Chapter 52 : The suspicious adults
Eiden stood still, one hand holding onto Miss Mika’s as he helped her up from the ground. There was silence between them an awkward one. Though his face remained composed, inside, he felt a twinge of discomfort. After all, he had seen her before. He knew. He knew she was cheating with his dad. Still, he kept his cool. As he pulled her up to her feet, she quickly dusted off her clothes. Eiden gave a short, apologetic nod. "I’m sorry. I was distracted. Are you okay?" he asked, keeping his tone polite.
Miss Mika paused, locking eyes with him. There was a flicker of something unreadable in her gaze complicated, layered but her voice was flat when she finally responded. "It’s okay," she said with a nonchalant tone, then turned around and walked away.
Eiden didn’t look back. He didn’t call after her either. He simply descended the stairs, his expression unreadable but his mind troubled.
That’s it? he thought. Really?
He tried to shrug it off but couldn’t help analyzing it. If she were just another student, then yeah ’It’s okay’ would’ve been normal. But she’s a teacher. Even if she didn’t want to scold me, a basic "Be careful where you walk" or "Watch it next time" would’ve made more sense. Isn’t it weird that she said nothing?
His brows furrowed as the strangeness settled deeper in his chest.
He walked aimlessly for a moment, considering going to the cafeteria, but quickly dismissed the thought. The memory of that suffocatingly awkward air with Linda and Lyra was still fresh. He had no desire to walk into that again. Especially since, according to the map, Lyra was already there. So instead, he made the quiet decision to head to his next class early.
Inside the classroom, it was peaceful, with only the sound of faint murmurs from the corridor and the occasional clack of shoes. Eiden sat at his desk, pulled out his phone, and scrolled lazily.
He found himself looking through a group chat one with nearly 2000 members. It seemed to be some kind of informal college-wide chatroom, where random students had added one another over time. The topics were chaotic, from memes to rants to wild rumors. But as he flicked his thumb across the screen, one discussion in particular caught his eye.
Ruel. That name kept popping up. Curious, Eiden slowed his scrolling, reading more carefully. According to the thread, Ruel had been spotted frequenting certain bars and nightclubs in the city. But more importantly, the group was buzzing about the now-infamous sex tape leak involving him.