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It was another peaceful day at the School of Kshahrewar. Well, save for the crowd at the bulletin board. Chatters could be heard, along with cheers of joys and sighs of disappointment.
The crowd consists of the students from the senior year. The list of students who are chosen to join an educational collaboration[1] with the School of Haravatat was posted on the bulletin board. A blonde student walked out of the crowd with a bright smile on his face. “Well?” his friend asked.
“My name is there! I got a spot, Hakim!” He beamed.
Hakim replied with a smile. “Of course you’d get it. You put in crazy work last term, it would be a shame if your name wasn’t there. Plus, why wouldn’t the school have you, the Light of Kshahrewar, as a participant?”
Kaveh merely grinned at that remark. That is true. Kaveh barely had any sleep last term. He would wake up at 4AM solely to study for the theory test. He sacrificed his preparation class period and risked himself getting caught by the warden working on the assigned project.
“So, are you going to trade tie clips[2] this time?” Hakim asked.
“Of course I am! See, I already bought an extra tie clip from the bookstore earlier,” replied the blonde student as he fished out a tie clip out of his pocket.
The tie clip was gold coloured, with the emblem of the school on the edge. The rim was decorated with the word ‘Kshahrewar’ in bold, straight letters. Firm, like the buildings the graduates of the school have constructed.
“Anyone in mind? A friend? Or maybe a secret partner I don’t know about,” his friend teased, elbowing Kaveh.
“Nah… I don’t really know anyone from the other schools. I think I will just approach anyone and ask. It’s tradition between the six schools, so I am sure almost everyone is prepared,”
After Kaveh was done speaking, Hakim’s digital watch beeped, indicating that it was time to go back to class. The crowd at the bulletin board dispersed and all retreated to their respective classrooms.
.
.
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The weekend is here. 30 students from the senior year were already at the bus garage as early as 7AM. The collaboration will start at 8AM. The School of Haravatat is famous for being punctual, so it is best for them to move early so they can arrive before the appointed time.
Despite it being early in the morning, the bus was not void of some chit chats from students who are similarly as excited as Kaveh. Some were taking a quick nap so they are energised by the time the collaboration starts.
They arrived after 30 minutes. 2 students sporting the uniform of the School of Haravatat were already awaiting their arrival at their visitors’ stop point. The two students led them to the school hall where the seniors at the school were already waiting at their respective groups.
“You can look for your group at the front door. The position of each group is posted there as well as your assigned team,” the student had informed.
It did not take long for Kaveh to find his assigned group. There were three Haravatat students there, but one of them caught his eyes with his grey hair. His eyes were striking, being teal coloured. And whenever the student made eye contact with him, he felt like those eyes could pierce his soul.
Kaveh did not pay any mind to the remaining students who were seated around him. All he knew was that they were from the remaining 4 schools. Altogether, there are 6 to 7 students in each group.
Today’s collaboration is a simple one, as they would be discussing the material given to them prior to the event. It was a module on the Sumerian language, focusing on the format of essays set by the Ministry of Education of Sumeru. Language is the specialty of Haravatat[3], afterall. It was said that graduates of Haravatat are able to converse in at least 20 languages!
The mentor of Kaveh’s group, whom he now knew as Alhaitham, led the group diligently. They finished going through the material with 30 minutes to spare from the allocated time! The hall which was noisy with discussions is now buzzing with students taking the extra minutes to form new friendships.
Kaveh remembered about the tie clip he brought. He knew who he would be trading with —- the Haravatat student, who has now fallen quiet, seemingly absorbed into the book he had brought with him.
As Kaveh approached Alhaitham, the latter remained unmoving. Eyes still fixated on his book. Kaveh tried saying his name, and the greynette remained unresponsive. Only then did Kaveh notice the earphone that Alhaitham was wearing.
Kaveh tapped his shoulder and finally, he turned to face him.
“...Do you have any remaining questions regarding the material? I can give you my notes,” Alhaitham offered. Kaveh shook his head.
“Would you like to trade tie clips with me?” he asked quickly, handing Alhaitham the golden clip. Alhaitham looked at him in confusion. Kaveh thought that his expression was quite cute.
“Why?” he said. At this, Kaveh could only laugh nervously.
“Well, I thought that maybe we could be friends! Maybe we can exchange our social media handles, and-” Kaveh could not finish his sentence when Alhaitham cut him off.
“No. I mean, why would you want to switch tie clips? I thought that it was in the rule of every school that wearing the tie clip of another school is strictly prohibited. Additionally, I have no social media accounts,” Alhaitham explained his earlier inquiry.
