At that moment, my patience snapped, and before I even realized it, I had already smashed his face several times with a lunch tray.
"Chloe Kim!"
As a result, I was dragged into the principal's office.
"To think you committed assault, I can't believe it!"
At the principal's words, I took a deep breath and began to defend myself.
"The guy I hit made a racist remark first. He told me to go eat a dog."
The principal's eyes widened.
"My goodness. Are you saying John said that?"
Ah, so that bastard's name was John? I nodded obediently and continued.
"These days, there are many families in Korea that raise pets. Telling someone to eat a dog, which is practically a family member, is an extremely racist thing to say."
The principal nodded.
"You're right, Chloe. But that doesn't justify physically assaulting a fellow student."
Then what was I supposed to do with all that pent-up rage? I pouted and lowered my gaze.
"Chloe, I heard you're tutoring Aaron Eisenhower."
"..."
"Your punishment will be making sure Aaron scores a passing grade on the next quiz."
"What?!"
Surprised, I tried to protest to the principal.
"But he—"
"Ah, no negotiations. Think of it as a substitute for detention."
Then the principal pointed toward the door.
"You can leave now. I still have to give John a week's suspension."
Oh. He's getting quite the punishment. When I opened the door, I saw him sitting crookedly in front of the office. Knowing he'd be suspended for a week made it feel all the more satisfying. Making sure the principal couldn't see, I flipped him off and walked down the hallway.
"Chloe!"
"Huh? Scott, what about class? You were waiting for me?"
"It was just a test, so I finished early. I was worried about you…"
Such a soft-hearted guy.
"By the way, you were speaking Korean earlier, right?"
"Huh?"
Scott asked, his face full of curiosity.
"Didn't you say you didn't know any Korean?"
Before I transmigrated, Chloe was supposed to be a second-generation immigrant who could understand Korean but couldn't actually speak it.
"Oh, I learned it from my parents."
Then I asked casually, "What did I say… exactly?"
"Ah, I'm not sure I can pronounce it right, but…"
After thinking for a moment, an outrageous word came out of Scott's mouth.
"Swipal shweki(1)."
"What?!"
I gaped in shock that such a filthy curse had just come out of Scott's mouth.
"Ah, did I pronounce it wrong? It sounded something like 'swipal shweki' or something similar…"
"Don't say that."
I quickly cut him off, afraid that the innocent Scott might try to repeat it.
"That's a really bad word. So don't ever say it, okay?"
"Okay, got it."
But I had a bad feeling. Just as I was wondering if I should warn him again since he looked like he was mulling it over, he asked, "By the way, did you get detention?"
"No. They said tutoring Eisenhower in math will count as my detention instead."
At my answer, Scott's face darkened.
"Hey, I'm the one who has to teach that blockhead, so why do you look so gloomy?"
When I poked Scott in the side while giggling, he gave an awkward smile.
"No… I'm just worried it might be tough for you."
"Well, it can't be helped."
Still, from now on, even the guys who ignore me will think twice before messing with me, so I decided to consider that alone a big win.
Ding—
"Hey, that's the bell. Let's get ready for the next class."
I waved to Scott and went back to my locker.
* * *
"Ugh, I'm so tired."
Just as I expected, no one bothered me anymore. Still, sitting through class with my nerves on edge all day had worn me out. I just wanted to go home quickly, but…
"Hey."
Eisenhower blocked my way. That was when I remembered.
Right, today's the day for tutoring.
When I looked at him with my tired, dead-fish eyes, his brows furrowed deeply.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
"No reason. Did you do well on the quiz?"
"Huh?"
"You said you had a geometry quiz, and you got the summary notes from me last week."
At that, Eisenhower started playing dumb.
"What the hell. Hand over your test paper."
"I'll give it to you when we get home."
"Do it now while I'm being nice about it."
I threatened him, but it was of no use. Stupid guy with nothing but muscles! In the end, I had to ride in his convertible before I could finally get my hands on his quiz paper. The result: a big fat zero.
"Ha…"
A sigh escaped me. How was I supposed to raise a guy like this to a C on the next quiz? No matter how I thought about it, there was no answer. Then Eisenhower suddenly spoke up.
