Chapter Text
The new transfer student was truly detestable. At least, that was what Lando thought when he first saw him.
Not only did this transfer student look boring, but he was also a complete nerd. He had long bangs that covered his eyes, wore ugly black-framed glasses, and kept his head down, looking listless and completely uninteresting. Oh, and his face was as blank as a sheet of paper, devoid of any emotion.
"Let me introduce you to the new transfer student," the teacher said. "Oscar Piastri will be joining us this semester."
For some reason, Lando couldn't take his eyes off Oscar's face. After the teacher finished introducing him, the transfer student merely let out a faint hum, or perhaps he didn't react at all.It was merely Lando’s illusion.
The teacher continued, "Then, please, Mr. Piastri, take a seat at the empty spot in the back row."
Oh, no. What? Lando quickly looked to his left and right: well, the only empty seat was next to him.
This was just too bad...
He watched as Oscar Piastri walked towards him step by step. His face was expressionless, like a lifeless object.
"Hey... mate, I'm Lando," Lando forced a smile and extended his hand, but Oscar hardly looked at him.
Lando saw his new deskmate nod slightly, his long eyelashes drooping, his lips pursed, and his eyes fixed on the textbook in his hand, refusing to spare a glance for Lando.
What the... Lando felt a bit annoyed. To be honest, usually it was others who were eager to approach him, and he rarely initiated greetings. But Oscar acted as if Lando didn't exist at all, which made Lando feel extremely uncomfortable. A nameless rage began to burn within him. How dare he ignore me like this! A voice in his mind roared, urging him to vent his anger...
The next few days were no less than a "prison sentence" for Lando. Extraordinary boring.Piastri never spoke voluntarily, or rather, he didn't speak at all. Whether it was luck or something else, the teacher never called on him to answer questions. So much so that he couldn't hear any word from his new desk mate ,
"Piastri~" Lando called out somewhat bored. Oscar shuddered slightly. Well, it could be confirmed that he wasn't deaf, but still no response. “Piastri?” Lando kept calling his deskmate's name until the end: "Pastry!" (Lando didn't know why he suddenly thought of this nickname, nor why he shouted it out so loudly in class.)
But fortunately, Oscar's blank face finally showed some other expression. He glared at Lando fiercely, "Norris, what on earth do you want?"
Wow, it's an Australian accent. So cute. Lando thought to himself, "Nothing, I'm just glad to find out you're not mute."
"Mr Norris!" The teacher's angry voice came from the podium. "Please don't disrupt the class order."
Uh-huh, Lando responded casually, his eyes no longer on the blackboard but fixed on Piastrini. "You know," Lando's voice was very soft, almost a whisper, "your voice is so nice... Why don't you talk more?"
Oscar still looked at the blackboard seriously, writing notes in his hand. If it weren't for his ears and cheeks turning slightly red, Lando would have thought he didn't hear a word.
"Pastry~ You know, you look so good when you're angry." Lando continued talking to himself, "Why do you always have that poker face? Come on." This only makes people want to provoke you, break the mask on your face and see you lose control...
Unfortunately, from that day on, Lando never saw any other emotion on Oscar's face again. As if to retaliate for Lando's provocation, his mask was worn even tighter. Lando tried to give Oscar more new nicknames, but none of them worked. But as everyone knows, Lando is not one to give up easily.< /p>
He only gets more persistent.
At first, it was just simple "bumps", like accidentally pushing Oscar's desk when he was doing his homework, causing a perfect sheet to get damaged, or scribbling some meaningless things on Oscar's seat. But Oscar would at most be silent for a moment, then pick up an eraser himself and erase those boring doodles and slightly malicious words. He never cared who was behind the prank, or rather, he knew it was Lando, but he didn't care.
Lando has never been a bully, nor has he ever taken pleasure in tormenting others.
But, as the saying goes, there's always a "but". Oscar Piastri's indifferent attitude really aroused his competitive spirit. He began to think of ways to trip up his deskmate.
Like throwing Oscar's books on the ground in front of him.
"Oops!" Lando exaggeratedly raised his hands. "Sorry, Osc, I really didn't mean it."
