The Dark Rebirth of Pandora: Revenge of the Abyss

Chapter 702: Divine Scenario Part 2

I stare down at an anthill where I’ve placed three spiders to hunt the ants, pausing for a moment to adjust my glasses because of the dust while I jot down a few notes. But then the bell rings, so I stand up, crushing the spiders under my shoe, and tuck my notepad into my dark gray school blouse.

"Tsk... time could really drag a little longer..." I mutter complaints as I start making my way to the back of the school, where I’ve been summoned by some delinquent. I wonder what she wants with me.

I hope she makes it quick. I want to go home soon, get some sleep, and then set some insects loose to hunt other insects.

I practically drag myself in discomfort to the spot where she told me to meet her. Unfortunately, I arrive faster than I’d like, since our school isn’t all that big.

’Oriane...’ She’s leaning against a wall, messing with her phone while sucking on a lollipop. I wonder if she’d even notice if I just left, but before I can act on it, she looks up and sees me.

"Hey, Nerd, I see you’re being weird as always. Out killing bugs again?" She mocks me, slipping her phone into her pocket. I hear the faint click of the lock screen as I step closer.

"I was just doing homework..." I murmur to her. She gives me a huge grin.

"Great. So, I’ve been struggling with a subject," she says, stopping right in front of me.

"That sounds bad." I give her the most neutral response possible.

"...If I don’t improve in it, I’ll fail," she drops another piece of news that I couldn’t care less about.

"That sounds even worse." Obviously, I keep my opinions to myself.

"...And... if I fail, I’ll have to repeat the year." Again, more news—and this one actually makes a tiny smile creep onto my face, which I quickly hide.

"How terrible."

"Are you messing with me, four-eyes? Don’t you get that I want you to help me?" She says it rudely, crushing the lollipop between her teeth.

"...Oh, right... I’ll help..." There’s not much I can do about it, so I just have to accept it—even though I would’ve loved the possibility of watching her flunk.

"But I don’t get it. You’re so... smart. How did this happen?!" I say with barely concealed sarcasm.

"I don’t know!! Isn’t it weird? I actually put in the effort on the last exams. I bet I was sabotaged."

’Is she being serious, or is she playing dumb?’

"Sure... sabotage. Someone must have definitely sabotaged you..." Why would anyone have a reason to sabotage someone with the most average grades possible? Her grades aren’t bad, but they’re nowhere near the top.

"Glad you get it, Nerd. Now, I want you to help me!! I want my grades to shoot up so high that there’s no way to sabotage them because it’d be too obvious!! I want to be in the top 10 at least."

"..." My eyes go wide. Out of 700 students, she’s ranked 342. Does she really think she can jump from 342 to the top 10 with that student profile of hers?

"What’s with the shocked face? Can’t do it, Nerd? Then what’s the point of you being in the top 3?"

"How do you know I’m second place... maybe you should find someone else." By choice, obviously. I’d rather watch insects kill each other than deal with the responsibilities the top 1 rank gets, so I chose to stay at number two.

"...What’s this?" She tosses a paper at me, and I question her.

"I got lucky. It looks like you’ve been assigned to help me. You’re gonna have to stick with me and make my grades better," she says all pompous while I read.

’W-What the hell is this? How is this fair? If I don’t help her, I could lose all these points? Since when is this allowed?’ I swallow hard. I can’t afford to lose that many points, or at best I’ll be stuck with an absurd amount of remedial work, and at worst, I’ll fail right along with this delinquent.

"W-Well, looks like I’ll have to help you..." I say with a smile, hiding my displeasure. It shouldn’t be that hard to keep her from failing, right?

"Perfect. I knew a four-eyes like you would be useful and catch on fast. I’ll give you my address so you can pop over to my place."

"Pop over... to your place?" I get confused by the weird slang.

"Yeah, Nerd, pop over to my place. Get it? Go there! Come to my house. Do I have to explain everything to you? Aren’t you supposed to be the one teaching me? So figure things out faster."

"Sorry." I keep my tone submissive so I don’t become a target for her bullying.

"You know, for a nerd, you’re really weird. You’re kind of cute, too."

"...?"

"It’s just that you eat a ton, but you never gain weight," she says with a shrug.

"I don’t eat that much... can I go now?"

"What’s the rush? The bugs you kill can last a few more hours without killing each other, so let’s just head to my place now." She grabs my hand and pulls me along with her.

"But class—"

"Forget second period. It doesn’t matter. You need to teach me." As she drags me along, I wonder how she ended up like this. Oriane was my friend back when we were kids.

But then she started bullying people, and when she went too far with me during some dangerous pranks, I distanced myself from her. I’m certain she’s planning something against me.

I just don’t know what, or how she managed to make it so I’d be forced to help her. Honestly, it’s really uncomfortable for me.

’I just need to tutor her, get this over with, and keep as far away as possible.’

"Come on, Nerd, move those legs. Try being proactive, for old times’ sake!!"

"...In the old days, you didn’t hit people..."

"In the old days, I also didn’t protect you from becoming a target even though you’re a weird glasses-wearing nerd who likes watching bugs kill each other!! Seriously, you’re kind of cute, but you keep doing all this bizarre stuff. That’s why you don’t have any friends."

’...You don’t have any friends either...’ I avoid saying that out loud as I’m dragged to her car waiting outside.

"Your family got pretty rich, huh..." We were both from middle-class families, but during our childhood, as her family moved up in status, she seemed to grow more distant.

"...Something like that, I guess. They’re almost never home anyway, Nerd."

"...Could you stop calling me Nerd?... It makes me think you’re gonna punch me and shove me into a mud puddle."

"...Maybe I will shove you, but it won’t be in the mud." She gives a sly smirk.

’...’

’Disgusting...’ I adjust my glasses so they don’t fall off since she keeps yanking me along, and then she tosses me into her car. Couldn’t this be considered kidnapping?