Academic lovers

06 | Planning

"Miller" I cheerfully sing his name.

"Thompson" he deadpanned back, avoiding my gaze.

"How was the little activity we did?" I ask with a grin. A few minutes ago, we had a debate in Ap Leng, and guess who won: me! Aiden's team could not find a way to elaborate on their stupid argument, so that gave us the win. As soon as that class finished, I kept tormenting him about it, and now we're here.

He turns to face me, a pinched expression prominent on his face. A couple of seconds pass, and he smiles, that playful dimpled smile that I despise.

"It actually went pretty well, Thompson."

My grin quickly fades away. "You're so annoying" I reply, turning back around to face Miss. Marsha, who is setting up her desk,

"What? Thompson, You've been tormenting me about this for the past 10 minutes."

I furrowed my brow. "Duh, why wouldn't I? It's fun, to rub it on your face"

"Don't worry, I'll get you back"

"Uh huh, really? And how's that, Miller?"

He smirks, about to say something, before Miss Marsha clears her throat.

"If you two are done, I would like to begin my lesson."

I swiftly turn away from him and look straight ahead. I guess we got caught up. But Miss. Marsha appears to be at ease, as if she's used to this.

"So yesterday, I told you guys about your project and divided you into teams, right?" She asks, looking around the classroom through her glasses.

The class responds with a yes.

"Okay, so I will be explaining in detail what you will be doing, and for the rest of the class, you all can start planning on when and where you will start."

I place my head on my hands with a heavy sigh. Feeling a sense of frustration. This is what I was dreading. The fucking project had been paired with the person I least preferred to work on it with.

In my rear view, I see Aiden smiling while tilting his head to the side. I couldn't help but scoff inwardly: What's he so jolly about?

Miss.Marsha starts walking around the class while explaining the project. We will all have to do different work that centers around the same subject. She started explaining what each group would be doing.

"Finally, Aiden and Zhera, you two will be doing The Effects of Light Pollution on Nocturnal Animal Behavior." She stops at our desk, handing us a sheet of paper.

"This project would require a significant amount of research. You would need to consult scientific articles, government reports, and other reliable sources. So you must spend a lot of time together researching your topic. I would like to expect an excellent job from my two-star students."

Aiden and I exchange a quick glance and nod. Great, we have have twice as much pressure since Miss. Marsha has high expectations for us to deliver an "excellent job"

I take a look at the paper; it has all the instructions. It looks like the project is due at the end of next month. And of course, it counts for 35% of our overall grade. Great, we have a project at the beginning of the year that counts for 35% of our grade. This teacher can not be real.

"You should all look through your papers and start planning how you will start. Get to work!"She instructs the class. In a firm tone.

The class quickly becomes loud as everyone starts going to their teams.