Chapter 1: You did that on purpose!

At Westbridge High, there were certain things everyone agreed on.

First: the cafeteria curry on Thursdays was a biological weapon.

Second: nobody understood the math teacher’s handwriting.

And third—perhaps most importantly—

Luna Rossouw was the most popular girl in school.

Luna was the kind of popular that made teachers smile when she walked into class and made first-years nervously whisper when she passed by.

She helped organize events, remembered people’s birthdays, and somehow made everyone feel like they mattered.

Which meant one thing:

Everyone loved Luna Rossouw.

“—and then he said the referee was clearly biased.”

“That’s ridiculous,” Luna said, laughing.

“Your brother says that every time he loses.”

“He didn’t lose.”

“Remy, the score was 6–1.”

“That’s beside the point.”

Luna shook her head, still smiling as she walked through the crowded hallway with her best friend, Remy.

Monday mornings were always noisy: students rushing to class, lockers slamming, and someone down the hallway shouting about homework they forgot to do.

But Luna moved through it like a fish through water, greeting people left and right.

“Morning, Luna!”

“Good luck with the class meeting today!”

“Hey Luna, thanks again for helping with the festival forms!”

She waved, smiled, and answered everyone.

Remy watched her with a sideways glance.

“You realize half the school would collapse emotionally if you ever stopped smiling, right?”

“That’s a lot of responsibility,” Luna said.

“You like that kind of responsibility though.”

“I’ve learned to live with it.”

“You thrive on it.”

“Unfortunately.”

Remy snorted.

They reached the stairs leading to the second floor.

“So what did you actually do this weekend?” Remy asked.

Luna sighed dramatically.

“Just homework, planning the inter-sports event… and I baked cookies.”

“You baked cookies?”

“For my neighbours.”

“You’re unbelievable.”

Luna laughed.

Thump.

Luna bumped into someone.

Luna blinked.

Remy blinked.

The boy in front of her adjusted his glasses slowly.

And then he sighed.

Just the quiet, tired sigh of someone who had seen this exact disaster coming.

Luna froze.

Her cheerful expression vanished instantly.

“…It's you.”

Kevin Adams looked down at her.

The top student in the school— known for correcting teachers and for being nearly impossible to talk to.

He stared at Luna for a moment.

Then sighed again.

“…Good morning, Remy, Luna.”

Remy’s eyes widened slightly.

Luna crossed her arms immediately.

“You bumped into me.”

Kevin tilted his head slightly.

“No,” he said calmly. “We bumped into each other.”

“That’s not what happened.”

Kevin glanced at the floor.

Then at her shoes.

Then at the direction she had been walking.

His eyes returned to hers.

“Were you walking forward.”

“Yes.”

“So was I.”

“…okay?”

“Therefore,” Kevin said, “we bumped into each other.”

Luna stared at him.

Remy could already feel the tension building like a thunderstorm.

Luna narrowed her eyes.

“You did that on purpose.”

Kevin paused.

Then slowly smirked.

The kind that said he had just discovered something entertaining.

“How did you know?”

There was a long pause.

“…What?”

Kevin folded his arms.

“And here I thought my diabolical plan was flawless.”

Remy immediately turned away to hide her laughter.

Luna blinked twice.

“You’re joking.”

Kevin watched her carefully.

He noticed something shift in her expression.

And that’s when the smirk returned.

“Oh,” he said softly.

“I see.”

“See what?” Luna snapped.

“You still think that.”

“Think what?!”

“That I intentionally spilled juice on your shirt last year.”

“You DID!”

Kevin tilted his head again.

“Hmm… that’s an interesting theory.”

“It’s not a theory!”

“You accused me of intentionally throwing you… with juice of all things.” He said calmly.

“Because you did!”

Kevin looked back at her.

A tiny smirk appeared again.

“…Are you wearing a juice-proof shirt today?”

Remy nearly choked.

Luna’s eye twitched.

“You are unbelievable.”

“You say that like you’ve just made a new discovery.”

Luna opened her mouth in shock.

Remy finally stepped forward before the hallway turned into a courtroom.

