Chapter 222: What’s going on here?

The last week of the school year, the students were only required to go to school for their clearance or whatever they needed to do before the school year ended. Hence, many only came for their clearance or for extra projects to gain some points.

This year, however, was different.

Mostly came in not just for their clearance or their teacher’s mercy, but because they were intrigued to see the result of the ranking. Even though the results would be announced on Tuesday, everyone was already talking about it.

"Penny, did you complete the signature on your clearance?" Lily came to Penny because Penny was the only one who wasn’t running here and there for their teacher’s signatures.

Penny nodded. "Mhm." she already got the headmaster’s signature, and that was enough. After all, Penny would be taking an exam in two weeks.

"Good for you," Lily sighed as she dragged a chair near Penny’s. "Penny, what do you think about the result for tomorrow?"

"The ranking?"

"Mhm."

"Well." Penny shrugged and cupped her face. "I’ll leave it all to fate."

Lily had seen Penny get nervous and in distress during the basketball game. Hence, hearing her say this only showed that Penny was confident Atlas did well.

"Well, you’re right." Lily chuckled. "Let’s all leave it to fate. I mean, I’m sure your brother studied well. Moreover, he earned the unofficial 11th member of the star section without even trying. So, I guess everything will be okay."

Penny smiled, snapping her eyes at the door when she saw Ginnie walk in. "Ginnie, you’re back?"

"Uh, Penny." Ginnie approached them with an indescribable look on her face.

"What’s wrong, Ginnie?" asked Lily. "Is everything okay?"

Ginnie pursed her lips. "Someone’s looking for you, Penny."

"Who?" Penny intuitively gazed at the door, only to see Dean standing outside. Her lips curved down and looked away. "I don’t know him."

"Penny, you don’t..."

"Not interested."

Ginnie and Lily stared at Penny before exchanging looks. That person outside their classroom was the top 1 from the star section. Although they didn’t know what he was doing there, they also knew ignoring him was rude.

Seeing the conflicted look on their faces, a deep sigh escaped Penny.

"Fine," said Penny and wordlessly jumped out of the chair. She approached the entrance, not a bit interested in talking to the guy. All she planned to do was close the door on him so Ginnie and Lily wouldn’t feel uncomfortable.

But just as Penny reached for the door, she stopped.

"Congrats," said the guy, smiling at her.

Penny furrowed her brows and cast him a repulsed look. "What are you spewing this time?"

"I’m congratulating you for winning the bet," he said. "I’m sure you got a lot from the betting pool."

The look on Penny’s face changed. ’He knew I started the betting pool?’

"I want to congratulate your brother for getting in the star section, but I really don’t care about him," he said. "But I just want to say this since I think we’d be seeing each other more often."

"I’m not getting into the star section," she muttered, making sure no one was there to hear her. She didn’t want others to make a huge fuss about it. After all, Penny barely got a break from the fan club and she just wanted to relax for now.

"I’m not talking about that," Dean chuckled and stood straight. "You’d know in the future. Anyway, that’s all. It’s always nice to see you."

Having said that, Dean strode off while Penny kept her gaze on his back.

When she first met this guy in the street, she already felt that he was strange. But after meeting him again in the horror booth, she immediately disliked him. And now she disliked him even more.

"What’s wrong with him?" she mumbled. "He’s acting like we’ve known each other. I really don’t like him for some reason."

Not liking someone after seeing their action or their character was a normal reaction. However, it was strange for Penny to not like someone even before she got to know them. It wasn’t like Dean had done or said something infuriating apart from being vague.

"Whatever," she shrugged and closed the door, not thinking much about it.

Why would she? That guy suddenly appeared in this story without a heads-up.

Getting rid of whatever thoughts Penny had in mind, she joined her friends. Obviously, they asked her about what the guy wanted from her, but Penny simply shrugged it off. They dropped the subject when she said, "I wasn’t interested in talking about him."

Hence, they just continued their petty drama.

*

*

*

On the day the ranking result would be announced, students flocked to the main bulletin to check the results. Much to everyone’s surprise, it wasn’t what they all expected.

"Let’s go check!" Penny and Hugo dragged Atlas to the main bulletin, wanting to see the results together. They squeezed through the crowd and when they were in the front, they quickly gazed up to check.

Deep lines appeared between their brows upon seeing the list.

"Wow! Cousin!" Keith’s voice rang, making everyone look in his direction. He shook Theo, who seemed to be in a daze. "You made it to the star section!"

Theo looked at his name in the new ranking for the star section for the next school year. His name was there on the 10th rank. Theo’s knees wobbled before he smiled from ear to ear, proud of the results.

’All my efforts... weren’t for naught!’Theo cried inwardly, but he maintained a cool front. He glanced at the students, who were looking at him in awe. Their looks made him proud, but then he caught Atlas’s figure.

"Atlas!" Theo called, smirking, as he didn’t see Atlas’s name on the list. Well, Theo stopped checking when he saw his name on the 10th rank. He didn’t need to check if Atlas made it because they were simply fighting for the tenth place.

"Atlas." He approached Atlas and offered a smile. "It’s okay, man. I know you did your best and everyone knows about that. So, don’t feel bad if you didn’t enter the ranking."

Atlas simply glanced at him before setting his eyes on the bulletin board. Slowly, anger rose in his heart as if his eyes could make a hole in the bulletin board.

Even Penny’s face darkened, clasping the straps of her bag tightly. ’What’s going on here?’