He's Smart

The first bell rang and the Chemistry teacher entered.

'Morning, today we'll continue to the Octet Rule.' Mr. Chaoxiang greeted and everyone reached for their textbooks.

'I've heard we have a transfer student from America in this class.' The teacher searched the class and spotted him. 'I'm told you insisted on your American name but I'll leave that for your fellow students. I'll call you...' he searched through some papers he held. 'Bai Lai.'

'Alright, Bai Lai, give us two examples of where violations of the Octet rule usually occur.' Mr. Chaoxiang and the rest of the class expectantly looked at Raluca.

Raluca rose. 'Violations of the Octet rule usually occur with Boron, Beryllium and elements of higher periods.'

'That's right.' Mr. Chaoxiang nodded and Raluca sat. 'We're moving on to Chemical Order of reactions. Xing Xing, come and write the integral representation formular of the Zero-order reactions.'

Xing Xing searched her mind. Order of reactions. She had read about them the previous night. Something to do with... Zero order reactions... That was where a reaction is independent of the concentration of the reactants, right? And the formular...

'Chen Xing Xing?'

'Yes sir,' Xing Xing responded without raising her head.

'Did you go through the topics I indicated yesterday?' The teacher said.

She could feel all eyes on her but there was some sort of sensational heat from the side of her head where she knew Raluca was staring at. She had read on Chemical kinetics the previous night. She just hadn't felt the need to memorize the formulars.

'Bai Lai,' Mr. Chaoxiang said and Xing Xing realized that Raluca's hand was raised.

Raluca rose and wrote the answer on the board.

'Right, Bai Lai. Chen Xing Xing, maybe you should start reading ahead soon and I know there are others like her in this class. I'll find out in your next test.' The teacher said. 'Open your textbooks on page 446.'

'Does he know everything? He seems to know everything.' Xing Xing stared at Raluca from the side of her eyes. 'I even feel more stupid sitting next to such a smart person... Why didn't he choose a seat...?'

'Page 446.'

Xing Xing jumped and quickly looked away. 'Did he know I was staring at him? But he didn't even turn to look at me. Strange. Or was I speaking loud again? Can't I even think in peace around him?' Xing Xing paused as something occurred to her. She turned to him. 'How dare he invades the privacy of my thoughts?'

Raluca turned to look at her.

She quickly looked away. Xing Xing felt embarrassment heat her face so she reached for her textbook and started flipping through the pages in no apparent order. He must still be staring at her. His gaze was burning through her skin.

'446.'

'Thank you,' she said. He must have also realized that she was searching with no idea of what to search for. 'What was it with him?'

When the teacher left, the students gathered in groups again.

'I didn't expect hed come to our class.' Said a girl.

'Min Min, you're saying that as if you don't want him to be in our class.' The girl next to her said.

'What are you talking about?' Min Biyu playfully shoved her friend before covering her face with her fair hair and taking a deep breath. She dreamily looked in the direction of Raluca. 'So handsome... If one day I wake up and realize he was all in my dreams..'

Min Biyu turned to her friend and grabbed her by the shoulders. 'I swear I'll kill you, Ah Chu, before I kill myself.'

'Why do you always want to kill me with you?' Chu Hua removed Min Biyu's hands from her shoulders. 'Just die alone. If I want to die, I'll kill myself.'

'Why did you come to class early today? If you weren't here, he'd probably have chosen to sit with me.' Min Biyu didn't appear to have heard a word Chu Hua said.

'Get serious. He obviously went to sit with her because she was the first to kneel for him.'

'But he wouldn't miss a pretty face for the first.' Min Biyu said, taking a selfie with her phone. 'I'm obviously prettier than Xing Xing, and as he must have noticed, I'm smarter than her. She couldn't answer a simple question.'

'Min Min, with your pretty face you weren't able to attract Felix, Le Qi, or the other two members of BH4s.' Chu Hua reminded her friend. 'Do you think you'll be able to catch the eye of someone higher, like him?' She nodded in the direction of Raluca.

'Ah Chu?' Min Biyu put down her phone. 'Are you in my life just to kill my dreams?'

'I just want you to wake up, okay?' Chu Hua said but Min Biyu turned her back to her and continued taking selfies.

Li-me pulled her chair closer to Xing Xing. 'Ah Xing, you must be very happy.'

'Li-me. I want to drop out of school.' Xing Xing told her.

'Drop out? Why?'

'I'm already finding school hard as it is.' She glanced at Raluca who was putting on earphones. 'And now the heavens have sent someone to remind me of how dull I am.'

Li-me leaned over to look at the boy seated next to her friend. 'Oh, I see now. You must find it so difficult sitting next such a handsome face.'

Scooting closer, Li-me lowered her voice. 'By the way Xing Xing, tell me, how does it feel to sit next to such a handsome boy? Do you feel hot? Are you already having a wedding plan complete in your mind? Complete family plans? Am I on the family friends list too?'

'Li-me, if you have nothing to say to comfort me, there's no use saying nonsense.' Xing Xing lay face down on the desk.

'I envy you and at the same time pity you.' Li-me made a pitiful face and rubbed Xing Xing's back. 'On one hand, even if you're not so pretty, you now have two hot boys after you, on the other hand, you're too simple minded to understand what it means.'

'What does it mean then?' she asked without lifting her head.

Li-me shrugged. 'If I knew, don't you think I'd have told you?'

Xing Xing sighed. 'Then let's just switch bodies. Then you can live my life.'

'I wish, but at the same time not.' Li-me twisted her face as though in deep thought. 'If I switch with you, I'll lose a chance with your brother. And naturally, chances with your brother are higher than chances with the BH4s or the white guy.'

Xing Xing shook her head. 'Even you don't want to live my life. Poor me.'