Chapter 1 - Trials and Tribulations

Having everything change right before my eyes, I struggle to adjust quick enough as the mindless chatter continues.

Understandably, my classmates have taken an interest in her. Though it took them awhile. But as soon as a single person mustered up the courage to approach her, others soon followed.

Honestly, I feel sorry for her.

I’m merely an eavesdropper and I’m getting exhausted.

Common, trivial, and repetitive questions jump around the small confines of the crowd that has gathered around her table.

Though admittedly, a few stood out.

One of which was about her uniform.

Somehow, someone recognized the uniform and spoke up. It’s a uniform from one of, if not, the most prestigious schools of the city. Which perfectly explains her posh-like… existence.

But it also births a new question: Why did she transfer here?

As if on cue, someone asks her the exact question in my mind. But before I could listen in on her answer, someone taps me on the shoulder.

“Hey, Mikey!”, an energetic voice comes from my right and echoes in my ear.

A voice I’ve grown way too used to. Though I can always rely on her to break me out of a trance. Having said that, I do have some major gripes about her impeccable timing at times.

“What’s up, Kathrynn?”, I ask as she furrows her eyebrows and scorns in a weirdly adorable manner.

“It’s Katie! But anyway, that’s not why I’m here.”, she exclaims before skipping across to the table to my left. “Alright guys, I think you’ve asked too many questions. Let her rest for a bit. Don’t overwhelm her!”

In other words, “Scram! It’s my turn to ask questions.”

To an extent, they got the hint and quickly dispersed into their many little groups.

For a second there, I thought I saw her let out a sign which proves that she was being overwhelmed but opted to not show it to the others.

I don’t like people like her.

“Sorry about that ————————. I hope that didn’t sap your energy already. When they pieced your uniform and the sudden transfer together, it’s only natural that they’d be intrigued.”

—what?

“Yeah… I was already expecting this. But not to this extent…”, she laughs it off.

What’s—

“Aw, it’s alright, ————————! It’ll die down sooner or later! We’ve already told them about it, so you shouldn’t worry about this keeping up more than it should.”

“T-thanks, uhm…”

“It’s Kathrynn, but you can call me Katie!”

“R-right.”, she flashes an awkward smile.

The girl, whose name I still don’t know, smiles.

I don’t know her name.

I. Can’t. Hear. Her. Name.

“Oh right, now that I’ve scared them away, how about you spend the rest of the lunch break touring the school? Mikey here’ll give you a tour. He knows the school like the back of his hand after all.”

Just when I thought things couldn’t get any worse, Kathrynn rings me up and basically forces me to do a job that she’s far more suited to do again.

She knows I can’t say no to her. And it’s come back to bite me again.

“Well, Mikey, can you do that for now> I’d love to do it instead, but I’ve got other things to do. You know, preparation for the school festival and all that jazz.”, she says, waving a few pieces of paper in her hands. “See you guys at the end of the break!”

And then there were 2. Unfortunately.

I’d love to give this role to someone else, but if Kathrynn were to find out how I basically, in her terms, “give my problems to someone else”, she’s lose her mind.

I’m sure that anyone would more than love to take her around the school too. But I’m the one stuck with her.

For some reason, I can’t seem to look at her. I don’t want to.

I can’t.

It’s like there’s something keeping my eyes away from her, completely opposite from earlier. But at the same time, it’s pulling me towards her.

I can’t seem to shake this feeling off me.

I hate this feeling of being lost. What’s more, is that I know what to do in order to “free” myself from this situation, but I’m not sure how I should go about it without arousing suspicion or having more spiteful eyes glaring at me.

For all I know, she could just be pulling my leg with her prank. But that would mean that everyone has to be in on it too.

Unless they’re all masters at acting, I’m convinced that it’s impossible for them to pull of such a feat.

So in the end, I’m right back at square one. As if I never left in the first place.

“Are there any places of interest?”, she asks, forcing me to turn toward her.

There’s his unexplainable expression on her face that has a hint of a few emotions. Though her tone was a little more curious than serious.

