NOVEL WEB Lie Again!
Chapter 15
<Chapter 15. Freaky Friday (4)> A heavy silence fell over the cafeteria. Everyone stared blankly at Amanda, the hamburger Amanda had thrown, and Dave Miller, who had been hit in the face by it.
The cabbage soaked in mayonnaise fell to the floor, leaving a white mark on Dave’s face. The sound of the food hitting the floor echoed through the quiet cafeteria. Dave, who had been stiffly frozen, raised his hand and wiped his face. White mayonnaise sauce smeared on his hand. “What the….” Soon, Dave’s face turned bright red. Isn’t it going to explode? Jin, who was watching him, imagined Dave’s head exploding like a bomb. Humiliated not only in front of the 10th graders but also the 9th graders who shared the same lunch period, Dave glared at Amanda as if he were ready to kill her. The large bulky man opened his mouth to menacingly approach Amanda, trying to regain his pride. “You crazy…!” But perhaps the dirty curse he had been trying to utter was not completed this time. Unfortunately, Joey grabbed the pasta on the tray with her bare hands and threw it at him faster than Dave could speak. Gasps of shock erupted, and the people around Dave took a few steps back from him. Swollen pasta noodles draped over his prized dirty blond hair, making him look like the ginger-haired kids he had mocked. “Oh, sorry! Your face looked a little hot, so I thought I’d help cool you down.” Joey’s cheerful tone drew snickers from the people around him. Dave, looking like smoke was about to pour out of his ears any second, grabbed a hamburger from the tray of the person next to him and threw it at Joey. However, Joey quickly ducked, narrowly avoiding the flying burger. The hamburger flew far and hit Jonathan’s face, who had been watching from behind. A small scream was heard. Everyone looked at Jonathan with tense faces. Jonathan, who received the hamburger in his face, laughed like a mischievous child and lifted the pizza he was eating. It seemed like slow motion. He pulled his arm back tightly as if gripping a baseball—then threw the pizza straight ahead. Food Fighhhhht! Jonathan Hansen’s voice rang through the cafeteria, loud and clear. At that moment, leftover food began flying through the air. Jin’s eyes wavered uncontrollably, unable to keep up with the sudden chaos unfolding before her. In an instant, the cafeteria turned into a battlefield. Food was being hurled wildly from all directions. Amid the chaos, bursts of laughter rang out as Ruth and Dustin eagerly joined in the food fight. The two shielded Amanda and Joey from Dave while relentlessly targeting him. Holding a cup of salad corn, Dustin grinned mischievously as he flicked individual kernels at Dave’s head, one by one. “Eat the beans, beans! Dave!” Jin stood frozen amid the flying food, her mouth slightly open like a malfunctioning robot. A fierce dilemma raged in her mind. If she joined in, what kind of punishment would she face? And more importantly… who would have to clean all this up? However, the moment Jin saw Dave trying to grab Amanda’s hair through Dustin and Ruth, she too lost her sense of reason. Starting with pouring the entire cup of cola over Dave’s head, Jin also began throwing whatever food she could grab. Not only did her hands get dirty from grabbing the food, but sticky and mushy things were clinging to her entire body. The clothes she was wearing were already beyond saving. She’d probably have to throw them away. The thoughts of clothes to change into, the little time left for lunch, who would clean up, how to shower, and the punishment… countless problems flashed through Jin’s mind. However, her face, as she threw food recklessly, was filled with laughter. The feeling of moving with a clear mind, not thinking about other people’s gazes or the aftermath, was incredible. She could feel the big and small stresses melting away. The Crawford students also seemed to be relieving their stress from grades by throwing food around like crazy. Even with a pizza flying in from somewhere and landing on her head like a hat, she couldn’t stop laughing. A rush of exhilaration filled her, rising all the way to the top of her head. * * * The lunch commotion was brought to an end by the belated dissuasion of the lunch lady and the teachers. They, along with Dave Miller’s group, were marked as the instigators and were dragged to the principal’s office. Standing in front of Principal Mr. Shore, Jin and the others lined up, their faces still filled with excitement as they secretly glanced at one another. Mr. Shore, his belly bulging, let out a deep sigh as he looked at the students standing before him. Each of them looked as though they had just emerged from a food bin, still dripping sauce onto the floor of the principal’s office. Mr. Shore watched sadly as the spotless white floor, which he polished every morning, slowly became dirty. “…So, I think it would be best if each of you explained what happened. This has never happened in the history of Crawford School…” Mr. Shore’s lecture seemed endless. As his speech dragged on, the kids, getting restless, distracted themselves by using Dave Miller and his friends, who stood in the front, as shields. Jin, secretly sniffing the smell rising from her body—thankfully, it only smells like tomato sauce—looked at Dustin with wide eyes. Dustin was waving his palm behind his back. While Jin was confused about what he was doing, the others quickly figured out what he wanted. Joey, who had been watching the principal’s reaction, slapped Dustin’s hand with hers. Following her, Amanda and Ruth also gave high-fives in turn. Jin hesitated, watching the others, unsure whether she should join in. Is it okay for me to do this too? Sometimes, their bond feels so strong that Jin finds herself questioning if there’s still a place for her in the group. Even now, Jin felt the weight of her own doubts. Amanda, with her big ambitions for the Ivy League, had taken on the punishment of a fight for Dustin, skipping class to get scolded in this very room. Joey and Ruth had also turned their backs on Dave Miller for Dustin’s sake. After watching them for a little over a month, Jin was certain of one thing. She was sure that, had anyone among them been insulted, they would have acted the same way. Just as they had for the past six years, they would always be there for each other, no matter the time or place. But when she imagined herself in Dustin’s place, that certainty began to fade like mist. Do I belong here? The solid years that bound them together felt like a wall shouting at Jin, “You don’t belong here.” The wall was too high and thick, and it seemed impossible to jump over. Standing in front of that