章節 22: Chapter 22: Cameroon's Appearance

"I dont see a thing." Nick said and examined the necklace closely but Light took it away from him.

"By any chance, do you know Cameroon Maier?" Light asked Nick because he saw that the location was their school, and he thought that Nick, being a total extrovert might know anything about his next mission.

"Are you kidding me? You don't know your classmate?" Nick asked him with an annoyed frown but he wasn't surprised about it because he knows Light very well.

"Classmate..." Light murmured and thought. "What's wrong with your class? It seems like everyone's depressed."

"Well it's not just in our class, in our school, the education system is fucked up. Teachers neglect children who needed help but they calibrate those students who are good at studying." Nick said and he looked at the beach again. "You see, even the chairs in the room are lined up based on the rankings, and it's not just that. If you have a failing grade, people starts to think that you are an idiot. Exams aren't taken to see how intelligent one person is. It was taken to see how one person fits in the standards the society had established."

'Wow... Nick finally said something decent.' Light looked at Nick who was obviously pissed by the facts that he had stated. He knew better than that because he saw it- most people not just in their class but also at their entire school even spend their lunch time studying- and Fallon who always studies doesn't even have a single friend.

"You are now thinking that I have finally said something decent, right?" Nick asked and Light just nodded to him.

"The fact that you are saying that without the mere intention of being mean pisses me off more. But of course," Nick said and laughed, "I am one of the students who excell in everything so I don't have any problems with whatsoever, but I think it's unfair to receive a high grade when I pass my not-so-excellent papers because I am a good student overall while those who have exerted efforts in making theirs receive lower grades."

"Hey there! Wacha talking about?" Nathan who had suddenly appeared asked them. Nick was startled and he nearly punched him in the face because he was busy bragging his excellence to Light.

"Why must you shock me like that?" Nick said. "You should be thankful I did not punch you!"

"Sorry! So what were you two talking about? You seem serious." Nathan said and shot an apologetic look at Nick.

"Well, another mission seems to have appeared. By the way, when will you take the exam?" Nick asked.

"What exam?" Nathan replied with a nervous tone.

"The exam to know if you qualify to our section." Nick said.

"Oh, that. Tomorrow." Nathan replied, but he showed them a nasty grin which alerted Nick of a mischief.

"What are you planning? Tell me!" Nick said excitedly and placed his arm on Nathan's shoulder.

"Can you tell me about him?" Light shrugged as the two was laughing and his cold tone was sharp again. Nick was used to it already but Nathan isn't, and he felt shivers come to him. They left the tree and approached the beach. They were all wearing shorts and slippers which was perfect for a beach stroll.

"Cammy, I think he was on the top 5 for consecutive years since he transfered on 8th grade but now he is hanging onto top 10. But, he is one of the kindest in our class and he was easy to talk to. Oh! And he have a long-term girlfriend." Nick said and kicked the sand on his feet. They sat on the powder-like sand and relaxed. "I wish Mari would be my girlfriend too- which reminds me, Nathan, how's your grades?"

"What - why? Those are completely different things." Nathan asked him because he was startled by the sudden question.

"Because rankings are a huge deal to us! And I have to know if you are going to be my rival in my precious rank!" Nick said, and if he was a cartoon character, his eyes would show up flames.

"Well," Nathan arrogantly said, "Who's your top 1?"

"What?! Do you seriously have that kind of grades?" Nick shouted with a fury in his burning eyes.

"If you're not the top 1, then you can't be my rival." Nathan said and made an evil laugh. Nick was taken aback by his boldness and he folded his arms.

"Joy's the top 1. However, bro," Nick stood up and placed his arms in Nathan's right shoulder, "Before you can rival Joy, you have to defeat Light, Fallon, and Mari first. You think its gonna be easy?"

Nick's threatening tone made Nathan flinch. "I-I was just joking- I- I am so sor-"

"Hey, don't say sorry, you did nothing wrong. If I ever hear you say sorry for no reason again, I'll punch you." Nick said and laughed. "Well, good luck to your exam tomorrow! Just to remind you, we have 5 sections!"

"Yeah! I'll make sure to be your classmate!" Nathan cheered.

"What?! F-FULL MARKS?!" a loud voice clamored into the hallway as the students walked towards their rooms. "AND YOUR GRADES EVEN MADE YOU EXEMPTED TO TAKE THE EXAM! WHY DID YOU TAKE IT KNOWING YOU'RE EXEMPTED?!"

Nathan walked coolly in front of Light, Mari, Joy, and Nick. He seemed to have changed his appearance now because he dyed his hair with blue and he wore his brown contact lens. Many girls seemed to look at him but he remained unfazed by the attention he was getting.

"I told you not to look at my papers but you snatched it away from me." Nathan said and blushed because of embarrasment. "I don't want people calling me nerd again 'ya know?"

Nick stopped at once because he remembered that he did not know what Nathan had been through before coming here and it was insensitive of him to be shouting things so early in the morning. But he knew better. He approached him and placed both of his hands on his shoulders. "It's different here bro."

Mari and Joy looked at him from Nick's back and gave him a thumbs up. Light noticed the frail glow in his necklace and he turned around- what he saw was a tall guy with a mullet and a long bangs that extended down to his sharp nose. He was skinny and he seemed weak and deprived of sleep. He noticed Light looking at him so he smiled and said hi before entering their classroom.

"That's Cammy." Joy said as she held her glowing necklace and tucked it on her uniform.

"Yeah." Light nodded.

Their Biology class had been very nice despite the fact that their teacher taught them astronomy instead of the supposedly topic, but the whole class did not even bothered to tell him off because they had loved the subject. However, literature class wasn't a bit enlightening because their teacher just told them the whole story of his youth until their break time. Light approached Cammy who was studying even though it was lunch time and Joy followed him.

"Hi!" Cameroon said and tried to smile.

"Hey." Light replied.

"Cammy..." Joy muttered.

"Joy...Hope.. Whatever. I don't know what to call you anymore. Can I just call you mine?" he said, trying to sound funny, which is a failed attempt because his eyes were too sad to make a decent funny joke.

"Stop trying to make yourself seem funny. We both know how sad you are right now." Joy said.

"How did you know? Are you a fortune-teller or something?" he asked and smiled a little.

"Anyone can easily spot you. Your aura is too dark, almost scary." Joy said, laughing.

"Is that so?" he replied and bowed his head down. He didn't want anyone to feel his sadness because he knows that he is contagious and even small exposure to him could lead people to feel his sadness.

"Yes it is." Light said as he enterred their conversation. "Girlfriend problems?"

"Yeah man, hahaha the usual. You know girls have hard time making decisions." Cammy said.

Light looked at him with a frown that he tried to hide. The smile, it turns out, is all about the crow's-feet around his eyes. When you're smiling joyfully, they crinkle. When you're faking it, they don't. If someone's trying to look happy but really isn't, one won't see the wrinkles. And Cammy's eyes do not look happy even though he is smiling.