“Okay let’s stop,” she said slowly, “before we recreate the beverage incident of last year…”

Remy sighed dramatically.

Then smiled.

“You two are surprisingly well together.”

There was one second of silence.

Then—

“WE ARE NOT!”

Both Luna and Kevin snapped at the same time.

Several students turned around.

Kevin adjusted his glasses again.

Luna crossed her arms.

Remy just grinned.

“Yep,” she said.
“This term is going to be fun.”

Register period at Westbridge High was less of a “quiet administrative start to the day” and more of a chaotic disaster.

Students leaned across desks, someone in the back was loudly arguing about football scores.

Two girls near the window were trading snacks like they were negotiating a peace treaty.

Everyone was waiting for one thing.

The seating chart.

Because nothing created more drama in a classroom than discovering who you were stuck next to for the rest of the term.

Luna sat at one of the temporary desks with Remy, leaning forward.

“I’m telling you,” Luna said firmly, “blueberries are overrated.”

Remy gasped like she’d just heard the worst take in human history.

“Overrated? Blueberries are superior in every possible way.”

“Strawberries are sweeter.”

“Blueberries have more depth.”

“Depth?” Luna laughed. “It's fruit, Remy, not poetry.”

“They’re sophisticated.”

“I don’t get the appeal.”

Remy shook her head in disappointment.

“I can’t believe I’m friends with someone who thinks strawberries are better than blueberries.”

Luna leaned back with a smug smile.

“Some people simply have better taste.”

Then her eyes drifted across the classroom and landed on Kevin.

He was sitting quietly near the window, flipping through a small book while the rest of the class descended into chaos; completely unbothered.

And for some reason…

That annoyed her again.

Her smile faded instantly.

Remy noticed.

“…You’re looking at him again.”

“I am not.”

“You absolutely are.”

Luna crossed her arms.

Remy sighed.

“You know,” she said carefully, “what if he actually didn’t do it on purpose?”

Luna froze.

Slowly turned her head.

“…What.”

Remy shrugged.

“I mean the juice thing. It could’ve been an accident.”

Luna exploded.

She grabbed Remy by the shoulders and started shaking her violently.

“WHY ARE YOU TAKING HIS SIDE?!”

Remy’s head bobbled like a rag doll.

“I’M NOT TAKING SIDES—!”

“YOU JUST DEFENDED HIM!”

“MY NECK—!”

The classroom went quiet.

Very quiet.

Luna stopped shaking her.

Slowly turned her head.

Every student in the room was staring at her.

Even Kevin.

He adjusted his glasses slightly while looking in their direction.

Luna immediately froze.

Her brain stopped working.

She slowly turned back to Remy.

“…What do I do?”

Remy looked at the entire class watching them.

Then she suddenly stood up dramatically.

“Because blueberries rock!”

She winked at Luna.

There was a pause.

Then—

“Oh.”

“Yeah that makes sense.”

“Blueberries are good though.”

“True.”

The class instantly went back to their conversations.

Like nothing strange had happened.

Luna blinked.

“…That worked?”

Remy sat back down.

“Always commit to the act.”

At that exact moment, the classroom door opened.

Mr. Beukes walked in carrying a clipboard.

The class slowly quieted down.

“Alright,” he said, setting the clipboard on the desk. “Let’s get everyone into their seats.”

Several students straightened up nervously.

Mr. Beukes began reading from the list.

“Row 1, seat 1…”

Names were called one after another as students shuffled around the room.

Remy leaned closer to Luna.

“Just watch us get separated.”

“Don’t even say that.”

“Kevin Adams,” Mr. Daniels called.

“Row 1, seat 5.”

Kevin stood up calmly.

Row 1 seat 5.

The back seat.

Right next to the window.

He placed his bag down and sat, already looking outside like he had accepted his place with the world.

Mr. Beukes continued.

“Luna Rossouw.”

Luna sat up.

“Row 2, seat 5.”

There was a pause.

Remy slowly turned toward her.

Row 2 seat 5.

The seat directly next to Kevin.

Luna stared forward.

