The Tech Wiz

Chapter Four

"Wait a bit, I'll go check on Wyatt before we go to the hall," Ji-Hun said as he tapped his phone with his thumb.

"Sure thing," I mouthed, watching as he nodded before he started heading towards the direction of the sickbay. He disappeared into the crowd, and I was soon left alone by my locker. I turned, retrieving my books before holding on to my bag and taking out my phone. I strapped my bag on my shoulders before playing Tomb Raider as I waited for Ji-Hun to get back, and Aiyana to get here at any meeting.

"Woot! I heard you were coming too!"

I heard Aiyana's voice say. I looked up, finding her holding on her handbag as her thumb finger tapped against her phone's screen.

"Yeah." I shrugged, pocketing my phone before looking up at her properly. She smiled at me briefly before returning her gaze to her phone. She tapped it a few more times before she eventually put it away. Her dark long hair was held back with colorful pins, and my gaze settled on her brows as she pushed back strands of her stray hair. Her brows still looked out of place to me, since she just shaved them into a more defined arch just last week.

"I know my brows look hideous, just spare me the staring, okay? That's what I get for following a DIY video on YouTube."

I laughed, watching as she moved from arranging her hair to trying to hide her brows with her bangs with little to no success.

We waited by my locker until Ji-Hun came back sometime around when the hallway had almost emptied out.

"How's Wyatt?" Aiyana asked. I'd told her what had happened while we waited and she was genuinely worried.

"He's doing fine. He just needs some bed rest. He took his mask off during his biology practical and you can say he's paying for it. Wyatt can be silly at times..." Ji-Hun trailed as he ran a hand through his hair. His brows had knitted into a frown as he made his way to change his books. "He'll be a lot better soon. We'll pick him up from the sick bay after the council meeting."

With that Aiyana nodded, and we both waited for Ji-Hun to get his books before we made our way to the hall. When we got there, I followed them into the room, looking about the place that was already filled up with seniors and class representatives.

"Ah, you must be Ben. Ji-Hun said you were coming." Amanda, the person that I'd noticed as the vice president of the student council said to me as I walked through the door. She followed us to the table Aiyana led Ji-Hun and me to and stood in front of it before holding her waist as she looked around the room with a smile.

"Yeah..." I trailed before looking away. I was wondering if she was still standing there because I hadn't answered her question. She seemed satisfied with my answer, and she soon walked back to the door to talk to students as they stepped into the hall. I sighed, feeling myself relax in her absence before taking out my phone.

"Hey everyone. I'm sorry I'm late," a voice I recognized echoed through the hall, making the noise in the room hush to whispers. I turned towards the door to find Felix beaming at everyone as they started to get up from tables to change seats as he headed for the roundtable at the center of the room.

"I'm leaving guys. I have to sit with the other class reps," Aiyana muttered as she got up, leaving Ji-Hun and me behind on the table alone. I let my eyes flicker to the table at the center of the room. Felix was now taking a look at a list as Amanda settled down beside him. She was a red-haired girl with bright blue eyes and freckled cheeks. From the way she spoke to everyone as they walked through the door, I guessed that she was probably the friendly type.

"Okay, so let's get the meeting started. Charles, are you taking the minutes?" Felix asked.

"Sure thing," a senior at the corner of the room with five others said as he raised up a clipboard over his mop of brown curly hair. Felix smiled, looking down at the list in his hands again. He went through each bullet point, addressing the issues as each of the head of departments got to talk for a few minutes.

A senior, Logan, who I knew because of when I visited the art room with Wyatt to look for his brother, seemed like he didn't want to be at the meeting at all. He spoke in a low tone when Felix addressed him and he resorted to shrugging when Amanda asked if he was okay. Apparently, he was the head of the art department and I wondered how they got anything done with him in charge.

Eventually, Felix finished going through the list and he then spoke briefly with the reps collectively. I watched him as his spoke, a bit blown away by the authority he seemed to command without seeming like a pushover and remaining likable.

"I guess that's all for today," he muttered before looking around the room. His eyes seemed to widen in surprise when they locked with mine. I tried to smile at least, but the heat making its way to my cheeks made me look away in panic instead.

"Oh, and one more thing!" I heard him say, making the hall silent again for the second time. "That's Ben if any of you were wondering. He's going to help us with the school website, so you'll be seeing him often."

I looked up to find Felix gesturing towards me with his hand. I didn't bother to look about, knowing fully well that everyone in the hall was probably staring at me.

After a while, Felix asked for a sum up of the meeting from Charles and then called an end to the whole meeting. People started to get up from their seats and move out of the hall.

