Chapter 121: Clingy??

ZOE'S POINT OF VIEW

The physics teacher finally closed his book, and the moment he did, I could practically feel the relief that swept through the classroom.

Most of my classmates looked exhausted. Some were already leaning against their desks, while others were staring blankly at the board as if the lesson had personally offended them.

I couldn't help but chuckle.I honestly didn't understand why everyone disliked physics so much. It was one of my favorite subjects.

"Alright, guys," He said, looking around the classroom.

"I want everyone to submit the assignment by Wednesday. And your exams are around the corner, so you should start preparing. They might begin as early as next week."A collective groan filled the room.

"Yes, sir," everyone answered, though not very enthusiastically.

"Good. Remember, this is your final semester in high school, so take your studies seriously."

"Yes, sir."The bell rang almost immediately.

"Okay, guys. See you on Wednesday."He gathered his things and walked out.

The moment he disappeared through the door, almost everyone stood up at once.

Chairs scraped against the floor. Bags were opened and zipped shut. Books were shoved into backpacks, and conversations quickly filled the classroom.

"Oh, I swear to God, I slept in between that class," Maya said, chuckling as she shoved her books into her bag.

I laughed.

"You weren't the only one...I noticed a lot of them were."I glanced around the classroom.

My eyes landed on Seth.

Unlike everyone else, he hadn't rushed to pack his things. He was still sitting quietly, flipping through his book as though he was trying to find something.

There was something different about him today.I couldn't quite explain it, but he seemed distracted.I packed my own books and turned toward Maya.

"Bye, Maya....I guess you're about going."She immediately looked at me.

"Wait."I paused.

"You forgot something."

"What?"She folded her arms.

"You haven't even asked me how my mom and dad's anniversary went."I blinked.

"Oh my God. I'm sorry. I completely forgot."

"Exactly."

"I'm really sorry."She smiled and shook her head.

"It's fine. But we have a lot to talk about."

"About what?"She gave me a knowing look.

"You'll find out tonight. We're having a serious phone call."I laughed.

"Okay."

"And don't try to escape."

"I won't."

"You've been so inactive lately. You're even snubbing our chats."

"I've just been busy."

"Busy?" She raised an eyebrow.

"You once replied to me in the morning, and I know you don't sleep early because you read."I laughed.

"Okay, okay. I'll call you."

"Promise?"

"Promise."She pulled me into a quick hug before waving.

"Bye!"

"Bye."She grabbed her bag and hurried out of the classroom.

I smiled after her before turning around.That's when I noticed Axel.

He was still packing his things, but he was unusually quiet.

"Axel?"He looked up almost as if he'd just realized I was standing there.

"Yeah?"

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I'm fine."I studied his face.

"You look a little down."He hesitated.

"I'm just thinking about some things."

"Oh."I didn't want to pressure him, so I simply nodded then something occurred to me.

"Wait. Where's Andy?"Before Axel could answer, I caught someone's gaze.....Seth.

He was looking directly at me.The moment our eyes met, he smiled and gave me a small wave,I smiled back.....Oh, so he sees me now.

He stood up and walked toward me.At almost the same time, The new girl,Alicia stood from her seat and approached us too.

Seth looked between us.

"Oh, Alicia. This is Zoe. Zoe, this is, of course, the new girl."I smiled politely.

"Okay. Hi. Hi, Alicia."

"Hi."Alicia looked at Seth.

"Okay, see you tomorrow, Seth. Bye."

"Bye."She walked away.

Axel also picked up his bag and left the classroom without saying much.I watched him for a moment before turning back to Seth.

"Oh, hi, Seth."He smiled.

"Hey."

"You were really quiet today."

"Yeah. Sorry about that."

"Why?"

"I just needed to confirm a few things from Alicia."I raised my eyebrows slightly.

"You knew her before?"

"No. We met by chance."

"Oh."I didn't want to sound too curious, so I left it there.We walked out of the classroom together.After a few steps, Seth glanced at me.

"How's your headache?"I looked at him.

"Seriously?"

"What?"

"You're asking me now?"He chuckled.

"I forgot."

"You should have asked me in the morning."

"I'm sorry."I shook my head, trying not to smile.

"You're forgiven."We continued walking, talking about random things until we reached the parking lot then I saw Andy.

He was standing beside his car with Axel, and judging by their expressions, they were having some sort of disagreement.

I slowed down.

"What is going on?"Seth looked in their direction.I glanced at him.

"Urmmmm, bye, Seth. We'll talk later."

"Alright."I hurried toward Andy.

"Andy?"He turned toward me.

"What?"I looked at Axel, then back at him.

"What's going on?"

"Nothing."I looked at Axel.

He was biting his lip, and he didn't look happy.

"Are you okay?"He nodded.

"I'm fine."Then he walked toward another car parked a little farther away, got inside, and drove off.

I watched him leave....That was strange.I turned back to Andy.I was about to open the passenger door when I realized something.

He hadn't opened it for me.I frowned slightly before getting in myself.Andy walked around to the driver's side, got in, and started the car.

For a few moments, neither of us said anything.