wall, Jin sometimes felt a sense of helplessness. The time they had spent together, the events only they knew, the habits they shared—despite being together, Jin often felt lonely. Would they have done the same for me if I were the target of Dave Miller? Even though I know it’s greedy to compare myself, having only spent a little over a month with them, to the six years they’ve shared together… The gloomy thoughts that had been digging into the ground were abruptly cut off. It was because Ruth had suddenly grabbed Jin’s wrist. Jin looked at Ruth with a dazed expression. Ruth, who had pulled Jin’s wrist, stopped exactly on Dustin’s palm and then dropped it lightly. Clap. The palms met. The kids exchanged sly glances, their smiles creeping at the corners of their mouths. Watching them, Jin couldn’t help but let go of her heavy thoughts and burst into laughter. No matter how solid a fortress may be, there is always a door, and from time to time, those who live within open it wide and invite Jin in. After an enjoyable tea time, there would come a time when it was necessary to step back outside the fortress, but for now, Jin thought, that was enough. * * * Jin fluttered the collar of her blue hoodie, emblazoned with the school emblem, as she left the math classroom. Even though it was October, Florida was still holding onto the summer heat, and sweat dripped down her back. The new hoodie, which had been tucked away in a cabinet for a long time, still had the fresh clothes scent, but it had noticeable creases along the torso and sleeves. After lunch, most of the 9th and 10th graders were wearing hoodies. It was the result of their enthusiastic food fight. Given that the school allowed casual attire, it was a rare sight to see everyone wearing the same clothes—Joy insisted on commemorating it and took several photos. Finally, the hoodie that had been given out as a school uniform was living up to its name. Even then, there were often students still wearing the clothes, now stained with food from the chaos, without bothering to change. Thanks to having lunch during the third period, the 11th and 12th graders watched the underclassmen with curiosity, occasionally murmuring with regret, “We should have been there too.” Jin and the others had to skip the 5th period. After the long speech in the principal’s office, by the time they washed up and changed into new clothes, it was almost a minute before the class was over. Still, they were in a better situation than Dave Miller. He had to clean the cafeteria with the janitors without even getting a chance to wash up, as his provocation was acknowledged as the cause of the incident. Although it didn’t lead to detention, he was definitely going to have a tough time. Did she manage to make it to the 7th period? Jin glanced down at her jeans and white sneakers, now stained with various sauces, feeling uncomfortable. She had managed to cover up with the school hoodie, but there was no fixing the shoes and pants. Maybe it was just her imagination, but the food stains on the fabric, combined with the heat, seemed to be releasing an increasingly rancid smell as time passed. Whether the teachers thought the same, every time the students entered the classroom in their disheveled states and sat down, they couldn’t help but wear troubled expressions. Thinking of the teachers’ expressions, Jin smiled quietly as she organized her books and closed the cabinet door. She shook off her jeans, which she had wiped down dozens of times, and moved on. There was already a guest in the chemistry lab. After Jin broke half of the glassware, Butterfield had been coming in on time, cleaning up without a word. Jin opened the door and entered, glancing at him as usual before turning her gaze away. Butterfield treated her like a ghost, continuing to put the electronic scale and torch into the storage without a word. Jin, just as silent as Butterfield, quietly washed the beakers and flasks, repeating the process of drying them. Thanks to Mr. Ross restocking the supplies, there was now even more to wash and dry. After opening the window to let the breeze dry the wet glassware, Jin stared absentmindedly at the football team practicing on the field outside. There was nothing else to do. In fact, the cleaning that Jin and Butterfield had to do was over. Once the lab equipment was put away, the remaining tasks, like sweeping and mopping the floor, were the responsibility of the school’s janitors. ‘I feel like they told us to get along.’ Instead of giving us a detention, Mr. Ross made us clean for a month. However, judging by the intensity of the cleaning that was over so quickly, it seemed like he was trying to make us become friends by putting Butterfield and I in the same space and making us clean together rather than really punishing us. If so, Mr. Ross’s plan failed. For some reason, Butterfield, who used to smirk every time he saw Jin, suddenly stopped even looking at her. As the betting and gossip around Jin and Butterfield’s interactions died down due to exams and homework piling up, they naturally began to ignore each other. In fact, it almost seemed like they had clashed more before they started cleaning the chemistry lab than they did now. The warm sunlight and the stifling breeze combined, and Jin’s wait quickly came to an end. She squatted in front of the storage cabinet, feeling the smoothness of the glassware with her fingertips. Beakers on the right, flasks on the left. The measuring cylinders in the top shelf, pipettes and reagent spoons in the basket. As Jin carefully arranged the glassware, a shadow fell behind her. It was Butterfield, organizing the solutions on the shelf above the storage cabinet. Jin glanced behind him and thought for a moment. He had already finished organizing the experimental equipment, so how could he get out of here? Jin felt frustrated as she squatted quietly, waiting for Butterfield to finish organizing and leave. Moving her feet side to side to sneak away felt awkward, like an embarrassing escape. ‘He told me to move, well.’ Jin jumped up and turned around. However, contrary to her expectations, Butterfield didn’t move aside. Instead, he tilted his head while keeping his hand outstretched over her head. The eyes, so black that they didn’t even show the iris, and the eyes that looked like they had green galaxies in them, met each other. Butterfield took a deep breath in the silence. “Smell.” Then he muttered in a low voice. Jin’s face flushed bright red as he covered his mouth. Next chapter will be updated first on this website. Come back and
continue reading tomorrow, everyone!
Tip: You can use left, right, A and D keyboard keys to browse between chapters.