Chapter 10 10 - Elizabeth Jones
"Did you hear there's going to be a new student in the Elite class?" a boy commented to his friend.
"Really? Who is the lucky one?" the friend asked curiously.
"I don't know. My aunt overheard Professor Edward commenting that he found a genius and that he was going to be transferred to the Elite class today," the boy replied.
"Is he from our school?" the friend asked.
"Probably so. Most of the geniuses in the city study here," the boy commented.
Meanwhile, a thin, bespectacled boy was looking at these two boys talking with a bit of envy. This skinny boy was called Chris. Initially his dream was to become an Awakened too, like most young people in the city, but as he didn't have the money to hire an Awakened to take him to kill a monster, he had to give up on that dream.
His family already had a lot of expenses to take care of his sister who was sick, so he decided to at least study hard to get a good job and help with his sister's treatment in the future.
Usually no one talked to Chris, so he just spent his days studying and concentrating on classes, until one day a young man saw that he was reading an article about Awakened and came to talk to him. When Chris saw who it was he got a little scared.
At school there were three types of people: those who have already become Awakened, those who would likely become Awakened, and those who might never become Awakened. The young man who came to talk to him, besides being someone who would probably become an Awakened in the future, was one of the most popular young people in the school. In addition to being very handsome and polite to everyone, the young man was related to a powerful Awakened, which practically already defined that he would have an unlimited future ahead of him.
Chris couldn't understand why this young man came to talk to him one day during class, but when he saw that this young man's passion for studying Awakened was as great as his own, the two became good friends.
Despite his aligning interests with this young man, people still made fun of Chris from time to time, saying that the young man spoke to him out of pity, but Chris knew that their interest was genuine and that they actually had some things in common.
"Don't you want to become an Awakened?" One day the young man asked Chris, confused.
p??d? n?ve? Chris was a little uncomfortable answering that, but knowing his friend hadn't said anything hurtful on purpose, Chris answered truthfully, "My dream is to become an Awakened, but I don't have the money to hire someone to help awaken."
Chris thought the young man was going to mock him for lack of money, just like the other teenagers did, but instead of hearing the common mockery, Chris felt a warm hand on his shoulder. Confused, Chris looked at his friend and saw him smiling before saying, "When I become an Awakened I will take you to awaken too."
Chris knew that this phrase could just be a phrase of comfort for someone who was in need, but deep down he wanted to believe it was true.
"Chris!" a familiar voice called out to Chris from afar.
Chris smiled and turned to the only friend he'd ever made at this school, the boy who had been talking excitedly about Awakened with him for several months, and the young man that people thought talked to him out of pity.
"Leo!" Chris yelled back.
Leo saw that his friend was sad again and punched him very weakly on the shoulder.
"Ouch!" Chris screamed in shock at the force of the punch he received on the shoulder. "Man, watch your strength. You look like an Awakened with a muscular body like that."
Leo grinned even wider and replied, "It's because now I'm an Awakened."
Chris was shocked when he heard Leo say this. "Are you serious?"
Chris immediately remembered the promise Leo had made to him in the past.
"Yeah, wanna go kill some monsters today after school?" Leo asked with a smile.
Chris' heart raced in happiness. The school had a system where students could kill some weak monsters that the school created to try to Awaken, but only a small part of the students could awaken with these weak monsters. Chris failed in the past and thought he really would never get another chance.
"Yes, yes, a million times yes!" Chris yelled excitedly.
Leo smiled as he looked at his friend. He once wanted to help Chris, whose sister had multiple medical expenses, but with the little money he earned from his own sister's army subsidy, there was no money left to help. But now he could help Chris become an Awakened and be able to earn his own money and help his sister get healthy again in the future.
The two chatted excitedly. The conversation was pretty much Chris asking about Leo's battles and Leo explaining to Chris what it was like to fight monsters. The two students who were talking nearby were shocked when they heard that Leo had become an Awakened.
"Is Leonardo the gifted Awakened Professor Edward talked about?" the one boy asked his friend.
"It's possible. Leonardo has a relative who was a very powerful Awakened.. This will be big gossip! Leonardo Lentz has become the new student of the Elite class!" The friend was excited by the news he found out and soon started telling everyone at school.
Leo and Chris didn't even realize that people were talking about Leo becoming a student in the Elite class until class time was about to start and Leo said goodbye to Chris to go to his new class. Seeing Leonardo heading towards the Elite class made these gossiping students even more excited to confirm that he had indeed become an Awakened!
At this point even Leo realized he'd become the focus of school gossip with his Awakened Bronze 2 Stars' enhanced senses, but he didn't care about that. He knew such chatter happened concerning every student who went to the Elite class.