"You'll be coming to our meeting from now on, right? I'll need to explain things to you in the." I heard Felix say as I was about to walk past his table.

"Yeah, sure," I muttered, watching him smile briefly before I decided to catch up with Aiyana and Ji-Hun who were already at the hall's door.

When I caught up with them we started heading towards the school sick bay. We waited for Ji-Hun at the reception when we got there. He'd gone in to get Wyatt. He soon walked out the door with his boyfriend following behind him. Wyatt looked like he just woke up, and apart from that, he looked completely fine.

"Next time use the mask," Aiyana said from her position on the waiting room sofa beside me. Ji-Hun chuckled, making Wyatt roll his eyes before yawning into his arm.

We left the sickbay together soon after, heading home with Ji-Hun and Wyatt in front as usual, and Aiyana and me behind.

"So, you're helping with the school website. Do you have an idea of what you want it to look like?" Aiyana asked as we walked down the quiet pavement. We were already halfway to my place. I was always the first to get home, then Aiyana, then Ji-Hun, and then Wyatt usual walked the rest of the way to his house by himself.

I shrugged at Aiyana's question, adjusting the straps of my bag on my shoulders as I looked down at my sneakers as we walked. "I don't know. I suck at design, but I'm guessing that's what Felix and Wyatt are there for. I'm just updating the code and all."

"Oh," Aiyana seems to say to no one in particular. I turned a bit to find her biting her bottom lip softly as she squinted up at the sun above. "True, Felix is really good with design."

"Does he take visual arts?" I asked all of a sudden, just realizing that he might actually be taking the subject.

"I think so..." Aiyana trailed before she suddenly stopped in her tracks and let out a groan of frustration.

"Walk slower!" she shouted, catching Ji-Hun and Wyatt's attention. They turned back in semi-shock and Ji-Hun soon screamed an apology right back, making Aiyana roll her eyes before she made her way towards them. I followed her, and we soon started walking again when we got to them.

We got to my stop soon after, and I bid the others goodbye before crossing the road to my place. Getting to the simple cream painted house I knocked on the wooden door. I waited for a while, and soon the door flew open to reveal my sister. She gave me a surprised look before she escaped into the house in an awkward fast walk.

What did she do?

"We used your PlayStation to play a CD. I hope you don't mind!" She laughed as she escaped up the stairs.

Oh, that. I sighed in irritation as I imagined my sisters littering my room as they used my TV and PlayStation to play a movie.

"Of course I mind!" I yelled back, as I walked into the living room before shutting the entrance door behind me.

"I told them not to," my mother said, making my turn towards the couch where she was sitting on and watching TV. "But don't get angry at your sisters like that. They're your younger ones for heaven's sake."

I sighed, rolling my eyes before making my way up to my room. When I got there I didn't find my sisters, they'd left, but my PlayStation, as well as the TV, was still on. I groaned when I noticed crumbs of biscuits and popcorn on the fur carpet.

Really? What did I do to deserve this? I need an answer.

I grieved in my mind as I went ahead to drop my bag by the side of my bed before taking a sit at its edge. I kicked off my shoes as I took my phone out of my pocket. I was soon laying on my bed as I scrolled through my i********: feed.

I decided to check my notifications and what I saw almost made me pass out. Felix had liked all my pictures as well as followed me. I tried to calm myself, but it wasn't working and the bright red '1' beside my direct message box only made things worse.

After panicking for about ten minutes I took a deep breath and clicked on the icon.

I figured it was you.

It read. I struggled to let out the breath I was holding unintentionally. What did he mean by he figured it was me?

Okay Ben, calm down. It's just a message. I tried to convince myself as I shut my eyes.

Why am I over thinking things? I thought as I started wondering if I had liked one of his pictures by mistake, or whether he had noticed that I've been following him for months.

My phone buzzed on my lap, signaling that I had another notification. I picked it up, looking down at the new message Felix had typed. Oh, I forgot he could see that I'd probably read the message because of the 'seen' feature.

I went to Ji-Hun's page and found you tagged in one of the photos. Sorry if this seems kind of weird. I wasn't really thinking when I sent it.

A sigh of relief left my lips before I made to reply back.

It's okay. It wasn't Creepy — okay, maybe it was.

For all the wrong reasons. I thought as I pressed send. I waited for him to reply, my brows knitting in confusion when the typing signal will come up then die off then come up again. He eventually sent a smiley face. Nothing more, nothing less, and I took that as the end of the conversation. Tapping out of the app, I dropped my phone aside before laying down on my bed again.

What a way to give someone a heart attack. I thought, laughing as I remembered how I'd panicked at his first message.