Kaveh was stunned, puzzled even. Did this guy not know of the usual tradition between the six schools? Given, it is not a mandatory tradition to conduct, but everyone would be aware of it.
“Wh- wait. Don’t you know about it?”
“About what?”
“The tradition! Also, you don’t have to wear it! Just keep it in your locker or on your bag or something,”
“I still do not wish to trade tie clips. Plus, this meeting will be a brief one. After this, you will return to your school and the chance of us never speaking again is higher. I do not see the point of forming a bond that will last for merely a week,”
This guy—! ‘He could have just said a simple no!’ Kaveh thought to himself.
He sighed and relent. No point in arguing with someone he barely knows. He quickly retreated to his seat, waiting for the closing ceremony.
Soon after the ceremony, the students from the other schools were escorted to their respective school buses that were already waiting for them. Kaveh looked back and saw Alhaitham in the crowd, still burying his nose in his book. He scoffed before boarding the bus back to his school.
.
.
.
It was another peaceful day at the School of Haravatat. Well, save for the crowd at the bulletin board. Chatters could be heard, along with cheers of joys and sighs of disappointment.
The crowd consists of the students from the senior year. The list of students who are chosen to join an educational collaboration with the School of Kshahrewar was posted on the bulletin board. A grey haired student looked at the crowd before resuming his walk towards the school cafeteria. He will wait until the end of the school hours to check for his name.
Truthfully, he knows his name would be included. He was constantly showered with his status as the prodigy of the school by his teachers and peers. But it would not do any harm to check as it is still possible for his spot to be given to another student. ‘To give others a chance,’ his teacher had said. And he does not mind if his name was not included either. That just means he can relax on the weekend.
Time passed, and it was finally the end of the school hours. Alhaitham headed to the bulletin board just as he planned.
As he figured, his name was included. Alhaitham remained indifferent and made his way not to the dormitory, but rather, the bookstore…
.
.
.
The weekend is here. 30 students from the senior year were already at the bus garage as early as 7AM. The collaboration will start at 8AM. The School of Haravatat is famous for being punctual, so it is best for them to move early so they can arrive before the appointed time and keep up to that reputation.
Despite it being early in the morning, the bus was not void of some chit chats from students who are excited for the event. Some were taking a quick nap so they are energised by the time the collaboration starts. Alhaitham was among this bunch.
They arrived after 25 minutes, 2 students sporting the uniform of the School of Haravatat were already awaiting their arrival at their visitors’ stop point. As Alhaitham got off the bus, he made eye contact with a rather familiar blonde. The ruby eyes of the student widened before he threw his gaze somewhere else.
“You can look for your group at the front door. The position of each group is posted there as well as your assigned team,” the blonde student had informed. As Alhaitham’s peers moved to the list attached to the board, the greynette lingered a little longer before following the others.
It did not take long for Alhaitham to find his assigned group. There were 2 Kshahrewar students and he immediately recognised the blonde student. Alhaitham pulled a seat for himself when they briefly made eye contact. The student’s eyes went as wide as saucers, before visibly slumping in his seat with a displeased expression.
“Hey, are you alright? Why so sour?” the other student asked. Alhaitham read his nametag. ‘Hakim’.
Right, Alhaitham did not get the blonde guy’s name last time. He attempted to read his nametag, but to no avail as it was covered with his arm which were now put in a cross.
“Nothing, Alhaitham barely heard him mumble to Hakim.
Alhaitham was barely holding back a smile when the students from other schools arrived. They waited some more for the opening ceremony before starting their objective of the day.
Today’s chosen subject for the collaboration is Advanced Mathematics. The module given prior consists of problems of the highest difficulty set by the Ministry of Education of Sumeru. However, it seems that the students of Kshahrewar already have each of the questions figured out. Calculation is the specialty of Kshahrewar afterall, besides their incredible creativity. It is said that the graduates of Kshahrewar are sure to be accomplished architects and engineers!
The mentor of Alhaitham’s group, whom he now knew as Kaveh aka ‘blonde guy’, led the group diligently and displayed clear understanding. However, considering that the subject is heavier than the others, the time allocated is more than last time. And they had a longer time discussing. In the end, they managed to spare 10 minutes.
The hall which was noisy with discussions is now filled with the buzzing of gossip and chatter as other students take the opportunity to form new bonds.
Alhaitham looked at Kaveh. The latter is slumped in his seat, staring into the distance. Hakim, whom Alhaitham assumes is Kaveh’s close friend, is occupied with his phone. Alhaitham raised his brows at that. ‘Ah, yes,’ he thought. The students of Kshahrewar have the privilege of bringing electronics as their designed curriculum involves heavy use of overly complicated softwares for their projects.
