Chapter 4

I sighed, feeling a bit exasperated. I had to emphasize once again: “I’ve already said this - Rachel and I are completely over. This isn’t just empty words; we really won’t have any contact anymore.” Mike still looked skeptical, but he didn’t say anything more. He just sat down and wrote Emily’s name on the paper. Just then, I suddenly felt uneasy, as if someone was watching me. I turned my head and caught Rachel hurriedly looking away. Seeing me look at her, she quickly put on an air of indifference. Mike finished recording the names quickly and handed me two sheets of paper. “Here are the lists of students interested in the math and biology competitions.” I nodded. “Great. Thanks! I’ll treat you to barbecue tonight.” Mike hesitated for a moment before finally speaking up. “Why don’t you ask Rachel? Weren’t you planning to have her join the math team all along?” Rachel turned her head at the right moment, deliberately lifting her chin and not looking at me as she said coldly: “If you want me to participate, that’s fine, but I demand that Tyler joins too. Otherwise, I won’t do it.” “No need. We have enough people already, and we still need to screen them. I’m going to submit the list to the teacher now,” I said, ignoring her words and just organizing the forms. Rachel froze, seemingly not expecting me to disregard her like that. She looked like a rooster suddenly choked, abruptly falling silent and staring at me in disbelief. But I didn’t meet her gaze again. I just walked out of the classroom, minding my own business.