LGHTNOVELBOOK Lie Again!
Chapter 6
<Chapter 6. Evan Butterfly (1)> For Evan, school life had always been dull. In fact, everything surrounding him, not just school, was like that.
Thud, thud. The sound of the basketball bouncing off the concrete floor echoed with a dull thud. Evan dribbled the ball with his right hand, lowering his tall body even further. Jonathan, blocking Evan’s path, shifted his body lower, spreading his arms wide to cut off any escape routes. Sweat was dripping down from the temples of Jonathan’s head. ‘Right? Left?’ Evan, who was making eye contact with Jonathan who was tense, instinctively stepped to the left without even having time to think. Jonathan quickly stretched out his arm to block Evan’s path. His stable center of gravity shifted to one side. Evan seized the opportunity, using his left foot as a pivot to turn his back on Jonathan and spin around. He quickly stepped forward with his right foot and broke through the opponent. Jonathan’s arm turned to his back late, but Evan had already brought the ball near the goal. A light lay-up. The ball cleanly swished through the net. Jonathan groaned and sprawled on the rough concrete floor. 11 to 2. It was Evan’s perfect victory. Evan lifted the hem of his T-shirt to wipe away the sweat and headed toward the bench. After stretching his neck lightly, he opened a bottle of sports drink and quenched his dry throat with a deep gulp, his breath still heavy. After drinking enough to his satisfaction, he threw the rest of the drink to Jonathan, who was lying down. “Whoo, tough b*stard. Hah, this is so damn hard. Hoo.” Jonathan raised his arm and snatched the drink. Jonathan, who was swearing at Evan while exhaling heavily, was lying with his eyes closed, not having the strength to get up, just breathing hard. The blue uniform with yellow lettering on his chest rose and fell incessantly. “Hey, why don’t you exercise?” After catching his breath for a moment, Jonathan looked up at the sky and spoke to Evan. As always, the sky in Florida was clear and bright. “You’re good enough that wherever you go, the ace spot is pretty much reserved for you. No, scratch that. Forget about being an ace. With just a little more practice, you might even make it to a Florida pro team.” Jonathan sat up and poured himself a drink. He emptied the bottle and wiped the drink that had dripped down his chin, nodding as if his words made sense. “Well, maybe it’s because it’s thrilling to crush guys like you, who walk around in sports team uniforms acting all cocky?” “B*stard.” An empty plastic bottle flew at Evan’s face. He snatched it out of the air with a grin. The way he looked made him resemble a handsome sports star on a photo shoot, which was irritating. And that shoot would probably end up on the cover of a women’s magazine like Vogue or Elle, not something like a sports illustrator magazine. Jonathan shot a resentful glance at the guy who he considered the most enviable person in his life. “Or maybe you should just become a celebrity.” “Having Bob Iger chase me around asking for a contract is a bit scary.” Woo. Jonathan jeered, turning his thumb downward. He said it as a joke, but half of it was serious. It felt like he could easily secure a contract with Disney if he really wanted to. Evan couldn’t find the need to work hard at anything. Everything came easily to him—sports, studies, and even people. Everything he encountered felt effortless. And easy was trivial. If you were to compare it to a game, Evan’s life had been on easy mode since birth. In fact, it was closer to a tutorial-level easy mode. Evan realized that his appearance was a great weapon from the time he could walk and talk. The kids around him were always eager to be by Evan’s side, and the adults fell for Evan’s smiling face. Toys, allowance, even covering up mistakes were all easy. A single smile was all it took. As he grew older, the already easy game became even simpler. His natural height and physique were another blessing inherited from his parents. To men, it made them wary of underestimating him, and to women, he appeared like the shining star at the top of a Christmas tree. God’s favor seemed endless, as he was supported by quick thinking, excellent athletic ability, and wealthy parents who ensured he never had to worry about hunger. All the cards that would make people say the world was unfair if they had just one were in Evan’s hands. To sum up his life in one phrase, it was a royal straight flush. Even Evan, who seemed to be on a smooth road, had a minor obstacle in the form of his parents’ divorce, but that wasn’t a trial to him at all. He still had the wealth to support him, and in America, divorce was like a game of chance that happened with a 1 in 3 chance. Win or lose. Evan’s parents were just winning the game of chance. “Hey, didn’t she reject you?” Jonathan, who had gotten up from the floor, bounced the basketball on the ground while smirking. Evan raised an eyebrow as if asking what he was talking about, and glanced at him with a bored expression. “Transfer