Sherin Donovania

## After the Third Bell

After the third period ended, the students of class 10F were now on break. Iyuna was eating her lunch in the classroom, her slender fingers holding a sandwich with delicate care.

"Awm~ awm~ awm~" Iyuna was eating the sandwich she'd brought from the canteen while gazing out the window, her eyes wandering far across the school grounds filled with students moving to and fro.

Someone approached Iyuna, their feet stepping hesitantly before stopping right beside her desk. "Um, would you like to join my study group?" asked Eid, the person who approached Iyuna, his fingers nervously intertwining with each other.

Iyuna merely glanced briefly while chewing her food, her cheeks moving slowly. "No," she answered, swallowing her food calmly.

"W-why?" asked Eid, his shoulders slightly tensing at the direct rejection.

"If you want to recruit people, gather your courage first," said Iyuna, before chewing her sandwich again, "awm³~" her lips moved slowly, working through the increasingly smaller sandwich.

"Courage, huh?" mumbled Eid. He clenched and unclenched his fist, staring at it, studying the lines on his own palm intently.

After the bell rang, Iyuna's classmates entered and sat in their respective places. The entire class became noisy because of the upcoming exam, chairs creaking and desks shifting as students took their positions.

Ms. Rheina arrived, her steps confident and firm as she entered the room. Instantly, the class fell silent with a single clap of Ms. Rheina's hands, her voice echoing in the suddenly quiet room.

"Oh right, by the way, this class hasn't formed a class committee yet, have you?" asked Ms. Rheina, her eyes sweeping across the entire room with a penetrating gaze.

"Alright!" said Rheina, clapping her hands with a sharp sound. "Let's determine who will be the class president and vice president!" she said, her smile widening with enthusiasm.

One of the female students raised her hand with a graceful movement, her arm lifted high. "I volunteer," she said, her dark brown glossy hair swaying gently as she spoke.

"Wow, Sherin! Good, now point to someone to be your vice president, okay!" said Rheina, her hand making a gesture pointing around the room.

Oh yes, Sherin Donovania was a beautiful brown-haired girl in the same class as Iyuna. She was a smart and popular girl at her school, both in middle school and now in high school. Unfortunately, she had to enter class F because she was once caught in a scandal during middle school, causing her to lose something very precious. Well, only she, her family, and the school/related parties knew about it. She experienced deep trauma and swore never to do that again. She became colder, though still far below Iyuna in terms of coolness.

Sherin then looked around, her sharp eyes scanning every corner of the classroom carefully. "You, Eid West," she pointed at Eid who was reading a book, her index finger aimed straight without hesitation.

"Huh? Me?" he said, pointing to himself, his eyes widening in surprise from behind the pages of his open book.

Oh yes, Eid attended the same middle school as Sherin. And he was one of the people who knew about Sherin's scandal. However, Eid was never involved. He only knew through rumors.

"Yes, you. Who else is named Eid here besides you?" said Sherin, her eyebrows raised with a mocking expression.

"O-okay," said Eid, nodding. He looked to the side, his hand trembling slightly as he closed the book on the desk.

Meanwhile, Iyuna had been staring out the window as if she didn't care about the class situation, her chin resting on her palm. Occasionally she sighed, thin vapor leaving her mouth and touching the window glass.

"Hey! Focus when someone is explaining in front!" Eid snapped in a whisper, his body leaning toward Iyuna.

Iyuna turned to Eid briefly with an empty gaze, her head rotating slowly. "Huh? Oh, sorry," she said flatly. She then faced forward again, though her gaze remained empty, her shoulders straight but stiff.

"Do you all agree?" said Ms. Rheina, both hands outstretched awaiting a response.

"If it's Sherin, I'm fine with it," said Arga, folding his arms across his chest while sitting stylishly, his body leaning back until two chair legs lifted off the ground.

Sherin then sat back down, her skirt sweeping across the desk as she turned to face forward. Oh yes, Arga also attended the same middle school as Sherin. However, he knew nothing about Sherin's secret.

"Alright, let's start our lesson then," said Ms. Rheina before the lesson finally began, her hands opening the book with quick, practiced movements.

After several hours, the dismissal bell finally rang, its sound echoing throughout the school corridors. The class became noisy again about the upcoming exam, chairs shifting and bags being hastily opened.

Eid tapped the desk gently, his palm meeting the wooden surface. "Everyone!" he called out, but his voice was too small to be heard, drowning in the classroom noise.

Iyuna merely glanced and wondered what Eid would do, the corner of her lips slightly lifting to form a subtle smile.

Noticing this, Sherin raised her hand high, her arm stretched straight upward. "Everyone!" her voice rose, cutting through the class commotion.

Instantly the attention of the entire class shifted to Sherin, heads turning in unison. "Let's listen to a suggestion from one of our friends," she said firmly, attention turning to Eid as her hand pointed with an authoritative gesture.

Eid was nervous, cold sweat forming, his fingers clutching the edge of his wrinkled uniform. "Um, how about we create a study group to minimize the risk of scores below 50?" he said firmly, though his voice trembled slightly.

"Bruh, he really is following my advice," Iyuna monologued, glancing sharply at Eid, her eyes narrowed and her chin slightly raised.