7MoH 1.20

The morning sunlight streamed through the windows, adding a warm atmosphere to classroom 213.

Jeong-in casually looked around his homeroom as he took out his notebook. Most students still seemed unable to shake off their sleepiness, sitting quietly. Some whispered about their spring break stories, while others killed time scrolling through their phone screens.

Just then, Whitmore, the homeroom teacher, stood in front of the desk and clapped his hands lightly. He was a male teacher in his mid-40s who taught science and was also in charge of the drama club.

“Good morning, everyone. Did you have a good spring break?”

Some students nodded listlessly, while others smiled as they answered. Homeroom time was only about 10 minutes once a week, a brief announcement period, but Whitmore always took this time seriously.

“You’ve probably all heard about the Hope Harbor Children’s Ward that recently lost a wing to a fire. It was reported on the news several times.”

April in California had a high risk of fire due to the dry weather.

Recently, a fire broke out in the children’s ward of Hope Harbor General Hospital. Fortunately, there were no casualties thanks to prompt evacuation. However, the ward suffered serious damage, and community support was desperately needed for restoration.

“So, a special event will be held next Friday. It’s a charity game co-hosted by our Wincrest High School and the local community. Our school’s varsity football team will face off against Danbury High School.”

Some students raised their heads, showing interest. Danbury High School was a rival school they often faced in state competitions.

Whitmore listed things that might attract the students’ interest. Popular food trucks from the area would be there, and there would be merchandise booths. However, what captivated the female students was something else.

“Oh, we’ll get to see Chase Prescott play. I must go.”

A whisper was heard from the back. Like this, no matter where he was, Chase Prescott wouldn’t leave him alone.

“He’s so cool. They say it’s really rare for a junior to be captain.”

They were right. Most high school football programs are divided into the varsity team, which is the representative team, and the junior varsity team, which is a preparatory stage, based on skill, grade level, and game experience.

Chase Prescott and his group were all on the varsity team, not junior varsity. Among them, Chase Prescott and Darius Thompson had stood out since their sophomore year and had been playing as members of the varsity team.

At that time, Chase Prescott, who was about 10cm shorter than now, played as a wide receiver with his outstanding speed and positioning ability. The following year, he proudly became the quarterback, and not just that, but the team captain.

While the girls were contemplating what to wear in voices tinged with excitement, Whitmore continued his explanation.

“Participation is simple. You can purchase tickets to the game or register as a volunteer. Those who wish to donate can do so on-site or through the school website.”

After finishing the homeroom by announcing the ticket sales locations and purchase methods, the students dispersed to attend their respective classes.

Fortunately, today was a B-day, so there would be no chance of meeting Chase. Jeong-in entered the AP Calculus BC classroom with a lighter heart. Justin, who had arrived earlier, waved at him cheerfully. Before Jeong-in could even sit down, he spoke in his characteristically sarcastic voice.

“Jay, did you hear about the charity game?”

Justin sighed, loading his tone with irritation.

“Just thinking about those football guys walking around with their shoulders all puffed up trying to look cool makes me sick.”

He mimicked throwing up with an exaggerated expression, and Jeong-in responded with an awkward smile.

“And then there’s how crazy the cheerleaders will be.”

Justin shuddered. His animosity toward the so-called popular kids seemed to have grown since what Hayley Simons did to him on April Fool’s Day.

“You know what? Max Schneider, I mean. Like he’s tired of just bullying me at school, he comes to my parents’ store almost every day now.”

Jeong-in’s eyes widened. He was the very person who had told Max about Justin’s family store.

“…Why? Is he picking on you?”

“Well, not exactly, but it’s just a matter of time, isn’t it? Hmph, that ignorant, clueless racist jerk.”

Max Schneider was indeed an ignorant, clueless racist who called Justin, a Chinese American, “dumpling” and didn’t even understand what was wrong with that. However, there was a very slight mitigating circumstance. He was genuinely obsessed with the dumplings from Justin’s family restaurant.

Jeong-in didn’t know how to respond. In the past, he would have laughed and actively agreed with Justin’s comments. But now it was different. After experiencing Chase and his friends up close, he had come to know their various circumstances, making it hard to criticize them indiscriminately.

For example, Brian Cole was going through a rebellious phase due to his parents’ divorce, and Darius Thompson was living harder than anyone else, continuing his training every day with the goal of earning a state university scholarship despite his unfortunate family environment. Madison Wilkes, a cheerleader whom Jeong-in once considered superficial, didn’t stop her passion for cheerleading despite the fear of surgery and the scars left on her knee, and her efforts were much more serious than Jeong-in had thought.

“Testosterone plus adrenaline is just a disaster. Those football guys really suck. Don’t you think?”

Justin clicked his tongue and spewed venom. When Jeong-in didn’t react, Justin turned his head to look at him and called, “Jay?”

“Sorry. I was thinking about something else.”

“Hey, want to go to the mall later?”

“The mall? Why?”

“A limited edition U.S.S. Enterprise just arrived at BlockHaven. I’ll buy it, and we can build it together at my place.”

“Sure.”

The class began, and the classroom quieted down again. Jeong-in tried to focus on the lesson while looking at his notebook, but his thoughts were elsewhere. He was bothered by Chase Prescott’s last words and his attitude of not contacting him afterward.

