Before the whole Ivan and Clard disaster, let's go back a bit—before the three idiots even reached school.
Laura woke up at 10:00 AM, ate breakfast, then lunch, showered, and finally headed to school looking neat as always. She followed this routine almost every day…
But today was different.
Today, she put on makeup.
For a **special occasion**.
On her way to school, she noticed Benjamin staring at his hand like some kind of lunatic. She walked over and said:
**Laura:** "Why are you staring at your hand like that? Did it do something to you?"
Her voice carried a sarcastic edge—but the "agenda" behind her words was very obvious… at least to anyone *other* than Benjamin.
But he ignored her.
This made her both furious and flustered at the same time. So she tried again, with more courage:
**Laura:** "…Benjamin? Are you on drugs or something? You're literally staring at empty space."
---
### **A small fact about Laura:**
She loves Benjamin.
Benjamin also likes Laura.
But Benjamin is **so dense he could block WiFi signals**.
---
**Benjamin:** "O–OH—sorry! I didn't hear you, I'm in… uh… an interesting situation."
Laura blinked. She turned around and saw Ivan and Clard choking on popcorn like stray pigeons. She had no idea why they were eating popcorn this early in the morning, so she ignored them.
Then Benjamin raised his hand, made a finger-gun, and—
**Benjamin:** "BANG!"
A scream echoed behind her.
Clard's ass was literally on fire.
Laura almost burst out laughing, but stopped herself at the very last second—holding it back with the strength of a tomboy who refuses to show weakness.
Then she looked at Benjamin again.
**Laura:** "Okay. No joke. Are you *sure* you're not on drugs?"
She sounded worried now.
**Benjamin:** "I'm fine! And I promise I'm not lying about being in an… interesting situation."
Laura didn't buy it, but she decided not to push further… for now.
She turned back to the lecture.
---
As the next subject started, Laura wondered whether she needed a study partner for the test during recess.
**Laura:** *[Hmm, should I study with someone? Studying alone is kind of boring…]*
Her eyes drifted to Benjamin. He was staring at his hand again—then finally looked at the board. Good enough, she supposed.
After 25 minutes, Benjamin leaned closer to her.
Laura froze.
Her fingers fidgeted.
Her heart played a drum solo.
Then Benjamin mumbled:
**Benjamin:** "What subject is the test for?"
Laura relaxed a bit, then answered softly—so softly she surprised even herself.
**Laura:** "Math. But you should really listen to the lecture."
The tone sounded romantic.
Laura's brain malfunctioned.
All emotional gears in her mind stopped turning.
And then—
Clard laughed like a dying hyena.
Laura snapped back to reality.
Benjamin was staring into the abyss again, so she gently tapped his shoulder. He looked at her, confused as always.
**Laura:** "You're staring at nothing again. Do you need a check-up? I can go with you."
She couldn't hide the worry on her face.
**Benjamin:** "No, don't worry. I was just laughing at my friends. They always cause trouble."
Laura sighed.
She accepted his answer…
But the worry didn't leave her.
**End of Chapter 5**