Evelyn Parker was supposed to be on duty with William Carter this morning, but he brought a bag of fruit and a bag of snacks to share with the group, made up an excuse that his “alarm clock broke and he didn’t wake up,” then grinned cheekily and apologized, coaxing everyone into a good mood so no one minded his laziness.

Afterwards, he absentmindedly flipped open his English textbook, picked a random page, and joined the droning chorus of recitation, all the while calculating what David Wright and the others were planning—because of this Brian Cooper, he was like the spirit of the spider plant by the back window, as if he’d grown roots and was basically living in the classroom, refusing to move easily.

And whether it was Robert Thompson or David Wright, these little punks only bullied the weak and feared the strong; there was no way they’d dare to pick on her precious darling under everyone’s watchful eyes, especially with Heather right there.

While pondering this, William Carter glanced back at Brian Cooper, only to be caught by Brian Cooper's sharp senses! Before William Carter could even feel awkward, Brian Cooper shot him a fierce glare.

“Shit,” William Carter muttered to himself after taking an inexplicable eye-dagger, turning away in a huff, thinking, “Who cares about you anyway, live or die as you please.”

So very quickly, William Carter put Brian Cooper out of his mind, his thoughts completely occupied by the afternoon’s PE activity class—there was only one activity class every Monday and Friday afternoon, and Friday’s was likely to be taken over by the monthly exam, which made Monday’s activity time all the more precious.

During the break, William Carter ran to the school team three times, his legs nearly running thin, before finally cornering the coach and shamelessly reserving a basketball court. But after the second period, as soon as he stepped outside, he was shocked to see Heather coming downstairs with a lesson plan in hand, clearly intending to claim the PE activity for herself!

William Carter turned and ran, dashing into the classroom in a few quick strides: “Alice ReedAlice Reed!”

Alice Reed was buried in her chemistry homework, guessing at a few little bottles, halfway through writing a chemical formula, and was startled by William Carter.

“Heather is coming down,” William Carter said quickly, one hand braced on her desk, “The people need your protection, class monitor, it’s time to show your sense of responsibility as a class leader… Damn, sis, why are you ambushing me, what if it doesn’t come off!”

Alice Reed’s deskmate took advantage of his distraction, pulled out a small bottle of nail polish, and drew a little peach heart on his thumb resting on the desk, then looked up and grinned at him: “Hehe, just testing the color.”

William Carter didn’t have time to argue with her, because he could already smell the “mosquito coil” scent from Heather: “Hurry, hurry, it’s up to you guys!”

As soon as Heather entered the classroom, she was surrounded by a group of diligent students led by Alice Reed, each holding a physics workbook, lining up on their own to ask questions.

During self-study periods, math and physics teachers always got this kind of treatment when they entered the room; they were basically used to these fan-meeting-like scenes. Heather didn’t think much of it either, and after answering a pile of homework questions, she looked up—half the class was gone!

Facing the teacher’s confusion, Alice Reed replied innocently, “Didn’t they go to PE?”

Heather: “……”

William Carter rallied his friends and took over the basketball court, feeling very pleased—except that everyone who saw him had to ask, “Squad leader, what’s that thing painted on your nail?”

Outside the sports field, he happened to run into David Wright and Robert Thompson talking, the two of them even swapping cigarettes like undercover agents.

Holding a basketball and another spare one he’d dug out from the equipment room, William Carter bumped David Wright’s back with a ball and nodded at Robert Thompson: “Everyone’s here today, want to play a full-court game?”

David Wright looked at him and shook his head: “You guys go ahead, I’ve got something to do today.”

William Carter was immediately puzzled. They’d finally managed to sneak out from under Heather’s nose to grab this precious activity period, and now he just didn’t want to play? If it were anyone else, it’d be normal—after all, exams were coming and people needed to review—but David Wright was always the ringleader! This was like a glutton refusing a feast, or a womanizer pushing away a beauty throwing herself at him!

“Oh, all right then.” William Carter dribbled a few steps forward, but the more he thought about it, the more off it felt. Catching the ball in his hands, he turned to look at David Wright.

Just then, David Wright was also sneaking a look at him. Their eyes met, and David Wright guiltily looked away.

Something was definitely off!

William Carter kept thinking about it all the way to the basketball court, when he suddenly remembered that when he’d run out with the ball, Brian Cooper hadn’t been at his seat. Old Miller arrived, tossed his jacket onto the basketball hoop, and came running over, shouting, “I can only play half the period today, the answers for this issue’s math workbook aren’t out yet.”

William Carter tossed him a ball: “You guys play first, I… I have a stomachache.”

“Huh?” Old Miller caught the basketball, baffled, “What kind of monster is sealed on your nail? And why are you taking a basketball to the bathroom, does it help you go? Hey!”

William Carter ignored him and walked off quickly.

William Carter circled back from the basketball court, and from a distance saw David Wright and Robert Thompson leading a few people toward the second floor of the teaching building.