Mudita ; The Gifted 2018

Chapter 2

Jaidee

Over lunch, Claire had explained to me that being in Class I was really advantageous. We finished classes earlier than others. We had access to better quality food, Wi-Fi, and even bathrooms. We also got to choose our roommates but since I was a new student, I was immediately assigned to Claire because no dorm rooms were left.

I was left alone at the table because Korn had to develop some of his pictures while Claire and Punn were asked to do something by a teacher. I was eating quietly when I heard a small clang of a food tray. Only a few I looked over and saw another student had spilled some of his food on another student. I groaned when I saw who it was.

Wave.

And the student who had spilled his food was the kid being chased around by a teacher earlier. He was Nac's friend and his name was Pang. He was from the lowest ranking class in the whole school, Class VIII. I looked at my watch. It was 11:00 am and I frowned when I realized that our class was the only one supposed to be in the cafeteria at this hour. Class VIII was supposed to be let out at 12:30.

I watched as Wave stood up and wiped off the excess food on his uniform. This was trouble. Pang tried to clean off what was left of his food on the floor, apologizing to Wave in the process.

"Wait. Wipe it." Wave said, stopping Pang before he could leave.

"That's fine. It didn't leave a stain on me." Pang explained, still gripping his tray but Wave glared at him.

"I mean, wipe my shoe." Wave ordered and Pang looked scared as he tried to walk away. Wave moved his foot, causing Pang to trip and drop his food. The tray let out a loud slam and now the entire cafeteria was tuning in. Wave was smirking at Pang and Pang was livid as he stood up and looked at Wave who was surprisingly calm.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" He yelled as he grabbed Wave by the collar.

"What's the matter?" I looked behind them and saw Ms. Ladda. When she arrived, all of the students who were tuning in immediately went back to eating and pretended nothing happened. Ms. Ladda was the head administrator of Ritdha and she was also the disciplinarian. Punn had mentioned that she was incredibly strict in implementing the rules and her punishments were nonetheless cruel.

"I asked, what's the matter?" She asked Pang.

"He came at me first." Pang explained.

"Miss. He doesn't have a badge on his shirt. I'm afraid he's a student from another class who sneaked out to have an early lunch break." Wave interjected.

"Don't change the subject." Pang told Wave only to receive a glare from Ms. Ladda.

"Quiet! Where is your badge?" She asked, looking at Pang's uniform.

"I left it upstairs." Pang lied.

"What room are you in?" She asked and I saw Nac walk over.

"Hey, Pang! Why did it take you so long to put the dish away? Oh, hello, miss." Nac said, placing his arm around Pang.

"Is he your friend?" Ms. Ladda asked Nac who nodded.

"Yes, he forgot his badge in the classroom. He's from Room 1, the same as me." Nac explained and Wave scoffed.

"Really? I'm also from Room 1 but I don't know him." Wave claimed, looking at the two in annoyance.

"Wave. Let me ask you something. How many people can you actually remember? Let's see if you know my name." Nac asked Wave who went silent. I almost let out a laugh when he nervously licked his lips.