"For the fifth time, Miller, I won't lend you my notes," I assert firmly while slamming my hands on my desk. Some of my classmates give me a confused glance.
"Thompson-"
I quickly cut him off by placing my hand in front of his face. "No; I said what I said."
Despite my assertiveness, Aiden gently takes hold of my hands, removing them from his face. He then gives me a "sad" expression before the corners of his mouth turn up in a playful smile.
Rolling my eyes at his antics, I snatch my hands out of his grip and say, "You really know how to push my buttons, Miller."
"Only you"was all he said in his playful voice while giving me a wink.
I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion and disgust.
We're currently in AP LANG, the first class that I have with Aiden, which is one of my least favourite classes, obviously. The start of the bet started today, as Aiden reminded me yesterday during that pointless call.
As the period started, Aiden wasted no time in annoying me. Despite the fact that it was a free period for us to prepare for our upcoming test, I struggled to focus due to the fact that I had this idiot beside me.
I start biting my pencil, something I usually do when I'm confused. I'm currently stuck on this question that I've been rereading for what seems like an eternity. English isn't my strongest suit. Even though it's the language that I speak on a regular basis, It's still not my best.
"B." Aiden leans close to me. I turn my head. Our faces are inches apart from each other. Catched off guard, I quickly avert my gaze back. "What?"
"It's B, Thompson," he repeats, his finger pointing resolutely at the letter B on the page.
I scoff "I don't need your help, Miller", knowing that I needed help.
"I noticed you being stuck on this for a while, Thompson," he sneered, rolling his eyes at my stubbornness.
"Ok, it wasn't that long, and plus, I knew the answers; I just needed to do my calculations." I huffed.
"We're in English, Thompson; what calculations could you possibly be doing?" He recounted that, while adjusting his sleeves and seeking the opportunity, I took the chance to scan his outfit.
He's currently wearing the uniform—a button-up long-sleeved shirt paired with a slightly loose tie.
The uniform hugs his body nicely—I can give him that.
"Whatever, Miller," I say, dismissing him while turning my attention back to the sheets of papers plastered around on my desk. Taping my pen to my desk
After some thinking, the answer truly was B. Of course, he's right. Aiden has always been very good at English, while I, on the other hand, am not so good. Don't get me wrong, I'm good, but not that much compared to him.
15 minutes later
The class is totally quiet now, the only sound being the hum of the ceiling fans. Everyone was immersed in their thoughts and deep in their study sessions.
Even Aiden, which comes as a surprise to me, stopped bothering me a couple of minutes ago after I kept on brushing him off, not attempting to start our bickering, knowing that would result in me getting nothing done this whole period.
I glance in his direction, taking in his demeanour. He sat up right in his chair, jaw clenched, something I noticed he usually does when he's concentrated. His glasses were perched precariously on his nose; I also noticed him with them on sometimes. I'm pretty sure they're reading glasses. His intense focus was evident in the way he held his body still, his eyes fixed on the page before him. I can't believe I'm saying this, but Aiden looks kind of hot.
I quickly snapped out of my trance, abruptly averting my gaze, startled by my one word. Oh my gosh, eww, no way I said that. What the fuck?
I discreetly cleared my throat and redirected my attention back to my studies. Just ignore that, Zhera.
"Alright, class, to prepare for the test, we will be doing a quick debate or a mock trial. I will be dividing the class into four groups, consisting of 4 to 5 people, and assigning you opposing viewpoints on a topic. Each group can research and prepare arguments to present their case in a debate or mock trial format. You guys have to be quick; I'll give you 30 minutes to prepare."
Oh, another debate. my fav
5 minutes later
After a couple of minutes, the teacher finally finished assigning our teams. Aiden and my team will be going against each other. Which I'm happy about and eager to take revenge on the last debate we had.
I clap my hands, turning to face my teammates. "Okay, so first we should decide on who will be researching and who will be doing the majority of the talking. I'm okay with either; it depends on you guys."
"I can do the research." A shy girl with long black hair that cascades to her back says, I'm pretty sure her name is Aarna.
"Me too; I'm okay with that." A tall girl with ginger hair adds, raising her hand happily.
I nod "Okay, good. I guess it just leaves it up to you and me to do the talking." I say this, turning to my other teammate, who simply nods in agreement.
As we settle into our seats, we begin to prepare for the upcoming debate. The topic is whether genetically modified organisms should be embraced or rejected in modern agriculture. Which is a pretty tricky topic. We are against it, while Aiden's team is for it.
—
A couple of minutes pass, and I'm starting to practice my arguments; the debate is starting in a couple of minutes. I better be ready this time.
I shifted my gaze towards the other side of the classroom, which is where Aiden's team is situated. As I looked in his direction, I noticed something unexpected—hazel, piercing eyes staring back at me, and he was waving his hand with a smirk adorning his face.
With a subtle roll of my eyes, I silently mouth the words, "You're going to lose," to him. He shakes his head and mouths back confidently "We'll see about that, Thompson".
I scoff, turning my gaze back to my team, and I notice them staring at me.
"What is it?"
Aarna smiles softly, her voice filled with genuine curiosity. "We're curious as to why you and Aiden are always at each other's throats, like every day you're arguing about something."
Oh, hm, how can I explain why I hate that annoying, repulsive, vexatious, bird-brained fish?
I chuckle wryly, thinking of what to say: "He just gets on my nerves, you know, like he knows how to directly push my buttons, and I know he does it on purpose." That's the best way I could explain my dislike for him.
The other girl, whose name I now know is Salma, nods, looking up from her screen. "Everyone's been curious as to why you guys argue like every single day, haha, but it's entertaining."
I awkwardly nodded. Getting back to my work, I never really wondered how other people could persecute us or how our constant biking could be annoying, but whatever.
"Okay, let's go through what we're going to say. So you'll start with the opening sentence, while you two research what the other team's argument is about, and I'll try to counterattack their arguments. Got it?"
The three of them nod.
—
The class quiets down now; everyone is in their seats, ready to get this debate over with. Aiden and I's teams are going first. Both of our teams are in the middle of the class, facing each other. I could feel Aiden's stare, but I chose not to look up and distract myself.
As the debate begins, I take a deep breath. My teammate starts his opening sentence by explaining why we are against After my teammate is done, Aiden stands up confidently and starts his team's opening sentence by saying why they're for it. He made good points, and I can give him that.
As time continued, the debate became more heated, specifically between me and, yeah, you guessed it right, Aiden.
We've been going back and forth now.
"Your argument clearly makes no sense, Miller. I would like you to elaborate."
"Please explain to me where in my argument it doesn't make sense." He asks calmly while giving me a fixed look.
I clear my throat, looking at my notes. "You say here that..., but clearly that doesn't make any sense; could you please elaborate?" I say it calmly while tilting my head to the side.
"Mr. Miller, if you don't elaborate on your statement, your team loses." The teacher announces, raising her brows, clearly amused by our argument.
Aiden clears his throat, looking at his teammates for any help. They all shake their heads, defeated.
He bits his lips, then scratches his head. It looks like Aiden is at a loss for words, something that doesn't happen often.
"We would like to get a couple of seconds to talk this out." Aiden sighed while turning to his team.
"Make it quick," was all the teacher said while looking at her watch.
I pray that they didn't find a way to explain that argument; that made no sense.
A couple of seconds pass, and they stop talking. Aiden stands up, clears his throat, and looks me straight in the eyes. "We have come to a conclusion; we could not find any way to elaborate our statements."
I try hard to mask my smile. It looks like I won this one. I can't wait to rub it in his face.
—
How do you guys feel about their dynamic? Tell me your honest opinions :)
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