Chapter 96 Extra Story 5 Campus Life

Life at Jefferson High School was compact and fulfilling, completely different from Stella's experience in the county. She had been adapting for almost 2 months and finally managed to barely keep up with the rhythm of the new high school. Avery and Aaron were both in the international class, not in the same teaching building as her. Most of the time, Stella stayed in the classroom, and apart from the time when Aaron came to deliver notes, they didn't have much interaction at school. During lunchtime, Stella closed her exercise book that she had just finished writing, only then remembering that she had brought bread in the morning to share with Liora, who hadn't eaten breakfast. The takeout near Jefferson High School had to be ordered in advance. After a while of hesitation, she had to walk to the cafeteria alone. By the time she arrived, the peak time just after class had passed, and there weren't many people in the cafeteria. She ordered her food at the counter and found a quiet corner to sit down. Then she took out her portable music player from her pocket, eating her meal while listening to music. Last weekend, Avery had invited her to go shopping at the mall, and she had also asked Aaron to come along. Perhaps sensing Stella's withdrawal and knowing she wouldn't accept individual gifts, Aaron saw her looking at portable music players at the counter and, after buying Avery a birthday present, equally insisted on buying one for her. However, in the end, Stella still refused and bought the portable music player with her own money. This was the first time she had used the money from the card her grandfather gave her since coming to Seattle. The cafeteria was somewhat empty when Ethan was pushed in by Jason and quickly spotted Stella sitting alone in the corner. The girl with her hair tied in a ponytail was dressed neatly in the school uniform, sitting by the window. Her hair strands hung straight and clean on her white neck, her profile outlined softly by the light, still reflecting the quiet and obedient demeanor he had first seen on the playground. But Ethan knew well that this transfer student couldn't really be considered 'obedient'. She spoke softly to everyone, seeming docile to the point of having no temper, yet she could earnestly 'educate' him and intentionally challenge him. The slender figure of the young girl stood there. Jason came over with two empty trays and handed one to Ethan, casually remarking, "Registration is starting soon. How are you going to explain it when Dylan comes back?" Ethan was reckless in his attitude, saying, "The old man won't kick me out anyway. I'll figure it out." Lowering his gaze, he pointed his long finger towards the dishes behind the window and quickly swiped his card. The two sat down at an empty spot, and Jason, oblivious to Ethan's silence, continued on, "How could it just be casual? How long did you prepare?" Originally intending to bluff his way through, who would have thought the teacher would suddenly report Dylan. It's also Ethan's fault for deliberately opposing others; he didn't write a single correct answer on several test papers, probably just guessing randomly for a few minutes. Upon hearing Jason's words, Ethan's lips twitched slightly, his eyebrows raised, and he looked again at the spot where Stella had been moments ago. But in the brief moment he had lowered his head, the lonely figure by the window was already gone. Shifting his gaze, he saw the girl about to disappear behind the door with her slender figure. There was a puddle in front of the cafeteria door. She stopped there, rolled up her pants, revealing her fair legs like lotus roots, carefully stepping across. After confirming her pants were not splashed with water, she sighed in relief, a slight smile playing on her lips, before putting her pants back down and walking away. Jefferson High School did not restrict students' dress, and Seattle had a year-round scorching sun. Girls would secretly apply sunscreen and wear light makeup. But Stella was naturally fair-skinned, looking quite pleasing to the eye. "What are you looking at?" Jason glanced curiously at Ethan. Following his gaze towards the door, he also saw Stella. Seemingly remembering something, he chuckled, "You know, Tobias saw this transfer student from your class at the supermarket yesterday. He wanted to get her contact information, but when he got close, he couldn't even speak properly." "Okay," Ethan had already diverted his gaze. Tobias was on the basketball team, but unlike Ethan, who occasionally attended practice, he was committed to the path of an athlete. Which athlete doesn't date? Tobias had had quite a few girlfriends, yet he couldn't even ask for a contact number without stumbling over his words. Seeing Ethan engage, Jason continued, "If the transfer student had dressed up a bit, she would have been the most beautiful girl in our class. Forget about Celeste, just in terms of looks, I think Avery doesn't look as good as the transfer student." Ethan furrowed his brow slightly, then gave Jason a sideways glance, a smile playing at his lips. "You seem to know a lot." He didn't know that after just over a month since she transferred, she had already attracted so much attention. There were plenty of extracurricular activities at Jefferson High School, and every second Friday of the month was reserved for club activities. Among them, the most lively was the basketball match organized by the first and second year departments. During break time, Celeste placed a newly bought milk tea on Stella's desk and delicately consulted with her, "Stella, I have something to attend to later. After school duty..." Today was their turn for after-school duty, responsible for the classrooms, but the basketball game was on the playground, a monthly event that Celeste didn't want to miss. Stella raised her eyes upon hearing this, and after noticing Celeste's glance towards Ethan, she nodded and replied with a smile, "Okay. You've already cleaned the classroom at noon, I'll just do a quick sweep after school." She maintained her gentle demeanor. She had no intention of watching the basketball game in the first place and understood Celeste's intentions. Her request was reasonable, so Stella naturally wouldn't refuse. With assurance from Stella, Celeste smiled gratefully, thanked her, and then turned to leave. In the quiet corner of the classroom, Ethan leaned against the window, his