The library was emptier than usual today. But that didn't matter, because no matter how crowded it was, Crystal would always be able to find a table large enough to fit all of us. As expected of my 'great' tutor. The library should have a reservation system, though. That way, everyone can enjoy the library fairly, even if they come late.
"Crystal, why is this wrong?" Tank raised his hand.
Crystal had just returned to us the marked tests we had done yesterday. For Crystal to be able to mark and grade all five of our tests within the limited time frame was quite a remarkable feat. I would probably get bored halfway and pay Kaori to do it for me instead.
"For Astralis Theory, you must always remember that this is a trick question. Although right now, you can only see six elements, you must not forget the seventh. Astral Cores are designed to hold either one or more of the seven elements, so gaining the seventh element is not entirely impossible. That's just the way the gods structured it. Without the structure for the seventh element here," She pointed to the diagram. "Failure is inevitable, resulting in an explosion."
"I see…" He peered at his paper.
"Then, Crystal, why is this wrong?" Freddie raised his hand next.
Crystal adjusted her glasses and looked at the question on Applied Mathematics & Logic. She only wears her glasses occasionally, but she looks good with and without them.
"I should be asking you this question," She sighed. "Your method is correct; however," She raised her finger and slammed it down on one equation. "Why is 44(2)-12(4) equal to 88-43?? Shouldn't it be 88-48?"
"Eh? Sorry." Freddie rubbed his head in embarrassment.
"Ms Crystal, how about this one?" Pax pointed to a question on Arcane Language & Runes.
Crystal took one look and replied, "The number here is wrong. Do you remember the subject-verb agreement I taught you the day before yesterday? This is 'The box of chocolates is mine', not 'are mine'. Phrases between the subject and the verb do not change the number of the subject."
"Huh? Arcane Language is so hard," Pax groaned.
English was harder back on Earth, sigh.
"How about you? Are you doing fine?" Crystal turned to me.
"Yeah, they were all careless mistakes."
"You improved quite a bit this time," Crystal complimented. "Did you do something?"
"No, it was all thanks to your teaching."
She raised an eyebrow, but didn't push further.
"Hey, Alistair, what did you get?" Annabelle scooted closer to me. From the corner of my eye, I could see that she got an average of 65 in all her mini tests. Not bad, but not good. I can see why she's in Class D. Her struggle academically must be one of her flaws.
"I got an average of 72, you?"
"Great job!" She looked impressed, but then she rubbed the back of her neck and answered, slightly embarrassed, "Um…um…I got an average of 65…ehehe, I need to work harder the next time."
"It's not a bad score."
"Coming from you? Look at your own score before commenting on others, Alistair. Yours isn't that great either," Tank scoffed. What. What did I do to offend him? Why's he taking it so personally? I wasn't directing it at him anyway.
"I meant it as a compliment."
Somehow, Tank looked even more upset. He slammed the table hard and snarled at me.
"Calm down, guys." Annabelle stepped in between the two of us. "Calm down!" A look of worry was written all over her face. But Tank wasn't done with me yet. He's got some serious anger issues here.
"Alistair, apologise to Annabelle right now," He stormed over, fist raised.
"That's quite enough," Crystal's ice-cool voice cut through. As if affected by our dear ice queen's coldness, Tank froze. He slowly turned his head towards Crystal with mild fear. "Tank, you're in the wrong here. Why are you upset at Alistair over such a trivial matter? I believe he truly meant it as a compliment."
"Ugh, this is stupid." Tank retreated to his seat. "Sorry."
"..."
I think we were all confused about Tank's sudden outburst.
"Crystal! I don't understand this question. Can you explain it to me?" Annabelle raised her hand, probably to disperse the awkwardness.
There was something wrong with Tank today. His hands kept fidgeting. Twisting. Tapping. It was as if he were searching for some sort of relief from the internal heat. His jaw tightened slightly. This time it was not from anger, but unease.
