The poster was nearly complete.
Ivy stood over the Helpers Club table, taping down the final piece, a slightly blurry photo of Zhihao, mid-blink, taken during his failed dodgeball escape from class last week. Above it, bold block letters read:
EPIC BATTLE: ZHIHAO VS. BASIC EDUCATION
Zhihao took one look, and groaned dramatically. "I will burn this room down."
Ivy turned with innocent eyes. "Why?"
"I have a reputation to maintain."
"Did you ever have one to begin with?"
He hesitated. "Kind of. I was... known at my old school."
Ivy perked up. "Known? For what?"
Zhihao flopped into a chair with a long sigh. "It's complicated. And sealed by several unofficial agreements."
She stepped closer. "Wait. Were you a delinquent?"
Zhihao dramatically covered his face with his hands. "I did something stupid."
"Seriously? You? You walk like the floor is trying to assassinate you."
Zhihao peered through his fingers. "That floor knows what it did."
"People change, huh?"
"For the helping kind," he said with mock nobility.
Ivy tapped the poster. "Step one of helping: show up to class."
Zhihao looked at the photo again. "That's character assassination."
"It adds drama."
The door opened and Riley strolled in, sipping from a juice box. She took one look at the poster and lit up.
"I love this," she said. "Best club morale project ever."
"It's slander," Zhihao muttered.
"Nah. It's character development."
Elias arrived next, arms full of paperwork. He paused, gave the poster a once-over, then looked at Ivy. "What are you doing?"
"Team-building."
Zhihao pointed. "Bullying."
Elias placed the files on the desk. "Can be both."
As the afternoon settled, the group broke off, Riley organizing request files, Elias reviewing reports, and Ivy stacking supplies.
Zhihao moved to a corner desk and pulled out a textbook with the solemnity of someone defusing a bomb. He stared at it, sighed, then flipped it open dramatically.
"I think my brain shut off," he muttered. "It died as it lived. Confused and underprepared."
Ivy smirked. "Look at that. Zhihao versus basic education, round two."
He rolled his eyes, but the corners of his mouth twitched upward.