Ophelia and the Hearthrobs

I heard him touch the keys again, and just then, his phone started ringing.

"Yes?

I'll be there," he said on the phone.

His voice was so soft as he spoke, and it made me drool over him even more. But at this moment, I was scared.

What is he going to do to me?

I heard him stand and start walking to the door, which was towards my direction.

Oh, God!

Surprisingly, he walked past me and didn't even turn to take a look at me.

Huh?

Is he really such an introvert?

I watched in surprise as he walked to the door, but just when he was about to go out, something like car keys fell from his hands, and I exhaled.

He's definitely going to turn around to pick it up.

My heart skipped as he bent and turned to pick it up, and boom!

That was it.

We made eye contact.

Gosh! Is this for real?

Jesus, he was so heavenly cute; cuter than he looked on TV and magazines.

Oh, my God! I could hardly breathe.

He had these long baby lashes and dark, curly hair that flopped across his forehead. Even though I only had to look at him for a short time, I could swear he was the most handsome guy I'd ever seen.

He stared at me briefly and quickly took his eyes away like he had seen no one important.

And finally, he left the room.

I placed my hand on my chest and took in a deep breath.

Gosh, that was so close.

I can't believe he didn't even react to my presence there.

But it's still a miracle to know I was in the same room with Star Boy Jerome.

It's unbelievable.

I left the room and got outside and looked left and right to see if I could still get a glimpse of him.

But unfortunately, he was gone.

I stood at the passage for a while, still recalling the whole thing.

I smiled when I remembered his soft voice that had spoken to me:

"Do you realise this is a restricted area?"

I wish I could hear him speak again.

I finally took the stairs and returned to the office, and there I met my dad already, talking with the principal.

"Ophelia, where have you been? I've been looking for you," he said as I took a seat beside him.

"Sorry, Dad. I was just taking a look around," I replied and turned to the principal, who was a chubby, handsome man.

"Good morning, sir," I greeted and checked the header on his desk for a name.

It was Mr. Mark Clarkson.

"Good morning, dear. Your dad here has already told me everything about you.

Just fill this form over here, and you'll be assigned to your new class," he said and slid the form to me on the table. I collected it and filled in my details.

"I'm sure you have the school map on your phone already. But I'll be assigning someone to show you around later in the day.

Welcome to Star College," he concluded with a warm smile and brought out his hand for a handshake. I smiled and accepted it.

"Thank you, sir," I replied and stood up with Dad.

"Thank you very much, Mr. Clarkson. I really appreciate the effort," Dad told him and exchanged a handshake with him. We left the office afterwards.

"Make sure you stay out of trouble, Ophelia. And be attentive in class, okay?" he told me as we held hands and walked out of the passage.

Then, when we got to the balcony, I stopped and embraced him.

"Thank you, Dad. Thank you so much for this," I said happily, and he patted my back.

"Just make me proud, okay?" he said softly, and I nodded and unlocked from the hug.

"Now hurry to class so you don't be late for lectures," he said, and I smiled and waved at him and left.

I opened the school map on my phone and followed the direction to my new classroom.

It was very big and pretty and filled with young, good-looking boys and girls. Well, all the students in Star College were undoubtedly rich because Star College doesn't give out scholarships.

So, there was no room for commoners.

Well, it's a good thing I had someone like Mr. Derick to back me up.

I nervously walked into the classroom as all the students stared at me.

I kept my gaze low and found an empty seat on the third row.

Thank goodness.

Wow!

I can't believe I was in Star College.

I wonder what grade the Star Boys were in. I wish we could have the same grade.

After a short while, a teacher came in, and all the students settled down.

"Good morning, Mrs. Smith," a few of the students greeted as she walked up to the front of the class and kept her books on the table.

"Good morning, students. How was the weekend?" she replied and asked.

"Boring."

"Nice."

"Okay."

Some of the students chorused a reply, while some chuckled.

"Okay, okay. However it was," Mrs. Smith replied.

