Chapter 2 – The Strange Behaviour
The morning sunlight filtered through the tall windows of Section E, casting warm stripes across the polished wooden floors. The class was unusually quiet for a Thursday. Keifer had his notebook open, but his eyes weren't on the lecture—they were on the new girl.
JJ.
She sat near the window, her legs crossed neatly under the desk, her dark hair catching the light. She wasn't talking to anyone. She wasn't drawing attention. And yet, somehow, she managed to dominate every glance in the room.
Keifer frowned slightly. He didn't like people who made him feel… unsettled.
From the first day, she had been different. Not shy. Not desperate to impress. Just… quiet. Calm. And dangerously competent.
The teacher assigned a group exercise. Keifer sighed, knowing exactly what this meant: he would have to manage the group dynamics himself.
"Section E," the teacher began, "I want you to pair up. Use what you learned yesterday to solve the new problems on page 142."
Most of the boys paired up quickly, leaving JJ alone.
Keifer noticed immediately. She didn't raise her hand to ask anyone to join her. She didn't even glance around for a partner.
He couldn't resist.
"JJ," he called, loud enough for the group to hear. "Do you need someone to help you with that?"
She looked at him slowly, as if evaluating whether he was worth the effort. Her voice was calm, deliberate.
"I don't need help," she said. "But you might."
The class stifled laughs.
Keifer raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"
JJ tilted her head slightly. "You looked a little lost during the explanation. Thought you could use a second opinion."
Keifer blinked, caught off guard. Then, smirking, he replied, "Oh, so now you're the teacher?"
She shrugged. "Call it what you want. I call it saving your ego from another public embarrassment."
The room snickered. Even Cin, sitting across the class, tried to suppress a laugh.
Keifer leaned back in his chair, pretending to be offended. "Careful, new girl. You might get yourself in trouble with me."
JJ leaned on her elbow casually, her eyes never leaving his. "Trouble? With you? That would be a first. Most people either ignore me or underestimate me. You're different—predictable. That makes it boring."
A small ripple of laughter spread across the boys in Section E. Keifer's pride was pricked. She wasn't afraid of him. She was roasting him—and with accuracy.
"Predictable, huh?" he said, leaning forward. "I wonder who taught you to talk like that."
JJ smirked faintly. "Life taught me. People like you…" she paused, glancing at him slowly, "they get under my skin in the most entertaining way."
Keifer felt his jaw tighten, but a flicker of curiosity sparked. There was something about her confidence, her calm way of dismantling his ego, that made him want to figure her out.
The teacher, noticing the tension, cleared her throat. "Focus on your exercise, students."
JJ ignored the remark entirely. Instead, she leaned over the desk of Cin, who was struggling with a particularly tricky equation.
"Here," JJ said quietly, pointing to a line in Cin's notebook, "you forgot to carry over the coefficient here. It changes the entire solution. See?"
Cin's eyes widened. "Oh… wow. I—thanks!"
JJ didn't look up. "Don't mention it. You're welcome."
Next, she crouched slightly over Rory, who had been scratching his head at the assignment. "Try breaking it into smaller steps," she instructed. "Don't think of the whole problem at once. Focus on these three points first."
Rory nodded, impressed. "Thanks, JJ. That… actually makes sense."
Finally, she leaned slightly over Felix, correcting a formatting mistake in his work. All three of them looked at her with newfound respect.
Throughout the exercise, Keifer watched silently from across the room.
She never smiled. She rarely spoke, except when necessary. She didn't socialize. She didn't try to make friends.
And yet, she had a quiet command over her surroundings.
Keifer noticed something else.
JJ always sat near the window. Always.
It was as if she was counting time, observing the sun, or waiting for something unseen.
He wondered what she was thinking about.
Maybe it was nothing. Maybe it was everything.
Finally, when the group exercise ended, JJ returned to her own desk and opened her notebook. She didn't ask anyone about their weekend plans. She didn't comment on the conversation around her.
She simply wrote quietly. Focused. Calm.
Keifer felt a twinge of irritation. Not because she ignored him—he was used to being ignored—but because she had somehow made him feel unnecessary, like she didn't need his attention or approval.
And he wasn't used to that.
She glanced once toward him, just a flicker of a gaze, and then returned to her work.
Keifer leaned back, crossing his arms, and thought:
She's impossible. And I want to figure her out.
The rest of the day passed in the same rhythm. JJ didn't seek attention. She didn't speak much. But the class noticed. Even Section E boys, usually loud and teasing, gave her a wide berth.
Keifer's curiosity only grew.
By the time the bell rang, signaling the end of class, he realized something unexpected:
He didn't just want to figure her out.
He wanted to see how she would handle the next challenge.
And somehow, he knew the next challenge would come sooner than anyone expected.