Ascension: Rune Evolution System

”Fine... Frosty, come here.”

Frost gave the group a condescending look from the corner of his eye. Just because he was passive and didn’t like to start trouble didn’t mean he was going to be a pushover.

He pushed his book to the side, placed his chin over the support of his hands, and pretended like he hadn’t heard Jason while looking off toward the blue sky beyond the windows.

By this point, everyone was looking at him, interested in how this little scenario would play out.

”I know you heard me, Frost. We just want your help with a particularly difficult social studies question,” Jason said again.

Frost looked back at the infuriatingly handsome bastard.

Now that Jason had changed his tone a bit, he would be lying if he said he was not at least a little tempted to indulge their clique and hear them out.

If he didn’t, then he would be painted as the villain here. It was kind of annoying how these stupid kids hung on this guy’s words so easily.

”Go on then,” Frost said with a sigh. ”Ask away. What SS question has troubled a group of great minds such as yourselves?”

He asked in an overly sarcastic tone; however, Jason didn’t seem to understand the sarcasm behind the statement, instead puffing out his chest with pride, thinking he was being praised for his intelligence.

The same could be said of the majority of his group as well, except for a few exceptions, of course, like Jenny, who frowned when she understood what Frost meant.

Their looks brought a subtle smirk to Frost’s lips.

’I see not every single one of you shares a single brain cell, as I had thought.’

Honestly, it confused him why someone like her, who could be said to be the closest to him in terms of academic performance in this godforsaken class, hung around braindead people like Jason and his team of jocks.

It was also true that, more often than not, he found himself absentmindedly staring at her rack when he had nothing else to do.

It wasn’t like he had a crush on her or anything, but rather, these damned hormones of his had been acting up as of late, and the usual method of relief, the kind that you did solo, did not seem as effective as it used to be.

He looked away from Jenny and back to Jason, who had finished asking his question, and though Frost had not been listening, he had caught the last part of it.

So, putting that together, and taking into account the social studies homework they had been given the day before, he easily narrowed down the question from those last few words.

The question was:

In many societies, people often go out of their way to change their behavior, appearance, or interests in order to fit in with their peers or community.

Sometimes this means stepping far outside their comfort zones or putting in significant effort just to be accepted.

Why do you think individuals feel pressured to conform to social expectations or peer groups, even when it requires sacrificing their personal comfort or authenticity?

Provide examples from history, current events, or your own observations to support your answer.

Frost involuntarily let out a condescending scoff.

The situation was quite ironic...

Wasn’t this what this so-called group of friends was doing not just now, but every other day of the week?

He had been around them long enough now, all the way from high school, to know that much.

This little circle of theirs was built on nothing but fake personas and the need to please the other person, just to maintain the status quo, and yet, despite that, they couldn’t answer this question.

Maybe it hit so close to home that none of them wanted to be the one to say it out loud.

A part of him was even suspicious that they were fooling around with him, or maybe he was just being used.

His eyes naturally found their way toward Jenny again.

’This bitch,’ he thought quietly.

Was she setting him up so that he would say what she didn’t want to say out loud? It certainly looked that way. Regardless, they were waiting for him to speak now.

”Well? Speak up,” Jason said. ”We are waiting for your answer. The lecturer will be here soon, and he will probably direct the question toward me as usual.”

Frost cursed under his breath.

”Fine then... The best way to get this through your thick sk—” He paused and cleared his throat. ”Ehem... I mean, the best way to get my point across is by using a good example. Pray tell, Jason, have you ever heard of LARPing?” he asked with a knowing smile.

Jason frowned.

”No... Am I supposed to?”

”No,” Frost answered. ”But let me explain it for you as simply as I can. Say, for instance, if a certain group of ’friends’...”

He made air quotes when he said the word friends. ”...were putting in a bit too much effort trying to fit into a particular friend group, essentially performing a role that isn’t fully aligned with their authentic selves. They adopt behaviors, styles, or interests that feel like a costume, just to blend in with the group. Examples I can use are dressing up in a certain way so that you can be viewed as attractive or sexy.”

Frost closed his eyes and began listing the examples by putting his fingers up.

”Two, agreeing to everything that your ’friends’ say, even though, in truth, you actually don’t. Three... going out of your way to play both sides in an argument, trying to play the saint, but in reality, you are nothing but a people pleaser with no actual substance to your so-called person, so tragically losing yourself in pursuit of nothing more than a short-lived sense of belonging, safety, or a fragile reputation that a single nasty rumor can tarnish. I could go on listing a lot more examples, but I think you get the idea.”

He paused for a moment, then added with a faint, almost careless sigh, ”It’s sad, really, especially as a bystander who unfortunately has the liberty of watching this pathetic farce go on for so long. Sometimes I wonder if y’all will ever get tired of putting up this little farce.”

Frost finally opened his eyes, deciding that he had said enough; however, what he found was a bunch of uncomfortable gazes looking at him.

”Oh... shit,” he muttered, only just realizing that perhaps he had said a bit too much. And no matter how dense Jason and his friends were, there had to be a limit to their stupidity.