บท 11: Heart Clover

"I'm sorry, he's normally not like this." Yuenelia apologized on behalf of Zordyz.

"It's okay. Part of it was my fault. I'm not good at conversing with someone I just met. I must have offended him in some ways." Aexiq laughed, scratching his nose. "You're Yuenelia, correct?" he added.

"Yes, and the number three just now was Zordyz. We're from class 1-A. Welcome to Hertbane High, Aexiq." Yuenelia replied.

Her smile and gentle eyes caught him off guard. He was not able to get a good look at her since Zordyz stood in front of her a while ago.

'A little angel. Cute.' Aexiq thought in a daze.

"Aexiq? We better start walking now or we'll be late for the class." Yuenelia waved her hand in front of his face.

"Ah, sorry, let's go."

They chatted along the way to the classroom. Aexiq was not as tall as Zordyz and the way he talked was very polite. He also has a pleasant smile.

When they reached the classroom, Zordyz was already there. He sat in his favourite seat; last row next to the window.

He was dozing off, conserving energy for the day.

'Zor still looks very tired.' Yuenelia thought, looking from afar.

She was not able to join him at the back seat due to her short stature. As their height grew apart, so did their interactions in school.

"Yuenelia, here!"

Her classmates, Reyna and Triniekit waved at her. She sat down beside them in the front row while Aexiq went and found a place to sit in the middle row.

"We knew you'll score full marks on the test but Zordyz though, how did he get such high marks? He's always lazing around during class. Even now, he's doing that." Reyna said, looking at a sleepy Zordyz.

"He studied for the test. It's no surprise." Yuenelia chuckled.

"Study? A guy like him? I thought he cheated his way in." Reyna didn't believe it.

"He's not a delinquent. He won't do that. It's also a medical test, there's hardly a way to cheat your way through the practical section of the test. The examiners were stringent." Yuenelia objected, slightly mad at the accusation.

"But he-"

"You'll have to pardon Reyna for that, Yuenelia. She only joined our school in the last few months of junior high. By that time, there was no more sports activity. She doesn't know Zordyz well. What with him being such a quiet person, to begin with." Triniekit covered Reyna's mouth.

"I only said it as a joke. Call me new, but I did know how popular he is in school. The girls were always talking about him. Some even have his photos in their notebooks." Reyna tore Triniekit's hands off her mouth.

"You can't judge people by their looks, Reyna. He's not only famous for his appearance, but he also has results to back it up too." Triniekit gave her a good smack on her back.

"He just wanted to be left alone though."

"No chance for that. When he used to only have the brawn, he's already charming his fangirls silly. But now that he has the brains too? Nobody would leave him alone!" Triniekit grinned.

People had been whispering amongst themselves when they saw Zordyz's placing in the test.

Zordyz opened his eyes slightly. All the whispering were getting on his nerves.

"Tsk, noisy bunch of annoyance. This is why I don't want to do my test seriously." Zordyz cursed under his breaths. He started to doubt his decision for taking the course. He knew people would look at him all weird.

He was not the type who likes to pick fights with others. He would rather ignore them than lash out at them.

"If you have something to talk about him, why don't you just say it out loud?" Aexiq's remark silenced the whole classroom.

He turned towards Zordyz and smiled. Zordyz nodded as a sign of gratitude and looked away.

The teacher came in afterwards, her heels clicking as she entered the classroom.

"Good afternoon students, welcome to your first class. Congratulations on being qualified for it. I'll be your teacher on this course, you can call me Ms Kaitlynn. I worked in the Hertbane Medical Research Facility." The teacher briefly introduced herself.

Ms Kaitlynn was a tall woman with shoulder-length brunette hair which curls at the bottom. Her black-rimmed glasses perfectly framed her amber colour eyes. She wore a black dress underneath her lab coat, exuding an aura of a sophisticated lady.

"Before we start our class, I need you to take out your hat." Ms Kaitlynn ordered.

When everyone had their hat on, she chanted a spell.

"Kire-chi~"

With a snap of her fingers, a small pendant appeared, clipped and hanging on the side of everyone's hat.

"This is our Magic Cure course student's pendant. As you all know, Hertbane High's emblem is a heart wrapped in some kind of vine which isn't a particularly good sign from a medical point of view. We try to avoid that bad omen. That's why our pendant is a Heart Clover, to represent good luck and health." Ms Kaitlynn explained in detail about the pendant.

"It's easy for other students to identify you too," she added.