Chapter 3 : The Academic Awards Ceremony

The next day back at school, the whole class was discussing the AP exam scores and rankings. It had been a joint examination across five schools, which the administration took very seriously. The afternoon self-study period was changed to a grade-wide commendation ceremony held in the arts auditorium.

The moment Chloe heard they had to sit there listening to speeches, she immediately dragged Avella to Starbucks first.

"I''ll die if I don''t have coffee."

Chloe slapped her phone onto the counter, pulling up Apple Pay.

Starbucks was unbelievably crowded, the line winding from the pick-up counter all the way to the door. Avella watched the progress while checking her watch, growing more anxious by the minute.

By the time they finally got their two coffees, they were running late.

At the entrance to the arts auditorium, Lucas, the student council vice president, stood guard with a sign-in sheet. His gold-rimmed glasses sat on the bridge of his nose, the eyes behind the lenses sharp and clear, yet they held a hint of mischief when he smiled.

Avella remembered him. Sebastian''s deskmate.

He glanced up, a faint, teasing smirk passing behind his lenses. "Latecomers get noted."

"Cut it out! We''re right on time!"

Chloe bristled instantly.

Lucas responded unhurriedly, "Rules." Chloe immediately fired back, and within two or three sentences, the two of them were bickering.

Avella couldn''t be bothered to get involved. Holding her coffee, she peeked inside, looking for a gap to slip through unnoticed.

As they were locked in their stalemate, someone approached from the side, footsteps neither hurried nor slow, yet they somehow lowered the temperature of the air at the entrance by half.

Sebastian.

The noise at the doorway suddenly fell silent, as if a mute button had been pressed. Seeing him, Lucas blinked. "What are you doing here?"

"Getting the commendation list."

"Don''t you have a copy?"

"Lost it."

Sebastian answered bluntly, not even lifting his eyelids.

Lucas paused, didn''t press further, and closed his notebook. "Alright, come with me."

Sebastian followed Lucas towards the side stage, his retreating figure clean and sharp.

"Go, go, go!"

Chloe seized the opportunity, grabbing Avella and slipping into the auditorium.

They arrived late. The seats near the aisles were long taken, forcing them to squeeze into a row at the border between two classes and sit side-by-side.

The lights on stage brightened. The principal said a few brief words before moving into the student speech and award segment.

As the top scorer in the joint exam and student representative, the moment Sebastian appeared, a small stir rippled through the audience. Some whispered, others had just put away their phones only to pull them out again.

He stepped up to the microphone. The light fell from above, his collar neatly buttoned, his shoulder lines sharp as if drawn. His features were coolly handsome, with a straight nose, thin lips that seemed aloof even without a smile.

He lowered his head to read his speech, his voice steady. He finished reciting a few lines of advice and concluded.

Applause broke out.

Chloe nudged Avella lightly with her elbow, suppressing a grin. "Gotta say, your brother is seriously handsome."

"Handsome? What''s the point?"

"He''s also top of the class."

Chloe clicked her tongue. "It''s like the heavens are chasing him with a spoon to feed him success."

Avella held her coffee cup, her thumb unconsciously rubbing the side.

The irritation from yesterday''s bathroom incident hadn''t dissipated. She stared at him, the longer she looked, the angrier she felt.

Sebastian glanced up towards the end of his speech, his gaze landing exactly in her direction. The anger in Avella''s chest surged. She glared back at him, completely unsubtle.

The person on stage, however, acted as if nothing had happened. His gaze lingered for half a second, the corner of his mouth hooking into a faint, almost imperceptible curve before instantly smoothing back into neutrality as he finished his concluding sentence.

Applause erupted again.

Clapping, Chloe leaned over. "Why don''t you try getting along better with your brother? Then we''d have an answer key for our homework."

Avella rolled her eyes. "You''ll just have to make do with my error-riddled assignments. Take it or leave it."

"I''ll take it, I''ll take it!"

Chloe immediately changed her tune, grinning obsequiously. "A mosquito''s leg is still meat."

The first round of commendations ended. Someone came down from the side stage. Lucas walked over with his notebook and sat down directly in the row, leaving just one empty seat between him and Avella, looking perfectly at ease.

A sense of foreboding had just begun to rise in Avella when she heard another small stir behind her.

Sebastian also came down from the side stage, walking along the aisle until he reached their row.

He entered from the aisle, squeezing his way along the row as people pulled in their legs and turned sideways to make space. Finally, he stopped before the empty chair between Avella and Lucas and sat down.

Avella: "..."

A few girls nearby gasped softly, their voices hushed.

Sebastian acted as if he hadn''t heard, pulling out a book and opening it to read. The light fell on his profile, its lines clean and cold, as if the commotion around him simply flowed past without touching him.

Avella glanced sideways at his lowered eyes fixed on the book and couldn''t help but let out a soft "tch."

Faker.

Another twenty-some minutes passed before the assembly ended. People filed out class by class, the connected chairs making soft rustling and thumping sounds as they folded and retracted.

Sebastian''s class was near the aisle, so they left quickly, soon emptying a large section. Avella''s class, however, was against the wall. To get out, they had to pass through the aisle on his side. And Sebastian was still sitting there, flipping through his book, showing not the slightest intention of getting up.

"Hey, it''s over."

Avella finally couldn''t take it anymore, reaching out to push his shoulder. "Move."

"Student council has to stay behind for cleanup, inventory, seat checks, and finally hand the auditorium back."

Sebastian didn''t look up, his tone flat.

Avella was speechless.

He remained his usual cold self, legs unmoving, no sign of voluntarily making way.

The space between the seats was narrow to begin with. People behind seemed to be starting to urge her on, so Avella had no choice but to squeeze past him.

She stood up, one hand on the back of the chair in front, her waist leaning slightly forward as she carefully sidestepped out.

Sebastian still kept his eyes down on his book, but the speed of his page-turning slowed.

Avella''s skirt swayed gently with her movement, releasing a wave of faint, sweet fragrance that brushed past his senses. With each step she took, that section of startlingly white thigh flashed in his peripheral vision, dangerously close to his knees, so close he could almost feel the warmth of her skin.

So hot.

Sebastian''s Adam''s apple bobbed almost imperceptibly.

Avella let out a soft humph, straightened her posture, and stepped over his legs. Her skirt swayed again, bringing another wave of her scent and body warmth, gone in a flash.

The words on the page suddenly lost focus, refusing to line up properly.

The next second, the seat on Sebastian''s side snapped back into place with a thump.

He closed his book and stood up, movements unhurried, following her out into the aisle.

Avella only stopped when she reached the aisle entrance, turning back to wait for Chloe. But the first person she bumped into was Sebastian. Her eyelids twitched.

He did that on purpose! Absolutely on purpose!