"By the way, we're having a new student in our midst today...... Miss Ophelia, could you step out for a brief introduction, please?" she said, staring at me, and I took in a deep breath and stood up.

I sauntered to the front of the class and turned, facing the students, and now I had the opportunity to take a proper look at them.

Wow!

They all looked rich and charming and flirty too.

"Your name, Miss?" Mrs. Smith said, and I shook my head.

"Uhn... I'm Ophelia Derrick," I replied a little shyly.

"Okay, Ophelia. Welcome to Star College. You can have your seat," she said to me, and I smiled and returned to my seat.

She commenced teaching, and after that, we had two more subjects, and it was break time. Students started walking out in pairs, and I also stood up and thought of going to the canteen.

Hm. It seems all the students here are just bumptious, as none of them even cared to pay any attention to me.

I took my books from the table and was about to go out of the class when a pretty lady came in and walked up to me.

"Hi. You must be Ophelia, right?" she asked, and I nodded, wondering who she was.

She was chewing gum and looked classic.

"Okay. I'm Carissa. And I've been assigned by Mr. Mark to show you around the school," she said, and I flinched.

Huh?

Such a classic girl showing me around the school?

"Uhm... you don't have to worry about that, Miss." I tried speaking.

"I can just make use of the..."

"Oh, please; don't in any way feel like I'm being stressed out or something. It's part of my course and will only add to my G.P when I'm done. So, it's for my own good," she cut in, and I sighed and nodded.

"Come with me," she said lowly and started walking out of the class, and I followed her behind.

She looked and sounded strict, but normally, she was a jovial person.

She took me to the vital places in the school-the sports hall, the lab, the library, the bookstore, and other interesting places.

"This is the sports hall," she told me when we entered the enormous sports hall.

It was very big and had so many sporting materials.

"Our sport days are Wednesdays," she added, and I just nodded and looked around.

"Uhm... do the Star Boys also come down for sports on Wednesdays?" I asked, and she looked at me and smiled.

"Everybody always wants them to. But unfortunately, they only come down once in a blue pretty moon," she replied, and I smiled and nodded.

Too bad.

"You're also crushing on them, right?" she asked as we left the sports hall.

I blushed in a smile.

"Everybody loves the Star Boys," I replied.

"Oh, that's true.

Why don't we grab lunch together?" she asked, and I hesitated for a while.

"Uh... okay. Sure," I replied, and she smiled and led me to the canteen.

The canteen was very big and pretty and was filled up with students, but it wasn't too crowded or noisy.

Carissa and I found a suitable seat, and she left to order our meal and returned with a big tray.

"What grade are the Hearthrobs?" I asked as I took my own plate of banana split.

"Oh, they're actually in your grade," she replied, and my eyes beamed.

What?

"But..."

"Yes, they don't always attend classes," she cut in, knowing what I wanted to say.

Oh-oh.

"Why?" I asked despondently.

"Well, that's because they don't like mixing up with others, at least not all the time...

But Heartthrobs like Connor, Darrin, and Malcolm do attend classes a little often. But someone like Jerome... gosh! It's only once in a pink moon.... And that pink moon's actually when the class is being handled by Mr. Leonard."

I chuckled and looked at her.

"Mr. Leonard?" I asked.

"Yes. He's the Further Maths teacher. He's the only one who can actually make Jerome attend classes. That's because he's very strict and hard, he doesn't tolerate any partial treatment. He believes every student must be treated equally.... And as a result, he's Jerome's worst enemy," she replied, and I scoffed.

Wow!

I really can't wait for the Maths class.

According to the timetable, we'd be having Further Maths by tomorrow.

Oh, my!

Hopefully, Jerome will be there.

"It's amazing, right? Attending the same school with the Star Boys," she asked, and I smiled and nodded.

"Uhm... Carissa," I called. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure. What is it?"

I cleared my throat a little.

"Do you have any idea what happened between Jerome and Theodore?" I asked.