FRAGILE - Hierarchy

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"He’s killing it, giving a bad boy sexy look more than usual," one girl said, prompting Ellie to look up and see Ri-an. Observing him, she admitted he was handsome, but then noticed a bandage on his hand, which puzzled her.

"Did you see the bandage on his hand? Did he hurt himself?" the other girl asked, bringing Ellie’s attention back to her book.

She tried to ignore their conversation but couldn’t help eavesdropping. Eventually, she shrugged it off and made her way to class, only to realize she was lost. In frustration, she banged her head lightly against the wall.

A teacher noticed and approached her. "What are you doing, Miss? It's almost time for class," she said, making Ellie look up.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Ellie bowed. "I'm just a bit lost," she said, making the teacher smile a little.

"But you don’t have to bang your head against the wall," the teacher said, making Ellie blush in embarrassment.

"What's your schedule?" she asked.

"Mathematics," Ellie replied, making the teacher chuckle.

"It seems you're in luck; I'm your teacher for that class," she said, leaving Ellie at a loss for words. The teacher started walking, and Ellie followed her.

As they walked into the room, Ellie found her classmates already there. She looked down as the teacher stopped, making her halt too.

"Enter the room before me," the teacher said, and Ellie nodded.

As she walked into the room, the first thing she saw was Ri-an sitting in the middle, surrounded by some Special A students, which made her confused. Maybe she was in the wrong room.

"Hey! Sit beside me," someone called. She looked around and found In-ha raising his hand. Ellie sighed and quickly went to him, but clumsily bumped into a chair, making everyone look at her.

"I'm sorry," she said, hearing one of them laugh.

"The scholarship student is kinda cute," said a boy with curly hair named Woojin, making her look away and sit beside In-ha.

The teacher entered and looked around. "There's no special announcement. If anyone needs to change their classes, you have to wait until the end of the week," she said.

While Ellie was listening, In-ha waved his hand at a girl. Ellie looked up and realized it was the new girl who seemed familiar.

"Class president, can you and I have a word, please?" the teacher said, making the boy stand up and follow her. Everyone began to leave the room, and Ellie opened her bag and started reading her book again.

"In-ha, can you behave? I'm trying to read," she said, making In-ha look at her and pout.

"But," he began, but Ellie looked at him sternly, and he mimed zipping his mouth. Still, he couldn’t help it.

"Hey, can I ask a question?" In-ha asked two students. "How do you apply for class changes?" he asked, making the girl look at him dumbfounded.

"What?" the girl asked, amused.

"I heard there were classes like rowing and fencing, but none of them are in my schedule," he said, making Ellie look up from her book.

"Why are you asking me that?" the girl said, and Ellie responded bluntly.

"Because he doesn't know," Ellie said, making the girl look at her. Everyone started to look at them, some with horror, but the girl just scoffed.