𝓬𝓱𝓮𝓶𝓲𝓼𝓽𝓻𝔂❤︎

Chapter 31

The brisk November wind carried a chill into the classroom as students shuffled to their seats. The topic for the day was written neatly on the board in Mr. Le’s usual clean handwriting: Solubility and Saturation Points. Y/N walked into 7th period quietly, her boots barely making a sound against the floor.

Her bold demeanor of the past weeks had softened, replaced by an uncharacteristic silence. She had barely spoken to anyone, not even Harvey, who usually made it his mission to drag a comment out of her. Sliding into her seat by the window, she let her bag drop to the floor and propped her chin on her hand, staring outside at the overcast sky.

Harvey leaned over, nudging her arm. “Hey, you okay? You’ve been quieter than usual, and honestly, it’s kinda freaking me out.”

She offered a weak smile. “I’m fine, Harvey. Just tired.”

“Uh-huh,” he replied skeptically. “If you say so.”

Mr. Le entered the room then, his usual dark attire blending into the stormy atmosphere outside. He dropped his bag onto the desk with a thud, pulling everyone’s attention to the front.

"Alright, folks. Let’s talk solubility. You’re gonna want to pay attention because I’m not explaining this twice, yeah?" His casual tone pulled a few chuckles from the class, but Y/N barely registered it.

As he launched into the lecture, using a mix of sarcastic remarks and overly dramatic examples to keep the class engaged, Y/N kept her head down. She scribbled notes absently, her mind elsewhere.

"Harvey," Mr. Le called suddenly, breaking through her haze. "You’re looking awfully blank over there. What’s the solubility rule for sodium chloride in water?"

Harvey blinked, caught off guard. "Uh… it’s soluble?"

"Brilliant deduction," Mr. Le said dryly, earning laughter from the class. "Let’s aim for something a little more detailed next time, yeah?"

The lecture continued, and soon the class transitioned into group work. Mr. Le handed out a worksheet filled with solubility problems, instructing everyone to work with their tablemates.

Y/N’s group huddled together, but she stayed on the edge, her focus wavering. She tapped her pencil against her paper, watching her classmates debate over calculations.

"Y/N, you okay?" one of her group members asked cautiously.

She nodded quickly. "Yeah, I’m just… thinking."

At that moment, Mr. Le approached their table, glancing over their work. His sharp gaze fell on Y/N’s paper, which was barely filled out. He crouched slightly to meet her eye level, his voice low but teasing. "What’s the matter? Solubility got you stumped, or are you just taking the day off?"

Y/N looked up at him, startled by his sudden closeness. "No, I just—"

He picked up her paper, examining it with mock seriousness. "Hmm. Let’s see. You skipped this one, this one’s wrong, and this… this is a masterpiece of confusion." His tone was light, but there was a hint of concern behind his sarcasm.

The rest of the group laughed nervously, and Y/N felt her cheeks heat up. She took her paper back, mumbling, "I’ll fix it."

"Good," he said, straightening up. "Because I don’t want to have to give you a solubility intervention, yeah?"

As he walked away, Y/N’s groupmates shot her curious looks. "He’s in a good mood today," one of them said.

Y/N nodded absently, her heart still racing from the interaction. She buried herself in the worksheet, determined not to attract any more attention.

By the end of the period, the class had mostly finished their work. Mr. Le moved around the room, collecting papers and making his usual sarcastic remarks. When he reached Y/N’s table, he glanced at her paper again.

"Better," he said, his tone softer this time. "But you’re still overthinking this one." He circled a problem and set the paper down. "Simplify it. Don’t make it harder than it needs to be, yeah?"

Y/N nodded, barely able to meet his gaze.

As the bell rang and students began packing up, Mr. Le called out over the noise, "Don’t forget your homework! And don’t come crying to me tomorrow if you don’t understand it. I warned you."

Y/N lingered as the classroom emptied, moving slowly as she packed her bag. She glanced at Mr. Le, who was already focused on organizing his desk. Her throat tightened. She wanted to say something, but the words wouldn’t come.

Just as she turned to leave, his voice stopped her.

"Y/N."

She froze, clutching her bag strap tightly.

"Don’t let whatever’s on your mind eat you alive, yeah?" he said without looking up.

Her heart skipped a beat, and she swallowed hard. "I won’t," she murmured, before stepping out into the hallway, her thoughts swirling like the November wind.