Pushing that aside, Alhaitham stood up from his seat, grabbing Kaveh’s attention. He then made his way towards his currently-considered-mentor. Kaveh felt cold sweat running on his back as Alhaitham walked towards him.
Why? Is he nervous? Is he anticipating for Alhaitham to pick up their less-than-pleasant greetings (arguments) from last time?
Alhaitham stopped in front of Kaveh and fished out something from his pocket. It was shiny, the light reflected off its surface reaching Kaveh’s eyes.
It was the tie clip of the School of Haravatat. It was silver in colour, with the emblem of the school on its edge as well as the word ‘Haravatat’ printed across its body in a beautiful cursive font. As if signifying their specialty in languages.
Kaveh looked up to Alhaitham questioningly. “Huh?” was the only thing that came out of his mouth.
“Weren’t you the one who offered us ‘exchange a tie clip’ to ‘be friends’ the last time we met? Here I am,” Alhaitham simply stated.
“Wh- you-” Kaveh seemed to be in a state of surprise. No proper response is given for a minute or two.
Kaveh took a deep breath before he began. “You were the one lecturing me about rules and how it is a pointless, fleeting bond to make. And now you expect me to still accept your ‘offer’? Who does that!” he exclaimed. The hall was too loud anyway, so their little argument went unnoticed by most.
“And you- with that cold expression of yours. And, and with your book and annoying glare. It was unnerving having to present in front of you, you know! And it did not take a genius to know you are a lone wolf. So I thought by offering friendship, maybe I could give you some company?” Kaveh ranted on and on. Alhaitham fought back a smile.
“But-”
“Yeah I get it. We are from different schools anyway so our chances to talk are thin. And you aren’t even allowed to bring any devices either. I admit it was a short-sighted judgement on my side…” he paused. “But you could have just said ‘No, thanks’ and I could have taken it better!”
“So, is that a no?” Alhaitham said, slowly putting the tie clip back into his pocket. Hah, it was only 10 Mora. He could use it sometime later on if his current one breaks anyway…
“Wh- I did not say that!” Kaveh objected before stopping Alhaitham’s hand, prompting a smile to form on the latter’s face.
Kaveh’s eyes reddened in embarrassment. He then dug into his school bag and brought out the Kshahrewar tie clip. He forgot to take it out last time. He then handed it to Alhaitham, which he took. Kaveh, in return, received the tie clip of Haravatat.
Kaveh looked at the tie clip, almost like he was admiring it. He noticed the note that was clipped onto it. But before he could check, the teacher announced that the closing ceremony will be conducted shortly. Kaveh turned to Alhaitham to see that he had already returned to his seat.
All the while the teacher was speaking, with the cliche and overused motivational quotes and words of gratitude, Kaveh was grinning ear-to-ear. Eyes almost shining. He was clearly not paying attention. Hakim, who had witnessed everything unfold, only shook his head.
His friend is hopeless.
Soon after the ceremony, the students from the other schools were escorted to their respective school buses that were already waiting for them. Kaveh looked up and saw Alhaitham seated in the bus, his nose buried in a book. And just before the bus started moving, Alhaitham briefly glanced at Kaveh and gave a small smile and a light wave.
After the bus of the School of Haravatat disappeared from sight, Kaveh remembered about the note that was attached on the tie clip. He quickly brought it out of his pocket, and read the content.
It read ‘@alhaitham.hrvtt’.
‘Alhaitham’s socials!’ Kaveh made a leap of joy in his mind. He immediately pulled his phone out and searched for the account. Sure, they would not be able to chat very often, but Kaveh knows that Haravatat provides its students with public and free-to-use computer hubs. They can chat when the school holiday rolls around, too.
Hakim, used to his friend’s strange behaviour and insane mood swings rivalling that of a pregnant woman, could only shake his head for the nth time.
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The bus ride back to school was quiet. All the others were either revising their notes, or taking another nap. Having to digest so many equations and numbers surely drained their energy.
Alhaitham had stuffed his earphones into his ears. His MP3 playing a catchy tune as he continued reading his book. Truthfully, his mind was not on the piece of literature laid out in his hands. It was still with a certain blonde student of Kshahrewar.
Strangely, he looks forward to speaking with Kaveh when the school holiday arrives… If any of his peers heard his thoughts in this moment, they would be estranged indeed. Alhaitham? The stoic and cold loner? Making friends? Very unlikely. He would not care, though.
Maybe he could pay a rare visit to the public computer hub and send Kaveh a message later. Yeah, that would do.