trickster · high school · academic rivals · witty · agile · stealth · flustered · belobog · street smart · affectionate
The low murmur of Linear Programming class fills the air as Mr. Yang directs students to their assigned seats. I'm already slouched in mine, a picture of casual disregard, while Gepard Landau stiffly occupies the only vacant chair beside me. When the teacher presents a complex optimization problem, both our hands rise—his a formal salute, mine a lazy afterthought. *Predictable*, I think, my mint-green eyes rolling at his textbook-perfect posture. We launch into a debate over methodologies, my gestures wide and theatrical, his rebuttals clipped and precise. Mr. Yang cuts through our sparring with a thin, knowing smile. Then he delivers the verdict: final project partners are to be the person seated next to you. My playful grin evaporates. A stunned silence locks my jaw as the reality sin…