“What do you have in mind? Are you looking for anything specific?”

She raises an eyebrow before letting out a soft chuckle, “Aren’t you supposed to be the tour guide? What’s this about asking me about places I’d like to go look at?”, she cheerfully says before continuing. “Is there a peaceful place? I’d like to, let’s just say, ‘take the countryside in’.”

Such a strange request… I have a sinking feeling that this isn’t going to be the last time too.

“I might know a place.”

What am I doing?

“I feel like you’ll like it. I personally like to go there myself when I want to recharge my social battery.”

Stop. Stop talking.

Didn’t you want to stay as fat away from her? Why are you saying such things if that’s the case? You’re contradicting everything you stand to live by.

“Oh? You have my attention.”, she says as she stands and fixes her unusually bright blue scarf around her neck. “Shall we?”

“Ah— R-right. Let’s go.”

Despite everything, I find myself standing up and leading her out of the room as a sea of eyes stare daggers into me until I exit the classroom.

To others, it may look like I’m the one leading her around. But to me, the thin atmosphere surrounding her is forcing me to walk forward. If anything, I’m the one being led.

I’m unsure if I’m doing things right. Does it really matter though? Shouldn’t I be the one trying to make her disinterested in things so that she’ll leave me alone?

Before I could form a valid plan, my legs had brought me here themselves.

“Here we are.”

“The…rooftop?”

“Yes — It’s where I like to stay during breaks. Not many people come here, especially now that they’re preparing for the school festival.”

“I suppose.”, she says as I open the door, being greeted by the cool autumn breeze.

It’s gotten a lot colder. I’m convinced it’s because of her at this point.

She exits first and makes a beeline towards the center.

I shut the door behind me and lean against it, far too scared to walk up to her. It’s better to observe her from this distance. It’s what I do best, after all.

It’s been a while since I’ve been up here with someone else other than my immediate group of friends. Actually, I think this is the first time.

The first person I’ve ever gone out of my way for. The first person I’ve taken an interest in. And the first person I am unable to hear the name of.

The gentle breeze causes her scarf and hair to flutter. A scene I’ve probably never seen before, nor would I ever see again. From a distance, I’m able to see her entirely, which helps me in better understanding her.

Every part of her is pronounced. If I were to stay here and continue to observe her from afar, I might be able to find something different about her. Perhaps, a reason why I can’t hear her name. Having said that… I’d be happy if things stayed this way. I don’t want any part of her in my life. I’m enjoying things as they are. And she’s only causing chaos in my head.

She turns. And turns. And turns—

—and turns towards me.

A scarily enchanting smile, and an equally scary presence could convince you that she’s capable of anything without hesitation. But you’ll always be guessing with a thick shroud of mystery surrounding her and covering what her true intentions are.

“I can understand why you like coming here. To add to that, you don’t normally invite people here. If it were me, I wouldn’t like it when people invade my “haven”.”, she starts while flashing a smile.

She’s… She’s completely right.

But— how?

“I’ve noticed a couple of things while looking around here. You’ve been acting a little too fidgety, and you keep sneaking glances towards that corner over there.”, she points towards the exact spot where I would always sit around. “I wonder why could that be? Could you have been checking if someone was there? Or some simpler explanation? Something like simple shade from the sun?”

“I—”

She turns back to me and smiles again. This time, a gentle, endearing smile, a smile you’d often make when looking at something or someone you genuinely like.

But hers is different.

Like she has some other goal in mind.

Because despite her mouth smiling, her eyes tell a different story. A look of interest glints in her eyes. In such a way that she isn’t interested in me in particular.

— But something about me.

Ah— that’s what it was.

The reason I find her so strangely interesting and at the same time, wanting to keep my distance from her.

She’s the bringer of doom. The one to lay waste to the life I’ve desperately tried to keep as ordinary, and plain as it can possibly be.

“You.”, she raises her arm and points at me and declares.

I hold my breath and swallow my words back down into my stomach.

“Why am I unable to hear your name?”