arm around it, watching Stella in front of him. After sizing her up for a few seconds, he smirked slightly and murmured, "You're quite good at pretending." Despite being cool and indifferent to everyone else, using this gentle and approachable image, she had managed to leave a good impression on most of the class in a short period. Stella met his eyes for two seconds and calmly replied, "Thank you." His earlier words could be considered praise, at least for now. The young man sat back in his seat upon hearing her response, his arm resting on the table, chin propped on it casually. His voice was nonchalant as he remarked, "If you're so easygoing with everyone else, has no one told you that I have a bad temper?" Stella quickly understood he was referring to those test papers from last time. She didn't actually want to escalate things with him, but if she did too well, and he kept asking repeatedly every few days, she was afraid she wouldn't have enough time to deal with it all. Taking a breath, she responded, "If you're unhappy about something, I can apologize." If he just wanted to get an apology out of pride, it wouldn't have been a big deal as long as they could have moved past this smoothly. Ethan remained silent, quietly watching her. In the bright eyes of the girl, there was still a calmness, as if she had no emotions at all. Upon careful consideration, the only time she showed any emotion was the last time when she disapproved of him skipping class, her eyes full of disappointment. It seemed to her that his truancy was a serious mistake, something to be regretted. After each evening study session, Stella was always the last to leave the classroom. She wasn't keen on discussing her own affairs, even with lively classmates like Liora, she just listened quietly. The day she returned to school to pick up her things, Ethan had seen the car that came to pick her up. Given her family background, she should have been well-off, but how could a pampered young girl develop a temperament that had worn away all her wilfulness? In the evening, after the basketball game ended, Ethan and Jason went back to the locker room to change. "Hey, Ethan, was Aaron out of his mind today? He kept pushing you during the game," Jason remarked. Jefferson High School had many students, with each grade divided into two sections, and the international class was also part of the second section. Someone like Aaron, who was usually diligent and focused on preparing for international competitions, rarely participated in basketball team activities. However, today was different. For some reason, he not only showed up but also seemed to target Ethan at every opportunity. During the game just now, tensions almost escalated into a physical altercation between the two teams. Fortunately, their section managed to win the game, despite the drama on the court. Ethan didn't respond, instead he twisted open the faucet and rinsed his hair under the clear water flow. After standing up, his damp, tousled hair fell over his forehead, water droplets trickling down his neck, revealing his blue eyes. Turning off the water, he casually asked, "Anyone got something to drink?" Although it was a question, the next moment, the sports drink in Jason's hand unfortunately got 'requisitioned' by him. "Damn, just now the prettiest girl in your class brought water for you, why didn't you take it?" Jason grumbled indignantly. Running halfway across the field to the supermarket to buy a bottle of drink wasn't easy, yet here Ethan was, snatching it away. It was infuriating. Luckily, the basketball team wasn't short on drinks. Jason turned around and managed to wrangle a bottle from Tobias and his group. After finishing his drink, Ethan casually tossed the empty bottle into the trash can. Sitting aside while changing his shoes, he suddenly heard bursts of laughter erupting from the locker room. He glanced over. "What are they all laughing about?" he asked Jason, who had just walked over. "Tobias just said that he wants to confess to that transfer student in your class," Jason replied. Halfway through tying his shoelaces, Ethan raised an eyebrow slightly. "Confess?" "Yeah, he said he bumped into her at the supermarket once, and now he's got her on his mind," Jason elaborated. Ethan pursed his lips, then asked, "Isn't he supposed to be focusing on the upcoming game?" "I guess so." Tobias was different from them. His family background wasn't great, and if he didn't perform well in games, his path to further education would be cut off. "Let him focus on his work." The voice was calm, as if it was just a friendly advice. "Don't worry, even if he tries to focus, it's no good." Jason sat down beside Ethan, shaking his head. "Don't be fooled by his talk about confessing to someone; deep down, he knows he doesn't stand a chance." Stella, on the other hand, was clearly a studious and well-behaved student; how could she possibly be dating Tobias early? With that said, Jason looked mysteriously pleased and whispered, "By the way, you'll never guess who that transfer student really is." Ethan's heart skipped a beat, glancing sideways at him. He didn't know why he cared about these things, but the words came out anyway: "Who is it?" Jason turned his head, lowering his voice, "Aaron's fiancee." Jason had learned about this unintentionally from his mother. He told Ethan because he knew about the long-standing rivalry between Ethan and Aaron since childhood. When Ethan was born, Dylan had just started to make a fortune. At that time, Ethan's mother was not in good health and was frequently hospitalized. Dylan had no time to take care of his child, so Ethan had always followed his grandfather. But Dylan was also filial. He directly bought the most expensive villa in Seattle for his father. The year they moved, Ethan was only 5 years old and was in his mischievous age. It took only a few days for him to knock out his neighbor's tooth with a slingshot. When Aaron's mother came knocking, she treated the Powers family like upstarts, with a condescending demeanor and eloquent speech. Eventually, Ethan's grandfather gave him a severe punishment. Since then, there had been an underlying tension between them. "What's wrong with you?" Jason finally noticed Ethan's silence. Could it be because he heard that Aaron actually had a fiancee, and it made him feel unsettled? Ethan picked up his gym bag beside him, turned away with a cold face, "Nothing. I'm going home."