Bab 01

"Eron, you're in for the soccer competition," Ivan, the class president of 11th Grade-11, announced as he wrote Eron's name on the whiteboard without the owner's consent.

"Soccer? Who? Me? No way!" Eron protested loudly. How on earth could he play soccer? Running, chasing, scrambling for the ball, let alone getting tackled until he was drenched in sweat absolutely not! "Just put me in the cracker-eating contest instead!"

"This is Porak*, not Independence Day!" Ivan cut him off, continuing to write down other participants' names. He was strict; everyone had to obey. If not, they were welcome to pack their bags and get out of his classroom.

*(Inter-Class Sports Week).

Oh, of course they would have gladly walked out of there―if only they could. The problem was, Class 11-11 was the outcast class, the lowest caste with the worst academic grades in the entire school.

It was a natural law: where there is an outcast class, there must be an elite class, or what they called Class A. Its residents were a powerhouse of achievements, both academic and non-academic. That classroom was always the center of attention for both teachers and female students because it was packed with guys so handsome they looked like an idol group. When dealing with their fanbase, it was always best to just play it safe.

"Put us in the same team!" Yuan chimed in, voicing his protest.

"The same team?" Ivan put his hands on his hips. "In which sport?"

"Anything. As long as it doesn't involve a ball," Yuan quipped, leaning back in his chair with the most arrogant posture in the whole school.

"Pick one," Ivan pressed. "Soccer, rounders, volleyball, basketball, or badminton?"

"Badminton it is." Yuan pointed to the last option with absolute confidence, looking like a professional athlete whose arrival had been highly anticipated.

"Fine," Ivan jotted it down half-heartedly. "Dion? Eron? Do you guys want to switch too?"

Eron and Dion shook their heads in unison. Being placed in any team felt like a disaster anyway. Besides, if they had to face Class A, they had already accepted their fate of being utterly humiliated with a landslide score. Their only hope was pure luck.

Once the team assignments were done, Ivan announced that all members had to start practicing after school. Unfortunately, no one was excited. Everyone knew the main field would definitely be occupied by Class A or other more dominant classes. As the residents of the outcast class, they preferred to back down for the sake of peace.

However, the peace they hoped for didn't last long.

That afternoon, the soccer field behind the school looked deserted. The Class 11-11 team stared at the empty field with twinkling eyes. They dumped their bags on the bleachers and ran to the middle of the field, cheering in excitement―looking exactly like the Avatar army about to raid the Fire Nation.

For the first five minutes, practice went smoothly. Yuan and Dion joined the girls from their class who were acting as the cheerleading squad in the bleachers.

"ERON! OI, WHAT ARE YOU DOING!" Yuan shouted in frustration, watching Eron just jogging around with zero intention of chasing the ball. "THE BALL IS RIGHT THERE! TACKLE IT! STEAL IT! OI!! Ah, compliance... what is he even doing?"

"Just leave him be. Think of Eron as the field's eye candy," Dion replied half-resigned, watching Eron run aimlessly. "Geez, the ball is right in front of his eyes and he didn't even kick it. Lame!"

"Sigh, our class is going to lose." Yuan shook his head pessimistically.

"The tournament hasn't even started yet."

"We don't need to wait for it to start, the result is already obvious. If we go up against Class A, we're history. The school's soccer club captain is there. What's his name again?"

"Benz."

"Right, him. His team just won the High School Soccer Tournament. How can a makeshift team like ours win? Unless Eron turns into a girl and seduces Benz."

Dion snapped his head around, his brow furrowing. His brain suddenly pictured a long-haired Eron winking flirtatiously at Benz. He immediately shuddered in horror, trying to erase the wild imagination.

"Don't picture it," Yuan nudged Dion's arm with a chuckle. "Eron would definitely be gorgeous."

"Yeah, gorgeous... but my mind can't take it!"

Ten minutes passed.

The crowd from Class A arrived with sky-high confidence. Without asking for permission, they displaced the Class 11-11 cheerleading squad from the bleachers. They looked down at the middle of the field with disdain.

The girls from Class 11-11 suddenly went quiet when Benz appeared, parting the crowd. They stared at him in awe, as if Benz were the most radiant being there. In reality, Eron was out on the field and just as handsome, but his charm was overshadowed by the "outcast class" label.

"That's the lower-class crew, right?" Tantra put his hands on his hips, sweeping the field with a mocking gaze. "Look at how they play. A bunch of tacky people forcing themselves to join Porak. Give me a break."

"It won't even be fun if we meet them in the elimination round. We’ll completely crush them," Luis added with a cynical smirk.

Yuan's ears burned with anger. Just because they were from Class A didn't mean they could look down on Class 11-11's dignity. Just as Yuan was about to stand up, Dion grabbed his arm, signaling him to stay patient.

However, out on the field, Eron's patience had run out. He was exhausted, not from chasing the ball, but from being busy avoiding it. Suddenly, the ball rolled near his feet. After failing multiple times, Eron was determined to score a goal so this practice could finally end.

With full power, Captain Tsubasa-style, Eron unleashed a deadly kick. Unfortunately, the ball soared way too high, missed the goal by a mile, and―as if pulled by a magnet of misfortune―landed squarely right on the soccer captain's forehead.

THWACK!

Benz tumbled backward and hit the ground.

Uh-oh. This was bad.

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