“…Oh no.”

Remy immediately covered her mouth to stop herself from laughing.

Then leaned over and whispered.

“You don’t have good luck today, do you?”

Luna flicked Remy’s ear.

Hard.

“OW!”

Luna stood up and grabbed her bag.

She walked toward the seat like someone marching toward a battlefield.

Kevin was sitting quietly, looking out the window.

She sat down beside him.

Then realized he had turned his head slightly.

Watching her.

Luna immediately pointed at him.

“Don’t look at me like that!”

Kevin blinked once.

Then shook his head slowly.

And turned back to the window.

The class around them continued settling into their seats.

Remy watched the two of them from across the room.

And grinned.

“This term is going to be very chaotic.”

English class after lunch was usually peaceful.

Mostly because everyone was too tired to cause chaos.

Mrs. Ford stood at the front of the classroom, writing something on the board in elegant cursive.

Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?

A collective groan moved through the class.

Poetry—the natural enemy of teenagers everywhere.

Mrs. Ford turned around with a calm smile.

“Today we’re looking at one of Shakespeare’s most famous sonnets.”

Someone in the back muttered, “That’s unfortunate.”

Mrs. Ford ignored it.

“Luna, could you read the final lines for us please?”

Luna blinked.

“…Me?”

“Yes.”

Luna sighed dramatically but stood up anyway.

She held the book and read aloud.

So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

She finished reading and slowly looked up.

Mrs. Ford smiled.

“Good. Now, Luna—what do you think the poem is about?”

Luna stared at the page.

Then stared at the class.

Then stared back at the page again.

“…Honestly?”

Luna scratched the back of her head.

“I don’t get poetry.”

The class laughed.

She shrugged.

“I mean, I get that he likes someone a lot. But the way Shakespeare writes makes it a bit difficult to understand .”

“That’s one way of looking at it,” Mrs. Ford said.

She glanced around the room.

“Does anyone else want to try explaining the meaning?”

A hand slowly went up near the window.

Kevin.

Of course it had to be you. Thought Luna

Mrs. Ford nodded.

“Yes, Kevin?”

Kevin adjusted his glasses slightly.

“I think the speaker is challenging the idea of what people believe has value.”

The classroom slowly quieted.

“I think… we usually value things like beauty—” he continued. “like a pretty face, or something expensive…”

He spoke calmly, like he was simply stating the obvious.

“But those things don’t last.”

Some students leaned forward slightly.

Kevin’s eyes moved briefly toward the poem.

“The speaker argues that his love isn’t tied to those things. Because of that, it’s not dependent on them.”

The room was silent now.

“Which I think … makes it more genuine.”

Even Mrs. Ford looked impressed.

“That’s an interesting interpretation,” she said.

Then she tilted her head slightly.

“But does that actually make it genuine?”

Kevin paused.

For a moment he looked thoughtful.

Then he shrugged slightly.

“…Who knows?”

A few students laughed quietly.

Mrs. Ford smiled again.

“Well, that’s the beauty of literature.”

The lesson moved on.

But Luna was still looking at Kevin.

When class ended, students began packing their bags.

Luna leaned slightly toward him.

“So,” she said.

Kevin glanced at her.

“What does it all mean then?”

Kevin looked at her for a moment.

Then he smiled faintly.

“Some things… matter more than they look like they should.”

Luna frowned slightly.

“…That doesn’t help.”

Kevin closed his book.

“Most things that matter don’t make sense immediately.”

He stood up and grabbed his bag.

“Think about it.”

He walked out of the classroom.

Leaving Luna sitting there.

She stared at the desk for a moment.

“…What kind of answer is that?”

Remy appeared beside her desk.

“So what did the 'enemy' say?”

Luna shook her head.

“Something mysterious and annoying.”

She packed her bag.

But as she walked toward the door, Kevin’s words lingered in the back of her mind.

Some things… matter more than they look like they should.

She frowned slightly.

Why does it bother me so much?

And for some reason…

That annoyed her again.

She didn’t know why— that the worst part.

Luna sighed.

He’s so annoying…