"You know," I finally said,

"you don't have to yell at him that much."Andy kept his eyes on the road.

"I could hear your voice from the hallway."He didn't answer.

I sighed.

"Also, you weren't in physics today."He glanced at me briefly.

"We had physics, and honestly, the topic we covered would have helped you understand what I was planning to teach you."He scoffed.

"Are you scolding me now?"

"Yes."He looked at me again.

"I'm your teacher. I'm allowed to ask where you were."He shook his head slightly.

"I needed to clear my head."I couldn't help but chuckle.

"Of course you did."He didn't respond.

We drove for a little longer before he suddenly slowed down and pulled over.I looked around.

"What happened?"He unbuckled his seat belt.

"Are you not hungry?"

"Huh?"

"Come on. Get down."He stepped out of the car.

I followed him, and the moment I looked up, I recognized the place.

The same restaurant......The one where the waitress had mistaken us for a couple the last time.

I couldn't help but feel slightly awkward as we walked inside.The waitress immediately recognized us.

"Oh, it's you guys! Welcome, welcome back."She smiled.

"What would you like to order?"We gave her our orders before taking our seats.

I tried to focus on anything except Andy but after a while, I noticed him staring at my face.

I immediately looked away.Why was he staring at me?

Our food arrived a few minutes later and we began eating.

After a while, Andy looked at my plate.

"Are you sure one is going to be enough for you?"I looked at him.

"Actually..."I glanced down at my food.

"It's probably not going to be enough."He raised an eyebrow.

"Then why did you order one?"I hesitated.

"Maybe I should have ordered more."I lowered my head slightly.

"I just didn't want you to think I eat too much."Andy stared at me for a second and chuckled loudly.

"You're not the one getting it."I looked up.

"What?"

"Am I complaining?"I shook my head.

"No."

"Then what's wrong with eating enough?"A small smile appeared on my face.

"Nothing."I lowered my head again, trying to hide my smile.

For some reason, my cheeks felt warm.I thought I heard Andy mutter something under his breath.

"Cute."I looked up immediately.Okay......Maybe I had imagined it.Andy beckoned to the waiter.

"Excuse me."The waiter approached.

"Yes, sir?"

"Bring one more of what she ordered."

"Alright."The waiter walked away.

I looked at Andy.

"Thank you."He simply nodded and we continued eating.By the time we finished, Andy paid the bill, and we got up to leave.

We had barely taken a few steps when a woman's voice stopped us.

"Andy?"Andy froze.I turned toward the voice.

A woman was walking toward us with a surprised smile on her face.

"Oh my God, Andy! It's been a while!"Andy slowly turned around.

The woman smiled wider.

"I missed you. You didn't even come over again."Andy scratched the back of his head.

"Anita..."She laughed.

"You didn't even call me back."Andy looked uncomfortable.

"I..."She tilted her head.

"Wasn't i good for you? Didn't you enjoy yourself?"My eyes widened slightly.

I looked at Andy.He looked like he wanted the floor to swallow him.

"Anita," he said quietly,

"As you can see, I didn't call you back because I didn't need you."She scoffed.

"Really?"

"And you shouldn't go around saying things like that where people can hear."Anita suddenly looked at me.

Her eyes traveled over me before she smirked.

"Is it because of this thing here?"My expression immediately tightened.

Andy stepped forward.

"Hey. Watch it."Anita raised her eyebrows.

"You don't get to go around calling people things. What's the meaning of that?"She laughed.

"Oh, I see. You've got a girlfriend now."She folded her arms.

"So you're going to ditch me?"

"I already did."His voice was firm.

"And the next time you repeat something like that again, I swear you'll regret it."Anita rolled her eyes.

Andy didn't say anything else.Instead, he reached for my hand.I looked down at our joined hands for a second before looking back at him.

"Come on."We walked out together.

Andy opened the passenger door for me this time, and I got inside.

The ride home was awkward.Neither of us said much.

A few minutes before we reached his house, Andy finally spoke.

"Zoe."I looked at him.

"I'm sorry about what happened at the restaurant."I simply hummed.

He kept driving.A few minutes later, we arrived at the house and as soon as we walked inside, we found Mrs. Anne downstairs.

Her face immediately brightened.

"Oh, you guys are back!"She walked toward us and hugged Andy before turning to me and hugging me too.

"How was your day, guys?"

"Fine," Andy and I answered almost at the same time.She smiled.

"Zoe dear.... how are you?"

"I'm fine ma'am "I replied and she smiled.

"I just finished cooking. Aren't you guys going to eat?"Andy shook his head.

"We ate at the restaurant."

"Besides, we're late," I added.

"I think we should just go straight to the study."Mrs. Anne nodded.

"Okay. If you say so."She smiled.

"You guys can go."We started walking away.

"Wait, Zoe."I turned.Mrs. Anne walked closer.

"There's something I wanted to tell you."

"Okay."She lowered her voice slightly.

"I heard about what Bianca did."My expression softened.

"I'm so sorry, Zoe. I'm really, really sorry."

"It's okay, Mom."

"I honestly don't support violence, and I'm surprised she did something like that. Bianca was actually such a sweet child. I met her a few times when she was still a baby, and she was really sweet. I don't know what happened."She shook her head.

