“Hi… nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you too,” she replied, sliding into the seat beside me… her gaze never wavering.
That glance. Not the polite, distracted kind. It was scanning me. Like she was checking for something.
And it didn’t stop there.
Every time the teacher turned to write on the board, I felt her eyes flick toward me. Fast enough to seem harmless, but too consistent to ignore. I shifted in my seat, suddenly hyperaware of everything. Was my hair messy? Something on my face?
No… I knew better.
She was watching me. Not in a “who is the new girl sitting beside me” kind of way, but like… she already knew me from somewhere. And she was confirming something.
I tapped my pen against my notebook, trying to level myself.
She’s just curious. Maybe I remind her of someone. A classmate. A cousin. A long-lost childhood friend.
Yeah. That’s probably it.
After two periods, it was finally break time.
I slumped against my desk, rubbing my temples. Not a single word from the teacher had entered my brain. The numbers, dates, and random trivia floated past my consciousness like mist. My attention had been hijacked the entire time by the presence of the adorable, possibly dangerous little gremlin sitting beside me.
She didn’t do anything weird. She just sat there.
Like a cute landmine.
I let out a quiet sigh and turned my head slightly. She was flipping through the school textbook with the kind of elegance that didn’t belong to someone who needed homework.
Who even studies during break time?
“Hey, Irana…” I turned toward Irana’s desk.
But she was gone.
Huh? Don’t tell me she ran off again to meet senpai again.
Seriously, at least say goodbye to your twin.
Alright, fine. “Viola…” I turned to call Viola instead, but her seat was empty too.
What?!
Did everyone ditch me already?
“Miyazaki Aria, right?”
I froze.
That soft, sugar-coated voice came from behind me.
Slowly, I turned around, only to see Carol standing there with her hands politely folded in front of her. She had a slight tilt to her head and a perfect smile that felt just a little too calculated.
Sigh… okay. Show time.
I forced a smile of my own. “Uhuh.”
Let’s just face her. Nothing to hide, right?
Even then, I had this gnawing feeling in my chest. A quiet alarm bell that I couldn’t quite explain, like deja vu.
I feel trouble.... She’s going to bring me trouble. Just like the previous girl…
Wait.
Previous girl?
I blinked. That thought…
Why did I think that?