NOVEL NEXT Lie Again!
Chapter 3
<Chapter 3. A Place Called Crawford (3)> Jin gradually adapted to Crawford. The frequency of her wandering around looking for classrooms decreased, and she was slowly starting to think of the locker, previously claimed by Ruth, as her own.
As always, Butterfield was the moving spotlight—whether he wanted it or not—and Jin was gradually becoming accustomed to the perspective of the many people in Crawford who watched him. The change came a few days later. After the short lunch break, Jin had to attend Mr. Ross’s chemistry class. It was a class that didn’t overlap with any of her friends’ schedules, so for the past few days, she had been sitting in a corner, attending the class alone. Fortunately or unfortunately, Mr. Ross’s chemistry class was filled with a group of quiet students, unlike the lively Americans Jin had grown tired of seeing recently. They didn’t give her odd looks from the corner where she sat, but neither did anyone make an effort to speak to her. It seemed as though all the introverted students at Crawford were in this class. Whenever Jin attended chemistry, she couldn’t help but wonder if Counselor Miss Smith had purposely assigned her here. Jin typically arrived early, with plenty of time to spare, and would sit by the window in her usual corner, gazing out at the Crawford sports field. The wide grass field, surrounded by a red track, featured a large football goalpost instead of the familiar soccer posts. At both the top and bottom of the rectangular field, the word “CRAWFORD” was written in yellow Gothic letters on a blue background, along with an emblem shaped like an alligator. In one corner of the vast sports field, there was an outdoor basketball court. Unlike the gymnasium’s basketball court, which was mainly used by the basketball team, this court seemed to be available for anyone to use at any time. Basketball was a popular sport at Crawford, and during lunch breaks, it was common to see students rush outside for informal games or one-on-one matches. The kids would play until the last minute of lunch, then scramble back to class, drenched in sweat. Jin often played a guessing game while looking down at the scene. Unlike the first week when she was confused about who was who, she was able to guess the names now. As Jin played the name-guessing game, she would sometimes spot familiar faces, and when that happened, she felt a small sense of gladness inside. Dustin was almost always on the basketball court, and occasionally, Ruth and Amanda would join in the game as well. Even though it was September, Florida still boasted bright weather. Jin enjoyed watching the Crawford students while feeling the sunlight pouring in through the window. Watching them from a distance was almost the only time Jin could relax without expending mental energy since arriving in America. Since her arrival, even the smallest interactions required her to carefully consider whether she had chosen the right words, if her intentions were being accurately communicated, and if her pronunciation was correct. In March, while everyone else would have been starting high school, Jin had instead attended a study abroad program. She spent six months studying conversational English before the first semester of school started in September. With the extra six months of practice, and the fact that English had never been particularly difficult for her, Jin honestly felt confident. However, upon arriving in the U.S., Jin’s confidence deflated like a balloon losing air. Expressing her thoughts in someone else’s language turned out to be more tiring than she had expected. Speaking in English wasn’t easy, and the kids often used slang, which made it even harder for Jin. As a result, she would often find herself guessing the meaning and losing track of the context. It was one of those days. Dustin rarely passed the ball in the basketball game, and thanks to Joey’s high energy that day, Jin found herself caught up in a conversation with her friends until nearly the end of lunch. Jin had to poke Ruth in the side, asking her to translate into Korean. Self-proclaimed tea master Joey’s eyes sparkled as she shared all sorts of gossip. Thanks to her, Jin’s brain was now filled with information—like who got drunk at whose party and who kissed whom. Jin found out something he really didn’t want to know about Pablo, the school’s resident nerd. Apparently, after someone told Pablo he’d be good-looking without his glasses, he started taking them off and staring at girls. To exaggerate a little, Jin could probably recall a rumor about anyone in Crawford. Thanks to the long chat, Jin was now rushing to the chemistry classroom. If Amanda hadn’t stopped Joey just a little bit earlier, she would’ve been completely late. As Jin opened the door and stepped in, she sensed an unusual atmosphere. Everyone was sitting quietly at their desks as usual, but there was an odd murmur that couldn’t be hidden. Soon, Jin was able to find the reason for this in the window seat. Evan Butterfield, who had not been in class until yesterday, was sitting there with his chin resting on his hand. It was the seat where Jin often sat and looked out at the playground. ‘Why is he here…’ For some reason, there was no one sitting near him. Butterfield, with a blank expression, rested his chin on his hand and stared out the window. He was giving off an aura that seemed to tell people not to approach him, but it appeared to stem from his indifferent face. Butterfield, who usually wore a playful smile, looked surprisingly distant and sensitive when he wasn’t smiling. Jin quickly looked around the classroom, but unfortunately, the only remaining seat was next to the seemingly unhappy Butterfield. Jin barely managed to walk toward Butterfield with steady steps. Despite her nervous heart