Chapter 26

"People were looking at me for a reason."

"I'd find myself attractive if I were a girl."

Edward nodded, feeling pretty good about himself, when suddenly, a guy walked in and sat down in front of him, snapping him out of his self-absorbed thoughts to ask a question.

"Hey, is that an iPhone 4?"

"Yeah, it is. What's up?"

"Wow, I'm surprised. How did you get it? Wasn't it supposed to be released in the Philippines in September?"

"..."

Edward was taken aback by what he heard, and suddenly it all became clear.

It turns out that those girls weren't looking at him because of his appearance; they were actually interested in his smartphone.

"Hey, are you listening?"

"Oh, yeah, got it. I got it from a friend in the U.S." Edward replied quietly, feeling embarrassed about his earlier self-centered thoughts.

"Seriously? Could you help me get one too? I've been eager to get my hands on it."

"Sorry, I'm not sure... she's usually very busy," Edward reasoned... Not entirely true, but not a lie either.

At the time, he casually asked Katherine if she still had some connection in the US and if she could get him an iPhone 4.

However to his surprise, not only did she know someone, but she even covered the cost for him, telling him that it was a gift for the increase in sales caused by his advertisements.

Thinking that if he were to ask her to purchase him another smartphone for his classmate, Edward was afraid that she might cover the cost for him again. So, as a result, he decided not to keep the truth to himself.

"That's a shame. By the way, I'm James."

"I'm Edward."

At 9:00 a.m.

The classroom was abuzz with students, their quiet conversations and occasional laughter creating a lively atmosphere.

A few moments later, a tall female teacher entered, dressed in a white shirt, a knee-length black skirt, and black stockings.

"Hello, I'm Alicia Sanchez, and I'll be your homeroom teacher for the entire school year."

She extended warm greetings to the students and introduced herself.

"I understand that some of you might not be familiar with each other, so I'd like each of you to introduce yourselves, starting from the front. Please write your name on the blackboard and tell us a bit about yourself," the teacher said, exuding a warm and approachable demeanor.

"Of course, Ms. Alicia."

The first student to stand up and write his name was the quintessential jock of the class.

Following his example, the rest of the students took their turns, inscribing their names on the board and providing introductions.

The introductions proceeded smoothly, without any hiccups or complications.

Each student presented themselves in a friendly and approachable manner, recognizing that they were all new acquaintances and wanting to make a positive first impression among their peers.

"Now that you've all introduced yourselves, let's discuss some class rules. Firstly, I won't be assigning lengthy reports. They tend to consume too much of our precious class time..."

The teacher talked extensively, explaining class rules, what students couldn't do, and what they should be ready for in their studies.

At 9:50, she departed to attend her next class.

A while later, at 10:03, another professor entered the classroom.

This well-dressed man, with his impeccable suit, neatly combed hair, and commanding presence, began, "Good morning, students. I'm William, and I'll be your Finance teacher..."

As with the previous teacher, he initiated the class with introductions, discussing rules and regulations, and providing an orientation for the first semester.

Around 10:58, the class concluded, and the cycle repeated with another class until lunchtime at 12:01 p.m.–1:00 p.m.

Edward, preferring to avoid the bustling cafeteria, had prepared his lunch from an outside in advance.

Following the lunch break, another class began, following the same routine of introductions, rule explanations, and discussions about forthcoming lectures.

Around 2:00 in the afternoon, the last class of the day finally concluded.

Following suit with his fellow students, Edward began to gather his belongings and get ready to head home. However, as he was packing up, he caught sight of a girl not far away and had a sudden thought.

She was quite short at about 152 cm, wore glasses, a long skirt, and had short hair.

She had a large language bag and, as if that wasn't sufficient, she clutched a stack of books in her right arm.

Observing her, Edward couldn't help but find it amusing and had a spontaneous idea.

He moved over to her side and greeted her, "Hey, Patricia, is it?"

"Ah... Hi."

"Need a hand?"

"No, it's alright, thanks."

Patricia replied in a shy manner.

Despite the weight of her bag and books, she was accustomed to carrying them and preferred not to have others handle her belongings.

"Must be exhausting carrying all that. Why not consider using the locker room on the first floor?"

"I'd rather not. I'm worried about my things getting stolen."

"Stolen?"

"Yeah, it happened a lot back in my high school days, so I've never trusted lockers since then."

"..."

"..."

"Are you a nerd?"

"..."

"Ah, sorry, sorry, I didn't mean it."

"I- It's fine."

"So, what I'm getting at is, are you good in school? How were your grades?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"Just curious."

"..."

"So?"

"... Well, I used to be a Valedictorian in elementary school, but my grades took a hit in high school due to some family issues."

"No way?" Edward was dumbfounded upon hearing her response and felt unreal.

Even though it's only primary school, how many times did he get medals himself?

As far as he remembers, he had only received three, and the highest was top 4 when he was in the 5th grade in primary school at that time.

To think that the girl in front of him was a valedictorian...

"It's true, I'm not lying," Patricia insisted.

"Okay, I believe you; you don't have any reason to lie to me anyway."

"And I don't have a reason to prove anything to you."

"... Anyway, what about high school? Are you not valedictorian?"

"No..."

"Oh, that's fine. Life is sometimes just like that; you don't have to be sad-"

"I'm only salutatorian."

"..."

In the third-person perspective:

"Salutatorian is second only to valedictorian."

Looking at her sad expression, Edward didn't know how to react, and for a moment, he felt like hitting someone.

At the same time, he couldn't help but doubt life.

"Sometimes the gap between humans is like the gap between humans and pigs."

Edward had encountered this quote before and had long accepted it as a harsh reality.

Nevertheless, seeing a real-life instance right before his eyes still made him depressed