The next day came.
"Eirin!"
The teenage girl felt someone's warmth on her arm and saw that it was Kara clinging to her. Kara talked to Eirin as if it was their normal daily routine. She started ranting about how the explosion yesterday caused immense gossip about Shade being punished and suspended. It was because Kara wouldn't be able to see her dear Shade that she continued talking and talking, not caring how much it made Eirin feel like it was an eternity before they could reach the classroom.
"I think it's really weird."
Eirin felt Kara's eyes on her. "What is?"
Despite not wanting to talk, Eirin did not want to make Kara angry by ignoring her either. That would have been more troublesome.
"Whenever I'm with you, it feels like I'm losing mana," Kara said in confusion, making Eirin's forehead crease while thinking, what's that got to do with her? It was not something she could understand, after all, she could still not follow the concept of mana and magic.
Kara chuckled and said, "I feel weirdly weak. You're not doing a curse to me, are you?" Eirin let out a forced laugh, denying anything about the curse. Even if she wanted to, there's no way she could do something like that anyway.
When they arrived in the classroom, they could hear all sorts of noises, murmurs, and gossip filled the room. The news about Shade Cromwell being dispatched on a confidential mission with the Black Star reached Eirin's ears. Apparently, it has been circulating the whole academy since yesterday's incident.
Eirin wondered what the Black Star was, and what the fuss was all about.
"How could they punish Shade like that?" Kara could not believe what she heard. "If he burned the laboratory room because those seniors were being jerks, then he doesn't deserve such punishment!"
"Can't you shut up? You are not the only person in the class," Coleen said, causing the two to clash once again. "Stop acting like you weren't afraid after seeing Shade's red—"
"Hey, hey, hey."
Link immediately covered Coleen's mouth before she could say something else which baffled Eirin who was sitting beside the other girl and saw Link's hands move. The young man laughed it off saying that Kara and Coleen shouldn't be fighting as it was still too early in the morning.
"Wait a minute. Isn't Eirin the last person in the laboratory room after all of us left? She must have seen something before the explosion. Anything!"
All eyes were on Eirin with what Kara said.
"I remember you having a messed-up appearance yesterday too, so there must be something you know. Don't tell me I was the only one who was weirded out by her appearance yesterday."
Eirin's classmates could not disagree with what Kara said. Eirin sure did look like she went through hell with her appearance the other day, and they cannot deny it any longer. They started seeking answers, but the teenage girl did not know what to say.
"I... already left the room so I don't know what went through after."
Eirin stared at her notebook, trying to ignore the gazes on her. She didn't want to be questioned about what happened anymore.
"That's it? Shouldn't you at least know even the tiniest bit of information that could give us a hint as to why Shade had to be punished?"
Coleen slammed both of her hands on the table. "You're annoying! Why do you keep asking her? Who cares if you're confused? It's not like you're involved anyway. What are you? Shade's mom?"
"Why do you keep butting in? Was I talking to you? Do you want my attention that much, Princess McGuffin?" Kara did not back down.
However, their shouting and argument were put to a stop after the door opened. All of the students were left with their mouths agape as two of the most beautiful students entered the room exuding such elegance and regalness. It was Cali and Pierre. As if frozen still, Coleen stood there with her gaze glued on Cali.
Link tried to say something to lighten up the mood since the tension suddenly grew higher. It was different from the atmosphere earlier. After noticing how Coleen quickly averted her gaze after Cali looked at her, Eirin could not stop exchanging glances from Coleen to Cali.
"Eirin."
The teenage girl blinked lots of times after Cali called her name.
"Ms. Hockenbury wants to talk to you in her office after class," she said after putting the notebooks on the teacher's table in front of the room. "And she said she'll be adding more assignments to your class."
Cali walked away and was followed by Pierre after the young man waved his hand to his younger sibling. What was his purpose anyway?
Murmurs kept getting louder. It was the first time Calixta called someone by their first name with such a calm and gentle tone. This made Eirin's classmates unable to stop looking at her with curiosity in their eyes. Who is this new student that's getting all the attention? From the hottest infamous Shade Cromwell to the freezing Ice Quen Calixta.
"You're on a first-name basis with that Calixta Winters? Are you close with her?"
Eirin looked up and saw the class representative, Sapphire Blouin, standing in front of her. The teenage girl could not understand the meaning behind her question and so she only tilted her head.
"Not you too, Sapphire," Coleen said with her trembling hands as she took a seat.
