Mrs. Harrington, the professor, entered the class. As soon as she stepped in, the room, which had originally been rowdy, instantly quieted. In a flash, everyone went back to their respective benches quietly, out of both fear and respect.
Mrs. Harrington waited patiently for everyone to settle down. No matter what kind of attitude one maintained before class, it was an entirely different story after she set foot inside.
"Today, I am not going to conduct any class," Mrs. Harrington announced in a tone that sent a strict, unsettling feeling through the students, making them a little nervous. She continued, "As you all know, today is the due date for the submission of your records. Just bring your records and place them on the table here."
Everyone followed her orders and immediately lined up in their teams to place their project records on the professor's table. Mrs. Harrington began recording their names on a sheet of paper so she could track who had submitted and who hadn't.
While this was happening, both Kurt and Umang glanced at Kamanth and Shirley's bench. They noticed Shirley frantically searching for her record book and exchanged a malicious smile. After all, they were the partners in crime who had stolen her record during her absence and written Kurt's name on it. Of course, they couldn't resist stealing a glance at their victim.
Kamanth noticed Shirley's distress. He asked, "What happened?"
Shirley looked visibly tense, and it felt to Kamanth as if someone had jabbed him in the heart with a needle. He couldn't bear to see her face so troubled.
"My record is missing!" Shirley replied, still frantically searching her bag for the book.
Before Kamanth could say anything else, Mrs. Harrington's voice rang out. "Team No. 7!"
Both Shirley and Kamanth stood frozen in place. They were partners—Team No. 7! It was their turn to submit their records.
At that moment, Shirley was on the verge of tears. She had always worked hard, had always been diligent with her studies, and her efforts had made her a topper. But now, all her work from the past three months was gone. Shirley didn't care about being a topper for the sake of attention. Her goal was to secure a spot in top management companies. She worked hard because she always had a clear vision of her future.
But today, she would become the laughingstock not just in her class, but in the whole university. Toppers always attracted the attention of those around them, and the faculty held high hopes for her.
There had even been discussions about whether Kamanth was truly worthy of being Shirley's teammate. The faculty wanted to find her a more suitable partner, but Shirley had immediately refused. She was more than comfortable with Kamanth, she insisted.
The faculty could never understand why the university's top student wanted to team up with the class's biggest loser.
But Kamanth never did anything to hinder Shirley's studies; he was always careful not to disturb her. He knew Shirley was his only hope. If he lost her as a teammate, no one else would ever help him as she did. Because he was so careful, the faculty decided not to get involved.
"Team No. 7!" Mrs. Harrington's cold voice rang out once more.
"Don't worry. I have your record. I hid it safely," Kamanth suddenly said, unsure what else to do. He stood up and took out his own record book. Coincidentally, he had not written his name on his own book. As he walked toward Mrs. Harrington, he quickly wrote Shirley's name on it and handed it in as her submission.
Mrs. Harrington received the book, opened the first page, and after verifying everything, looked at Kamanth and coldly asked, "This is Shirley's record. So where is yours?"
"I— I forgot it, Professor," Kamanth replied, pretending to be nervous as he scratched his head. His awkward act almost made some students collapse in laughter, but with Mrs. Harrington around, no one dared to even snicker.
"What do you mean, you forgot?" Mrs. Harrington narrowed her eyes in annoyance.
"I— I thought the due date was tomorrow. So I forgot, Professor! Please excuse me for my mistake," Kamanth pleaded in a humble tone.
"You truly are a Fool!" Mrs. Harrington snapped at him. "You've always been careful with your teammate, so we accepted Shirley's request and let you be her partner. But this is a team project. Your little mistake won't just fail you, it will harm Shirley's overall grades. If you want to destroy yourself, do it. After all, nobody has any use for a Fool like you. But because of you, Shirley's future will suffer. What do you mean, you forgot?"
"I didn't mean to harm her, Professor!" Kamanth pleaded, "I never wanted to hurt her. I know this is a grave mistake. Please forgive me!"
"No talk of forgiveness!" Mrs. Harrington was not at all polite. She yelled at him, "Get out!"
Kamanth didn't have the courage to argue further. He turned toward the exit and was about to leave. Shirley stood silently beside him, her face full of confusion. Softly, Kamanth whispered, "I'm sorry," then walked out of the class.
Both Umang and Kurt were stunned by this outcome. They had stolen Shirley's record and secretly written Kurt's name on it, certain she was about to face her greatest humiliation. Umang had always desired Shirley, but she always stayed with that "Fool." Nobody could understand what kind of charm the Fool had that kept her close. Shirley always found solace with the loser.
But who could have predicted that the very Fool they despised would secretly sacrifice his own record to protect her image, accepting his own loss in return? This was an outcome they never imagined.
Still, Umang was satisfied. He felt his chance had finally come. Since the annoying Fool had taken all the blame, Shirley—once a topper, now at risk of academic failure—would surely lose her temper at Kamanth for his "simple" mistake.
He decided then and there to fuel the fire and drive the two apart forever. He would do whatever it took to make Shirley his own.