"Miss Harris!"
The board eraser smacked Ruby upside the head, knocking her out of her day dream. Hissing out a curse word, she turned back to the teacher.
"If you're so busy thinking about today's lesson, perhaps you can tell us the answer to this equation!" Already on the messy chalkboard was a long line of numbers and letters among the other, less intimidating equations. But of course she got the longest one.
Ruby gulped and tried to scrape together what she remembered the teacher talking about. Unfortunately, Ruby was not thinking of the lesson at all, unless math had dyed hair.
"Umm...42?" She could already hear snickers from behind her, a clear sign that she had indeed messed right up. She tensed and tried hard to push her embarrassment down but it seemed that luck was not on her side as the teacher shook her head.
"I understand that high school is a busy time but focus on class!"
The snickers picked up again and Ruby could feel her face heating up.
"Y-yes ma'am…"
The teacher went back to her books and continued the lesson after finding her place. Ruby sighed and tried to concentrate but found it hard once she entered her thoughts again.
Sapphire Lovett. One of the most mysterious girls in the school and coincidentally, Ruby's huge crush.
They didn't really meet on good circumstances, Ruby had been talking too loud and too expressive and accidentally smacked Sapphire in the face with one of her gestures. Of course she apologized (too fast and stuttering too much) but the other girl didn't even seem fazed, only saying that it was okay. Still, Ruby being the nervous wreak that she was, helped her to the nurse's office.
"At least that way you won't be late for class without an excuse, yeah?" Ruby explained her reasoning as she took Sapphire's hand as gently as she could and walked with her.
However, it wasn't until the nurse was done with her "examination" that Ruby noticed what exactly Sapphire looked like.
Dyed blue hair that hid her eyes, fancy dress, and...very cute. If the nurse were to check on Ruby at the time, she probably would've been concerned with Ruby' heart rate.
But ever since then, she was able to pick Sapphire out from a crowd with a deep blush. It was become easier too because their two different circles began to mesh together. While half of her wanted to say it was a good thing, because of the laughs she was able to get and the quick glances were becoming less awkward, the other half wanted to run and hide to prevent Ruby from screwing up.
She was still thinking about this dilemma when the bell rang and she realized she zoned out the whole class. Thankfully it wasn't too hard to write down the homework due tomorrow and run out without being called over by the teacher. But, like always, as soon as Ruby headed out of the classroom, she saw the light blue that made her heart skip.
"H-hey Sapphire."
The girl smiled enough for Ruby to catch it before walking with her to lunch.
"How was your class today?"
"Ugh, I kept…falling asleep so tonight's homework is gonna bomb."
Sapphire hummed and Ruby wondered if she was just being polite or if she agreed. Ruby shook her head, knowing that Sapphire was both really good at math and a good student.
They both grabbed lunches and were heading to their table when Sapphire spoke up again.
"Would you like help with it? We've covered what Ms. Hawfield is teaching the first couple days. Maybe...over at my house?"
Ruby paused and had to rush her stride slightly to cover it. She was sure her face looked like it was on fire at this point and she thought it over. Her grades really did need the help, but there also was the threat of humiliating herself in front of Sapphire…
"Y-you don't have to…"
"I want to," Sapphire asserted.
"S-sure!"
"R-really?" Sapphire seemed to have not expected that and when Ruby looked over, she managed to catch a glimpse of a blush. "That's wonderful."
Ruby gulped and rubbed the back of her neck.
"Y-yeah, my grades are pretty bad though s-so...thanks… I'll definitely pay you back."
"They aren't that bad..." Sapphire frowned and Ruby chuckled.
"Compared to yours?"
There was a pause and Ruby really couldn't tell why. Sapphire's blush appeared again and she scratched at her cheek.
"W-well… I've also been...preoccupied during class… I'm afraid my history grade isn't that good anymore..."
Ruby blinked before smiling.
"I'm actually good at world history, so how about this? You can help me with math and I'll help you with history, deal?" Ruby held out her hand, mimicking a business deal with complete mockery.
Sapphire chuckled.
"Deal."
But in math the next day, Ruby couldn't help but think of that night at Sapphire's. Sapphire again came up to her and offered the deal, instilling their ritual that eventually lead to their relationship.