student!” Jonathan lightly bent and straightened his knee before sending the ball flying. His basketball team uniform wasn’t just for show, as he made a decent one-handed shot. The ball barely swung around the hoop and hit the net. * * * Mr. Brown, with a troubled expression, kept wiping his head. The few remaining strands of his thin hair swayed weakly every time the handkerchief passed over them. “Hmm. The science classes in 5th period are just Mrs. Millen’s Chemistry and Mr. Ross’s Honors Chemistry…” Swish, thud. “I’ll change to Mr. Ross’s class.” Swish, thud. Evan absentmindedly spun the globe on Mr. Brown’s desk with his finger, stopping and spinning it again, as he spoke nonchalantly. “As I mentioned earlier, Mr. Ross’s class is already full… and the teacher firmly stated that he won’t be accepting any more students.” Perhaps feeling distracted, Mr. Brown glanced back and forth between Evan and the spinning globe that Evan kept flicking. “Or maybe you could postpone Chemistry until next year and take Social Studies during the 5th period instead…” Mr. Brown’s voice grew quieter and quieter until it was barely audible by the end. This was because he had locked eyes with the dry expression of a strikingly beautiful face gazing steadily at him. Mr. Brown’s head was now drained of water as if it had been flooded. It seemed he needed a new handkerchief. “Thank you, Mr. Brown.” Evan, with a smile that filled the hearts of those who saw him, politely closed the door to Mr. Brown’s counselor’s office. It was a contrast to Mr. Brown’s face, which was now chasing after Mr. Ross and begging him to accept just one more person. Usually, when dealing with teachers, Evan would smile like a playful boy, creating an innocent atmosphere. Acting careless was an inefficient choice. It was Evan’s belief that earning teachers’ favor was always a good idea as a form of insurance. However, this method worked well for Mr. Brown. Even if he smiled and lowered the corners of his mouth just a little, Mr. Brown would shrink his short neck like a turtle trying to hide in its shell. Because of this, there was speculation within Crawford that Mr. Brown was showing his nerdy habits from high school. Evan lifted his wrist and looked at his watch. There was one minute left until Spanish class. “Tsk.” Mr. Brown lasted longer than Evan had anticipated. Thinking that he should try not to smile from the beginning next time, Evan turned his steps toward the building where Mrs. Haide’s classroom was. He walked leisurely, basking in the sun as if he had never clicked his tongue. The September Florida sun was definitely a waste of time for running. Mrs. Haide would understand that much. The same old Crawford, both comforting and tiresome. Normally, Evan wouldn’t have added the word ‘comforting’ in front of Crawford. But today, perhaps because there were no annoying people around, he felt lighter than usual. As Evan walked around the empty campus for a while, he came across a strange sight. A woman, entirely dressed in black and white, was striking her wrist down while holding something in her hand. Evan stopped in his tracks at the unusual sight in Crawford. The clock on his wrist that he glanced down at told him that he was already late. However, it seemed more fun to watch the woman than to take the same old Spanish class. If Mrs. Haide were here, she would have made the same decision. The woman was dressed in white and black like a chessboard. A white short-sleeved T-shirt, black jeans, and white Nike sneakers. Her hair, reaching around her shoulder blades, was as black as ink, and her skin glowed white, reflecting the sunlight. If it weren’t for the blue shirt tied around her waist, Evan would have thought that Crawford had finally had a goth crowd. She was around 5.5 feet tall. Evan estimated her height with a quick glance. While Evan observed the woman, the woman muttered something to herself and briskly walked toward the school gate, gathering her books. Curious about what she was doing, Evan approached the spot where the woman had been. Even though he hadn’t tried to be stealthy, it seemed like she didn’t notice his presence at all. Evan found a piece of concrete on the floor where the woman had just been looking down. The concrete he had picked up had a sharp edge on one side, and the woman was moving in the exact direction of the sharp edge. ‘…Is she using this to find her way?’ At this point, he felt absurd. Evan looked at the woman, wondering how far she could go. The woman approached the school gate with a solemn expression, closed her eyes, and made the sign of the cross in the opposite direction. “I guess the god you believe in is Satan.” Or Sam Smith? No matter who the god the woman believed in, it seemed like he was the only one who could save her from distress. Evan, ready for the situation to take a turn, went behind the girl and snatched the timetable from her hand. “Let me see. Spanish, Mrs. Haide?” Next chapter will be updated first on this website. Come back and
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