"Settle down, settle down, class. The list is ready now. Listen attentively as I call your name and your group members."
"Group 1: Jackson, Rosie, and Martha."
"Group 2: Jeffery, Jessica, and Amanda."
"… several other groups were called …"
"Group 19: Harry, Raymond, and Phoebe."
"… more groups were called …"
"Group 30: Peter, Lilith, and Fredrick."
"Those who haven't been grouped should raise their hands."
Only Lara and Xavier remained.
"Who else apart from these two?" Miss Helena asked, but no one replied.
"It seems you two are the only ones left, so you're going to be in Group 31. End of classes for today, guys. You can start making your plans for the project. Have a nice day."
As she left, the class became rowdy. Noises filled the air, and chatters from different corners could be heard.
Lara was lost in her thoughts.
How will I cope with this guy? Why must mine always be different?
Lilith rushed to her as expected.
"Lara and the ghost man, Lara and the ghost man," she sang teasingly.
"Stop it, Lilith! Is this something to be laughing about? I'm going to fail with Xavier as my group member. I don't think he's going to cooperate with me, and the most annoying thing is that we're only two in the group."
"I understand your plight, but you're going to have to try hard to reason with him."
"How, Lilith? How?"
"I don't know. Why are you even complaining? Did he tell you he's not going to take it seriously?"
"That guy doesn't talk to anyone, Lilith."
"What do you want me to do? Should I go help you talk to him?"
"Can you talk to him?"
"Is he a god? Let's go talk to him then. If you're so scared he's not going to take the project seriously," Lilith said, holding her hand and looking around for Xavier. "He's not in the class. Let's go look for him outside."
They found Xavier leaning against a wall, waiting as if he already knew they were coming. When they got to him, Lilith called out,
"Hey, Xavier."
Xavier looked in their direction and raised one brow questioningly.
"Lara was paired with you for the class project. She's worried that you're not going to take it seriously because of your unconcern about school-related issues. So both of us came here to reason with you."
Xavier just stared at them blankly, which riled up both Lara and Lilith.
"I'm not going to play with my marks, Xavier. If you know what's good for you, you better come to class so we can discuss how we're going to plan the project and where we'll be visiting tomorrow. The rest of the group members are already in class discussing," Lara said fiercely.
His face remained blank, but his lips quickly drew into a thin smile as he spoke,
"On one condition."
"And that is?" Lara asked, her frown deepening.
"I'm not going into that class. We can go somewhere else, perhaps the library or under some of those trees," he said, pointing toward the trees near their class.
"Cool then. I'll prefer under the trees," Lara said, heaving a sigh of relief.
"Thanks, Lilith. Your group members are waiting for you in class."
Lilith blew her a kiss and left for the class.
Lara and Xavier walked to one of the trees and sat down. They stayed in silence for a while before Lara decided to speak.
"So, what place will we be visiting tomorrow?"
He paused for a long moment before replying,
"I don't know."
His rich voice rang out, deep and smooth, and she felt a tingling wave wash through her body at the sound.
"Don't you have any suggestions in mind?" she asked, resting her back against the tree tiredly.
He raised his head to meet her eyes. Their gaze locked, and she felt a sharp sting on her head instantly.
"Ahhh!" she yelped in pain.
"Are you okay?" he asked, worriedly.
"Yeah, yeah," she replied, holding her head. "I was saying… if you had any suggestions."
"No," he replied calmly.
"Okay. I have a place we can explore tomorrow. It's like a mini forest, calm and a little dark," she suggested.
"So, where are we going to meet tomorrow, Xavier?"
He held her gaze, and she felt the pain in her head again, bits of unclear pictures forming in her mind.
"Ahhh! Can you really stop doing that? Your eyes are affecting me."
Xavier muttered some inaudible words before replying,
"It seems it's the sun that's affecting you. Should we go somewhere else?" he asked, still holding her gaze, but this time she didn't feel any pain.
"No need. Let's just decide the place we'll be meeting tomorrow, and this discussion will end," Lara said.
Xavier averted his gaze and replied,
"Let's meet here tomorrow, 10:00 AM."
"Cool. See you tomorrow then," she said, getting up and starting to leave.
Xavier watched her as she walked until she was out of sight.