He adjusted his sleeve absentmindedly; his eyes were darting nervously, looking at…
…his phone.
I understand now.
I whipped out my phone and texted Crystal.
A: Crystal, I have set my eyes on your first client
Crystal: Who?
A: To your left
Crystal: Him? Why?
A: Just trust me on this
Crystal: Fine, but you're going to owe me a proper explanation after this
A: Right after you explain why I'm named 'A' in your phone. I can see it from here
✔✔read
I was left on read. Again. By dear Ice Queen, Crystal. I won't say that I didn't expect this, but I guess I went too far. It was a joke. Does anyone at all in this world understand my great sense of humour?
"That's all for today," Crystal clapped her hands. "Today, I must say that all of you have improved a lot since the previous mini test I gave you. Keep up the good work, and the three of you will no longer be ranked last in class."
"YESSSS!!!" Three of them—no, just Pax and Freddie cheered. "Hey, why don't we all go to the new cafe to celebrate?"
"Sounds like a good idea!" Annabelle beamed.
"Sorry, I'll have to pass on this one," Crystal apologised.
"Me too."
"Ehh, then it's just the four of us? That's kind of sad," Freddie said, looking disappointed.
"Sorry, Freddie, I have something on," I told him.
"Wait." He looked between Crystal and me with some sudden realisation. "Don't…don't tell me the two of you are having a private date?" His jaw dropped.
"Absolutely not," The two of us snapped at him.
"Sorry, sorry, I was just joking," Freddie laughed it off. His jokes aren't even as good as mine.
"Tank, can I borrow you for a second?" I could hear Crystal ask Tank.
"Yeah, sure," Tank nodded. "You guys can go first. I'll catch up in a bit."
"Sure thing, Tank!" Freddie waved at him. "Let's go, guys!" The three of them then faded into the far distance.
Taking one last glance at Crystal negotiating with Tank, I turned round a corner and vanished from her line of sight.
According to my eyes, there was no one in my 100m radius except for Crystal and Tank. This was a safe spot to adjust my blindfold. It had been so loose all day that I half expected it to just fall off in the middle of the lesson. Reaching up to the back of my head, I felt around for the knot and tugged on the long piece of fabric. With a small pull, the black fabric came off on its own. And with great skill, I put it back on with the speed of lightning.
"Why do you wear a blindfold?" Someone tapped my shoulder lightly.
"Oh, you're Isla Newton." I turned around to see her. She looked up at me with her large, curious, light lapis purple eyes. As usual, her blonde-pink hair was adorned with a giant light blue bow. If she were to wear a dress right now, she would immediately be deemed a princess.
"We've met before, haven't we?" She smiled sweetly. "If I remember correctly, you're Alistair from Class 1-D?"
I should have expected no less from Isla, as one of the school's three goddesses in year 1. In terms of looks, she is one of the most beautiful and cutest girls. And in terms of personality, she is one of the kindest and sweetest people you can find. Because of her soft manner of speaking and approachable personality, she is loved by both the girls and boys of Celestara High.
"Wow, you actually remember. That's amazing."
"You flatter me," She chuckled. "I simply remembered you because of your blindfold…" Her voice trailed off. She seemed to have frozen as she studied my face. "Your voice…" She murmured. "...It sounds like him…no, it can't be…"
"What?"
"Nothing!" Her smile returned, illuminating her face. Isla Newton. The central and key figure of Class 1-B. I can see why she's so popular in class. She has those cute looks and a perfect body that every girl dreams of. Besides, her chest must be at least a D-cup. Overall, she was probably one of the prettiest girls in our cohort.
"You still haven't answered my question." My gaze returned to her face. "Why do you wear a blindfold?"
"Oh, I have an eye condition that restricts me from seeing light. I need to protect my eyes from sunlight, or I might go blind," I lied. "Earlier, why were you talking about my voice?"
