The next day, Julia arrived early as usual and took her seat in her usual spot. The classroom was still quiet, the morning sunlight filtering through the windows and falling across the empty desks. She quietly began organising her things as the noise around her grew louder.
Just as the bell was about to ring, Charles entered the classroom as noisily as possible with a grin on his face. He stopped for a moment, glanced at Julia, grinning even wider, and then seated himself next to her. Julia glanced at him once, slightly annoyed though her face remained as expressionless as ever.
The teacher entered the classroom, marking an end to the commotion
"Good morning, class."
The usual scattered reply followed. The teacher began her lesson, writing formulas across the whiteboard while the scratching of pens filled the classroom.She occasionally asked questions, most of which were answered by Julia, but a few by Charles as well.
The same pattern followed for the rest of the lessons before the lunch break.
The bell rang sharply, and students immediately stood up. Chairs scraped loudly as they rushed toward the door, their voices filling the hallway with chatter.
As she organized her things, she suddenly felt a shadow fall across her desk. Apparently, Charles had not left the classroom and was looking at Julia's neatly organized notes with mild curiosity.
" The cafeteria is down the hall",
she said, even though she knew why he was standing there.
Charles smirked.
"I know the way. I was just looking at your notes. Like to keep yourself ready, huh?"
Julia merely shrugged, and seeing there was no hope of him leaving, she stood up and joined the stream of students heading toward the cafeteria.
Charles leaned back in his chair, clearly amused.
Julia Vale was definitely unusual.
He stood up slowly, stretching before heading toward the cafeteria.
"This year," he muttered under his breath,
"might actually be interesting."