Diaman kept his face neutral. He knew Shira didn't have a proper clue—just a random guess. Making it easy to deflect
"Yeah, I wore my spare because I didn't feel like washing. That's all."
Shira studied Diaman's face for a moment but got nothing. "Hmm. Okay, if you say so." He walked away whistling.
"What were the test results? What's your rank?"
"I didn't get one."
Amanda tilted her head. "Why?"
"The machine was bugged, so it gave me a false rank."
"Oh, that's rare. It was built to give accurate results. I think I have a book about the manufacturing company." She moved to her desk and retrieved a textbook. "Here it is."
Then she began lecturing Diaman about AVA, the leading tech company, how they had created The Orb to measure mana pressure, and their other innovations. It was boring but also educative, so he didn't mind.
From first period to break was maths, which Mr. San taught.
Mr. San walked in and scanned the class. "OKAY, class, get seated." One by one, the class got seated. Mr. San's eyes landed on Diaman, then continued.
"Today we'll be diving deep into complex word problems."
"Ah, I hate maths!"
The class turned to Shira. His legs were stretched on the table in a casual manner. "What?"
Mr. San sighed. "Let's take attendance."
After a brief class attendance, they began their maths lecture. After Mr. San's maths class, they had a combined history class with C class.
C class seated on the left side of the hall while F class sat on the other. Diaman found a familiar face in the C class side—the same girl he had saved two days ago from the bus.
Their eyes met and she frowned. Diaman looked away and concentrated on his class.
---
"Argh, that was exhausting." Shira stretched. Diaman walked beside him, following the crowd of students leaving the hall as their history class was over.
"At least it's break time."
"Hell yeah... Dman."
Diaman shook his head slightly. "That's a bad nickname."
They both burst out laughing and walked to the cafeteria. Shira and Diaman sat at the same table in the cafeteria. Compared to the public school Diaman attended on Earth, Toven's meals were more classic and had more taste.
'Hum. Tastes good.' Diaman enjoyed the meal.
But not Shira—he didn't touch his. His eyes were focused on someone else.
"What's wrong?" Diaman traced where he was looking. He looked behind at another table. A group of boys were looking at their table. Among them was Jewel. They sat around him, gossiping. But what they talked about, they didn't know.
"Fools." Shira cursed before picking up his juice box and sipping on it.
Diaman looked away before they got the wrong idea and caused a problem. "I get people can be jerks sometimes, but you just gotta ignore them."
"Boring... You're just like Amanda." Shira toyed with his straw. "Be the bigger person," he said in a mocking tone.
"But I think she's right—"
"Damn, no she's not. If you let them have their way, you'll just be growing their stupid ego. Just because they're privileged doesn't mean their dumb asses can go around picking on the less privileged. It's annoying."
"I get it." Diaman could understand his anger. He knew what it meant to be bullied or mocked. He had experienced it because he didn't have a father. "In my previous school, I used to be mocked because I didn't have a father." His food tasted bitter in his mouth.
"Oh, sorry, man... you're an orphan too?"
"No, I have a mom."
"That's cool."
Shira's expression shifted. He avoided looking at Diaman.
Diaman tilted his head to see Shira's face. "Are you an orphan?"
Shira took a long sip before admitting it. "Yeah, I am." Finally, he faced Diaman.
"I'm sorry."
"Nah, it's cool." He tossed his juice box into the nearest bin. "Don't stress it—Mr. San still hasn't called you for your ranking."
"I know. Maybe after school."
They continued with their lunch quietly.
Just then, Diaman noticed someone walking up to their table, coming from Jewel's table. He was slightly taller than Diaman but more huge and muscular.
"Look, it's the big guy, Sam." Shira rolled his eyes. "You handle this one."
Sam slammed his palm on their table, making the plates bounce. Everyone in the hall turned to see what was going on. Shira picked up a piece of lettuce, then chewed it slowly while looking into the boy's eyes. He sneered, then turned to Diaman.
"You're the new student, right?"
"Yes, I am."
"You stepped on Jewel and didn't apologize."
"No, I did."
"Oh, then go apologize again."
Diaman looked around at the number of students watching.
Sam crossed his arms. "I'm waiting."
Diaman remembered what Shira said. If he apologized in public, it would boost their ego. He looked straight into Sam's eyes. "I can't. I already apologized before."
Sam grabbed Diaman by the collar and pulled him up. "Do I look like I'm asking?" He tightened his grip on Diaman's collar, strangling him. "No one's going to save you if I decide to do some damage."
"I can."
"Stay out of this, Shira."
Diaman's eyes scanned the cafeteria again. 'There aren't any teachers in the cafeteria. Only non-academic staff. They won't want to get involved and lose their jobs.'
"You're rumpling my collar."
Sam tilted his head. "Your collar? You should be worried about your face."
Diaman's brows furrowed. "Let go of me."
"Make me."
Diaman gripped Sam's arm and began to squeeze, making Sam's eyes widen. He couldn't believe it. Sam struggled as he felt his bones crunch in Diaman's palm.
But he tried to hide his pain.
"Please, can you let go of my collar?"
Despite Diaman's polite plea, pride didn't let Sam back down. His palm still gripped Diaman's collar.
A grunt escaped Sam's lips as Diaman's grip tightened. It became more obvious Sam struggled to keep hold as his hand slipped slightly from Diaman's collar, but he didn't fully let go.
"Diaman Twelve, please report to the Headmaster's office."
Both boys froze, hearing the announcement from the speakers.
"Who's Diaman?"
"That's me." Diaman muttered. He then let go of Sam's arm.
Sam's hand dropped, almost limp. He turned his back on Diaman. "You're lucky you escaped this time—but next time, no one will save you." Then he walked back to his table.
The crowd of students dispersed, disappointed.
[ENTERTAINING! HOST IS CURRENTLY PUTTING ON A GOOD SHOW.]
Diaman looked at his palm. 'I would have broken his bone.'
"If your ranking is below S rank, I'll know you're faking it."
Shira rested his arm on Diaman's shoulder.
"Why?"
"Because Sam is part of the ten S Rank students in Toven. And you almost broke his bone like it's a twig."
Diaman looked at Jewel's table where Sam was seated. 'I didn't check his stats window, or I should have known.'
But that could wait. 'I wonder why the headmaster wants to see me.'