pounding inside, he pretended not to care at all on the outside. She tried her best to sit as far away from Butterfield as possible. The long two-person desk didn’t help much, but she pushed her chair to the very edge of the desk. Butterfield didn’t turn his head even though he felt someone sitting next to him. Jin just flipped through her book. The short silence until Mr. Ross came in and started class was long. “Now, as I mentioned last time, we’ll be doing an experiment starting today.” Mr. Ross introduced the experimental tools placed on the desk and instructed everyone to pair up with the person sitting next to them. Only then did Butterfield take his eyes off the playground. “You’ll need to make guesses about the chemicals from A to G in front of you and submit them. Since we’re dealing with dangerous chemicals and fire in this experiment, please be extra careful. If anyone behaves recklessly or dangerously, they will be punished, so be mindful.” With that, Butterfield and Jin began the experiment. They still hadn’t said a word to each other. At that point, Jin wondered if Butterfield even realized she was sitting next to him. Jin had prepared herself to complete the experiment on her own, without expecting anything from Butterfield. However, to her surprise, he moved through the experiment quite skillfully. Though he didn’t take an active role, he seemed to know exactly what needed to be done. As Jin lit the torch, Butterfield silently cleaned the nichrome wire with diluted hydrochloric acid. Throughout the experiment, they didn’t exchange a single word, but oddly, their movements synchronized perfectly. Thanks to this, the experiment proceeded smoothly. However, Jin’s mind was dizzy and complicated, unlike the smooth experimental situation. “….” Even though they were sitting side by side, Jin tried to keep as much distance as possible from him. Butterfield’s usual smile was intimidating enough, and she had no desire to provoke the version of him who seemed in a bad mood. She definitely didn’t want to experience what it felt like to be Taylor in the chemistry lab. Jin kept her body as far away from Butterfield as possible, only extending her arm to dip the nichrome wire into the flame of the torch, then awkwardly retracting her arm back. Despite her desperate efforts, there were moments when her body inevitably brushed against Butterfield’s, and each time, her mind would falter. As she got closer to him, a warm, soap-like scent seemed to rise from him, filling the air. ‘Wow, I really look like a pervert.’ Feeling a sense of self-disgust for instinctively sniffing the air, Jin held her breath whenever Butterfield came closer. Once he moved away, she exhaled deeply. Even something as simple as her breath felt like it was being controlled by him, and it made her uncomfortable. Jin grumbled to herself that the smell was exactly like that. Regardless of her discomfort, the experiment ended safely, and Jin wrote down the results on the answer sheet Mr. Ross had given her. “I think that’s wrong.” Startled by the unexpected voice breaking the silence, Jin looked up to see Butterfield pointing with his fingertip at the part she was writing. Sodium and calcium were swapped. “Oh, I see. Um, so um. Oh, thank you.” As Jin felt herself fluster while speaking, her cheeks flushed. “Don’t mention it.” Butterfield smiled, revealing dimples on his previously cold face. The sunlight streaming in from behind him perfectly complemented his expression, and Jin found herself gazing at his face absentmindedly for a moment. The gap between his smiling face and the one without a smile was so wide, and Butterfield’s smiling face was dangerously attractive. Evan Butterfield smiled beautifully, but his eyes seemed somewhat subdued. However, that gaze—which might have felt cold coming from someone else—seemed perfectly natural on Butterfield’s face, almost as if it were intentionally staged. Startled for a moment as she stared blankly at his face, Jin quickly turned her head as if nothing had happened. She quickly drew a line over the wrong answer and corrected it, but just then, his voice came again. “But Jin, even though I don’t look easy and kind, I think my appearance is to your taste.” “….” Jin, visibly flustered, lost her words. She bit her lips hard, searching for something to say, while Butterfield smirked and turned his gaze back to the flames. “That’s… I mean…” Jin’s mind went blank as she stumbled through her words, but Butterfield interrupted her. “You should have known that something said to a loose-lipped person like Joey McCoy in the cafeteria would spread all over Crawford.” Butterfield continued speaking in a gentle voice as he brought the paper in front of Jin. His large, long hand moved the pen gracefully over the paper. “If you’re going to talk about someone else, it’s better to be careful. Don’t let it reach the person and make them feel bad. Right, Jin?” Jin opened her mouth to apologize but was interrupted once again—this time by someone else. “This team did a great job with the experiment.” It was Mr. Ross, who had been walking around checking on the students’ experiments. After taking the answer sheet where Butterfield had written the final answers, Mr. Ross complimented both Jin and Butterfield, noting that they had gotten everything correct. “Students who have been confirmed after the experiment is over may leave the lab first.” As soon as Mr. Ross finished speaking, Butterfield left the classroom without giving Jin a chance to say anything more. Jin looked at Butterfield in frustration, but the cold aura emanating from his back made her too hesitant to follow him. Jin stared at his back as he walked out of the classroom, then squeezed her eyes shut and let out a deep sigh. Nothing was easy.
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