Chapter 276 - Perhaps A Coincidence?

As they walked in a separate way, Sofia speed up her pace, almost jogging towards her classroom. Her right hand was holding her hair to prevent the strands from flying everywhere. Even so, she sprinted with a dignified style that some school staff could not help but gawked at her figure.

When she arrived, it was just in time as her teacher was approaching to enter the room. Sofia halted her steps and casually combed her hair with her fingers.

"Good afternoon, ma'am," she politely greeted while slightly panting. She stood straight and let her teacher walk ahead.

"Mmn. I've seen what happened at the gate, Miss Su. You've handled it with proper decency. I could tell that you are experienced in neutralizing such incidents. Well done!" her teacher praised and took the liberty to step inside the room. A small book was in her hand with a scribbled bold font. But, Sofia could not read the title as some letters were concealed by her fingers. 

Such compliment contained sincerity however, Sofia had received countless commendations in her past life. So, the words from her teacher were something that she had regarded as pretty normal. 

Sofia simply nodded her head as a form of acknowledgment. She was about to move her feet when a momentary realization dawned in her mind. To receive this kind of praise, a student must reciprocate! Otherwise, her teacher may think that she was looking down on such a sincere compliment.

She paused and looked on the floor. A kind of gesture she deliberately made to appear almost shy being complimented.

"Thank you, ma'am.  I just have to protect my friends. Hope no more incident like that will happen again," Sofia finally trailed behind. 

"Hmmn. Continue to grow as a wise leader. You are a reliable friend to them. Go take your set," the teacher spoke and place the small book on her desk.

For some reason unknown to her, Sofia was quite drawn to the small book. Her eyes shifted towards the desk for a few seconds. Now that her teacher finally put it down, she could read the title. 

But, after reading the title, her eyes constricted and the beating of her heart immediately quickened. She subconsciously touched her chest to calm down. 

There were only two words in the title. But, it was enough for her to feel uneasy and conscious.

'Butterfly Effect'

Sofia quickly occupied a chair in the back row. After reading the title of the book, countless questions also rushed into her mind. However, she tried to force herself not to dwell on the doubts that were bubbling in her thoughts.

'I've already faced death once, what is there to fear? It must be a coincidence,' she tried to convince herself.

With her circumstance, Sofia was knowledgeable of the theory of the butterfly effect. 

Was it really a coincidence? Deep down in her heart, something was telling her that it might not be just a coincidence. 

She would formally operate her business tomorrow. Could it be that the heavens had sent her a warning? Or perhaps a reminder?

'No way! I have no ill intention of harming anyone. There should not be a problem,' Sofia thought again. This time, she secretly took a deep breath.

While Sofia was in a deep trance, she was completely not aware that her classmates were already staring at her...

Her teacher had asked the entire class, "Who among you here have witnessed the incident at the gate today?"

"Ma'am, we saw it online. We even put our comments to support Sofia!" one of the replied proudly.

"The face of the reporter after she said her apologies look like she was about to cry!" another one stated.

"Our school does not promote cyberbullying, class. I don't encourage you to post mean comments online. Look at Miss Su. Did you see her commenting about the incident? You should follow her example," the teacher announced after students started to boast what they had done during the live broadcast.

With her reprimanding words, the entire class went in complete silence. 

"That's right! Miss Su is more concerned about your exams than what is happening on your social media. So, as a good exemplary student, let's give Miss Su a round of applause. I hope all of you in the night class section can act like her during that kind of situation," their teacher encouraged. 

And the burst of sound from their clapping erupted.

Only then did Sofia snap back her senses and set aside her suspicions. She looked around with an unaffected expression on her face. 

"What is happening?" she whispered towards her seatmate. For a while, it was as if her entire focus was on the title of the book that she did not hear the brief interaction in the classroom.

"Our teacher said you deserve a round of applause because of what you have done at the gate. The one with the reporter on the live broadcast. You were amazing!" her seatmate exclaimed.

"Thank you!" Sofia formally stated while slightly bowing her head and offered a friendly smile at them.

"Alright, settle down. We will have a proper discussion today. I will give a summative test tomorrow," the teacher stated and everyone quickly sat straight.

Sofia closed her eyes for a moment and tried to exhale all worries in her mind. While the teacher started explaining the topic that she had long learned, her thoughts drifted to another notion.

'Claire has a tendency of easily getting nervous... Joey has a mild brazen attitude, Clark is indecisive, and Stephen and violence is a serious matter,' she pondered all the characteristics that she had observed from her team. 

The incident in the gate had given her the certainty of their characters. And the small book had given her a different perspective.

'The Chronos squad may be a team and can work harmoniously but my members have to grow as an individual too. Otherwise, if one day something ominous really happens to me... they might suffer,' Sofia sighed once more. She was more than aware that for her to help her team grow as an individual, she had to address their weakness. 

"Are you okay, Sofia? You seemed to be out of focus," Sofia's seatmate asked her softly after she heard her numerous sighs.

"I'm fine," Sofia replied.

"Are you worried about that live broadcast? I am now one of your fans. I hope you can see you play in the tournament! But, if you won't play, it's also fine. Our study is also important," her seatmate stated.

"I did not know that you play online games?" Sofia smiled.

"Ohh, not many online games. But, I do enjoy playing a few of it."

Sofia smiled and replied, "If we are in good condition to participate, we will definitely play in the tournament. Right now, there are just other responsibilities that we need to handle. We are taking things one at a time. Or else, we will be exhausted."

"You know, one of my friends at work said that maybe your squad is processing a club contract. And that is the reason why you haven't registered in the tournament."

"There is such a thing? How did they come up with the idea that we are processing a club contract?" Sofia was surprised by the speculation. 

"Well, up until now, there is no club that is holding your squad. So, they assumed that."

"We have a club. It's TCESC. About the registration, we actually have an endorsement project and the photo shoot is tomorrow. So, our time to practice playing is limited. But, we may really join eventually. It depends," Sofia chuckled.

"Really? What are you endorsing? I'll be sure to support that brand," her seatmate beamed.

"It's sneaker shoes. You'll know the brand once the photo shoot will be published. Hehe, it's quite a reliable company," Sofia answered.

With their chitchatting, a shadow of their teacher suddenly appeared in the side.

"Miss Su, I just praised you. Now, you are chitchatting during my discussion? Care to share what the two of you had been talking about?" the teacher sternly expressed.

Sofia and her seatmate looked at each other for a spilt second and shared a conflicted expression on their faces.

"I'm sorry, ma'am. It's my fault. I was the one who asked Sofia a question," her seatmate raised her hand before Sofia could speak a word.

The teacher glanced at Sofia's seatmate but, just as she was about to scold them, her attention was also interrupted when a figure emerged in her peripheral view. 

She tilted her face and look at the figure. "Kristelle, you are late!"

Kristelle planned to sneak inside. But now that she failed to go unnoticed, her figure quickly froze. Then, she smiled sheepishly and said, "Ma'am, I won't do it again. I promise!"

"Young lady, why are you late this time? Do you know that I have lost count of your promises about not coming late to my class?" the teacher finally left at Sofia's side and walked back to her desk.

"My ride got engine trouble, ma'am. I have to walk 50 meters to come here. It is not really my intention to come late," Kristelle explained.

"Go sit. Make sure this is the last time you will speak of your empty promises," the teacher instructed with a frown on her forehead.

In a flash, Kristelle sat on the empty chair situated on the other side next to Sofia's seatmate.

"You save us," the seatmate giggled and started chitchatting with the newcomer.

Sofia adjusted her body in a comfortable sitting position and shook her head while looking at them.