Let the games begin

Hao Sheng checked his phone and discovered that there were about 5 minutes of the lunch break left.

He stood up abruptly, packing his bag as he did so.

"Guys, there's about 5 minutes left! We're going to be late if we stay here any longer", he exclaimed.

Luxia swore as she stood up and hurriedly packed her things.

Malakai, on the other hand, wasn't in much of a hurry. He stood up casually, balling the plastic the sandwich was in, in one hand as he threw it into the nearest trashcan.

"I'm confused. Why are we rushing back if we have only 5 minutes? ", he asked as he waited for them.

Luxia and Hao Sheng exchanged a look before laughing a bit. They grabbed their bags and joined him as they trekked back to the main building.

"It's nothing serious. It's just a stupid thing we have going on about not being late to any class", Luxia explained.

"We want to experiment if being early for class can successfully get you in your teacher's good graces to the point of becoming the teacher's pet", Hao Sheng added.

Malakai smiled. "So does it really help?", he asked curiously. God knew he needed to get into some of his teachers' good graces. For some reason, most of them either didn't like him or wanted to get into his pants. That excluded Mr Taylor, of course.

Mr Taylor was... a good guy. At least in his books, he was.

Luxia shrugged. "Well, we don't really know. We've only been up to this for a little less than a week, so we can't really say anything for now".

They got to the main school building and stopped by one of the school stairs.

"Well, I guess this is where we split up", said Malakai.

Luxia smiles. "Yeah, it is. You should have lunch with us tomorrow as well. I had fun with you today", she said with a wink.

Malakai smiled back, "Sure. I enjoyed myself, so I don't see why not".

They shared a smile for a moment before Luxia said goodbye and went to her own class.

Hao Shengs smiled fondly at their interaction. They seemed to get along well enough, and given some time, they could become good friends.

Too bad he had plans to momentarily ruin that friendship.

Malakai turned to Hao Sheng.

Hao Sheng gave him a warm smile.

"She can be too much at times, but she's not so bad once you get to know her", he said.

Malakai hummed and nodded.

He put his hands in his pockets and said, "Yeah, she seems to be pretty cool."

"What's your next class?", Hao Sheng asked, nodding his head in the direction of the stairs. "I'll walk you".

Malakai smiled mischievously. "Don't you have some goal of not being late for class?", he teased.

Hao Sgeng smiled sweetly. "I wouldn't mind being a bit late for this. Besides, I still have some time, so I don't mind".

Malakai looked away shyly, nodding his head. "Sure, I'll lead the way".

They made their way up the stairs to the 3rd floor. On their way to the class, Hai Sheng playfully bumped his shoulder into Malakai's.

"So...", he started, "Were you serious about joining us tomorrow as well?", he asked.

Malakai turned to him, tilting his head, with a playful smile. "Why? Don't you want me there?"

Although he asked this casually, he held his breath as he waited for Hao Sheng to answer. For some reason, the answer was really important to him.

Hao Sheng didn't make him wait long. He casually slung his arm over his shoulder and gave him a squeeze.

"Of course I want you there. I was just confirming that you were coming", he said, removing his arm. For a few seconds, Malakai felt cold, but brushed the feeling off.

"And what would you do if I didn't want to come?", he asked, a small smile pulling at the corners of his lips.

Hao Sheng smiled cheekily. "Well then, I'd just work hard to convince you", he said, sending Malakai a wink.

Malakai flushed slightly and rolled his eyes. "Yeah whatever".

"So are you?", Hao Sheng asked.

Malakai's mouth quirked up. "Yes I am. I enjoyed myself, so I don't mind" he said, trying to play it cool.

Hao Sheng smiled brightly. "Great!"

They got into Malakai's class. Hao Sheng took out his phone and checked the time, swearing under his breath.

He looked back up at Malakai with a smile.

"It's been fun. We'll talk later", he said, smiling wryly.

Malakai nodded in understanding. Hao Sheng waved goodbye before running to his next class.

Malakai followed him until he was out of sight before entering the classroom and taking his seat.

***

The day went by quickly, and soon Hao Sheng found himself back home. He immediately made a light snack before sitting down to finish all his homework.

One of the downsides of this whole transmigration thing had to be the amount of schoolwork he had to do.

In his past life, he was finished with school and had left the days of slaving over his books behind him. Or so he thought, at least...

Wasn't transmigration supposed to be all about fun and games?! So why is he stuck here, doing homework?

Hao Sheng sighed and happily closed his book. That was the last one. He looked out the window as he stretched in his chair. It was getting dark outside already, but he could still see some people out and about. Most of them looked like schoolchildren coming back from whatever extra curriculars they had.

He was glad he was exempt from having to pick an extra curricular, since this was his senior year. If not, he might have been only coming home at this time, and then he would have had the extra work of having to start on his homework. Then he would still have to do some work around the house, like cleaning and cooking...

That just sounds horrible! He ruefully thought back to his past life. He was really spoiled back then.

When he was with his then-boyfriend, they had a personal maid and cook. He didn't have to lift a finger to do much, and he had most things at his fingertips. He was really starting to miss those days. The easy and convenient days...

He got up with a groan and made his way out of the study to the kitchen. He made a light and easy dinner and sat on the sofa, turning on the TV.

As he was sitting at home, flipping through channels, he heard his phone chime. It was Luxia.

Luxia: hey, u busy?

Hao Sheng: no, not really. What's up?

Luxia: I was wondering if you wanted to come get ready at my house before the party?

Hao Sheng thought about this for a minute before smiling. It looks like he'll have to adjust his plans slightly, but this still worked in his favour.

Hao Sheng: Sure! But won't your parents mind?

Luxia: Trust me, they'll be glad of anything. I'll see you Saturday, I guess.

Hao Sheng turned off his phone with a smile and focused on the TV, his previous mood forgotten.

He was excited about what was to come on Saturday. If he played his cards right, that would be the day that set things in motion for the future.

He sat up and hummed happily, eating his food.

This is going to be fun!