Clemence remained still, dazed, as Eloise packed up her things
"I'm heading out first," she said, swinging her bag over her shoulder.
Just before disappearing through the door, she called out, "Lock the room when you leave. See you tomorrow."
But Clemence barely heard her.
"You're worth the effort" was the only thing echoing in his head.
His legs gave out as he sank to the floor, hiding his flustered face in both hands. With no one else in the room, his heartbeat felt louder than ever.
Badump. Badump. Badump.
"She's really built different…" Clemence muttered to himself, barely above a whisper.
…
In the classroom, before morning lesson started.
"Heh, what if I grew my hair out?" one of the guys said, eyeing Clemence, whose hair wasn't tied back for once.
"Haha, the girls would definitely fawn over you," another teased.
"While you're at it, you could even dye it blonde," a softer voice joined in.
The guys turned, startled. Eloise was standing behind them with an intimidating smile.
"Only a few people can pull off that hairstyle without looking like a delinquent," she said, glancing at Clemence.
When he met her eyes, he tried to smile, but it only came out awkward.
Even though she was sarcastic, the guys didn't take her words as an insult, especially when she added with a small smile as she walked back to her seat,"So I'd prefer if you kept your hair short and left the blonde to him."
The comment made them flush, their confidence suddenly elevated.
Meanwhile, someone else had been affected by Eloise's words, but in a very different way. It was Claude, sitting at his desk. He slowly lifted the bangs that usually covered his eyes, staring at them as if bothered by it.
Beatrice noticed Claude fiddling with his bangs and grinned.
"Oh? Finally decided to trim it?" she teased.
"No—" Claude quickly refuted, letting his bangs fall back into place as he swatted Beatrice's hand away.
Beatrice just laughed harder, clearly enjoying his reaction.
Claude ignored her teasing, burying his head into his desk until he eventually drifted off. He slept through the entire class.
When the bell rang for lunch break, he slowly sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Just as he was about to stand, he noticed a small pile of candies on his desk.
Instinctively, his gaze shot over to Eloise's desk. She was already looking at him.
Without saying a word, she picked up a piece of paper and scribbled something down.
She held it up. "Are you alright?"
There was a faint hint of concern in her expression.
Just from that single word "alright", Claude felt the weight in his chest lighten.
He smiled at her. Partly to ease her worry but mostly because he felt happy.
…
After class ended, Eloise walked down the hallway with Claude and Beatrice toward the shoe lockers. For some reason, Beatrice seemed particularly cheerful today.
"Hey, anna hang out at a cafe?" she asked, smiling brightly. "My boyfriend's busy, so he can't walk me home today. It's been a while since we all spent time together, you know?"
Claude didn't answer as he just looked at Eloise, waiting for her response.
Eloise slowed her steps, thinking it over.
"Hmmm…" she hesitated, her lips parting slightly before she finally spoke. "Sorry, not today. Someone's waiting for me."
Beatrice's smile wavered, her cheer faltering for a split second.
"I have curfew…" Claude muttered
Eloise could notice the disappointment of her friends so she quickly added, "I'll make it up to you by treating you next time."
But Beatrice's concern was nothing like what Eloise had expected. Without warning, she grabbed Eloise's shoulders, not hard enough to hurt, but firm and urgent. Her eyes narrowed, filled with a mix of anger and worry.
"Waiting for you? Don't tell me someone's bothering you again," she fired off, her voice sharp with emotion.
Eloise opened her mouth to correct her, but Claude spoke first.
"Is it Clemence? Are you painting him?" he asked, his tone calm and steady.
"Yes," Eloise replied with a nod.
Beatrice's eyes widened in shock.
"What? Why? Since when?" she asked, her voice rising.
Before she could ask anything more, Claude grabbed her collar and pulled her towards the lockers.
"We're leaving first. Take care," he said with a gentle voice without looking back, while Eloise waved at them with a small smile.
Once they were gone, the hallway grew quiet again. Eloise lingered for a moment, then turned and made her way towards the art room.
To her surprise, the door was already open, and someone was inside. It was Clemence, once again buried in his workbook, focused and unaware of anything else around him.
"So, you forgot to lock the door," Eloise said as she stepped in. Her voice was calm, almost amused, as if she had expected this kind of slip-up.
Clemence jumped at her sudden appearance. Realizing his mistake, he let out a nervous laugh.
"Yeah... I forgot," he admitted with a gulp. "I'm sorry." He turned his gaze away, clearly embarrassed.
Eloise didn't seem fazed. She began setting out her art supplies, brushing off the apology like it didn't matter.
"Bring back the expression you had before I came in. You looked cooler that way," she said, already shifting the focus back to art.
Clemence couldn't help but wonder if she was always this direct with everyone, or if he was just an exception. But instead of asking, he just focused on his workbook, his heart still racing from the casual way she'd shot him down.