This was Leo's first time in the Elite class, but he didn't feel pressured. He realized that 99% of the students were Bronze 1 Star, and only one other person was Bronze 2 Star like himself. And coincidentally, the only vacant seat was sitting in front of this Bronze 2 Star person. Leo knew some of these people from the Elite class, as he had studied with some of them before, but after becoming Awakened, these people became proud and many stopped talking to ordinary students, something Leo couldn't understand.
It didn't take long for the class's teacher to arrive and the students became quiet to pay attention in class. That teacher was an old man, a Silver Rank 1 Star. His lecture was on Awakened history.
Leo was paying attention in class until he felt a thin finger poke his shoulder. Curious, Leo turned and saw a folded paper dangling from a girl's pair of fingers. He took the paper and read what was written on the note.
[Leonardo Lentz, the famous student prodigy, has finally become an Awakened, but strangely has he already reached the level of a Bronze 2 Star? What's his secret?]
Leo gave a small laugh at the contents of the note and wrote another note in response. The girl sitting behind him took the note he'd handed her and opened it to read.
[French fries three times a week, lots of weight training, and the smiles of curious girls.]
The girl gave a small laugh at the unexpected answer and wrote another note. Leo took the note without the teacher noticing and read it.
[How often do curious girls smile, I wonder?]
The girl took the note Leo scribbled in reply and read it, curious about his response.
[That all depends on whether you agree to have coffee in the cafeteria during the break.]
'What a daring boy,' she thought with a smile and handed over another note.
[Lucky for you, my agent is available at that time.]
Leo took the note and put it in his pocket before returning to pay attention to the class with a smile coming off the side of his mouth. The girl also opened a small smile and returned to focus on the class.
Leo wasn't the kind of boy who would crawl around whenever he saw a pretty woman, but when a pretty woman came to talk to him, he wouldn't be stupid enough to ignore her.
Leo knew this girl, Elizabeth Jones, before his arrival to the class. She was the only other Bronze 2 Star Awakened student in the school, taking the title of student genius. Always acting in a serious manner at school, many students felt discouraged from talking to her, mainly because she was a Bronze 2 Star Awakened. The boys often felt intimidated talking to a girl stronger than them, while the girls felt jealous of her because she was so talented.
Leo noticed that she raised her eyebrows when she sensed he was also an Awakened at the level of Bronze 2 Stars, and from the exchange of the two of them when he arrived in the classroom, Leo sensed a hint of interest from her, as she knew he wouldn't be afraid to talk to her because she was more powerful. And of course, Leo's talent for reaching Bronze 2 Stars in such a short time was also a major factor in her becoming even more interested in him.
The class passed in a short time and without saying a word, the two left the classroom together towards the cafeteria. Viewers from afar might have thought it was a coincidence that they were heading in the same direction, but when the two sat at the same table, people were shocked. Elizabeth Jones and Leonardo Lentz were sitting together, what was going on?!
"Elizabeth Jones, the genius student of the Elite class, was exchanging notes with the charismatic, talented, and hot Leonardo Lentz. What's going on?" Leo commented with a falsely arrogant smile.
"Did you forget to add narcissist to the list?" Elizabeth added with a small laugh.
"Alright, I don't mind collecting more adjectives for myself." Leo continued as if it didn't affect him.
"Pfft.." Elizabeth laughed, seeing how Leo was acting. "What did you think of the Elite class?"
Leo thought for a moment and replied, "A little disappointed?"
"Disappointed? Understandable. History class is pretty boring, but the practical class is worth it," she commented before taking a sip of her coffee.
"Practical class? Sounds interesting," Leo replied, "but I was surprised you sent me a note during class."
"Did it bother you?" Elizabeth asked.
"Of course not; it just surprised me. It didn't strike me as your style," Leo commented.
"My style, huh? It's not like anyone really knows 'my style'," Elizabeth sighed.
"Lonely year, huh?" Leo commented.
"Don't remind me," she said before taking another sip of her coffee.
"Although it's apparently not as lonely as you said. Some flies are jealous of a bee buzzing around their flower," Leo commented as he pointed at a group heading their way.
These people have very unpleasant expressions on their faces, but Leo quietly continued drinking his coffee. He didn't have much patience for these kinds of people.
(Elizabeth and Chris' Visual Representations are already on my Discord server!)
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A new novel needs attention and affection, please vote with your power stones and comment what you think about the chapter, it really encourages me to keep writing!
I've created a discord server, join to see how the characters looks XD:
https://discord.gg/A2EKeu9nRs