"Never worry about numbers. Help one person at a time, and always start with the person nearest you."

-Mother Teresa

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Ivan entered the Astronomy classroom. He came in early and was the only student present there. Taking his usual seat, he placed his bag behind his back.

The bag, pure black in color represented his personality. To people, he was a mystery, even to Max who had been his friend since a year.

He hadn't ever told Max that his presence mattered, but he was thankful of his cheery self which at times made his dark days brighter.

It was Ivan's nature to remain hidden, to bury his feelings deep inside his heart. The permission to get to know them was not granted to anyone. Yet.

Running his hands through his dark hair, he let out a frustrated sigh. He hit the desk with his fist, the sound echoing in the empty atmosphere.

His fist, now red, matched the condition of his veiled heart, its pain just kept to himself.

To people, he was a tough, bad boy who probably didn't have a single worry in the world. But he had them, like each one of us have.

"Care to share?" Max asked, taking a seat just in front of Ivan. He noticed Ivan's fist and shook his head.

"Whole-Grain stuff," Ivan answered with a glare, his blue eyes almost on the verge of angry tears. "Just sick of it."

"And?" Max encouraged him to speak further. He was worried about Ivan bottling up his feelings most of the time, and wanted him to at least share what was bothering him.

He knew that Ivan appreciated his friendship, even though he didn't tell. He took pride in the fact that he could befriend Ivan who at first was not interested. How did their friendship begin? Well, that's another story.

Max was Ivan's complete opposite, yet you could say he was his best friend. His positivity and cheery nature were in stark contrast with Ivan's surly and quiet attitude. It was to the point that everyone found him unapproachable, well, except the twins.

Knowing the twins' fiery selves and determination in the short while they'd joined the school, Max was sure that they'd win Ivan's friendship.

After a while, Ivan's anger subsided, but his face still remained in a frown.

"Mom forced me to buy everything whole-wheat and whole-grain yesterday."

"Do you know how irritating it was to search for everything with that letter W?" he continued with a grimace. "Even more to eat it."

Students started entering the class, their hands clutching blue files, which contained their Astronomy assignments. They'd to submit it today. Max watched the students entering, and smiled upon seeing the twins.

He was distracted, and then Ivan's voice caught his attention.

"I hate the letter W now," Ivan finished with a glare.

"What's up, guys? Good morning," Elena chirped once she came closer. She took the seat beside Ivan who glared in her direction. Kate took the seat beside Max, which was the usual arrangement.

"Thanks to you, my morning has turned bad already," Ivan spoke through gritted teeth.

"At least I'm affecting you," Elena quipped back with a grin much to Ivan's annoyance.

"What's with you, Elsa? Forgot your assignment?" Kate joked, earning no response as the ice king chose to remain silent.

Unfazed, she turned her attention to Max, who was already grinning at her. Does he ever, not smile?

"So, did you type this assignment yourself or had one of your servants do it?" Kate asked.

"I did it," Max replied with an eye roll.

"You could've asked any of your thousand servants to do it," Elena joined in. "Mr. Rich Pants."

"Oh wait, erase that, Mr. Billionare Pants."

"Just coz I'm rich doesn't mean that I'm lazy," Max answered. "Besides, I live alone here, all my servants are in our mansion at Ohio."

"What about your parents?" Kate questioned while tucking her green curl behind her ear. This week, her curl was dyed green to depict her love for plants.

"They look after Steele Enterprises, our company in Ohio," Max commented while unzipping his bag.

The Astronomy teacher asked to bring in their assignments, cutting off their conversation.

The sound of unzipping of bags, rustling of papers, and pattering of feet filled the classroom.

Elena took out her assignment and looked at it with satisfaction. Max took out his and opened it. He showed the twins pages filled with pictures, and a few words to show that he had typed something.

"They say a picture says a thousand words," he spoke in a mischievous tone. "Then why should I type so much?"

"I can't find my assignment!" Ivan and Kate said simultaneously. Both of them searched their backpacks in haste, clearly agitated that it wasn't there.

"I had kept yours there," Elena informed Kate with a frown.