"You fought well today."
"Huh?"
"Guys who cross the line need to be taught a lesson. So… You did well."
I never thought I'd hear something like that from him.
"…Thanks."
"Don't mention it."
Skillfully steering left, Eisenhower parked the car in the garage.
"We're here. Get out."
As I followed him up to his room, I thought for a moment before asking, "Do you think you can get a C on the next quiz?"
He didn't answer and just sat down in his chair. When someone talks to you, you could at least respond.
"I asked if you can get a C."
He looked at me irritably and finally opened his mouth.
"You saw my quiz score earlier. And you're still asking that?"
Hoo… calm down. I drew the word for "patience" in my mind and sat down next to him.
"Then let's make a bet."
With no real hope but wanting to cling to even the slightest chance, I gestured to Eisenhower.
"If you get a C on the next quiz, I'll grant you one wish."
He was probably someone who didn't need any wish to be granted by me, but just in case…
"You're really promising that?"
Surprisingly, he seemed to take the bait easily.
"Of course. I mean it!"
When I held out my pinky toward the intrigued Eisenhower, he glared at me before reluctantly hooking his pinky with mine.
"No take-backs now."
"Same goes for you."
Grumbling like that, Eisenhower opened his textbook. His eyes looked as if they were burning with determination. For a moment, I thought I had seen wrong.
But it really seems like that…?
It was the first time I'd ever seen Eisenhower look so motivated. Maybe there really was a glimmer of hope for him after all.
Yeah, let's both crush this geometry thing and get into the colleges we want!
Looking at Eisenhower, I straightened my posture and focused on the tutoring again.
I thought that was the end of a pretty decent day and that a better tomorrow would be waiting for me. But…
* * *
"The Homecoming Queen and Princess candidates will go up to greet everyone before the Frolic begins, and then again on stage after it ends."
Feeling completely lost and out of place, I let Derek Pearson's explanation go in one ear and out the other.
"Chloe, did you get that?"
"Huh? What…?"
At my clueless response, Derek Pearson smiled quietly. But the people around us reacted differently.
"What an idiot."
"Who nominated someone like her as a candidate? It really lowers our standards."
"I heard Kyle from junior year pushed her name just to embarrass her."
The snickering and whispering wrapped around me like a suffocating cloud.
"Chloe, you must be tired."
Only Brittany showed me concern, handing me a water bottle.
"It's mineral water with mint leaves."
"Thanks."
A rush of warmth filled me, sweeping away all the negative feelings. As expected of our female lead. Her personality is truly as soft as silk(2).
I took a sip, and the refreshing scent of mint lingered in my mouth.
Ahh, even the water the female lead drinks tastes different.
Smiling, I handed the bottle back to Bri. She smiled back at me.
Bri, I voted for you as Homecoming Princess, too.
Watching her refocus on Derek, I silently cheered for her bright future.
"Everyone understands, right? Then be ready and meet in the waiting room by six next Thursday."
Derek dismissed the group. From what I half-heard, the plan went something like this:
Each candidate would come out with their partner at the start of the Frolic to greet the crowd. Then they'd rest during the event, and after it ended, they'd gather again to await the announcement of the Homecoming Queen and Princess.
"I got dragged into something troublesome."
As I muttered with annoyance and stood up, Derrick approached.
"Chloe, are you alright?"
"Ah, yes."
Not wanting to get involved with the student council president, I quickly excused myself.
"I'll get going now."
"Wait."
But Derek Pearson stopped me. I thought he was about to ask another trivial favor, but instead, something unexpected came out of his mouth.
"Have you found someone to escort you for the Homecoming Princess?"
"…No?"
"If you can't find anyone, you can ask me."
Derek said it just like that.
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TL Notes:
1. Swipal shweki – He mispronunces "씨발 새끼" (ssibal saekki), which means fucking bastard as "쉬팔쉐키" (swipal shweki).
2. Her personality is truly as soft as silk – This is a Korean idiom meaning she is extremely kind, her temperament is gentle, she has a pure, good-hearted nature or morally admirable, soft-hearted.
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