The way Coleen reacted caused Eirin to be curious about what Coleen McGuffin's relationship with Calixta Winters could be.
'Wait, did I just hear Cali's full name?'
The time passed more quickly and Eirin had no choice but to meet with Ms. Hockenbury due to some unknown reason. On her way to the office, the other students' gazes were inevitable as she could feel them staring right through her soul and she could tell what was going through their minds. Mixing with their gazes were the murmurs and mentions of Shade Cromwell's name.
This made the teenage girl wonder, was Shade Cromwell really punished?
On the other hand, Coleen McGuffin watched Eirin as she walked out of the classroom as soon as the class was over. She heard Link saying how pitiful Eirin appeared, causing Coleen to frown and sulk, saying that maybe Link would rather be with Eirin than with her. Such words caused the young man to laugh as he pinched Coleen's chubby pink cheeks, teasing her about her grumpiness.
It is not peculiar to feel pity towards the new student who is receiving Ms. Hockenbury's hatred. It will also not be a surprise if Ms. Hockenbury hates Eirin as she is Eleanor Luxfield's granddaughter, Ms. Hockenbury's longtime rival.
Seeing the isolated Coleen acts grumpy made Link wonder if it would have been better if Eirin and Coleen got along and became friends. However, just as he says those words, Coleen slams her book shut saying, "I don't need friends."
The way Coleen lashed out caused the remaining students in the classroom to stare at her, thinking about how annoying she was.
"You're enough for me. If I try to become friends with her, she'll just snatch you away from me just like what that bitch tried to do."
"Hey, hey. You shouldn't speak like that with such an adorable face, okay?" Link stood and patted Coleen's head, calming her down. "It's not like I won't be your friend anymore if you gain other friends. We've been friends since we were children, aren't we?"
Link smiled. "Since Eirin's not from this place, think about how uncomfortable she is dealing with strangers. She looks kind, and she doesn't seem like a person who'll judge people's flaws."
"Eirin this, Eirin that! Just go befriend her yourself!"
Coleen stormed out of the room, leaving her belongings and Link.
'That new girl could get everyone anyway. Why does it have to be me or Link? She can befriend everyone in the academy, so why?'
The young girl trudged in the hallway aimlessly. She wasn't even looking where she was going due to anger which caused her to bump into someone, making her space buns hairstyle loose.
Coleen clicked her tongue, "I'm so—" She couldn't even apologize the moment she saw who the person in front of her was. "My bad," her tone sounded insincere, and she wanted to run away.
"Oh? It's Coleen."
Pierre appeared behind Cali which made Coleen stop. No matter how rude Coleen might be towards her classmates, she cannot be rude towards the Blouin Dukedom's heir.
"Did you come here to eat with Cali?"
Coleen could not answer, but she did not want to act rude either. After all, this place is still influenced by the nobility. The young girl could feel Cali's fixed gaze on her.
"Let me call Sapphire and then we can all eat together like old times," Pierre said in excitement and was supposed to leave, but Coleen desperately grabbed Pierre's arm.
"I—"
"Pierre," Cali cut Coleen off, and she grabbed Pierre's shoulder. "She won't be eating with us." The coldness in Calixta's voice caused an ache in Coleen's heart as she balled her fists and stood there in silence.
"Let us go."
Pierre was all fidgety with the awkward situation as he kept glancing back at Coleen while Cali pulled him away, passing Coleen by as if she was invisible and bearing no importance.
'I hate her,' Coleen thought as she trudged on the opposite way and rubbed the tears falling out of her eyes. She only felt even angrier than before.
The young girl ended up reaching the empty training grounds, grunting in anger as she kept stomping on the grass before reaching the bleachers not far from the huge oak tree.
"Why does Pierre keep associating me with that cold woman? Can't he see that woman hates me? And of course, I hate her as much as she hates me!"
As she continued ranting in the air, Coleen noticed someone on the first-floor hallway towards the dormitory. She squinted her eyes to see who it was clearly and she froze upon realization that the calm and collected Eirin Luxfield was standing in the middle of the empty hallway while sobbing her eyes out.
Coleen's forehead creased; however, she immediately fell off the bleachers and into the grassy ground after being surprised by Eirin's gaze landed on the training grounds. Her heart thumped so loud, wondering if Eirin Luxfield saw her.
After waiting for a minute, Coleen peeked to see Eirin, but she was already walking away while wiping her eyes.
"What was that? Was she crying?"