair and walked to Christan.

"Don't mind him. No wonder they call him crazy," Vivek told Christan.

Hearing Vivek's remark, Nathan retorted, "Looking for a fight?"

Then, a hand yanked Nathan by the collar, lifting him off the ground and pulling him back. Annoyed, Nathan turned to face the person who had humiliated him.

When he saw the man with blonde hair and side-swept bangs, his brows knitted. "What now? I haven't done anything."

The man wasn't wearing a uniform like them, which made it obvious—he was probably a teacher. He turned to Christan and Vivek. "What are you waiting for? Not going to class?"

Vivek picked up the desk while Christan grabbed the chair, and they headed toward the classroom. As they walked, Christan turned to glance at the two behind them.

He felt like they resembled each other, especially their eyes. Then, unexpectedly, the man also turned, leading their gazes to meet. Christan's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately turned forward.

At that moment, Nathan was frustrated as he watched them. "You can make friends with anyone but not me? Let's see if you will..."

Smack! The man slapped Nathan's head.

"Aah!" Nathan looked at him with fury. "Brother!"

"Sir Greer. Got it?"

"Chris, are you okay?" Vivek asked Christan as they walked.

Christan nodded, trying to ignore the name Vivek used. Only those closest to him used to call him that.

When he reached outside the classroom, he took a deep breath. Just imagining facing strangers made his heartbeat increase. Vivek noticed and smiled a little.

"It's a pity we don't share a classroom," Vivek said, shaking his head.

Christan looked at him, a little taken aback.

He smiled. "I'm in Class A. You're in Class C." Saying that, he stepped inside.

The moment Christan stepped into the classroom, the first thing that hit him was a thick stench of sweat. The shouts and laughter had been loud from outside, but he hadn't expected the chaos inside to be this overwhelming.

As he moved further in, something sped toward him. His eyes widened as he saw a ball flying straight at his face. Instinctively, he sidestepped, and the ball barely missed him.

It continued forward but suddenly stopped, caught effortlessly by someone's hand—like glue.

The one who had thrown the ball and his friend, who had witnessed it, froze for a moment. They had been playing catch when one lost control of the ball, nearly hitting someone. But instead of an accident, they ended up witnessing a spectacular move—especially from the one who caught it.

Vivek was among those who had seen what happened and found himself staring at Chris in fascination.

Christan moved his eyes toward the door. There stood a guy with striking silver hair and ocean-blue eyes. Christan had never believed a man could recognize the beauty of another man, but looking at this guy, only one word stuck in his mind. Unusual.

The boy ignored the situation in front of him, tossed the ball and made a way to his seat. When Christan wanted to do the same, a shout came from somewhere in the class.

"Didn't they teach you how to introduce yourself?"

He looked at the boy who had shouted at him.

The boy was casually leaning back against the wall as he sat on the table, his bulky body beyond his age. A lollipop was in his mouth, and one hand was tucking a student under his armpit.

Christan glanced at Vivek, but all he did was gesture toward where he had placed the desk before using the other door to leave.

"Did you just ignore me?"

Christan's eyes became sharp as he turned to the boy, then softened when he realized who was talking to him. He didn't want any trouble, especially on his first day.

The boy narrowed his eyes. How dare that wimp look at him like that?

However, at that moment, another figure stepped inside. A middle-aged man with a bald head and a moustache entered the classroom.

Seeing the teacher, Christan moved to take a seat. He went to the back, where Vivek had placed his desk, only to realize his seatmate was the silver-haired boy.