p̶ ̶r̶ ̶i̶ ̶n̶ ̶c̶ ̶e̶ ➸ mark lee

xxxii

" so what? we hot, we young "

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"deflection system... electron beam deflected from straight-line path.. two sets of parallel plates—" donghyuck mumbled frantically to himself.

"okay, everyone!" the teacher clapped her hands together. "that's enough reading. empty your desk, put those books and notes away!"

the brown-haired teen cursed, leaning against the seat and rolling his head back. "noooooo... i haven't even read the alpha scattering experiment yet! or transformers!"

"transformers? isn't that a movie?"

"no, mark, not that transformers," donghyuck sighed, keeping his notes away. mark, aka his desk-mate, hummed in response.

"... it's a good movie though,"

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"miss yi's gonna kill me!!" donghyuck wailed, being comforted by jaemin who sat beside him. "i think i wrote 127 instead of 157 for the last question! and she hates careless students!"

"at least exams are over! we should celebrate!" haneul assured.

"if it makes you feel any better, i think i'm gonna fail three papers," jeno smiled.

"i'm gonna fail five!" donghyuck slammed the table.

"i'm gonna fail all," mark deadpanned.

"i'm gonna fail—"

"shut up, jaem. if i see an 'a+' being stamped on every paper of yours, i'm gonna slaughter you like a cow," renjun cut him off quick.

"lele, how's your exams though?"

"exams? i don't know her," chenle sassed back, just as stressed out as hyuck.

"wow, students really do despise school examinations," mark murmured.

"you say that as if you've never went through exams before," jeno replied.

"oh— i mean," mark covered up. "back in canada, we have monthly tests. so it wasn't that hard,"

"and they say asians are smart. i fail at least nine papers a year," donghyuck muttered. "and my mom even got used to it,"

"i second that," jeno nodded.

"at least we're three days away from reaching summer vacation!" haneul tried to lighten up the mood. "it's gonna be fun!! there's so many things to do!"

"guys and girls!!" a loud yell echoed throughout the cafeteria, silencing everyone. the school's head boy, lee. chan, stood on one of the chairs, holding a paper in his hand. "i'm here to announce that right after summer ends, the school's talent show will—"

his voice was drowned by all the screams and cheers.

"yasssssss!!! they brought back the tea we've been looking for!!" donghyuck fist bumped the air.

"talent show?" mark raised a brow.

"uh, yeah!! mark, this is your chance to shine!" jaemin beamed. "you can rap!"

"wait, hol' up!!" dino shushed everyone. "for this year's talent show is different. since everyone's eager to join, the high community of the entertainment club will be the judges for the audition. rocky, lucas, sungyeon and yuqi. any one of you may either enter by going solo or in groups of two. and only around 15 participants will be chosen to perform for the show. prepare two different performances. one for the audition, and another for the show if you make it. and oh, by the way, lee jeno? the teacher wants you as emcee—"

"yes!!" jeno beamed.

"—so yeah, take the whole summer to practice or whatever and good luck! fighting!"

"wow, jeno? an emcee?" donghyuck turned to him.

"it's my dream, okay?"

"wow, i wanna join in for sure!" mark smiled brightly. his rap wasn't practiced for nothing. the talent show was enough of a golden opportunity to prove to everyone of his passion. and he wasn't going to waste the talent. "who else want to sign in?"

"not me," haneul and jeno backed off.

"don't underestimate me. but i do," hyuck raised his hand up. "marcus! you, me, duet. i know a great song. we'll definitely pass the audition,"

"if we don't, i'll have your head by the end of the audition,"

meanwhile, chenle and renjun were engaged in a conversation only between themselves, then turned to their friends. "okay, the chinese legends, aka zhong chenle and huang renjun, are going to take everyone's lives by performing great killer dancing moves and explosive vocals on the show,"

"i'm joining!" jaemin grinned. "going solo, though,"

"wow, everyone's taking part, i feel kinda useless,"

"haneul! you can join me as an emcee if you want! i'll consult the teacher in charge!" jeno suggested.

"but i'm bad at talking,"

"we have the whole summer to practice. pleaseeeeee—"

"but—"

"pleaaaaaaseeeeeee,"

"fine,"

and it's set. mark believed that whatever this talent show is about, it was going to be one of the most memorable events in his life.

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🌱 thanks for reading 🌱