One hand gripped her stomach firmly, while the other was busy massaging the bridge of her nose. Not only did her stomach feel empty, but it also throbbed with pain.
Her efforts to swallow her breakfast food were now in vain. She desperately refrained from eating her breakfast as the sound made her cringe repeatedly.
Callista rose to her feet with a slightly pale face. Her slightly limping steps led her to the sink. Unlike a few minutes ago, the restroom was now very quiet. She did not find a single student there. Were they surprised at her vomiting in the morning?
Not wanting to worry about it, Callista splashed the sink water on her face. She needed something cold to wake herself up. Bad memories of being tortured by Kenward haunted her mind.
She gently rubbed the tissue on her wet face. Her delicate fingers dug a little deeper into her backpack. When she found what she was looking for, she quickly opened the lid. She gently wiped the lip balm she brought with her on her pale lips.
Callista nodded slowly as she looked closely at her reflection in the mirror.
"This is better than before."
Not wanting to be late again like before, Callista quickly exited the restroom. Along the hallway, there was always someone openly talking about her.
Callista remained silent in her steps that she could no longer speed up. After all, the lips that talked about her whether it was good or bad had always accompanied her since she was a child. She was used to it. Wasn't it tantalizing to talk about the son of a conglomerate who was unfortunately physically handicapped?
Callista cast her eyes around the class. A sigh of relief was heard she came at a time that was not close to the entrance bell ringing. It was evident that only a portion of the class had arrived.
Callista seated herself on the bench. To her who felt very weak, everyone looked the same. She folded her arms on the table and put her head on it.
She had not even started the day yet, but she already felt tired. Should she skip the cafeteria to replenish her energy?
Something cold touched her cheek. Callista who realized it then straightened up. She looked at Aric who gave her a faint smile.
"Haven't you had breakfast yet?" asked Aric as if he could guess what Callista was thinking at the moment.
Callista nodded slowly. It was a bit of a missed meaning because she had eaten breakfast, but all that food had escaped her lips. And the point was the same, her stomach was empty at the moment.
Aric held out a loaf of bread and a slightly cold mineral water to Callista. Callista, who received the gift suddenly, was a little confused. She raised her face, looking at Aric with both eyebrows raised upwards.
"My mommy always gives me this even though I've already had breakfast. You can eat it, it's not good to start the day without eating," Aric said as he stroked the nape of his neck awkwardly.
Not wanting to wait for an answer, Aric immediately placed what he was carrying on Callista's table.
"Eat well." After saying that, Aric went straight back to his seat.
Without realizing it, a smile appeared on his lips. Callista reached for the bread and unwrapped it. She slowly ate the bread so that it could be fully digested.
"Right, I'm not alone in this school."
Ten minutes seemed to pass quickly for the students who were busy talking about what they had been through outside of school. And according to the scheduled time, the school bell rang soon after.
***
The sound of high heels clashing with marble has become familiar to students. However, many of them were confused because it was not their scheduled subject teacher who came, but their homeroom teacher.
"Good morning, students!" greeted Mrs. Sisil the language teacher and also the homeroom teacher of class XII-1. A smile was printed on the lips of the two-headed woman.
"Good morning, ma'am!" answered the entire class XII-1 in unison.
There was a slight buzz in the room that returned to silence when Mrs. Sisil put down a box she was carrying. Mrs. Sisil was carrying nothing but the box and the cell phone that was faithfully in her hand.
"Students, Mrs. Sisil will be taking physics class today."
Mrs. Sisil's explanation spontaneously brought smiles to the faces of her students. Physics is a difficult subject for science students. Often they are made dizzy because of the many formulas they have to memorize and understand.
Mrs. Sisil glanced at her students who were immediately busy talking about what she had just said.
"Mrs. Sisil and your physics teacher have agreed to exchange hours. So, it's not that the physics teacher's time is eliminated, it's just exchanged. Remember that, kids!" explained Mrs. Sisil, not wanting her students to misunderstand.
If you have entered this international school with A accreditation, it is clear that there will be no such thing as empty hours experienced by high school students in general. Because this school has a very large number of intern/reserve teachers.
Mrs. Sisil tapped her palms together three times. "Please calm down, students. Listen to Mrs. Sisil carefully, Mrs. Sisil will not repeat the words a second time."
Mrs. Sisil smiled with satisfaction because her students were easy to manage, unlike other classes.
"Alright. Since the annual festival that will be held by this school is not far away, it is time for our class to prepare our performance in advance."
Mrs. Sisil looked around at her students. Her left hand lightly patted the box with a hole in it.
"And based on the randomization by the computer, our class will perform a drama this time!"
All students in class XII-1 were immediately excited by the news. But the class calmed down as soon as Mrs. Sisil clapped her hands. "Alright, in order of absence, one by one come forward to take the paper in this box. Do it without making much noise. Do not open the lottery paper first, because we will open it together."
By Mrs. Sisil's order, it was done with an enveloping silence. In just a few minutes, the whole class had a roll of paper in their hands. Mrs. Sisil smiled happily at the students who were curious about the contents of the scroll.
"You can open it. The roll of paper contains the role that you will play later. The roll of paper you get must not be exchanged with your friends! Each of you has been assigned a role, there is nothing to regret if it does not meet your expectations."
Without waiting long, all students of class XII-1 opened the paper in their hands. In the middle of the commotion, a man with short hair that covered almost half of his forehead raised his right hand.
"What is the theme of the drama this time, ma'am?"
"That's a good question. This time, our class will be performing a drama with a royal background with a touch of romance. In short, a prince who is fleeing from pursuit because of the struggle for the throne meets a girl who is just a commoner. They eventually fall in love over time, and then the prince proposes to the girl. But not only that, their marriage is opposed by the nobles so it still requires extra struggle to achieve that. And the final boss is a duke with a stacked history of crime."
The students who listened to the teacher's explanation were mesmerized. A drama that is not only about romance, there is a spark of politics there. Of course, it sounded like a cliché story, but it took a long time to prepare the script for a play.
"Secretary, please come forward to list each role on the blackboard."
A girl with her hair in a ponytail and a white flower ribbon pinned beautifully in her hair walked with firm steps towards the blackboard. Grabbing the black ink marker that was there.
"Let's start with the scriptwriters. Six people got it. Please raise your hands."
Starting from the six names written on the blackboard, the blackboard became fuller and fuller. The scriptwriter, the female antagonist who served as the princess of a neighboring country, and the cabal of female antagonists consisting of young noble girls, dukes, kings and queens, knights, furniture caretakers, costume caretakers, and many others.
Mrs. Sisil straightened her eyes after looking back and forth at the blackboard and her students in turn.
"Who gets the role of the village girl?"
The cold sweaty palms interlocked and moved anxiously. But because of the urgent gaze of her searching friends, Callista couldn't help but raise her hand.