Eric was completely bewildered by Monica's accusation.
He looked at her at the fuming princess. His expression was one of pure unadulterated confusion.
"But," he said his voice a mixture of surprise and a genuine almost clinical curiosity
"I didn't say a single word to you during the entire class. I didn't even look in your direction. So how could I have possibly distracted you?"
The moment he said the words a flash of realization and then profound embarrassment crossed Monica's face.
She realized with a sickening lurch in her stomach the magnitude of her mistake.
She had in her anger and her frustration admitted that she the proud focused princess of the Empire the best student in the class had been so thoroughly distracted by the mere presence of this boy that she couldn't even concentrate on her studies.
It was a humiliating admission. It was one that completely undermined her carefully constructed image of cool untouchable superiority.
