Chapter: The Day They Shouldn’t Have Followed

It started as a joke.

It always did.

A small group of students—curious, reckless, and far too confident for their own good—decided to follow Diana after school one Friday afternoon.

“Just to see what she’s like outside of class,” one of them whispered.
“Yeah,” another added. “She can’t be that intense all the time.”

They would learn, very quickly, that she was.

The Café

Diana’s first stop was a quiet café tucked between two old buildings.

The students slipped inside, keeping their distance.

And froze.

Diana sat at a corner table, a book open in front of her—something dense, dark, and clearly not assigned reading. Beckett sat beside her, gloved hands resting calmly, posture relaxed but alert.

The twins were there too. Sketching. Silent. Focused.

But what unsettled the students most wasn’t the setting.

It was Diana.

She was… softer.

Not warm, exactly—but quieter. Less sharp. Her voice, when she spoke to the twins, carried a faint gentleness none of them had ever heard in class.

“Your shading improved,” she said calmly.

One student accidentally made eye contact with her.

Diana paused.

Then gave a small, acknowledging nod.

That was enough.

They left immediately.

The Game Store

They should have stopped there.

They didn’t.

Next, Diana entered a small, niche game store. The kind only enthusiasts knew about.

The students followed again.

Inside, Malcolm was already there.

“You’re late,” he muttered.

“We were delayed,” Diana replied flatly.

What followed was… surreal.

Diana discussing otome games and narrative depth

Beckett quietly critiquing cover art and design flaws

The twins debating character aesthetics like professionals

“This route lacks emotional payoff,” Diana said.

“The composition is unbalanced,” Beckett added.

The students stared.

“…She’s one of those people?” someone whispered.

Diana glanced over.

They stopped breathing.

Moments later, they left—and somehow, none of them could clearly remember what had just been said and the family went on with their purchases and a whole set of the entire store was bought out from rare jrpgs and their collectors editions to out of print otome collectors editions and the kids buying artbooks for inspiration and malcolm buying some other games too to think the most morbid family would be the most dedicated to their hobbies.

The Bookstore

By now, they weren’t following her out of curiosity.

It was compulsion.

The bookstore was worse.

Diana moved through shelves with precision, selecting:

gothic literature

obscure horror manga

controversial novels

Beckett flipped through a book, pausing.

“Derivative,” he said.

“Agreed,” Diana replied.

The twins quietly recommended alternatives.

One student peeked at the titles.

“…Are we even allowed to read this?”

Diana’s voice cut through the air:

“If you have to ask, you’re not ready.”

They dropped the book.

And once again, memory blurred as they left. And meanwhile a they bought a whole set of manga and one black bag containing about of ecchi and hentai for Dianas personal pleasure.

The Park

They found her again.

They shouldn’t have—but they did.

At the park.

This time, something felt… wrong.

Diana sat beside Beckett on a bench. Close. Comfortable.

The twins were nearby, sketching as usual.

But Beckett—

Beckett was… relaxed.

One of the kids handed him something. He adjusted it gently, almost absentmindedly.

Diana watched, expression unreadable—but calm.

“They’re… normal?” one student whispered.

Another shook their head slowly.

“No. That’s worse.”

The Convenience Store

Night fell.

They ran into them again.

Diana stood in line, casually holding snacks. Beckett beside her. The twins debating something quietly.

“Too much sugar,” Diana remarked.

“Acceptable in moderation,” Beckett replied.

A student grabbed random items, panicking.

Diana glanced at them briefly.

They paid and left without remembering what they bought.

The Theater

At this point, it felt like fate.

Or punishment.

The students went to see a horror movie.

Diana and her family were already there.

Throughout the film:

Diana whispered critiques of plot holes

Beckett quietly agreed

The twins predicted every twist

The students didn’t watch the movie.

They watched them.

The Train Ride

The ride home sealed it.

Same carriage.

Same silence.

Diana reading.
Beckett still as a statue.
The twins sketching.

No one spoke.

No one moved.

When the family exited, the entire train seemed to breathe again.

“…What just happened?” someone muttered.

The Final Straw

They saw them one last time.

A restaurant.

Quiet corner.

Diana and Beckett seated close together—too close, almost.

Subtle touches. Quiet glances. A kind of intimacy that felt… private.

The twins sat calmly, discussing art and games like nothing unusual was happening.

The entire table functioned like a perfectly synchronized unit.

One student whispered:

“We shouldn’t be seeing this.”

Another nodded.

“We really shouldn’t.”

The Decision

The next day at school, the group gathered.

Silence.

Finally:

“We’re not talking about this.”

“Agreed.”

“We didn’t see anything.”

“Nothing at all.”

And just like that—

They forgot.

Epilogue

Diana stood at the front of the classroom, as composed and distant as ever.

“Open your books,” she said calmly.

The students obeyed immediately.

No hesitation. No whispers. No curiosity.

Only focus.

Beckett’s presence lingered in their memory like a shadow they couldn’t quite grasp. The twins’ quiet precision echoed in their work.

And Diana?

She simply continued teaching.

As if nothing had happened.

As if it never could.

End of Chapter: The Day They Shouldn’t Have Followed