I dozed off during our second period class in the afternoon. The breeze coming from the window was simply too soothing.
When I woke up, classes were over and everyone was heading home. I slowly opened my eyes, feeling as though my nap had been cut short.
"Hey, wake up... it's just us left in the classroom... have you been sleeping this whole time?" a familiar male voice said, slightly irritating in its tone.
I looked up to find my friend standing beside me. He dropped my bag onto the desk where I had been sleeping.
"What the..." I yawned before continuing, "I didn't even realize I'd slept through the afternoon. It's so nice to sleep, especially since I'm at the back of the classroom next to the window," I replied to my friend George.
George has been my friend since our first year of high school. He was the one who approached me and befriended me.
He has orange hair and his eyes are like emeralds. He has an average build, not too muscular or too thin. Just right for a 15-year-old.
"Are you going to stand up or should I just leave?" he asked.
"Yes, here I am! I'm ready!" I replied as I pushed my chair back and stood up. "Where are the other two?" I asked while stretching.
"They already left, they said they had something to do, so I let them go ahead," he replied to me.
I let out a sigh and scratched my head. "Is that so? Let's go then." I picked up my bag from the table and we began walking, George and I.
As we stepped out of the classroom, I glanced down the corridor and it seemed like there was truly no one around.
"What's the matter, Kil? We're the only ones here, you took so long to wake up," he said to me with a hint of insult in his voice.
"Alright, alright," I muttered, scratching my head. As we walked towards the staircase, I accidentally bumped into a girl.
It wasn't a real collision; it was just an accident because she was running fast, seemingly having forgotten something in her classroom. So, as George and I were turning the corner, there it happened... we collided, and the impact was so strong that she ended up sitting down backwards.
"Are you okay?" I asked the girl, my eyes widening as I noticed her long, flowing, glossy chestnut brown hair, a bit of a curly hair in the edge of her hair.
"Ouch, that really hurt," the girl said, holding her head and gently rubbing it.
I glanced over at George, whose face unmistakably showed a hint of amusement at the situation.
"Oh, you're in trouble now," George chuckled teasingly, his fingers brushing against his lips, a mischievous smile playing across his face.
He stopped smiling and placed his right palm on my shoulder, "I know we're friends, but you understand, right?... My jackpot is about to hit; I can't hold it in much longer, my stomach's killing me!" he exclaimed before sprinting away.
I knew he did that on purpose just to leave us alone, claiming he needed to use the bathroom—yeah right, what a lame excuse.
I approached the girl and offered my hand to help her up, "Are you okay? Aika?" I asked.
Suddenly, she opened her eyes revealing captivating hazel irises. Hazel eyes are characterized by a blend of brown, green, and golden hues, creating a unique and mesmerizing effect.
I glanced around and scratched my cheek with my index finger, feeling a blush spread across my face. Still, I reached out one hand to her.
I was startled when I felt her palm—smooth, soft, and gentle. My cheeks flushed deeper; it was, after all, the first time I had ever held a girl's hand, and I couldn't help but chuckle nervously.
Firmly grasping Aika's hand, I gently pulled her to her feet.
My heart raced with an extraordinary quickness, and I noticed a similar blush tinting Aika's cheeks, hinting at her own flutter of nerves or perhaps surprise. This subtle shared moment seemed to draw us momentarily closer in the quiet aftermath of the collision.
As she stood up, our eyes locked for a few seconds, intensifying my discomfort and quickening my heartbeat even more.
"I-I'm sorry, Aika," I stammered, bowing slightly to emphasize my sincerity.
Seconds passed in silence, so I looked up at her again and noticed she was blushing.
"A-Aika?" She paused and continued to gaze at me.
My nerves were on edge, and I struggled to find the right words. "Y-you're Aika from Class-1, aren't you? No student on campus doesn't recognize you," I managed to say.
"Why do you call me Aika?" Her voice was soft and incredibly beautiful, almost angelic. "Why not address me by my last name?"
My eyes widened as I realized she wasn't typically addressed by her first name by those not close to her. Oh no, what do I do now? Talk about bad luck
How to do this? What should I answer "A-Aika? Why are you in a hurry?" Oh no, why did I mention her name again? We're not even close yet; she might think I'm a stalker, but I am a stalker, though.
Her eyes widened, and her expression changed abruptly, looking visibly annoyed. She clenched her fists and suddenly punched me... resulting in my left cheek swelling up.
I felt dizzy and stumbled, the impact of Aika's punch was strong. After that, I followed her to her classroom. Our classrooms were adjacent, with mine being Class-2. I pocketed my right hand, still holding onto my swollen cheek from Aika's punch.
Leaning my right shoulder against the door, I watched her search, and then I approached her. "Just a question, Ai— Miss Evergarden?" I almost slipped up and called her by her name. I don't know why I felt compelled to use her name when we're not that close.
