The cafeteria was crowded with students during lunchtime. Nova picked her food, then gazed around. All the tables appeared occupied. After scanning for five more seconds, however, she spotted an unoccupied table at the center of the cafeteria. Though not a sweet spot, it was better than nothing. Nova went and sat down, inserting earphones into her ears. She was listening to ambient jazz.
Before starting to eat, she glanced around again. There were two people seated by the window, five tables away. Blaze and Pyro. This was rather unusual. She turned back, and saw Orlyssa seated alone, her chin tucked down.
Wondering what had happened, two presences appeared before Nova, compelling her to face forward. A girl and a boy stood before her table. Though the boy's lips were moving, she couldn't hear what he was saying, so she removed one of the earphones from her ear.
"Mmh?"
"...Um, I'm asking if you have anyone with you."
Each of them carried a tray of food. Nova shook her head, returning the earphone to her ear. The two glanced at each other, then sat down before Nova. These two were certainly first years. Given the way they looked at each, Nova concluded they were in a special relationship. From the positioning of their arms, it looked as though they were holding hands under the table. Their cheeks were flushed red, and they kept stealing glances at each other.
Nova sighed inwardly, stood up, and left the cafeteria.
Some of the benches in the courtyard weren't occupied, so she sat down on one. Unlike the cafeteria, the courtyard was silent, except for the muffled voices of some chatting students.
The cold wind blew, caressing Nova's face and fluttering her hair. How had she overlooked this place? It was a paradise. Yet, it looked like demons could also enter this paradise.
Out of nowhere, Orlyssa appeared before Nova. Nova's heart immediately lurched, then started pounding. Orlyssa proceeded to sit next to her. Although Nova wasn't facing her, she could feel Orlyssa's gaze scanning her entire body. Ultimately, it appeared Orlyssa couldn't contain her curiosity.
"Celeste, you a vampire?"
This question made Nova slightly fidget. The kind of tumbling she experienced was certainly fatal, yet her body didn't have a single bruise. Orlyssa still had her eyes fixated on her, so Nova answered, "I didn't fall that hard. Though my body aches a bit."
Following this, Nova glanced at her, and in a moment, she saw Orlyssa's expression relaxing. So even someone like her was afraid of killing? After a few seconds of awkward silence, Orlyssa removed her phone, fiddled with it, then pointed the screen to Nova.
"I've deleted that photo, so your reputation is safe."
Afterward, she stood up and left the courtyard. Nova finished her lunch, then returned to the classroom. Even though she was finally free, she wondered whether Orlyssa was really okay.
Classes ended, so Nova picked up her bag and walked out of the classroom. From tomorrow until the sports festival day, all students would be doing compulsory sports practice in the department they were good at. Participation in the sports festival was also going to be compulsory. The only thing Nova was good at was swimming, which she learned while living on an Island with her relatives. At that time, she was still a child, thus she didn't have to worry about certain things.
While brooding over this, a tiny cold sensation kissed the back of Nova's neck, prompting her to turn her head up. The sky had turned dark, and the grey clouds seemed to float just above her head. Thunder rumbled in the distance.
Since she hadn't carried an umbrella, she walked into a nearby store and bought one. The moment she stepped outside, it started raining, so she opened the umbrella and began walking.
Unfortunately, the umbrella was only useful until the downpour increased and the wind picked up.
"Ugh! Waste of money."
She was only dry from her chest to her head. She could have sheltered in one of the buildings along the road, but since her home wasn't far from where she was, she continued walking down the street. Forty metres away, Nova slightly loosened her grip on the umbrella. At this point, it wasn't just useless. It was a burden. Her bicep was burning from trying to keep it stable against the blowing wind. With her chest rising and falling rapidly, Nova looked at the street sides. Stores and parked cars. If she let go of this umbrella, it would definitely smash into either of them, so she held it tightly and kept walking.
Upon getting home, Nova's uniform was dripping wet. She tossed the useless umbrella at the door area and climbed the stairs, her legs trembling due to the cold.
It was the first time she had left the mysterious boy at home. Did he make food for himself? Or was he starving because he didn't know how to cook?
The rain was still pouring heavily outside, bringing with it slight darkness. Nova held the door handle, pushing it inward. Contrary to her expectation, there was no one in the room. She tossed her bag on the floor and opened the bathroom door, before entering.
With her cheeks slightly flushed, she grabbed the shower curtain and brushed it aside. There was no one. She sighed, walking out of the bathroom area.
Where in the world did he go? As she looked around the room, she saw something on the floor.
"A map?"
She stooped and picked it up. Before she could read the details, she felt some presence at the balcony. The moment she looked up, she saw a shadow moving away from the balcony's curtains. Nova took a step back, her eyes bored onto the balcony.
With a trembling voice, she asked, "I-is that you...S-strange boy?"
There was silence. A second later, the shadow reappeared, and the balcony's curtains slid open.
"Didn't I tell you it's Ares? In fact, you're also strange."
Nova frowned, picking a pillow from the bed and flinging it at his face.
"I don't even care!"
Her heart was pounding fast. Was he trying to make her collapse? She observed him and noticed that his clothes were wet. Apparently, he had been outside. There was also something strange about him. Why was he keeping one arm behind his back? The moment he noticed Nova staring at him, he looked at the balcony then back at her.
"Ah, was your day peaceful?"
'Idiot, that's not gonna divert my attention.' Nova maneuvered behind him, and immediately, Ares shifted his arm in front. Nova began pushing him towards the bathroom.
"You're wet. Go take a shower."
"Wait, you're wetter than me."
Nova stubbornly kept pushing him. Once he was inside, she quickly locked the door from outside, then looked at the balcony.
"Now, let's see what you're hiding."
Muttering this, Nova walked out of the room to the balcony. It was still raining outside, and lightning flashed practically every second, illuminating the atmosphere. She looked around the balcony but couldn't see anything noteworthy. This was until her gaze slid to the floor. Crimson droplets. She immediately crouched, examining them with squinted eyes. 'Blood?'