Chapter 186 - Game Night

The teacher stepped inside their classroom but, no one had noticed or paid attention to her. Undeniably, the students in night class section had some issues with respect. In their minds, they also believed that respect must be earned not demanded. 

This was the reason that their teacher did not bother convincing them to participate in any academic contest for she was aware of their behavior. 

"Settle down! I will just give you an activity and you are free to go. You can submit this by Monday," the teacher announced, finally pulling all the attention of the students to her.

The students scrambled back to their seats seemingly delighted by the announcement. Some could not even help but voiced out their plans after knowing that they won't have a class.

"Yes! I can rest early!"

"Nice! Let's go karaoke?"

Sofia gently shook her head and observed the reaction of their teacher.. 

"If you go out, please inform your parents and guardian. And be careful," the teacher worriedly said and took their textbook. She swiftly flipped the pages until she wrote the pages on the board.

Few more instructions were given to the students before they were dismissed. Some quickly left but there were few who stayed.

"You may now go home," the teacher stated while looking at the students who did not move from their seats.

"Teacher, we will volunteer to participate in the academic contest! Put our names there," the female student named Kristelle initiated to open their concern.

Hearing this, the teacher looked at them in a daze. Then she cleared her throat and spoke, "Ehem! I am glad that you took an interest to participate. Put your names on the paper so I can submit them."

The paper quickly rotated with every student scribbling their names and the contest that they wanted to join. 

"Teacher, here is the paper. Then, we will go home now, see you on Monday!" Kristelle said while placing the paper on the teacher's desk. Her follow students stood behind her and waved goodbye to the teacher. Then, they left without waiting for her to say a word.

Still in a daze, the teacher was left with one question in her head, 'What gives my students to participate this time?'

Meanwhile, Sofia had left earlier together with the first students to get out of the classroom. 

Because they were dismissed early, Stephen was not there to pick her. Nevertheless, she sent a quick chat message to their group chat and told them that she was free.

No one viewed her message though, so, she guessed that her members may be playing at that time.

"Hey! Sofia!" one of her classmates called when she exited the gate.

She look back and saw a group of five students waving at her. 

"Hello!" Sofia said and waved back at them.

"Do you want to join us in karaoke?" one of the group casually invited her.

"Ahh... I'm going to my place to play games. Hehe, thank you for inviting me though," Sofia directly refused and told them the reason why she won't be joining them.

"HAHAHA, damn! I somehow expected that response from you!" another classmate replied while sharing a laugh with her.

"Ehh? Sofia, your squad is really famous on social media! Almost all my feeds contained the topic of the Chronos squad. By the way, are you and that senior student in your squad dating?" the third classmate suddenly asked.

"Thank you, fellow classmates. The entire Chronos squad is a family to me. So, we are really close," Sofia responded with a gentle smile on her lips.

"So, you and Stephen are not dating?" the third classmate probed further.

"Not yet," Stephen's voice suddenly came out of nowhere. Then, he emerged behind Sofia.

"Ohh..." the third classmate trailed completely lost in words. Not yet! It still meant that the two were not denying any possibility that they would date!

"Then, have fun in the karaoke, fellow classmates. I will go now," Sofia politely told and smiled at Stephen.

"How about the two of you join us in karaoke? Since Stephen is here, just for tonight? You guys play online games all the time. Why not do something for a change?" the first classmate persisted.

"Thanks but our friends are waiting for us and we are about to start playing," Stephen said and guided Sofia. 

"What a pity," the third classmate muttered as they watched the two figures crossed the road and walked towards the convenience store.

"But, I think they are dating. Just look at the way they walk. They are too close," the first classmate implied.

"Anyway, let's go! It's just us and let's have fun!" the third classmate said and their group also left the school premises.

On the other side, Stephen and Sofia entered the convenience store and decided to grab some food before heading to her apartment.

"I am not really hungry. I'll just get snacks for us," Stephen said and picked few packs of muffins and cookies. The quantity was good for the entire squad.

"That's fine. Add this bar of chocolates," Sofia said and picked the entire box of chocolate.

"Anything else you need?" Stephen looked at her.

"No more. How's your class ended? Did your teacher scold you after visiting the cafeteria during class hours?" Sofia suddenly asked as they were waiting for their turn to pay for their food.

"It's fine. But if Joey tells you something, don't be a surprise," Stephen responded while thinking about his earlier conversation with Joey.

"Tell me about what?" Sofia muttered.

"The double wedding. He might open up a conversation of that subject," Stephen answered while.

"Oh, I see... Did he have got an official girlfriend now? He will be having a shooting tomorrow for the swimwear company," Sofia said.

"I doubt if he is ever going to have a serious relationship sooner. Joey loves his freedom so much," Stephen shrugged. It was their turn to pay and he quickly handed his money to the cashier before Sofia could initiate to pay.

"Then why would he ask me about a double wedding?" Sofia felt confused and eyed Stephen for a long time.

"Hehe," Stephen responded with a rich chuckle and did not speak anymore. 

"Thank you, come again!" The cashier said and hurriedly packed their food. The two nodded their head and proceeded to walk.

"Ohhh..." Sofia suddenly expressed and a look of realization appeared on her face. She just remembered the double wedding conversation that she had with Stephen in the school cafeteria.

"HAHA, yeah, I did not tell Joey the details about it. So, he said that he would ask you," Stephen said.

"I see, I see," Sofia pondered. The two walked side to side until they entered the apartment building.

"We are hanging out in Claire's place. Ms. Jing Jing is also there. We were about to finish the game when you sent a chat that you have no class," Stephen informed her.

"I've fully understood the gameplay of the summoner. This mage is actually very powerful in a support role," Sofia stated.

"Ohh, then, let's practice using your summoner character as the support of the team. You can stay behind my archer," Stephen muttered.

"Yeah, I'll tell you the skills of it in support. At first, I thought it would be more advantageous to use the character as a mage role. But, now, I've discovered an additional skill that can be triggered with an item and stacks if it will be utilized as a support role," Sofia eagerly said.

"Our opponents would be tougher than the last tournament. It's good to have a direct invite to become one of the participants of the main competition," Stephen commented.

"Yeah, let's not just aim to win. Let's be the first champion of the regionals," Sofia beamed and held her hand together near her chest.

"AHH... the pressure! Squad leader, don't be like that!" Stephen joked and pretended to be carrying a heavy object on his shoulder.

"HAHA, there is no need to be pressured. As long as we play the game and enjoy every match, we may not even notice that we have already achieved that goal," Sofia grinned.

"Hey, is that snacks?" Claire called in the distance as the two were still on the staircase. She pointed her right index finger to the plastic bag at Stephen's hand that they got from the convenience store.

"Yes! Are you in-game now?" Sofia called back at her. The left hand of Claire was indeed holding a phone in a horizontal form.

"We went to play when Stephen left to get you. Ms. Jing Jing is here... Clark and Joey too. Thank you for the snacks!" Claire quickly reported as she let the two came inside her unit.

"Oh! You two are here! We already went to play this round!" Joey spoke after seeing Sofia and Stephen.

"We are inside the battlefield, but I am still familiarizing the character that I am playing," Jing Jing casually said and waved at Sofia.

"Alright. Finish your match, guys. I'll just go and change my clothes. I'll be back to join you playing," Sofia said and excused herself. She then went out of the door and sprinted to her place.