"I'm sorry once again."

"Thank you very much, Ma'am"

"You're welcome."She smiled.

"Now go ahead. I'll bring you guys some snacks and milk while you're studying."

"Thank you."

Andy and I walked toward the study room.As we walked, my mind briefly returned to the woman at the restaurant.

I couldn't understand why I was even thinking about it.That woman looked like she was at least thirty.

Seriously?I shook my head.What kind of person is Andy?I scoffed quietly.

I pushed the thought away and entered the study room.I placed my books on the table and brought out my calculator and other materials.

"Okay. Looking at our timetable, we have physics today."Andy sat across from me.

"So I need you to pay attention."He nodded.

"It's not a very difficult topic."Just then, there was a knock on the door.

Mrs. Anne pushed it open.

"Here are your snacks."She placed cookies, cake, biscuits, and milk on the table.

"Carry on, guys."

"Thank you, Mom."

"Thank you ma'am"She smiled before leaving.

I immediately picked up a biscuit and started eating.I heard Andy mutter something.

"Foodie."I looked at him.

"Andy, did you say something?"He shook his head.

"No. I didn't say anything."I narrowed my eyes.

"Okay."I opened my physics book.

"Let's start."

For the next two hours, we focused on the lesson.I explained the topic step by step, making sure he understood each part before moving on.

At first, Andy looked slightly uninterested.

But once I began asking questions, he became more attentive.

"So," I said, pointing at the question in front of him,

"what do you think the answer is?"He looked at it for a moment before answering.

I checked his work and he was right.I smiled.

"Oh, I'm glad you know this."He gave me a small smile.

"See? I'm not that bad."

"I never said you were."We continued.

Whenever he got something wrong, I corrected him. Whenever he understood something quickly, I moved on to the next part.

Eventually, I looked at the clock and my eyes widened.

"Wow."Andy looked at me.

"What?"

"It's already after seven."He looked toward the clock.

"Yeah."

"I didn't even realize we'd been here that long."I started gathering my things.

"Well, we should probably stop for today."I packed my books into my bag.

When I looked up, I noticed Andy staring at me.I raised an eyebrow.

"You might just dig a hole into my face if you keep staring at me like that."He looked away for a moment.

"I don't know."Then he looked back at me.

"But I still want to apologize about what happened at the restaurant."

I paused.

"The thing is... I actually met her a few months ago. I mean, it's been a while. I don't know why she's still..."He stopped.

I waited....He sighed.

"Gosh, why am I even explaining myself?"I couldn't help but chuckle.

He stood up.

"Um... I'm outside. You can..."He glanced toward the plate on the table.

"When you're through packing, I'll just take this plate to the maids."He picked up the plate of biscuits and walked out.I shook my head, chuckling softly.

I finished packing my books before standing up and as I opened the door..... immediately I bumped into someone.

I looked up.

"Axel."He smiled.

"I was just coming to see you."

"Oh okay.....We're through with the tutoring."

"I see."He hesitated.

"I actually wanted to see how the tutoring is going."I chuckled.

"It's just like every normal class."He nodded.

"Actually, I was thinking..."He paused.

"Maybe I could join the tutoring too."Before I could respond, a voice came from behind us.

"Join what?"We both turned.

Andy was walking toward us.He looked at Axel.

"I can see you want to be clingy with me until the very end, right?"

"Andy," I said immediately,

"that's not a nice thing to say."Before he could respond, we heard footsteps approaching.

We all turned.Mrs. Anne was walking toward us.

Everyone immediately composed themselves.

"Oh, you guys are through?"

"Yes, Mom," Andy answered.She smiled.

"I'm guessing Andy is going to drop you off as usual."

"Yes, Mom."

"Thank you for everything, Mrs. Anne."

"You're welcome, Zoe."I was about to leave when she called me again.

"Oh, right. Zoe, come closer."I stepped toward her.

"I want this between me and you."I nodded.

"Okay, Mom."She lowered her voice.

"I'm going to send you the remaining balance of your payment later today."My eyes widened.

"But, ma'am, I thought you said you'd pay the remaining balance at the end of the tutoring."

"I know."She smiled.

"But I just want to send it now. And I'm also going to add something extra for all the stress you've been putting yourself through."

I shook my head.

"No, You don't have to."

"I insist, Zoe."She smiled.

"Now go before Andy starts saying we're taking too much time."I laughed softly.

"Okay."I said goodbye to her, then followed Andy outside.

We got into the car and for a while, neither of us said anything then I turned toward him.

"Seriously, Andy. You didn't need to say that to Axel."He scoffed.

"I don't know. He's really clingy. It's annoying."

"I don't actually see him being clingy."He glanced at me.

"From what I've noticed, I think he just wants to be close to you."Andy didn't answer.

He simply turned his attention back to the road.And that was the last thing he said until we reached my house.He stopped in front of the house.

"See you tomorrow, Zoe."

"Bye. See you tomorrow, Andy."I closed the car door and watched his car slowly drove away.

I stood there for a moment, smiling before finally turning around and walking into the house.