Jeong-in tapped the end of his pencil on his notebook, his chin resting on one hand. The notebook was filled with numbers, equations, and graphs, but what floated before his eyes were someone’s blue eyes, impossible to read.

“Jay. Jay?”

The voice of the teacher, Amy Williams, suddenly interrupted. Jeong-in was startled and looked up. He felt everyone’s eyes on him.

“What are you thinking about so deeply? Here, Jay, can you tell us what we need to do in the next step?”

Jeong-in’s mind went blank at the teacher’s question. The blackboard was covered with complex integral calculations and their results. The question wasn’t particularly difficult, but Jeong-in hadn’t been reading the problem at all.

“Um… well…”

Jeong-in bit his lip hard, trying to come up with some answer. Amy Williams kindly offered a hint.

“The value we found is a critical point, right? So what should we check next?”

In the silence around him, Jeong-in’s heart beat faster and faster. Justin looked at him with a strange expression. It was a question that the usual Jeong-in would never have failed to answer.

“Derivative… no, um… should we look at the slope of the graph?”

In response to Jeong-in’s uncertain answer, giggles could be heard from the back of the classroom. Jeong-in felt like his insides were burning black.

“…After finding the extreme values, we need to determine whether this value is a maximum or minimum.”

Amy Williams corrected him in a soft and calm voice. She had no intention of embarrassing Jeong-in, but Jeong-in’s face was already bright red.

Jeong-in lowered his head and looked down at his notebook. He gripped his pencil so tightly that the tip pressed into the paper.

Focus. You can’t keep doing this.

Jeong-in tried to compose himself, pushing himself to concentrate. But his mind was still filled with thoughts completely unrelated to the class.

When the class ended, the students rushed out of the classroom. Jeong-in also quietly stood up, organizing his backpack. Just then, Amy Williams, who was arranging her materials, called out to Jeong-in.

“Jay, could you stay for a moment?”

Jeong-in paused and remained in the classroom. Justin, who guessed what might happen from Amy’s stern expression, looked at Jeong-in worriedly and waved goodbye before leaving the classroom.

Amy Williams taught advanced mathematics courses and was also the faculty advisor for the MathLete Society.

“Jay, I asked everyone to solve and upload the competition preparation problems, but yours is the only one that hasn’t been uploaded yet.”

Jeong-in looked surprised and asked, “What?”

“Jay. You haven’t even checked the announcements, have you?”

“…No.”

The MathLete Society used a messenger app called WhatsApp to deliver announcements in real-time and share files. Jeong-in hadn’t even opened the app for days. Since the app had a message read notification feature, there was no use lying.

Amy looked at Jeong-in with concerned eyes.

“Jay, are you okay? It seems like something’s been distracting you lately.”

“…I’m sorry. I’ll do it and upload it right away.”

“Just now, you were distracted by something else. So much so that you couldn’t even answer an easy question. This is really… not like you.”

That statement hit Jeong-in hard. But he had to admit that Amy was right. He had lost focus and become lax. Not doing homework was something that could never happen in Jeong-in’s world unless he was terminally ill.

With the math competition just around the corner, he absolutely couldn’t allow his concentration to be disrupted like this. Especially not because of some guy who had nothing to do with him. 

Jeong-in bit his lip hard and scolded himself. Junior year was almost over. After summer break, as a senior, he would immediately need to prepare early admission applications. All the decisions that would determine his college admission were right around the corner. He had no luxury to waver at a time like this.

Jeong-in collected himself and headed to his next classroom. From one classroom to another, then to another. It felt like climbing endless stairs while carrying a heavy stone.

By the time all classes were over, Jeong-in was exhausted. He dragged his feet, which felt heavier than usual, towards where he had parked his bicycle.

Just then, his phone vibrated in his pocket, and Jeong-in absentmindedly took it out. When he turned on the screen, a familiar name caught his eye.

Chase Prescott: [I have something important to tell you

Come to the locker room where you came before]

What could he want to say? Why was he telling him to come to the locker room and not somewhere else? Jeong-in felt all sorts of complicated thoughts filling his head as he stared at the phone screen for a long time.

Does he think I’ll just come? How shameless to ignore him and then casually send a message like nothing happened.

Jeong-in was about to put his phone away with a snort when he turned the screen back on and looked down at the message again.

Should I go? Should I not go?

The deliberation didn’t last long. Jeong-in slowly exhaled and put his phone in his pocket. Then he turned around. His instinct had already decided where he was headed.

The gymnasium corridor was unusually quiet today. Finally standing in front of the locker room, Jeong-in took a deep breath and opened the door.

BANG! A firecracker exploded, and colorful paper confetti danced in the air.

“AHH!”

Jeong-in was so startled he staggered back. His body lost balance and fell backward. Everything seemed to move in slow motion. But contrary to his expectation of hitting the floor, something soft yet firm caught him.

It was too warm to be a wall. With his body tilted like a domino halfway through falling, Jeong-in slowly tilted his head upward. Chase Prescott’s smiling face was right above him, looking down.

Only then did he feel Chase’s hands firmly gripping his arms.

“See, Schneider. I told you not to use the firecracker.”

He said to Max Schneider in a voice tinged with laughter, still not letting go of his arms.

Max Schneider scratched the back of his head, seemingly embarrassed by Jeong-in’s stronger reaction than expected.

“Well, I was just trying to liven up the atmosphere a bit…”