Part 2My Study Buddy is the Dungeon Boss

A few minutes later, just as the nurse said, a middle-aged woman in a severe black skirt suit walked in.

She wore thick black-rimmed glasses, her expression stern, her eyes flashing with a cold, sharp light.

She didn't ask how I was. She just dropped a cold command:

"If you're not dead, come back to class."

She turned and marched out without waiting for a reply.

I scrambled off the bed, waved goodbye to the nurse, and trotted after her.

She walked with a terrifying speed. She looked exactly like the type of teacher students would nickname "The Terminator."

Wait. Student days?

Why am I thinking like that? I am a student.

I rubbed my temple. My brain must really be scrambled from the fall.

"We're here. Go in."

Standing at the classroom door, the teacher stepped aside.

Inside, thirty pairs of eyes swiveled toward me in unison. Their gazes were intense, burning.

I froze in the doorway.

Uh oh. My social anxiety is flaring up.

Afraid of being stared at for too long, I quickly scanned the room. There was an empty desk in the back left corner.

That must be mine.

I rushed over, sat down, and saw English vocabulary words on the blackboard. Instinctively, I pulled an English textbook from under the desk and grabbed a pen.

The atmosphere in the class was weirdly tense. The teacher kept firing questions, and the students who couldn't answer stammered and shook like leaves.

Finally, the bell rang.

I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. I hadn't been called on.

But there was a grammar point I still didn't get. The teacher had already stormed out. What if she quizzes me on it next period?

I looked around. The other students were chattering loudly now, but none of them looked approachable.

I slowly turned my head to look at my desk mate.

He was pale, almost sickly so. He hadn't made a sound the entire class. He sat there, quiet, introverted, serious.

He looked smart.

"Hi... Silas?" I read the name written neatly on his notebook.

Hearing my voice, Silas tilted his head slightly.

Black bangs covered his eyes. His skin was a translucent white with hints of blue veins. Even with his eyes hidden, I could tell from his high nose bridge and sharp jawline that he was handsome.

"Um, the teacher was talking about non-finite verbs as modifiers earlier. I didn't quite catch it."

"Did you get it? Could you explain it to me?"

"Sorry to bother you. It's not that I wasn't listening, it's just... my head is still spinning."

I put on my best pleading face.

Silas stared at me for a long time. Just when I thought he was going to ignore me, his bangs shifted.

He gave a barely perceptible nod.

"Mhm."

I happily shoved my textbook toward him. "Thanks! You're a lifesaver!"

"Non-finite verbs..."

His voice was clear and cold, like water running over stones in a dark cave. It had a raspy quality, like he hadn't used it in years.

Wow. Even his voice is handsome.

I shook off the thought and focused on his explanation.