Volume 4—Chapter 77: Transfer Student
Now, back in the classroom, the chatter and laughter began to settle down as the homeroom teacher stepped in. I straightened up in my seat, already preparing myself for another mundane day full of lectures, note-taking, and daydreaming.
Probably going to be the same as always… or so I thought.
“Alright, class,” the teacher said, clapping her hands lightly. “Today, we have a new student transferring into our class.”
Huh? A transfer student? That’s typical…
I wonder if it will be a girl or a boy… what am I kidding… this class is girls-only. Obviously, it would be a girl.
“Alright, Carol, you can come in and introduce yourself,” the teacher said with a smile.
Carol?
That’s a familiar name somehow. I leaned forward a little, curious.
The door slid open.
And then she stepped in.
A little girl, probably no older than a middle-schooler… I mean we are still middle schoolers, with soft blonde hair in a clean bob cut, walked quietly into the room.
I recognised her right away.
That face.
That cute, doll-like face that almost made me coo the first time I saw her.
The same girl I bumped into at the bookstore a few weeks ago.
“Hello, everyone. Nice to meet you. My name is Nikita Caroline Verlander,” she said with a clear, gentle voice. “Just call me Carol for short.”
She bowed slightly, her hands folded in front of her like she practised it a hundred times. The room was silent for a moment.
Then, a few whispers broke out.
“She’s so small…”
“She’s like a walking porcelain doll…”
I looked around. Most of the girls were equally stunned or whispering behind their hands.
Viola leaned toward me. “You recognise her, Aria?”
“Yeah,” I whispered back. “But only recognise, I did not know her personally.”
Irana leaned in on the other side, raising an eyebrow. “Verlander… That’s a big-name family, isn’t it?”
I blinked. “Is it?”
“It is,” Irana said, nodding. “One of the oldest European lineages connected to the old Council families… or so I read.”
Ah. So she’s not just any transfer student.
I looked back at Carol. She stood quietly at the front of the class. Her eyes briefly swept across the room, then locked onto mine for a second.
And I felt something.
Like a chill, a weightless pressure. It vanished as fast as it came, but it left me with a strange sensation I couldn’t shake.
Why does it feel like she’s not here to study?
“Alright, Carol,” the homeroom teacher said, snapping me back to the present. “You can take the seat near the window, beside Aria.”
Oh.
Of course.
Who would’ve thought she’d be seated near me?
Seriously, what are the odds?
Actually, no. Scratch that. Of course, she’d be seated next to me. It’s like the universe is following some invisible cliche rulebook. What’s next? A sudden gust of wind blows the curtains. Accidentally falling on top of each other? Emotional rooftop confession under sunset lighting?
I blink and glance toward the seat beside me as Carol walks gracefully over, her small steps almost unnaturally quiet. She sits down, folds her hands neatly on the desk, and gives me a polite nod.
Yep. Definitely not normal.
Okay, deep breath, Aria. I need to check my reality for a second… Did I get hit by a truck in my sleep and reincarnate into some kind of romcom manga? A yuri romcom at that? Uh… I mean, I did reincarnate…
I glance at Carol again.
What next? Love triangles? Hidden pasts? Sudden magical girl transformation?
…Okay, maybe not that last one, but still.
I sigh inwardly. Well, to be honest, I don’t dislike the idea. I mean, if it was a cute Yuri romcom, I wouldn’t be the worst pick for the main character, right?
But…
Just thinking about it makes me feel like my moral compass is being slowly gnawed away by something with a sweet smile and suspiciously big eyes.
I smack both cheeks mentally.
Be the dense protagonist, Aria. Be the dense protagonist.
Don't acknowledge anything
I sat up straight and gave Carol the blandest smile I could muster as she approached.
“Hi… nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you too,” she replied, sliding into the seat beside me… her gaze never wavering.
That glance. Not the polite, distracted kind. It was scanning me. Like she was checking for something.
And it didn’t stop there.
Every time the teacher turned to write on the board, I felt her eyes flick toward me. Fast enough to seem harmless, but too consistent to ignore. I shifted in my seat, suddenly hyperaware of everything. Was my hair messy? Something on my face?
No… I knew better.
She was watching me. Not in a “who is the new girl sitting beside me” kind of way, but like… she already knew me from somewhere. And she was confirming something.
I tapped my pen against my notebook, trying to level myself.
She’s just curious. Maybe I remind her of someone. A classmate. A cousin. A long-lost childhood friend.
Yeah. That’s probably it.
After two periods, it was finally break time.
I slumped against my desk, rubbing my temples. Not a single word from the teacher had entered my brain. The numbers, dates, and random trivia floated past my consciousness like mist. My attention had been hijacked the entire time by the presence of the adorable, possibly dangerous little gremlin sitting beside me.
She didn’t do anything weird. She just sat there.
Like a cute landmine.
I let out a quiet sigh and turned my head slightly. She was flipping through the school textbook with the kind of elegance that didn’t belong to someone who needed homework.
Who even studies during break time?
“Hey, Irana…” I turned toward Irana’s desk.
But she was gone.
Huh? Don’t tell me she ran off again to meet senpai again.
Seriously, at least say goodbye to your twin.
Alright, fine. “Viola…” I turned to call Viola instead, but her seat was empty too.
What?!
Did everyone ditch me already?
“Miyazaki Aria, right?”
I froze.
That soft, sugar-coated voice came from behind me.
Slowly, I turned around, only to see Carol standing there with her hands politely folded in front of her. She had a slight tilt to her head and a perfect smile that felt just a little too calculated.
Sigh… okay. Show time.
I forced a smile of my own. “Uhuh.”
Let’s just face her. Nothing to hide, right?
Even then, I had this gnawing feeling in my chest. A quiet alarm bell that I couldn’t quite explain, like deja vu.
I feel trouble.... She’s going to bring me trouble. Just like the previous girl…
Wait.
Previous girl?
I blinked. That thought…
Why did I think that?
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