My Romance Life System-Chapter 67: Hint

Walking into class, you’d think the novelty would have worn off by now, but the way everyone’s head snapped in our direction told me I was still the main exhibit at the zoo, and I was getting really tired of being on display.

I was just trying to get to my desk, to sink into the comfortable anonymity of being a guy with a book, when a shoulder slammed into mine, hard enough to make me stumble.

It was Ronnie, of course, because my life couldn’t just be normal for five consecutive minutes. He stood there with his chest puffed out and that classic, generic bully smirk on his face, clearly expecting me to flinch or apologize.

A week ago, I would have. I would have mumbled a sorry and scurried away, my face burning.

But today, I just felt this profound wave of exhaustion wash over me. I was so incredibly done with this guy’s entire act. I didn’t say anything, I just straightened up and looked at him, really looked at him, and I let my expression go completely blank.

’Seriously? This is what you do for fun? Pathetic.’

He must have seen something in my eyes he wasn’t expecting, because his smirk faltered for a fraction of a second.

"Watch where you’re going, loser," he said, trying to recover his tough-guy momentum.

I just held his gaze, not moving, not blinking. I let the silence stretch out, making it uncomfortable for him instead of me. I didn’t feel angry or scared, just a deep, immovable sense of being unimpressed.

"You’re in my way," I said finally, my voice quiet but completely flat.

He blinked, clearly thrown off. He was used to people reacting, to getting a rise out of them. My total lack of a response seemed to confuse him more than anything else. He looked from me to Nina, who was standing a few feet away with her arms crossed, watching the whole thing with a dangerously sharp look in her eyes.

He must have decided it wasn’t worth it, because he just scoffed, a weak, theatrical sound, and stepped aside.

"Whatever, cripple."

I walked past him without another glance and dropped my bag by my desk, the whole confrontation feeling less like a dramatic showdown and more like stepping over a crack in the sidewalk.

Nina walked over as I sat down, a strange, unreadable expression on her face. She leaned against my desk, her voice low so only I could hear.

"Okay, who are you and what have you done with the quiet, broody guy I know?" she asked, a small, curious smile playing on her lips. "Your eyes just went all... cold. It was kind of scary."

’It was?’

I just shrugged, pulling out my textbook. "I’m just tired of his whole act. It’s boring."

She stared at me for a second longer, then her smile widened into a genuine grin. "Boring, huh? I think it was kind of hot."

My hand froze on my book. ’What?’

She winked, then turned and sauntered over to her own desk, leaving me to deal with the fact that my face was suddenly, inexplicably on fire.

’Hot?’ My brain just stumbled over the word, trying to figure out what to do with it. My face felt like I had a high-grade fever, which was a sensation I was getting uncomfortably used to.

She just called me hot, smiled like it was nothing, and then walked away.

’This is fine,’ I thought, my internal monologue sounding suspiciously like a man in a burning building. ’She’s just teasing. It’s a friend thing. Friends call each other hot all the time, right?’

I had absolutely no idea if that was true. My entire social experience before this year could be summarized as ’avoiding eye contact,’ so I wasn’t exactly an expert on the nuances of friendly banter.

Thankfully, Ms. Lail chose that exact moment to start the lesson, her voice cutting through the classroom chatter and, more importantly, through the high-pitched screaming in my head.

I’ve never been so grateful for a lecture on sedimentary rock formations in my entire life. It was the most boring, most blessedly normal thing that had happened all morning, and I latched onto it like a life raft.

I actually took notes, my hand flying across the page just to have something to focus on besides the lingering image of Nina’s wink.

The day progressed with a surreal sense of normalcy after that. I wasn’t just a weirdo with a new haircut anymore; I was a weirdo with a new haircut who occasionally answered questions in class.

During our economics block, the teacher asked a question about supply-side incentives that had the rest of the class looking completely baffled, but it was a topic I’d actually read about.

Without even really thinking about it, I raised my hand. The teacher called on me, I gave the answer, and she just nodded, impressed.

"That’s exactly right, Kofi. Excellent."

From across the room, I saw Nina give me a slow, exaggerated clap, her expression a perfect mix of mock surprise and genuine pride. I just shook my head at her, but I couldn’t stop the small, stupid smile that spread across my face.

---

The bell for lunch screamed through the classroom, and before I could even think about what I wanted to eat, I saw Jake already making his way toward my desk with the kind of single-minded determination that usually precedes a natural disaster.

’Oh boy, here we go.’

I met him halfway, hoping to cut him off before he could make a full-blown scene, which felt like a fifty-fifty chance on any given day.

"So?" he whispered, leaning in so close I could almost see the frantic thoughts buzzing behind his eyes. "Is the plan a go? Are we launching the attack?"

"Dude, relax," I said, keeping my voice low. "It’s a study session, not the invasion of Normandy. And yes, it’s a go. She’s in."

His entire face lit up, and for a second I was genuinely worried he was going to hug me, which would have been a social catastrophe of epic proportions. "Yes! Okay, what’s my move? Do I bring a gift? Like a book about Egypt? Or maybe a tiny, desk-sized pyramid?"

’He’s going to ruin this. He’s absolutely going to ruin this.’

"Your move," I said, putting a hand on his shoulder to physically stop him from vibrating out of his own skin, "is to do nothing. You’re going to be in the library after our club meeting, you’re going to look busy, and you’re going to act surprised when I invite you over. That’s it."

"Right, right. Surprised," he repeated, nodding so vigorously I was worried his head might come loose. "I can do surprised. My mom says I have a very expressive face." ƒree𝑤ebnσvel-com

’Oh my god... should i stop this now?’

"Just don’t make it look like you’ve seen a ghost," I warned, giving his shoulder a final pat before letting go. "And for the love of god, no pyramids. I’ll see you there."

I left him practicing his surprised face and walked over to where Nina was waiting, an amused little smirk already on her face.

"Top-secret mission debrief complete?" she asked as I came to a stop beside her.

"Something like that," I said, a smile pulling at my own lips. "Let’s just say world peace is one step closer."

She just shook her head, her smile widening. "You are so weird. I can’t decide if you’re becoming a secret agent or just the leader of a very nerdy cult."

"Why not both?" I shot back, and the sound of her laughing as we walked out into the hallway was, I decided, a pretty good reward for dealing with Jake’s particular brand of chaos.

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