Ivan sat with an expression mixed with anger and fear. "I'm screwed."

"Here, have my assignment," Elena offered, placing her file on his desk after removing the label of her name.

"I got into an argument with mom," Ivan told Max with a frown, ignoring Elena. "In a hurry to get away from her, I must have forgotten it there," he added, running his hand through his hair.

"Van," Elena touched his arm lightly. "You can take my assignment," she offered once again.

"I don't need your favor, El," Ivan declined. Upon seeing her and Kate's startled faces, he corrected himself.

"Elena," he deadpanned and removed her hand from his arm.

"It's Elena," he whispered to himself.

"Your reputation is at stake. I know that your work is perfect. Sir, won't like it," Elena explained.

"I can handle it."

"Mr. Moore, and the Russo twins, please submit your assignments," Mr. Lancaster called out while glancing at the files' contents.

Ivan's crestfallen face made Elena sad. Kate looked between the two, hoping that the former would accept her sister's help.

"Why don't you ask Mrs. C to bring your assignment?" Max suggested.

"She'll probably be mopping the whole house with disinfectant," Ivan replied scornfully. "She won't pick up her phone."

The whisperings turned silent for a minute until Ivan commented angrily.
"This is all her fault! She wouldn't have argued and I could've brought my assignment."

"What has she got to do with that?" Elena questioned with a glare. "This is your fault."

Kate held Elena's arm and indicated towards the file. Nodding, Elena left the bickering and offered her assignment for the third time.

"Take it," she spoke firmly, placing the assignment on his palm. "Save your stubborn ass."

Ivan accepted the file but didn't say anything to her. His relieved face could say that he was thankful. Elena noticed it and smiled softly.

She tapped Kate's shoulder and raised her eyebrow silently asking what happened to her assignment. This was answered by her shrug.

"Class, I've found the best assignment so far. It's written on exoplanets, and I must say it's quite impressive," Mr. Lancaster informed with a smile. To see him smile was a big thing.

The twins looked at each other with shocked expressions. Kate looked back at the teacher, about to tell him that it was her assignment.

"It's written by Miss Cooper here, job well done." He looked at Ashley and showed her a thumbs up. She grinned and glanced at the twins. Locking eyes with Elena, she blew her an airy kiss.

Enraged, Elena was about to get up, but Kate grabbed her arm, shaking her head firmly.

"Miss Cooper gets to present her assignment on stage in front of the principal and whole school," the teacher completed.

Kate looked at Elena with her shoulders sagged in relief. She murmured something under her breath, looked above at the ceiling, then closed her eyes and smiled.

Ivan and Max looked at her with raised eyebrows, unable to understand why she was relieved.

When she caught them staring at her, she answered, "See, when bad things happen to you, there's always a little good in them."

"So, not going on stage is a good thing?" Max inquired. This was met by Kate's nodding.

"What's so bad about the stage?" Max pressed, noticing how her relieved expression hardened, and then finalized upon a stoic one.

His question had made her uncomfortable, which he could notice as her fingers fidgeted.

"To hell with the stage," Kate muttered under her breath.

"The Russo twins," the Astronomy teacher called out with scorn. "For not submitting your assignments today, I need your assignments hand-written five times."

"By tomorrow!" he barked.

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Hey, guys! What's up? How's life going on? My exams will begin on the 26th of this month and I'm nervous. This is my last year of college and I'll graduate once I pass, hopefully. Please pray that they go well.

Anyways, back to this chapter. I decided to write it as the scenes were just roaming in my head, especially at that time when I study LOL.

The twins are in trouble. One for helping and the other as her assignment was stolen. What do you think of the punishment given to them? Submitting their assignments five times that too hand-written!

Also, Kate is relieved that her assignment was stolen. She wouldn't have to go on the stage to present it. What do you think is behind this? Any guesses?

If you have any doubts please feel free to ask. If you find any mistakes, please point them out in the comments. Thank you, everyone, for reading.

Sneak-Peek of Episode 14:

What's going to happen next? Any clue? 😎😉

Keep smiling! 💕
Lots of love❤💙
Sakina

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