Chapter 3 - The Nerd and the Rebel

"I see." The giggling girl, the brunette's classmate grinned at her friend's harsh denial. She did not speak another word, instead, she gave a last, fleeting glance at the receding back of Alex, before turning forward and leaned down on her desk once more.

Looking at her friend, the brunette sighed and shook her head disapprovingly.

"Zoe! If you sit like that, you will turn into a hunchbacked, angry old lady! Straighten your pose for god's sake!" She berated.

The girl, Zoe, merely smiled at her friend, slumping her shoulders even more as a retort, whilst shifting her dull gaze at Ms. Fulton who silently waited until Alex walked to the very last row of desks and took his seat. Though she was surprised as she saw the complex, haze-covered fog in the teacher's eyes, Zoe didn't show any visible reaction to it.

Her head resting on her arms, she turned it sideways, throwing out another teasing remark, whilst the silence still ruled over the classroom.

"Still… You gotta admit it, Sid, it's quite a shock to witness such a scene."

Her vague statement managed to pluck at her friend's mind, much to her dismay. Looking up from the lecture book he was already reading, she sighed.

"Sigh… What do you mean? What scene you are talking about? That b*stard?!"

That remark earned another giggle from the teasing girl. She pushed herself up from her usual resting position, and sat up, leaned against the back of her chair, and explained.

"Well… Just look around, Sid. Notice the eerie silence?" She said. "Everyone, ever since Alex stepped in, has turned silent. All the other girls are in a daze, they are looking at the new boy with such intensity, that I am actually afraid that they would bore a hole through him!"

She chuckled, continuing further a moment later.

"Still, I can't say I envy the boy now. He will definitely have to face some challenges pretty soon…"

"What do you mean by that?" The brunette girl, Sidney asked with an oblivious, naive look. Her raven black, slightly slanted, almond-shaped eyes that hid behind her rectangle-shaped glasses resembled that of an innocent little kitten. She creased her thin, plucked, and slightly arched eyebrows higher as her curiosity was piqued.

"What else, Sid!" Zoe giggled allowing her dyed tousled, midnight blue shiny hair to flutter in the air.

Zoe or Zoe Martinez was an 18-year-old girl, looking like your typical rebel, the type with the thick black, gothic make-up, dark eyeliner, and shadows. She was a slender, slim girl, roughly the same height as her homeroom teacher, Ms. Fulton. Still, despite her age leading against her best friend Sidney Rivera, her childlike, petite body would tell a different tale. Regardless, it was a far cry to say she wouldn't have her own unique allure.

Zoe had a long, tousled unruly set of usually unique-colored dyed head of hair, though she preferred either the dark shade of navy blue, or some straight-up black, or onyx to match the color of her hooded eyes. She had a thin, straight pair of plucked, well-groomed eyebrows, just like her friend, a pointed chin with a wider forehead.

Her heart-shaped head was mostly dominated by either her bored look or her trademark, teasing wolfish grin. The small dainty nose and the thin, glossy lips were just icing on the cake that was Zoe's unique beauty.

Her pale, white skin was almost glowing under the bright neon lights in the classroom, which gave a bright contrast to her usually dark style of clothing, which is a vague way did resemble that of the new transfer student's, though she also colored her nails in the same gothic style.

The girl next to her was her best friend as well as the class president of their junior and all the previous years. She was Sidney Rivera, the class' nerd, and generally not-too-popular studious bookworm.

She wore rimmed glasses that hid her gorgeous exotic eyes and thin, slightly arched eyebrows. Her straight set of brunette shoulder-length hair was neatly combed and pulled into a ponytail hanging behind her head.

Judging by her stature, she seemed slightly shorter compared to either Ms. Fulton or Zoe as well, roughly making her around 5'15" (AN: 156 cm) tall.

Due to the thick, ugly sweater, most of her figure remained hidden, even though the generous thickness she protrudes, adding to the slender, feminine-shaped neckline suggests a generous, gifted figure.

Giving a theatrical wave across the room with her right arm, Zoe smirked knowingly at her friend.

"Look at the gazes the kid is receiving! Although all these b*tches are in a trance… the boys are borderline murdering him! I would be baffled if the boys wouldn't gang up on him to put him in his place! I would love to see it! Too bad we don't have PE until the middle of the week!" She giggled at the thought.

"Hmpf! Who cares about that gangster!" Sidney harrumphed again, clearly not too concerned about the boy, already showing great prejudice against him. "Why do you care about him anyway? Focus on what matters instead Zoe!"

She said, picking up the book that was still safely sitting in her school bag and put it in front of her. Opening it on the first page, she pointed at it.

"This Zoe! If you don't start taking your studies seriously, your future will be bleak! It isn't just about getting into a university, but you will have issues graduating even!" Sidney lectured with a stern look on her face.

"Eh… Boooring!" Zoe booed at her little nerdy friend, pushing her back to her seat, whilst returning to her previous, bored, sleeping posture and buried her face in her folded arms over the desk. The book only served as a sort of uncomfortable but passable pillow for her.

…

Though the transfer student caused quite the scene with his arrival after Alex found his seat and silently sat down and grabbed the book and an empty notebook, the first lecture of the year could finally start.

Though the class was finally underway, most of the girls were stealing fleeting, dreamy glances every now and then at the silent loner at the back, as he tried his best to follow along.

Even Ms. Fulton couldn't help herself and be paying increased attention to him. Masking her inquiries in various attempts at making sure he could follow along despite the vastly different culture he came from, she was quite surprised when she noticed that he was studiously following along, making ample notes.

When she finally couldn't take it anymore and walked up to him at a point where the class was supposedly busy with the assignment they were given, she was stunned at what she saw…