She looked at me with a hint of suspicion, her eyes still slanted. "Why would I tell you? Who are you?" she asked abruptly.
Oh dear, what should I answer? It seems like what they say about her being difficult to talk to is true.
She just turned around and continued her search, not knowing what she's looking for. I let out a sigh, not knowing what else to do.
She had already checked almost all of her classmates' desks in front and resumed her search.
She opened another drawer of a desk, but found nothing. "Where could it be? I need to know what happens next in the story, I'm almost done with Volume 4," she whispered, but I could still hear her.
That's when I realized she was looking for a book. I looked around at everything in their classroom and started walking towards the back.
I spotted a book on the floor near the teacher's chair. It was slightly open, revealing the cover, so I picked it up and flipped through its pages.
"I'm The Strongest Assassin?" I exclaimed loudly, examining the book. To my surprise, Aika snatched it from my hands.
She glared at me while clutching the book tightly. "Where did you find this?" she asked, her voice tinged with suspicion.
But even so, her voice was beautiful, like that of an angel. "I found it on the floor, right there— under your teacher's chair," I replied, pointing to the spot where I had seen it.
She lowered her gaze and her face flushed slightly. "T-thank you for helping me find it," she said.
My eyes widened in astonishment, and my face turned tomato red.
"Hey, I said thank you," she reminded me.
I was left speechless, overwhelmed with joy that Aika had thanked me. I tried to regain my composure.
"Well, it's nothing... Anyway, let's go, I'm already late for home," I said nonchalantly, as if I didn't care, but I wanted to maintain my cool demeanor.
I walked past her, maintaining my cool stance. Of course, I had to appear cool in front of a girl.
She followed behind me. We exited the door, and I walked ahead towards the staircase while Aika locked their classroom door.
Once she finished locking it, she immediately started running to catch up with me. Wait... why did I help her search? And why did I even wait for her? What am I doing? Am I her boyfriend or something? Oh no.
As we walked down the stairs, we remained silent. Our classrooms were on the 3rd floor, and each step echoed throughout the entire building.
Wow, she still hasn't said a word. It's getting awkward. I need to think of something to talk about. "Uh... So?" I shifted my gaze towards her from behind, and she also turned her head gently.
Wow, it felt like Cupid's arrows pierced my heart three times over. She truly was a goddess.
"What is it?" she asked calmly. Wow, am I dreaming?
"By the way, where are your belongings? Why didn't you bring them?" I asked, my right hand still in my pocket, gently caressing my cheek that Aika had punched.
"They're with Emma. I asked her to hold onto them so I wouldn't have trouble searching," she replied to me. Her voice was truly enchanting.
After that, we reached the ground floor of our building. There were two more buildings adjacent to ours. Two buildings facing each other, while our building was situated next to those two buildings. In short, our building was in the middle.
We arrived at the school playground, which was located at the base of the three buildings. We simply called it the playground because during our break time, many students played there.
Aika's friend, Emma Velouria, was waiting there. Emma had blonde hair, brown eyes, and slightly curly hair.
Emma is always with Aika, they are truly best friends. "Here are your belongings, took you long enough," Emma said as a welcome gift.
"It was just difficult to find, what can I do?" Aika replied, but her voice still sounded angelic, and she looked beautiful.
I simply walked past the two of them, keeping my hands in my pockets to show that I was cool.
"Who's that guy? It seems like you arrived here together," Emma asked, but I could still hear them.
"He's the one who found my book, and he seems familiar to me," Aika answered.
I continued walking towards the gate, but I could still hear their conversation behind me.
"He's from Class-2, our neighboring classroom," Emma said
"Oh, right. Waaaiiiittt!!!" Aika shouted, and I turned around to see her running towards me, looking cute as she ran.
"What's the problem, Miss Evergarden?" I asked, maintaining a cool tone.
"What's your name?" she asked me.
There it was, I was taken aback. My face turned red, and my heart raced. It seemed like this girl wasn't as mean and snobbish as others claimed.
I smiled and extended my right hand for a handshake. "I'm Kil Whitlock," I introduced myself.
She shook my hand. "I'm Aika Evergarden, pleased to meet you, Kil."
Aaarrrgggghhhh... I felt like I was going to explode. My crush smiled at me.
My heart beat rapidly, my face turning beet red. Her hand was so soft, and it felt smooth to hold.
Who would have thought? So much happened in just one day... and my hands started trembling. "I-I-I'm also pleased to meet you, Miss Evergarden," I replied. I quickly withdrew my hand.
I nonchalantly put my hand back into my pocket and maintained my cool posture.
I smiled at the two of them and walked towards the gate of Clenmark School.