Chapter 4 (1/2)
Chapter 4: Seeing You Everywhere
The marked and returned physics quiz was a shocking red.
He Luo covered the paper with both hands. She had no courage to look at the depressing score. Just resign to your fate. Perhaps you’re a natural-born physics inept, a depressed He Luo thought. The blisters at your feet is a product of your own travels [your difficulties is your own doing].
“Seatmate, what is the answer to the second question?” Zhao Cheng Jie asked, looking up.
He Luo swiftly leaned over the desk and hid the paper. “Don’t ask. My results are horrible.”
“How could it be worse than mine?” He showed her his results. 47 marks.
“Ah, right back at you.” He Luo sighed. “I’m not that much better than surpa.s.s you.”
“For this quiz, there were only four students who pa.s.sed. The average result is 43 marks.” After the physics teacher said this, most of the cla.s.s began to vent their feelings.
“The questions regarding motion are quite difficult but I believe if you all do more practice questions, you’ll be able to master it.” He looked a little proud. “In our entire year, the only two students who receive 90 marks are in our cla.s.s.”
“The only two…” He Luo couldn’t resist a chuckle.
“Did you also score 90 marks? Not bad.” After cla.s.s, Zhang Yuan came over and talked to her.
He Luo pointed at her seatmate. “If we both add our marks, we do have 90 marks.”
“Then why are you still laughing so cheerfully.”
“If Teacher Qiu hears this, he’ll choke himself to death from anger. It’s the only two.” When Chinese-language Teacher Qiu Ping was anxious, he would keep on putting his gla.s.ses and taking them off, resulting in a clear red mark on both sides of the nose. Complete with the long hair of a melancholic, young literature student, the idea made He Luo laugh.
“Oh.” She suddenly remembered. “Did you say ‘also’ scored 90 marks?”
“Ah! I knew it’d be you!” Zhao Cheng Jie jumped up. “Don’t banter, treat us to ice cream!”
“Why?” Zhang Yuan asked.
“Your marks are higher than mine! When my marks are better than yours, I’ll also treat you!”
He loudly hit his chest. Either way, it was an empty cheque.
“I want green tea.”
“Ice cream sandwich.”
…
“Please bring me an ice cream cone. Many thanks!”
Such po
lite words, isn’t this just plain blackmail? Zhang Yuan had already understood early on that all those around him were a group of hungry wolves. “Say it one by one. If I can’t remember it, there won’t be any for you.” He asked He Luo, “What did you say earlier? Red bean ice cream?”
“Ah? I didn’t say anything. My tooth hurts, so no thanks.”
“Get me two then!” Someone immediately added.
A few boys escorted Zhang Yuan to the convenience store, for fear that he and his wallet would fly.
*
He Luo wanted to see a dentist yet she was worried that the dentist would drill in her teeth as he pleased. When the tiny electric drill hit her tooth, a light sound could be heard and her entire mouth was filled with smoke, as if she could spit fire. The drill reached the top of her teeth and the total of 206 bones in her body had begun to quiver. Upset over the swelling pain caused by her last tooth, she used Mom’s old-fas.h.i.+oned method to ease it by pinching the crevice between her thumb and second finger on her left hand.
When she opened her pencil case back at home, she saw that there was a paper twisted into a knot. At the knot was a hand-drawn feather.
She opened it and a vibrant handwriting read: “Urgent letter,” followed by the contact information of a dentist’s office.
Didn’t he say he would call her? He Luo flattened the note wide open and carefully read it a few more times. But this was good too, this was the first time she received something handwritten from him. Even though it was only a few words, it was still a historical moment! She took out her diary – the brown cover featured a guitar, looking like a yellowed old photo.
She clipped the note inside. There were more and more things inside: the clipping of the school newspaper’s report on the maths compet.i.tion’s winners, their train tickets when they returned from the site of the compet.i.tion, the Dove chocolate he distributed to everyone… Every day she filled the diary, until the inner pages nearly separated from the cover, until eventually it was thick enough not to be able to fit inside the diary’s box cover.
*
Cla.s.s 6’s team for the female basketball compet.i.tion has already entered the finals. Li Yun Wei was so excited that she made a big fuss about it, insisting that they practice after school. He Luo kept on hesitating. “I want to go home and study,” she said. “If I still get these kind of results for my finals, my parents would murder me.”
“Idol, you’ve already did very well!” Tian Xin gestured exaggeratedly. “You’ve scored ten marks higher than the average!”
“It’s nine marks,” she corrected.
“Ay, it’s almost the same. Those of us who are burdens to the cla.s.s average have not even panicked.” Li Yun Wei pulled onto He Luo’s backpack, stopping her. “Not everyone is Bai Lian or Zhang Yuan.”
Zhang Yuan had borrowed four to five basketb.a.l.l.s from the PE teacher. He was also carrying a huge net with him. “Why are you guys lagging behind here? Do you have to doll up just for a basketball practice? You’re really girls!”
“He Luo wants to leave!” Tian Xi unapologetically revealed the truth. “She said she didn’t score well in physics.”
“I have to pa.s.s Tang Yi Chen his notes today but he was absent.” Bai Lian rubbed her temples. “Or else I could tell you the key points of this chapter.”
“The cla.s.s representative is truly responsible.” Zhang Yuan gave her a thumbs-up with a smile. “Then I’ll tell He Luo on your behalf.”
“Ah?”
“I’ll teach you the chapter, so you stay and practice.” His tone was final, as if there was no room for debate.
High school women’s basketball is basically synonym for a big fat joke. After practicing for half an hour, everyone began laughing and joking around. When Tian Xin intercepted a ball midfield, she ran to the net while hugging the ball to her chest.
“What kind of basketball play is that!” Zhang Yuan was caught between tears and laughter. “If you mistakenly take one or two more steps, the referee could open one eye and closer the other, but if you run ten steps like that, you’re making too much of a contempt of the referee’s authority!”
“I know the rules!” Tian Xin widened her eyes. “But what if my hands and feet don’t listen to me!”
“If they don’t listen to you, then just chop them off.” Zhao Cheng Jie interrupted, and immediately became the target. The two of them ended up chasing after each other for a few rounds on the field.
“Don’t just stare at those who are laughing.” Zhang Yuan turned to He Luo. “How’s your practice going?”
“Here.” She opened her hands. This time her palm was clean, only her fingers were dark.
“That’s right!” A large hand slapped her on the palm. “Keep it up!”
“The opponent tomorrow is cla.s.s 1. Overall they’re not that good, but they have a genius member who has been playing basketball since junior high school.” A few boys made their a.n.a.lysis.
“Let He Luo play as the point guard,” Zhang Yuan said. “Tian Xin plays forward.”
“Tian Xin is too short, isn’t it?” Zhao Cheng Jie asked.
“Are you very tall?! Aren’t you just the square root of three!” Someone responded in vengeance.
“What’s square root of three?” He Luo asked. She didn’t have a good grasp on her cla.s.smates’ nicknames yet.
“1.732.” Tian Xin grinned. “A certain someone kept on claiming that he was 176cm, but at the end of the school’s physical examination, he was found out to be just the square root of three!”