-15-

"If I win, you must buy me those make-up products I told you about earlier, Regar!" Sasa said while waving her fragrant hair.

That was Sasa's image in Dinda's eyes. Always pretty, always fragrant. Her lips never looked dry, and her face barely sweated. She was challenging Regar to a sprint race, it was a serious challenge by Dinda's standard. Turned out that a feminine girl like Sasa loved sports too.

"What about you, Giselle?" Benny asked Giselle.

"I want a purse, I'll send the picture to you later." Giselle replied.

Actually she looked inclined as if she didn't want to be covered in sweat. Meanwhile, Dinda was looking for Selly because Benny said that each student had to run together with a partner. Either designated by the class leader or find one's own partner.

"I will take Dinda as my partner." Everyone was surprised. Dinda, Sasa, Giselle, Regar, and Benny looked at the source of that voice; no other than Nathan. He was walking casually with his hands in his pockets toward Dinda.

That pair of Nathan's white running shoes halted its pace right in front of Dinda's grey sneakers. With his sharp eyes, Nathan gazed deeply at Dinda's.

"Now, I challenged you…" Nathan said with a sly grin on his face. "I will run three laps around this track if I lose to you. But if I win, I want your lips."

Nathan said that in a clear and concise manner. Of course, his challenge took Dinda by surprise. As she was about to leave, Nathan held her hands.

"You cannot decline the challenge, Dinda. You are the only student without a partner here. Therefore, you must accept my challenge."

Dinda didn't say anything regarding his challenge. She just stood still while folding her arms to her chest. She was upset, but she didn't want anyone to know about it.

Sadly, she was the worst runner back in her previous school. She had always been the last student to finish the course. How could she win against Nathan?

"Wait a minute, Nathan wasn't feeling well, right?" Dinda said to herself as she remembered earlier that he was currently under the weather.

Dinda saw that the other couple had started running, Sasa with Benny and Regar with Giselle. The winner of the first pair was Sasa. She jumped joyfully and hugged Benny because she had won the make-up products that she wanted. Meanwhile, the second pair ended with a dispute because Giselle thought that Regar was cheating.

"Now, it's our turn." Nathan said while walking to the start line.

Dinda followed Nathan who had already assumed the starting position. She should be able to beat Nathan…No, she must be able to beat him.

All the students gather around them because that blabber Benny already spread the word that if Dinda lost to Nathan, she would give him a kiss. As Benny blew the whistle as hard as he could, the pair started running as fast as possible.

At first, Dinda was feeling confident because Nathan was still fixing his shoelace at the start line, giving her the upper hand. But on the second lap, She was surprised because Nathan almost caught up with her; she already used most of her strength to pick up her speed in the first lap. She wasn't even running anymore, she was staggering. In the third lap, Nathan eventually caught up with Dinda who seemed to approach her limit.

"Oh my, I'm about to win a kiss from you." Nathan taunted Dinda. He ran to the best of his abilities toward the finish line. Over a minute later, Dinda managed to reach the finish line.

Dinda leaned on her knees but the boy in white running shoes forced her to stand up. Now the students circled around them even closer. This was the moment that they were waiting for.

With a confident smile, Nathan looked at Dinda who he had beat by a long shot.

"I will take my prize." Nathan said while closing in on her lips.

But a moment before their lips met, she slapped his face with all the strength she had left.

"I am not willing to kiss you! I don't want to be defiled by those blighted lips of yours who have kissed a shit ton of dirty whores!" She shouted angrily.

Their classmates gasped, everyone was silenced. Dinda walked briskly away from Nathan. Meanwhile, Giselle glared at her with a seething anger in her heart. That girl must pay for what he did to him.

Dinda took a seat at the far end of the field. Selly approached her despite being afraid of her because she looked so angry.

"Umm…Dinda, I think you really went overboard back there. Are you planning to apologize to him later?" Selly asked.

Dinda turned her face toward Selly in a sudden manner, "Me? Apologize to him? Can't you see that he was about to stain my dignity in front of all the students?"

"And you did exactly the same." Selly replied. Dinda was silenced.

Dinda then stared at Nathan who was already in a basketball game against Rendra. They seemed to be fiercely going against each other.

Suddenly, Nathan fell down as he tried to take over the ball from Rendra. But as Rendra reached out his hand to help his opponent, Nathan harshly slapped away Rendra's helping hand and shoved him away until he fell down.

"The fuck is your problem!?" Rendra shouted. Although they were from a different class, Rendra's class was in a free session because the teacher was absent.

Nathan ignored Rendra then he jumped to throw the ball into the ring. Nathan glared at Rendra for a moment then walked away.

"I think they were in a dispute," Selly remarked. Dinda looked at Selly with a confused gaze. "The three pillars of Airlangga High School are the best of friends. They have a very strong unanimity in their own way. Although Rendra and Nathan are often caught in a dispute, I have never seen him treat his comrade in such a harsh manner. Because many students said that Nathan is not a rough type of guy despite being the mastermind behind all the skirmish between Airlangga High School against other schools. He was behind every victory claimed by this school. So I think they are indeed trapped in a difficult contention."

Dinda did not say anything because she didn't know that Nathan and Rendra turned out to be a couple of good friends despite being rarely seen together. Besides, she knew that she had ruined his mood with her severe rejection back then.

The bell rang, another session was about to start. The two girls stood up and walked toward their class. As they walked side by side, Selly took a good look at Dinda's figure. Dinda was gifted with a pretty tall figure, a couple of inches taller than Selly. If Dinda wanted to, she could be a top model in Indonesia not only for her stature but also for her mesmerizing face.