"Oh, I see." She looked at me pitifully, then answered, "I was just thinking about how nice your voice sounds. Your voice is lower-pitched, calm, and slightly 'breathy'. It feels really warm and soothing, you know? Sometimes, it even feels safe. And when you say certain words, you sound confident or gentle. No matter what tone you use, it just sounds really appealing. I don't know why."
"Hm?" I took a step back cautiously.
"Oh, don't worry, I'm not hitting you or anything," She laughed. "Did I scare you? Sorry, haha, you look kind of cute when you're confused." She took a step forward.
I took another step back.
"Eeep, why did I say that? Sorry! Poor you, you must've had the shock of your life! You must have thought that a girl from another class was trying to harass you! Sorry!! I really didn't mean it that way." She covered her face in embarrassment.
"No, it's okay. My older sister tells me that all the time, so I'm quite used to it. I just wasn't expecting you to say it too."
"Haha, I have an older sister too! She harasses me all the time. Honestly, older sisters can be such a pain at times," She sighed.
"Me too. Almost every day, she'd invite herself into my room and start getting on my nerves. Is it a thing? For older sisters to harass their younger siblings?" I joked.
"Hahahaha! That's a good one," She giggled. "I honestly have no idea what their deal is. They can be such a pain in the ass, especially when they guilt-trap you."
Gasp, she gets my jokes. See, I have such a great sense of humour.
"I know, right. Every single time, without fail, my older sister would tease me just upon seeing me."
"Same!"
Both of us let out a long sigh of despair.
"Big Sis can be quite something."
"Yeah,"
"Well, it was nice knowing you, Alistair." She smiled. "I hope we'll get along, especially with our classes' alliance with each other."
"Same here."
"Oh no! I forgot to cook my dinner for later! I'd better get going! See you when I do!" She waved.
"Bye…" I returned her wave.
Isla Newton.
You intrigue me.
"Sigh, honestly, how does he always know?" She sighed.
"Looking for me?" I leaned against the wall.
She turned her head to her left in slight shock, but upon seeing me, she regained her composure. "So you are here," She muttered. She probably didn't expect me to be hiding in this corner waiting for her.
"…"
"How did you know? How did you know that he was short on CMP? Tell me, how did you find out?" Crystal bombarded me with questions.
"I simply observed his actions," I answered. "During the whole session, Tank wasn't concentrating at all. Instead, there was a look of dread on his face as he stared at his student ID. Weird, isn't it? What is it in his student ID that is making him feel fear, or even dread, for the first time? There were only two things on our student IDs. One, messages, and two, CMP. The answer is obvious, isn't it?" I asked Crystal instead.
"…"
I don't think she found the answer obvious.
"If someone were to threaten him, that might be the cause of his dread. But we're talking about Tank here. Tank wouldn't be easily scared because of a message threatening him to watch out. This is how I arrived at my answer," I reasoned carefully.
"I don't understand," Crystal replied. "How did you manage to arrive at your answer so quickly? Why did you reason it this way? Why—"
"You don't need to understand. Trust yourself. Trust your heart and mind. Just observe," I cut her off. "If the day comes when I'm no longer here to help you, how will you support your own class?"
"…" She frowned slightly.
"Only by trusting yourself first can you support our class," I said. "You're smarter than I am. Have the confidence that you can figure things out just by observing faster than I can."
"How can I have the confidence to figure out something I don't understand?" She questioned.
"I don't know. I've already told you all I understand from my observation. Take a gamble, risk it all. I don't know. That is up to you to decide."
Observing itself is very simple, but linking one thing to another? That's a different story. You would have to keep guessing. If…then… Something like this. Keep guessing the possible outcome if this were to happen. If I could link something as easy as that together without the need to use my eyes, surely Crystal can do a much better job.
Her eyebrows arched.
"How much did you manage to lend him?" I asked her before she could say anything else.
"What? Oh, 15,000 CMP. He was down to only 200 CMP today, only 50 more before he's expelled, so I kindly lent him 15,000 CMP, just enough to survive the month. But I charged him 31% interest, so I'll earn around 4650 CMP." She reported.