Oscar's head was lowered, and Lando couldn't see his expression.
"It's okay." Oscar simply said one word, then bent down to pick up the books on the ground. “wait… "No, what? That's it?" Lando stared at him with wide eyes. "Aren't you angry? Aren't you furious?"
Oscar raised his head and looked at Lando with a confused expression (well, Lando couldn't tell if Oscar was faking it or not). "Didn't you say you didn't mean it?"
"But..." ！” Lando was about to say something more, but was interrupted.
"Lando! That's enough." Lando turned around and saw Carlos frowning at him. "I don't know what's going on between you and Piastri, but no matter what, you shouldn't treat your classmate like this. Stop it."
Lando still wanted to explain, but Carlos wouldn't give him a chance. "You're not this kind of person, okay? Let's go for a walk and talk about it." With that, he pulled Lando out of the classroom and gave Oscar an apologetic look.
Carlos pulled Lando towards the corner of the corridor. After making sure no one could hear them, he shouted angrily, "Lando, what's wrong with you these days? What did that Australian kid do to make you hate him so much? Is it fun to bully someone who can't fight back?"
"I just wanted him to show some reaction! Don't you think it's annoying how he doesn't care about anything? He hardly replies to anyone, as if no one is worthy of his respect. Don't you think that's too much? He's like a cold robot!"
Only after Lando finished speaking did he notice that Carlos was looking at him with great confusion and a hint of disappointment.
"Oh my god... Lando, you're so unreasonable. First of all, he doesn't talk much. Is it possible that he's just afraid of being laughed at for his accent? I don't believe you don't know that some jerks would make fun of that. Secondly, whether he talks to you or not is his own business! Those young students like you, but that doesn't mean the whole world has to revolve around you! And... please stop tormenting him. He's really scared."
"What? Scared?" ！” Lando looked completely incredulous. "I do... get on his nerves, but I've never done him any real harm, really!"
"But can't you see that your actions are only getting worse?" Carlos shot back quickly. "He might think, what if it was a book or a pen that fell today, and tomorrow it's him? You've been acting so strange these past few days, no one knows what you're thinking, let alone him."
"Have... you talked to him?" Lando asked tentatively.
"Of course! In my opinion, he's actually a very nice kid, very polite, very smart, and quite interesting. Charles and Max like him a lot too."
Lando stared at Carlos in disbelief, as if everything was beyond his comprehension. So Oscar wasn't looking down on him; he didn't speak because he thought Lando would mock him or bully him. …… Is that it? Just like this? A wave of guilt washed over Lando's heart, and for a moment, he felt as if he couldn't breathe. "Please don't do this anymore, okay? Lando, please." He heard Carlos still muttering, "You know some people, after seeing you bully him... will do the same.”
Later, Lando never bothered Oscar again and never tried to talk to him. Both of them pretended the other didn't exist until one day, when Lando was about to return to the dormitory after playing ball with his friends, he saw Oscar surrounded by several people in a corner.
Lando knew he should have stepped in at that moment, but his feet felt as if they were made of lead, unable to move. He was horrified to see Piastri's expression was so vacant, just like... just like when he had bullied Oscar before.
It shouldn't be like this.
He watched helplessly as someone poured ice water over Oscar's head.
It shouldn't be like this.
He watched helplessly as the group laughed and left, leaving the boy shivering alone in the wind.
"Was it you who told them to do this, Lando?" George asked, frowning.
Oh, God... Why, why did Carlos and George think this way.
"Come on, it wasn't me!" Lando shouted angrily. "I admit I was wrong before, but you're my friend. How could you think this of me... Come on, mate, how could you think this of me."
After shouting, Lando panted heavily. Everything was so bad, so very bad! His mind was in a mess. When he came to his senses, Oscar, who had been huddled in the corner, was nowhere to be seen.
Damn it... It was so cold and Oscar was all wet. If he ran away like this, he would surely get sick. But what right did Lando have to worry? Wasn't all of this not his fault? Wasn't it him who made those people think Oscar was a pitiful weakling who wouldn't fight back?
Oh, God... It seemed that was the case, and Lando hated this fact.