𝐇𝐄'𝐒 𝐃𝐄𝐂𝐄𝐏𝐓𝐈𝐕𝐄

ᴇɴᴛʀʏ #22 | ꜰʟɪᴄᴋ

022 | Flick

After handing in her two thousand word essay due to being very productive and finishing the project only three weeks after Mrs. Young assigned it, (Y/N) wanted to cry when the teacher once again stacked on another project: one that she'd have to do in a group. Specifically the group that she worked with before.

"Hello, again, (Y/N)," Jian smiled at her as she moved her desk to join his and Nicolai's to form their group. "So good to see you again."

After their conversation at lunch the previous day that she knew struck a rather sensitive chord within the boy, they hadn't seen each other again for the rest of the day since their classes didn't intertwine, but now she couldn't avoid him. Giving him a crooked smile, a bit puzzled that he didn't seem as mad as she thought he'd be, she turned her attention back to Mrs. Young as she started to discuss the points in their project that they needed to complete.

"Taking out a piece from our text Crime and Punishment, this unit will be focusing all on the main theme of this book: alienation," Mrs. Young announced, seemingly the only one in the room excited about the project. "I already put up a document on classroom that lists everything that you need to cover, but my main point is this: pick another book that touches on alienation. Really think your choice through because at the end of next week, you will present to the class a slideshow of everything on that specific text you have chosen and how it ties into Crime and Punishment."

(Y/N) wanted to cry more.

Basically I have to work with these two for almost two weeks!?

Fan-flippin-tastic.

"Oh!" Mrs. Young clapped her hands together, a small smile of pale disbelief crossing her lips. "And before I forget, there's also a table I posted with all of your groups where you can put down your book choice. It wouldn't be as fun if multiple groups picked the same book, right? Now, with that said, do that first and then start planning. There will be time to work on the project in class, but not much, so please alter your schedule accordingly. Now, get to work!"

As (Y/N) and her two group members pulled out their computers, she started off with, "I think we should do The Catcher in the Rye as our book."

"Fuck that," Nicolai immediately shot down.

"Uh... and why?" She narrowed her eyes at him, finding his unwillingness to go along with anything she said irritable, especially because he was angry with her for no solid reason.

"Because it's a trash book."

"But it meets Mrs. Young's requirements and it's also one of many great classics!"

"So, what? Trash is still trash," he sighed as he leaned back in his chair and propped his feet up on his desk, not minding the way Mrs. Young glared him down for that. "We should do The Outsiders. We all read that book a couple years back if you attended this school, and it focuses on the main character and how he feels alienated even in his small world."

"First of all, I've been attending this school for quite a while, and second, while The Outsiders is a pretty good book, the main point isn't alienation," she pointed out. "It's self-identity and group-identity."

"The Catcher in the Rye is trash."

"You're trash."

Nicolai slammed his hand down on that table at that, dropping his feet to the floor and glaring venomously down at (Y/N), his lips parting and about to say something before Jian cut him off, "Well, (Y/N), as much as I'd love to agree with you, The Catcher in the Rye is already taken."

"What?" She glanced down at her computer's screen and groaned.

"Heh," Nicolai smirked, his anger fading as he watched (Y/N) slump a little in defeat, quite enjoying the sight if he was being honest. "Guess that means we should go with The Outsiders then, right, (Y/N)?" He said her name in a mocking tone, and when she shot him a sharp glare, he leaned in closer and whispered, "Stop with the look. Its irritating. I thought I told you to stop fucking annoying me."

"I would if you also didn't fucking annoy me," she snapped back, however relaxing her fingers and typing in their choice. "But, whatever. We'll go with The Outsiders."

With Nicolai satisfied, the group then focused their efforts into digging up paperback copies of the book and then researching which scenes they wanted to focus on when Mrs. Young allowed them to borrow her copies. After the forty-five minutes of class, (Y/N) had multiple bookmarked pages of sticky notes and jotted down words, finding that the period had been very productive save for the beginning due to hers and Nicolai's little argument. All that was left to discuss was where they should meet to work after school on Thursday since Mrs. Young wasn't going to focus on the project that day.

"We should meet at my house," Jian offered with a smile.

"The hell you mean 'your' house," Nicolai's irritation was once again stoked, and this time (Y/N) wasn't really sure what caused it until he continued to speak. "Just because you live there doesn't mean it's your house, dipshit."

"Wait... do you guys live together?" She questioned, a bit shocked from the new information.

"He won't acknowledge it," Jian brushed Nicolai's words off quite easily as he addressed (Y/N). "Since... some stuff happened, the Headmaster—who is also Nicolai's father—offered to shelter me and obviously since I had nowhere to go, I said yes. I probably should have turned down the offer since now I have to put up with this thing."

"The fuck you calling a thing!?"

(Y/N) cracked a smile at that as she watched the two banter, however what dampened the rather lighthearted mood was that she knew Nicolai's words weren't just words—he truly hated both of them.  

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To be continued...