"As a Lesson for You, Diana Claire…"
Diana fell silent when Michael called her name. She watched as Michael reached out and touched the bulletin board. He grabbed one of the announcements pinned there, ripped it off, and tore it to pieces.
"You wanted to see this, right? The Olympiad announcement." Michael crushed the paper in his hand right in front of Diana. "Now, you’ll have to go to the other bulletin board to check it out."
Diana could only watch as Michael walked away. Everyone knew what "the other bulletin board" meant—it was far away, in a different school building.
She sighed. She wanted to suggest having a main bulletin board in every classroom so that students wouldn’t have to go so far just to check announcements. But that was just a wish. The classroom boards had limited information.
"Hey. You know, you're the only one who can still act arrogant even when everyone's laughing at you."
That remark made Diana look up.
She saw Michael standing face-to-face with someone. From the whispers she heard, Michael had bumped into a student—someone who, surprisingly, had the guts to confront him. Maybe he wanted to retaliate against Michael, who didn’t even feel guilty for what he had done.
That student turned out to be the new kid. He had a reputation for being hot-tempered and getting into fights. Now, they were standing against each other as if a battle was about to break out.
"What?! Are you mocking me?!" Michael was offended. "Who do you think you are?!"
"Heh. Do you not know? Or are you just pretending not to because you're scared?" The boy smirked. "Fine, I’ll tell you. My name is Revan Gael."
Revan’s challenging tone made Michael even angrier. The other students watching felt tense.
"Why should I be afraid of you? You’re just a cocky delinquent who does nothing but cause trouble! You’re useless!"
"At least I have skills. Unlike you, who only brags about your father because, without him, you're nothing. Spoiled brat!"
Revan’s words were met with a punch from Michael.
Michael aimed for Revan’s face, but Revan caught his fist in his palm.
"Trying to attack me? You’re too confident."
Michael then attempted a kick, but Revan swiftly dodged it.
Revan countered with a punch to Michael’s jaw, making him stumble back while clutching his face.
"You’re the one humiliating yourself," Revan said.
Once again, Michael felt embarrassed and insulted. The fight continued under the watchful eyes of their peers.
Not willing to give up, Michael launched an all-out attack, not giving Revan a chance to counter. But even then, Revan effortlessly blocked all of Michael’s moves.
In the end, Revan sped up his movements, striking back with greater speed and precision.
No one dared to interfere—not until Michael finally ran away.
As he fled, he shouted, "You’ll pay for this! Just wait!"
Silence.
The crowd was still caught up in the intensity of the fight. But slowly, the students began to disperse—some afraid, some unwilling to get involved, and others simply indifferent.
Diana, who had been watching in silence, suddenly grew nervous when Revan approached her.
When he was beside her, he spoke. "You’re in first place."
It was just one sentence, but it carried a deeper meaning.
Diana’s eyes widened. She watched as Revan walked away.
She understood what he meant.
Without needing to check the bulletin board in the other building, she now knew she had ranked first. Revan had informed her.
So, Revan knew about her problem and had helped her.
But why? That was what she didn’t understand.
At the very least, she now realized—Revan wasn’t entirely a bad person.
Diana then turned to Kevin, the real cause of all this. He was the root of the problem.
But she said nothing. She simply sighed and walked away.
"Diana! Wait!" Kevin called after her.
At least he knew what he had to do—take responsibility or, at the very least, apologize.
The events of that day had a huge impact on Revan. He was expelled from school.
And though Diana had no reason to, she felt guilty.
She thought that if she hadn’t embarrassed Michael and made him angry, which led to him shoving someone else, the fight might never have happened.
But if Diana was to blame, then Kevin was even more at fault.
---
There was silence between Diana and Revan for a few seconds after she finished telling her story.
Then Diana asked, "So, do you remember now or not?"
Revan replied, "I think I remember it now."
Diana nodded. "Okay. I’ll head to my class now."
She still didn’t dare to ask why Revan had helped her that day.
Maybe he didn’t have any particular reason.
And if she asked, she might come across as overthinking things.
Revan also didn’t ask why she had called him a good person.
She would just keep that kindness to herself, even if it seemed insignificant.
Diana pushed herself off the wall and walked away, turning her back on Revan.
"Diana."
Revan called her name.
She stopped in her tracks.
It was the first time he had ever said her name.
For some reason, it felt strange. But not in a bad way.
She turned around to face him again, waiting for him to continue.
"There’s something… I want you to give me what I rejected earlier. Can you do something for me?"
"Huh?"
Revan stared at her directly, making Diana hold her breath.
She met his gaze, momentarily lost in his striking features.
"Can you be my friend?"
Diana tilted her head. What?! That’s all he wanted?
Then, she realized something about herself.
Friend.
Diana had never truly been close to anyone.
Her classmates were just that—classmates. She had friends, but none she was truly close with.
And honestly, this was the first time someone had ever asked to be her friend outright.
All her friendships had formed naturally—by sitting next to someone in class or working on assignments together.
She had friends, but none who were friends.
Was this different? Did Revan genuinely want to be her friend?
Was this what real friendship was supposed to be?
These thoughts raced through her mind.
Then she realized she needed to respond.
"Is that all?" she asked for confirmation.
Revan nodded.
Seeing that, Diana smiled and nodded back.
"Of course," she answered.
"You don’t mind?"
Huh? Revan’s next question surprised her.
She studied his expression.
"Are you worried that it would be a burden to me?" she asked, guessing his concern.
She hadn’t expected him to nod.
Revan admitted it.