Everything should be back to normal.
After the little fuss about Runa's position being shifted for the first time since she became part of Sunbrillo, Runa thought she would be in the first place again. She attended Sunbrillo from elementary school, and since the second grade, never once had anyone been able to shift her position, no matter how hard they tried.
When she first received this news, Runa was terrified that a teacher might report it to her father. But after a few days passed and her father didn't come to her, Runa could breathe a sigh of relief and continue her daily activities as usual.
Until today, when the ranking list for the monthly trial test came out and Runa found herself in second place again, she couldn't feel calm anymore.
"I think you have a rival now," said Mandy. Her voice sounded so far away even though she was standing beside Runa, when they were both looking at The List pinned up by the curriculum staff fifteen minutes ago.
Runa wasn't in the same class as this guy named Arden, so she didn't know what his academic abilities were like. But all this time Runa had heard none about Arden other than his appearance, which, rumor has it, could make women's heartbeats increase so fast to the point they almost fainted.
"He's just lucky," Runa responded. She folded her arms in front of her chest as she tried to catch her breath. She didn't want to look upset in front of many people.
"Well, maybe," Mandy said with a shrug. "We'll see when the first semester ends. If he's just lucky, he definitely won't be able to beat you."
Her year as a sophomore just begin, and she never expected someone ruin it so early.
Runa took a deep breath and then exhaled with a smile. She dropped her hands at her sides and tilted her head at Mandy. "I'll never lose," she said, before stomping away from the crowd.
There was still a long break and Runa lost her appetite after seeing the now ridiculous ranking list. There's no way a delinquent like Arden can stay in first place all the time, right? He must have been cheating, and Runa had to find out about it. But before she could do that, which was easy for her, since she could be said to take control of almost everyone in Sunbrillo, she had to calm herself down first.
Runa walked out of the main building and down the slope behind the university complex, towards the three-meter-high wall fence with barbed wire on top. Arriving in front of the rusty gate between the high walls, she took out a bunch of keys from her skirt pocket, then chose a small, thick silver key. With that key, she opened the lock attached to the gate and pushed the gate slightly, creating an opening just enough for her to go through. After making sure no one was following or seeing her, Runa passed through the gate and closed it tightly again.
Now she was in a meadow at the edge of the slope. In the distance, she can see an amazing view with a ravine on the edge of the slope. Runa followed a small path that led to a small building that looked abandoned. The building was hidden by thick trees that grew towering next to the wall. Runa has many memories of the place, long before these hills were turned into an educational complex. No one can come to this place. However, thanks to her image as a goody two shoes, she could easily enter the staff room and secretly take the back gate key and duplicate it. She did that in her freshman year in high school.
Arriving at the one-story building overlooking the ravine, Runa pushed open the old wooden door and headed straight for the cupboard hanging on the wall. She opened the cupboard door, looked inside for a moment, deciding what poison she was going to consume today. Is it a bottle of a booze? Since it was still noon and Runa couldn't possibly show up on campus drunk, she took a pack of cigarettes and a purple lighter. Runa pulled out a white cigarette and slid it to her lips. Then she lit a lighter and burned the end of the cigarette until the ember appeared. She inhaled deeply, feeling her lungs fill with smoke before exhaling.
It feels good to have a secret.
While people thought she was the perfect nice girl, Runa was enjoying cross her lines a bit like now. Another reason besides the secrecy that was maintained if she smoked here was the view in front of the building which was extraordinarily beautiful. She likes to spend her rest time smoking while looking at the expanse of forest and mountains. Runa turned to sit in her favorite place and she almost screamed when she found someone stretched out on the worn leather sofa by the window.
It took her a while to digest the figure. A boy. He lay stretched out on the brown leather sofa opposite where Runa was standing. She frowned and leaned in so that she could see more clearly.
Is that… a living human? Asked Runa in the heart.
The boy seemed to be fast asleep, with one hand resting on his forehead, almost covering his closed eyes. His chest rose and fell regularly under a white shirt. One leg bent and leaned against the back of the sofa. He used the armrests as pillows, and Runa found a pair of white canvas shoes neatly arranged at the foot of the sofa.
Moved by curiosity, Runa approached him. Her steps were slow, trying not to make a sound. Remembering how noisy Runa had come in earlier, she was sure this boy wouldn't wake up even if she approached him.
Runa continued to sneak until she arrived at the side of the sofa. Her eyes blinked in confusion, looking at the boy's face, that felt unknown and familiar at the same time.
Who's he? How did he get here?
Runa bent down to take a closer look at his face. She forgot that she now had a lit cigarette on her lips, which by now had burned enough to make hot ashes collect at the end.
And when Runa bent down, the hot ash fell on the boy's cheek.
Runa widened her eyes and stopped breathing when the boy opened his eyes and looked directly at her.
His eyes' color was amber.
"Ouch."