Finding Miya | c.s.

ONE | A NEW TERM

"And so today at Crestwood High, may a new day begin." Caden finishes his speech before sliding back into his seat at the desk in the front row. The class applaud or more specifically, the group of girls seated at the far right who call themselves the Caden fan club. One of them digs into her bag and pulls out a purple lightstick - the ones that people use to cheer for their favourite idols in concerts. She smiles at him, waving it.

Caden tugs at the collar of his uniform and shifts it slightly. He smiles back, winking at her which causes the rest of the girls to squeal in delight. His angular cheekbones sit above a sharp jawline and his hair mirrors a brilliant shade of amber. If school is a love game, he will make any girl fall for him.

I find myself looking at him without even knowing.

"Oh? Are you interested in him?" At the desk in front of me, Rai turns around and whispers, her hand cupped on the side of her face. A mischievous smile plays on her chapped lips.

As usual, she always catches me at the worst timings. If she had turned around a second later, she wouldn't have seen me staring at the highschool prodigy and start making up non-existent fairytales. At least, my answer is clear. I wince with disgust. Caden is the epitome of what they would call a perfect student. He topped the school in grades and became the president of the student council in his first year. Teachers praise him like a glorified hero, girls flock as if he's a king worth worshipping and it is enough to remind me how much I hated those kind of boys.

"As if," I say bluntly. I instantly avert my gaze to my notebook and scribble something.

Rai chuckles like she already knows my answer and just wants to joke with me. Ever since I transferred into Crestwood High a week ago, she has been my table partner and best friend. She may have a wild personality of a jester but her extrovert side is what make her shine like gold. She is the first who is actually brave enough or stupid enough to strike up a conversation with an introvert like me. And I am thankful for it - who knows what I'll do without her. Rai pauses to stare at me for some time, examining me like I'm some criminal under scrunity. "Then.." she puts a sly finger to her lips and cock her head to the side, "who?"

Even from a mile away, I can tell she is joking. She doesn't expect an answer so I pretend I don't hear her and continue scribbing on the notebook on my desk. But something make my pen stop. My eyes instinctively dart across the classroom and land on the desk at the very back. Skin as pale as chalk, eyes as cold as winter and hair darker than black, a thin boy takes his seat.

It's him, my mind answers. Shut up, you don't know him, I fight back.

But maybe, my instincts are right. There is just something about him that evokes an air of mystery, of suspicion. Sometimes, I see a gloomy aura circling around him, a forebodding darkness that is keeping everyone at least three feet away. Now that I think about it, he rarely attends class. Even if he does, I have been here long enough to know that he is always sleeping on his desk.

"Oh." Her cheeky smile drops. Rai almost looks disappointed. "That's Nico," she points out. Then she leans closer towards me, her voice suddenly becomes small. "You shouldn't pay too much attention to him, Miya."

"Why?" The words leave my mouth before I can stop myself.

Rai swallows. Her chocolate brown eyes tense up as the skin between them draw together, forming a line of wrinkles. Her face darkens and lips quiver. Through the window, the wind blows, making the ends of her scarlet hair brush across her face. For the first time I've seen, Rai looks dead serious.

"Haven't you heard?" She says quietly.

"Heard what?" I blurt aloud. Some of the students seated near cast quick glances at me before returning their gaze back to the front. Fortunately, the homeroom teacher is busy writing something on the blackboard, probably the name of whoever is going to be put on duty today.