"Shut Up?"

Juana approached Matt and said, "Matt, you can pass it and get the bonus, please don't mind me." She thought that she could earn his favor by letting him get the bonus points.

Matt smiled at her, and then took the paper to the teacher. When he returned to his seat, he told Sydney, "There, I passed yours."

"What…?" Juana widened her eyes in surprise. So, it was Sydney's paper and not Matt's? "Sydney McKee!"

Everyone looked at the furious Juana, wondering what might be wrong.

"Why? What is it?" Sydney raised her eyebrow.

"Why are you asking the VIP to pass your paper? Aren't you too full of yourself?"

"And why are you shouting in class, Miss President?"

"It's because you-"

"Hey, Sydney's foot is aching, that's why I passed it. Aren't you overreacting?" Matt said in a cold tone. "It's because she accidentally wore her old school shoes which are a size smaller."

"But Matt, I…"

"Miss Hatcheller, can you please sit down? Or maybe you'd like to be the Math teacher?" the Math teacher said angrily.

"Sorry, sir…" With a frown, Juana returned to her seat. She gritted her teeth in anger as she stared at Matt and Sydney.

What did Sydney do to Matt that she got him obsessed with her? She wanted to be the one that Matt cared for, and the one seated next to him. She wanted to be closer to him than anyone else.

When lunch break came, Matt came with Olivet to buy food in the cafeteria, and they planned on eating in the classroom with Sydney.

Meanwhile, Sydney, with her aching foot, decided to just wait for the two. Greta and her underlings approached her.

"It isn't too late, Sydney. You can still join us," she said as she twirled her blonde hair.

"Why should I join your cult, if the one you worship is worshipping me?" Sydney laughed at her own joke, making the group of girls roll their eyes in irritation because of her usual attitude.

An annoyed Juana came rushing towards them in rage when she overheard the conversation. "Sydney McKee! You and your words! If you can't say anything good, then shut up!"

"Why are you always mad at me? You weren't like this to me before Matt came. Are you jealous?"

It was like something in Juana was ignited that made her angrier than ever, and in a very loud voice, she told Sydney, "I hope you lose your voice, so you can shut up for good!"

Sydney was stoned in shock. Surely, Juana was annoyed at her, but she didn't know that their class President could say those things to her.

She got teary-eyed. Thinking about her current illness, and thinking about the possibility that she really might lose her voice, sent her mood falling down.

Seeing how it affected Sydney, Greta uttered, "Juana, you crossed the line," She disliked Sydney for Matt, but being her long-time classmate and having a dog-cat relationship with her were factors why she stood up for her. She wasn't used to seeing Sydney with a devastated expression. "I know you like Matt very much, but what you said is really terrible. I don't think Matt will ever be close to you if he heard about it."

"I heard it," Matt said, approaching them.

The moment when Sydney saw Matt, her tears shed like waterfalls. It was because she felt at ease that someone who knew about her illness was there.

Matt gave her his handkerchief, while Olivet patted her best friend's shoulder.

"She kept on saying annoying things, so I snapped," Juana explained, in fear that Matt would hate her.

"What annoying things did she say?"

The class president said, "She said… That she didn't want to join us because we were worshipping you… but you worship her…"

"I don't think there's anything wrong with that," Matt chuckled, "I do worship her. Because I like her. A lot."

Everyone who heard this revelation was surprised that the VIP had admitted it. It was obvious that he liked her very much, but they didn't expect him to say it out loud.

Juana clenched her fists in anger as she glared at the crying Sydney. With no more excuse to say, she walked out of the classroom.

"Thank you, Greta," Sydney uttered as she wiped her tears. "Uhh… I think I'll behave for a while after I heard her curse me."

"I was just inviting you to be friends with us anyway. But I didn't expect it to escalate to that extent," Greta said, "Anyway if you don't want to join us now, I can always ask you next time."

"You're a persistent one, aren't you? Just like this guy here," she pointed at Matt, who was standing beside her.

"Isn't that one of my best qualities?" he laughed, and finally, the mood in the classroom lightened.

…

Two weeks had passed, and the preparation for the inter-school concert had been intense. Lenoir and Sydney had been spending time together in the Music Room after their classes to practice and comment on each other's performances. Due to frequent family gatherings, Olivet had to go home as soon as possible, while Matt couldn't stay too late outside those days so he needed to go, too..

"I think you have to be softer in the verse part, Sydney," Lenoir suggested as he leaned in closer to her. They were reading the lyrics on a piece of paper, "For the lyrics saying 'I think you're meant for me', you should try putting yourself in the person's shoes. Have you ever yearned for someone?"

"Uhm… No," Sydney replied, and she looked exhausted already since she had been repeating the verse part, "How about you… Have you ever met someone you wanted to say those words to?"

"Yes."

"Really? Who-"

Lenoir suddenly held her hands and looked straight into her eyes. With a serious tone, he told her,

"You. I think you're meant for me, Sydney."