Chapter 2 : Albert

Stephen hadn''t fully squeezed past when Kelvin suddenly leaned back, his warm back pressing against Stephen''s front. Stephen glared at the back of Kelvin''s head, cursing him silently.

The person next to him trembled slightly as they wrote, their face showing a look of indescribable discomfort. They moved their chair forward as if there was something unclean behind them.

Sitting in front of Stephen was a broad-shouldered boy with a buzz cut. He turned his face and smiled at Stephen, who thought there might be something dirty on his face. He raised his hand to touch his face but found nothing.

"Stephen, right? I''m Scott Lopez. Our Albert has never shared a desk with anyone before, so don''t mind him," Scott said, winking at the mentioned Albert.

Unfortunately, Albert just glanced at him and then expressionlessly continued working on his problems, showing no interest in engaging with someone who seemed not very bright.

Feeling snubbed, Scott turned back to talk to Stephen.

The boy''s voice, deep and hoarse from puberty, made Stephen feel a bit sleepy as he listened.

Recalling the name Scott had just mentioned, Stephen finally realized why his desk mate seemed so familiar.

Albert Gonzalez—Vertex City''s star student. While other top students might make it to the school''s honor wall, he made it to Lush City''s TV and newspapers.

At just 12 years old, Albert had won first place in the national high school physics competition, despite being in middle school, and was interviewed by the TV station. Although Albert, who was always taciturn, didn''t say much of value during the interview, it didn''t stop the media from glorifying him, turning him into a national academic idol.

Normally, people wouldn''t remember such things for long, but Stephen did because he had missed that year''s physics competition due to illness. Ever since learning that a middle schooler had won first place, Stephen''s father hadn''t stopped reminding him that if Stephen had participated, he would have won first place too.

Since then, Stephen hadn''t known what Albert looked like but had remembered his name.

As luck would have it, Albert was at Lush High School. And as luck would have it, Albert was his desk mate.

Stephen''s distraction was so obvious that even Scott, who was engrossed in his own chatter, noticed. He knocked on Stephen''s desk, pulling him back to reality.

"So, you need to study hard. We have a system where the top 50 students in the school stay in Class 1 each semester. The next 50 go to Class 2, and those further behind are moved to regular classes," Scott said, a bit worried about Stephen''s grades.

Vertex High School was notorious for its difficult classes and strict grading. Teachers would break down a single problem into 100 steps to deduct points. Stephen had transferred from another state, from a school they had never even heard of.

In fact, most people hadn''t paid much attention to Frank''s words. Those who could get into Lush High School''s Class 1 had been distinguished as top students from a young age. No one believed that a transfer student from another state, who might not even keep up with their pace, could push them out.

Stephen glanced at Scott''s receding hairline and then scratched his own still-thick hair, showing no sign of worry.