"…"
"What do you think? Not that I'm asking for your opinion or anything."
"You've done a great job, don't you think?" I replied. Tank probably trusts her more than ever right now. The plan is getting executed smoothly. Slowly but surely, more people will trust Crystal.
"Yes,"
~~~~~~~~~~
"Big Sis, what is it this time?" I groaned. Not long after I had set foot in my room, Kaori rang the doorbell, demanding to come in.
"I've come to warn you that the auditions start tomorrow. Don't be late. Also, it won't be very easy, or so I've heard." She smirked. Auditions…I've been practising diligently for a month now. I should be fine.
"Are you trying to make me lose confidence in myself?"
"No, I've simply come to warn my precious little brother that this year's audition might be a little harder than the previous years." She grinned. "Be prepared. It might also be a little different…"
"Shut up," I grumbled. "It's already sad enough that I got assigned the role of a villain in the story, whom the main female protagonist somehow falls in love with. Just who wrote this script? How does someone fall in love with a villain? Is this some dark romance book?"
"Hahaha, I did!" The idiot woman giggled. "Don't you just looooooove dark romance books? Sigh, the villains are always so hot, and the girls? They just can't help but fall in love with him. Haah, the perfect couple…just imagine that! Who wants the perfect 'hero' anyway? He's way too perfect. We should have more…" Big Sis went on and on about how villains should always marry the main female protagonists.
"But why did I get assigned the role of a villain? That attracts too much attention! I would rather do my job as 'The Perfect Side Character'. That would fit me better. Whoever assigned me this role is really—"
"Um, I did that too." The evil woman still dared to raise her hand."
"Why, you!!"
"It fits you the best!" She protested. "You look like a villain!! I mean, your personality looks like a villain! I mean, uh, uh, you would act as a villain really well!!" She tried to reason with her awful choices.
"But why am I still supposed to go and actually meet the hero to kill him? Can't I just laze around like any other demon lord and just send people to kill him?"
"You need more screen time than this if you really want to get into the main cast," She explained. "If every scene is just you sleeping or commanding people to kill the hero from your throne, that just makes you a side character, which defeats the purpose of me writing 'Demon Lord ———> Main Character 3'!!"
"I also have some questions about my costume."
"Go on."
"Why is my hair long, pearl white? I understand why I need to wear horns and a cape with a dark fur collar, but WHY DO I HAVE TO SHOW MY CHEST?!! This is an invasion of my privacy!"
"Oh, that was only a rough design of your costume. It may not necessarily be like that,
Who knows? It's all up to Sarah and Katelyn to decide on that. They're in charge of the designs of the costumes, so it's not in my hands! She let out a soft laugh. "Hehe, you can't blame me for whatever happens to your costume tomorrow! Hahaha!!"
"Oh, them. Did you manage to erase their memories?" I asked.
"Nope, I totally forgot about that, hehe." She rubbed the back of her neck. "It's okay! Because we all have short-term memories!! They should be fine."
"People are getting dementia too early nowadays," I sighed.
"Hey! It's not dementia! It's just selective short-term memory."
"So you do admit that it's selective."
"Ehehe,"
"Ace, do you know why I wrote this?" Her tone suddenly became serious.
"No,"
"Because it tests the flexibility of every character in this play. A protagonist falling for a villain. A villain is more righteous than the hero. The villagers are cheering for the villain. These are things you rarely see in normal plays. It is a unique play on its own, testing its actors' flexibility. Furthermore, all of you actors haven't seen each other before. This tests your adaptability to help one another."
"…"
"Don't worry, I've already met the rest of the actors and told them the same thing." A warm smile softened her features.
"That's good."
"Now that you roughly know what the judges are judging you on, I should get going while I still can control my lips. You have no idea how hard it is to stop myself from telling you everything," She gave that playful smile of hers.
"Good luck! Bye!" She winked.