Dream or Not: A Devil or An Angel

Chapter 6: Taking Something Without Permission Is Stealing

The bell rang, signaling the next class, which would be Chinese.The Chinese teacher's surname was Liao, and he was a short and stubby middle-aged man.

He was known to have a good sense of humor and was fond of quoting classical authors in class, so Alina liked his class. Students seemed to favor his class compared to others, and liked the Chinese subject more than Math.  

It was one of those classes that flew by in a happy and relaxed atmosphere. After their second class, it was time for morning exercise. Alina didn't know if this was like the morning exercises in her original world.

A small smile appeared on Alina's face as she heard the familiar tune.

When the music started, the students in the class all stood to walk towards the door. Alina stood up, turned to her seatmate, and asked, "Let's go, shall we?"

Yana was still flustered by Alina's teasing, so she replied in a firm voice, "No!"   

Alina wanted to find a guide. Since Yana refused, Alina decided to follow her other classmates.   

The morning exercises were held on the campus playground. The students rushed to the stairs, and soon the hallways were bustling with the sounds of students' talking and laughter.   

Alina followed closely after her classmates, hoping that she would somehow find her way.

When the students were all gathered on the playground, those who came from the same class huddled together. The boys and girls stood in separate lines. Alina was behind a girl in the middle of the queue.  

"The ninth set of morning exercises will begin now."   

A student was demonstrating the movements on stage, and Alina focused her attention on memorizing the moves.

By the time the morning exercises finished, she felt more at ease. When the teacher dismissed them, the students all returned to their classrooms. The hallways and stairwells were packed with students, so Alina decided to wait before she went back upstairs.   

She waited under a tree beside the teaching building. A cool breeze wafted past her, cooling her exercise-reddened cheeks. Alina felt cozy and relaxed.   

Hand in hand, two girls passed by Alina and whispered among themselves.

"Look! That's Alaina!"   

"Is that her? She's not even that pretty. Why is she such a snob?" As the students moved past Alina, she couldn't hear what else they said about her.   

Another set of girls deliberately passed by to gossip about Alina.

Alina pretended not to notice them and decided to enjoy the view instead. 'They can't hurt me,' she thought to herself.

When the corridor was mostly empty, she let out a sigh of relief and walked towards the teaching building. Before she could open the door, she heard noises coming from inside the classroom.   

A short and thin boy held a piece of paper in front of him and read it with a smirk. His classmates all burst into laughter.   

The paper in his hands looked vaguely familiar to Alina. She braced herself and took a deep breath before she walked into the classroom.

"I like peeking at you, and every time I do, my heart would race…" 

When the boy saw Alina enter the classroom, he immediately stopped reading and hid the paper behind him, a look of guilt evident on his face. The other students looked at one another, then they all fixed their eyes on her.