Chapter 21 If You Don’t Court Death, You Won’t Die
Cecilia Blackwood's POV
I didn't find it surprising at all, because I could barely hold on myself.
At least in previous classes, the first half would still include some actual teaching. But now, from the very beginning, she was just reading straight from the textbook. No one could stand this!
Kane glanced at me. "Want to leave the classroom, grab something to eat, then head to the back mountain?"
I gasped. Good grief, Kane made skipping class sound so casual! Clearly he'd done this plenty of times before.
"No, no, no. Let's stay here. It's the least we can do to show Ms. Ruth some respect."
"Besides, the academy has rules against skipping class. If we get caught, we'll be disciplined!"
Halfway through, I suddenly realized something wasn't right. "Wait, you've skipped class before. Weren't you ever disciplined?"
Star Ring Academy updated its disciplinary list daily, displayed on the big screen in front of the academic building.
I glanced at it every time I passed by, but I'd never seen Kane's name.
Could he just be that lucky? That no one ever caught him skipping? That seemed impossible!
"No one cares about me." Kane's words were flat, even tinged with loneliness.
Right. He was the one truly isolated by the entire faculty and student body. No one cared whether he attended class or not.
For some teachers, his absence from the classroom was probably a good thing.
"It might be boring, but you could tell me some jokes, like before."
I wanted to change the subject quickly, but Kane shook his head. "You don't like my jokes."
"Who says? I like them just fine!"
"You never laughed before."
Well, I had nothing to say to that.
Actually, I had a pretty low bar for humor, but what Kane told weren't jokes at all—they didn't even qualify as dad jokes. How was I supposed to laugh?
"Then tell me about your past? All these years, you've never had any friends?"
The moment the words left my mouth, I regretted it.
I really was quite foolish. Every time I spoke, I managed to hit Kane's sore spots precisely. Wasn't this just rubbing salt in his wounds?
But words once spoken were like water spilled—impossible to take back. Kane began telling me about his experiences over the years.
His father died when he was very young. He'd never met his mother. As far as he could remember, he'd always lived with Marina.
As for friends, they simply didn't exist in his life. The concept of friendship was vague to him, something he resisted.
If anyone tried to approach him, his first reaction was danger. This explained why, when I first greeted him in the cafeteria, he'd made me so angry.
I let out a long sigh. "Don't be too sad about it. You might not have had friends before, but you do now. We'll be best friends for life!"
Suddenly, Rowan raised her hand. "Ms. Ruth, some people are chatting during class and disrupting my learning. Please kick them out!"
Rowan's other hand pointed at Kane and me.
Targeting! This was blatant targeting! Anyone with eyes could see it!
We weren't the only ones talking in class. Others were talking even louder than us. Didn't she hear them?
And our voices were already as low as they could go. I was certain she couldn't hear us, and Ms. Ruth definitely couldn't!
But saying any of this was pointless, because she'd already made her move.
Ruth lifted her eyelids, her brow furrowing slightly.
"Ms. Ruth, I don't think our classroom can tolerate such people. It's disrespectful to you and a challenge to the rules!"
I couldn't take it anymore and stood up. "What do you mean disrespectful to Ms. Ruth? Did you even hear us talking? You're just deliberately targeting us!"
Rowan smiled coldly. "What do you mean deliberately targeting? You were clearly the ones talking, and now you're blaming me? How ridiculous!"
"Ms. Ruth, you can kick them out now!"
Rowan, emboldened by being in class where Kane wouldn't dare touch her, was recklessly dancing on the edge of danger.
But how could she know that Kane didn't care about classrooms? Once his temper flared, no one could save her!
I could only try my best to calm Kane down. "Don't be impulsive. Leave this to me. I can handle it properly!"
"This is a classroom. You absolutely cannot use violence. You must control your anger!"
I wasn't sure if I could actually calm Kane down. It mainly depended on whether Rowan would continue courting death.
The answer was obvious. Not only was Rowan courting death, but Eddie and Domi weren't staying quiet either.
"Exactly! What do you think this classroom is? Do you have any respect for Ms. Ruth?"
"I hate people like you the most. Hurry up and get out!"
Kane suddenly stood up. The three of them instantly stepped back in fear.
At the critical moment, Ruth spoke. "You three, out!"
Rowan laughed. "Hear that? Ms. Ruth is telling you to leave. What more do you have to say?"
"Wait, aren't there two people? Where did three come from?"
Ruth said coldly, "I said you three get out!"
"Why? We didn't disrupt class!"
"That's right, Ms. Ruth. You can't blatantly play favorites like this. I don't accept it!"
"Me neither!"
Ruth's face was full of disdain. "If you don't accept it, you can go find the headmistress and have her fire me on the spot."
"But until the headmistress gives that order, I'm still the teacher, and this classroom still belongs to me!"
"I'll say it one more time—get out. Otherwise, you can prepare to fail this class!"
At the mention of failing, the three of them seemed to lose all their strength. They walked out dejectedly.
When it came to failing classes, Star Ring Academy was no different from schools in the real world—it was something students absolutely couldn't accept.
Failing a class could delay graduation. And if you failed too many subjects, you'd be expelled outright!
After the three left, Ruth gave Kane a long look before resuming her lecture.
Well, to be precise, she resumed reading from the textbook.
"Do you know Ms. Ruth?" I couldn't help asking.
Kane shook his head slightly. "No."
"Oh." I didn't think much of it. Perhaps Ruth knew Kane's identity and didn't want him to explode on the spot.
That would also be for Rowan and the others' sake, because they couldn't withstand Kane's fury—or rather, the entire classroom couldn't!
That evening, Kane and I ate dinner together and played games together. Our bond grew even stronger.
Yes, the bond I'm referring to is friendship.
However, this time we only played for a little over an hour. We didn't dare play as long as before, because we actually had class the next day.
Thinking back to how I'd overslept, made Kane wait outside for hours, and then panicked and got the schedule wrong—it was truly ridiculous.
This time, no matter what, we couldn't play that long. Otherwise, I wouldn't be the only one running late!
"See you tomorrow!"
"See you tomorrow."