Chapter 4

Teresa walked with Yova toward the school cafeteria. She was still thinking about the lunchbox she left in Kenzo's car.

"What do you want to order?" Yova asked.

"Just get me whatever you're having," Teresa replied.

Yova ordered two hamburgers and two orange juices for the both of them.

"Here," Yova handed her the food. They then walked to an empty table in the middle of the cafeteria.

"Do you want anything else? I can order it for you," Yova asked.

"No, this is enough. Thanks," Teresa replied.

Teresa unwrapped her burger and took a big bite. Her mouth was wide open, and the bite was huge.

"It's good," Teresa said with her mouth full of bread and meat.

Yova was a bit shocked by the way Teresa ate, but then she laughed, seeing Teresa's cheeks puffed out.

"Hahaha, your face!" Yova laughed.

"What?" Teresa asked while trying to chew the food in her mouth.

"Drink first," Yova urged Teresa, seeing her struggling to swallow the burger.

Bang!

Teresa and Yova nearly jumped out of their seats when someone slammed their table hard, creating a loud noise that startled them.

Teresa looked at the person with wide, surprised eyes.

"So, this is the girl who's been flirting with Kenzo," said a red-haired girl to Teresa.

"Huh?" Teresa swallowed the burger that was still stuck in her throat.

The girl pushed Teresa's shoulder, causing her to fall to the cafeteria floor.

Teresa winced, her eyebrows furrowed, and she stood up, stepping forward to face the girl.

"What's your problem?" Teresa pushed the girl back, causing her to stumble and bump into the friend behind her.

All eyes in the cafeteria were on them, and everything came to a halt. They became the center of attention.

"That's enough, Teresa," Yova tried to separate them, but the situation had already heated up. The red-haired girl stood up and grabbed Teresa's hair with a tight grip.

"You bitch! How dare you!" the girl shouted angrily.

Teresa grabbed the red hair in return. They started pushing and pulling, yanking each other's hair.

"Teresa, stop it!" Yova tried to intervene, but got pushed aside as the two were too strong.

The students around them didn't try to break it up but instead cheered them on to continue fighting.

...

Reno walked to the cafeteria intending to buy a drink. When he arrived, he saw everyone gathered around something, cheering.

"What's going on?" Reno asked one of the students.

"There's a fight."

Reno walked to the front to see who was fighting.

"Teresa!" he exclaimed, then rushed over to separate the two.

Aghhh!

Reno grabbed Teresa's hair and pulled the two apart.

The red-haired girl wasn't satisfied and tried to go at Teresa again, but Reno blocked her.

"That's enough, damn it!" Yova said to the girl.

Prrrriiiiiittttttt!

A loud whistle stopped them all. A teacher approached with a stick and a whistle, looking furious.

"What's going on here?" the teacher asked angrily. He then slammed the stick on the table and looked at Teresa and the red-haired girl.

"Both of you, come with me," the teacher said.

The two were taken to the school's counseling room for questioning.

Reno and Yova followed and waited outside the room.

...

Inside the room, the two girls stood side by side.

"So, who started it?" the teacher asked.

They both pointed at each other. Teresa knew she wasn't wrong and was ready to defend herself.

"She started it, Sir. I was just walking when she suddenly grabbed my hair," the red-haired girl said, trying to look like the victim.

Teresa looked at the girl, her face turning red. "You're the one who pushed me first! Don't lie; there are witnesses. Check the cafeteria's CCTV if you need to," Teresa said.

They started arguing again in the room, almost ready to fight once more.

"STOPPPPPP!" the teacher shouted.

"You're both in the wrong," the teacher said and then gave them both the punishment of cleaning the basketball court after school for the next three days.

The two then left the counseling room. Outside, Teresa saw Reno and Yova waiting for her.

"Watch yourself," the red-haired girl said.

"Are you okay?" Yova asked.

Teresa shook her head, watching the girl walk away with an angry face.

They then went back to class. All the students in the class were staring at Teresa, who had just come out of the counseling room. Teresa glanced at Kenzo, who was busy with his book.

"Teresa, I suggest you don't mess with Dona. She and her gang won't let this go easily," Yova said to Teresa.

"I'm not afraid," Teresa replied. She was never scared of people like that red-haired girl or Dona.

"Did you see her? Her hair looks like a chicken's crest. What's there to be afraid of?" Teresa joked.

Yova could only shake her head. She didn't expect her new friend to be that brave.

A teacher entered the classroom. This teacher was known as the strict math teacher who favored Kenzo. Kenzo was very good at math, and the teacher really liked him.

"This is your first week with me, although we've met before in the 11th grade. I will give you a test today to assess your abilities."

All the students exchanged glances. They couldn't protest and had to take the test even though they weren't prepared.

"Great, I didn't study at all," Yova said.

The teacher walked around, handing out test papers to the students. Each student had a different set of questions, so they couldn't cheat. When the teacher handed the paper to Teresa, she paused and looked at her before moving on.

Teresa took the paper and began working on it. Her pencil started scribbling numbers and letters. Occasionally, she would rest her head on her hand while twirling the pencil, analyzing each question.

The questions were word problems, and Teresa realized that each one had a trick. She carefully analyzed each problem and calculated the answers with precision. Her brain worked through the numbers and translated them into answers on the paper.

Thirty minutes passed.

Dingggg!

"Everyone, put down your pencils," the teacher said.

One by one, the students were called up to have their papers graded. With a stern look, the teacher marked the answers on each student's paper. When it was Kenzo's turn, the teacher smiled as he looked at the boy's answers.

"If it's Kenzo, she smiles right away," Yova commented.

Yova finished and showed her score to Teresa. "Look," the number was 50, meaning Yova had gotten some answers wrong.

Teresa was the last student called. She walked up and handed over her paper. She watched as the teacher seemed to carefully check her answers, searching for any mistakes.

The teacher looked up at Teresa and stared at her intently. Then, she wrote a 100 on the paper.

"Thank you, Ma'am," Teresa said politely and returned to her seat.

Yova looked at Teresa's paper and was shocked.

"Huh?!" she exclaimed, surprised to see Teresa's perfect score. She took the paper and held it close to her face to make sure the number was real.

"Are you smart?" Yova asked.

Teresa shrugged and took the paper back.

"Okay, everyone is finished, but something surprised me today. In this class, there are two students who got a perfect score, Kenzo and Teresa," the teacher announced.

All eyes turned to Teresa, who blushed and covered her face with the paper.

...

The school bell rang, signaling the end of the day. Teresa had to serve her punishment by cleaning the basketball court that day.

"Kenzo," Teresa called out, "my lunchbox."

The boy just walked out of the classroom.

Teresa went to the basketball court, not finding Dona there. She didn't care and grabbed the cleaning tools, cleaning half of the court and leaving Dona's part dirty.

Dona walked by with her gang and approached Teresa. She stared at Teresa with her arms crossed.

Teresa handed the broom she was holding to the girl, but the girl slapped it away, sending it flying.

Teresa glanced at the broom, then turned around and walked away from them.

Awww!