ASTRID resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the three people standing before him. Could they be any more obvious? He could already guess what kind of routine the three was playing.
No, it's probably more accurate to say that it was only the one at the middle doing the routine. He could see that he was leading the two people along. And because the two didn't like Astrid, they were all too happy to be led on.
Seeing as how they were already gathering attention from people around, these three probably wanted him to get angry or showed an annoyed expression. Anything that could make him appear the villain.
He knew that there's definitely two or more people in this school who didn't like him and would be more than happy to see him fail and be the target of public scrutiny. After all, they were all supposed to be just aspiring actors and actresses. And yet, here he was, already signed to a reputable entertainment company and had already gained a very small amount of popularity.
In all walks of life, there would always be envious people who always wanted to pull someone, who's doing slightly better than them, down. These types of people, most often than not, had this kind of crab mentality. As if saying, 'if I can't do better than you, then, you shouldn't do better than me'.
Not only that, they would always have this kind of delusion that they were better than the person they're jealous of. That if they were in the position of that person, they would definitely do a much better job than him or her.
Astrid hated this type of person the most. Instead of grumbling how much better they were, why not work harder and prove it? But no, they would rather stew in their own envy and do underhanded means to attack someone who hadn't done anything to them.
It's really disgusting.
As much as he wanted to just ignore the three, he knew that doing that would most likely have a negative effect. People here could spin that in any way they wanted. With him ending up as one on the wrong, of course. How could he let that happen? Two could play this game.
So, an aggrieved look appeared on his face. His big black eyes watered, as if he would cry at any second. His body was even slightly shaking. If one saw him right now, they would think he's a poor cabbage being stepped on by unruly cows.
He bit his lower lip. "I- didn't mean it that way. I never said that you're a nuisance. Why would you make it sound like I'm a bad guy? We really don't have the same class. Do you want me to not attend my own class just so I could go together with you? Would you stop vilifying me if I do?"
The three were stunned. They couldn't even close their mouth because of shock. They were probably thinking why he wasn't giving them the expected reaction they wanted. Astrid sneered inside. Why would he even do that? He could also act to make them look bad, you know?
With his poor little cabbage act, some bystanders couldn't help it anymore and said;
"Why are you forcing others to go to class with you? Do you have problems with your brain?"
"Yeah. Even making him look like the one who's in the wrong. How shameless can you be?"
"Are they expecting people to side with them?"
"Most likely. They probably want us to say bad things about the poor cutie there."
"Heh. Do they think we're that stupid? Who are we, their lackeys or something?"
The faces of the three people in front of Astrid had turned into varying shades of red and purple. The one at the middle could no longer maintain his smile and was now glaring viciously at Astrid.
Then, the one at the left seemed to be overcome with anger that he wanted to attack Astrid. The other raised his hand and was about to slap him when he suddenly felt nauseous for some reason. He put his hand on his mouth, he felt like he would throw up at any second.
"What's wrong with you?" the one at the middle asked when he noticed that the other had stopped his actions.
The one at the left turned to the one at the middle. Then, without any warning, he suddenly threw up the breakfast he had eaten. All the contents were now poured on the person at the middle.
No one noticed but the moment the other threw up, Astrid stepped back very timely.
There was silence all around. No one knew who started it, but someone suddenly chortled. It was like a damn broke and everyone started laughing.
"Oh no, are you sick?" Astrid asked with a very worried expression. He was the only one who's not laughing and showed care to the other. "I- I think you should go to the infirmary."
The three no longer paid attention to him because of too much humiliation. The one on the left panicked. He kept on apologizing to the one at the middle. The latter looked at the former as if he would tear him to pieces. Astrid could see the one on the left visibly shudder.
The one on the middle ran as fast as his physique would allow him. The one on the right immediately followed the other. Then, after a few seconds, the one on the left also followed the two.
Astrid showed a confused look. Most of the people on the scene who saw this felt their heart softened. Some of them knew that the other was the new artist signed by Polaris. They first thought that he was some kind of ice-beauty, the type that wouldn't let others get close. But seeing his confused look, the ice-beauty in their mind disappeared and was replaced by a soft cutie.
Oh, if only they knew.