Lea didn't follow me when I crossed the classroom with long steps. The closer I got to the door, the better I could see Raven's slightly furrowed eyebrows. Then he took a few steps out of the doorframe and back into the hallway. As I stepped outside the classroom to follow Raven, I froze for a moment. He stood a couple of meters into the hallway, flanked by the idiot duo. I had to blink twice. Were they trying to expand their duo into a dum-dum trio?

"So, Miri, about last night. I had some time to think and..." he began resolutely. I knew what was coming next. And he could stick his apology somewhere where the sun wasn't shining! So I interrupted him.
"Actually, I did some thinking myself. So, let me go first."

He blinked at me, perplexed. "You really surprised me yesterday. Not a big fan, I gotta admit. And you said it yourself, it was a test, right? I now have an answer to your test, but best is to probably show you. You interested?"
He blinked again. "Uh... yeah?"

"Great. Pay attention."

I stepped into an open space just beside the lockers and motioned for him to follow. He looked amused, probably not knowing what's coming next, but complied.

I found a good spot and turned around. We were facing each other, only a couple of steps away. Then I tilted my head slightly and stepped toward him, letting a sly smile spread across my face. "You startled me yesterday. I don't like being startled."

Before he could respond, I suddenly grabbed his wrist, pivoted, and tried to sweep his legs out from under him.

Only, he didn't go down.

In one smooth motion, Raven shifted his weight and twisted, breaking my balance instead. I staggered a step, surprised—and a little impressed. It was almost as if his body went on auto-pilot, reacting instantly to my movements. Very interesting.

"Okay," I said slowly and adjusted my footing again. "Try to grab me," I taunted.

He hesitated. "You sure?"

"Yeah, let's see what you've got. Do it!"

"Don't forget you asked for it." he said in a tiny voice while shrugging. Then he lunged quickly, even faster than I expected. I sidestepped, spun, and used his momentum to twist his arm over my shoulder. He gasped—partly in surprise, partly from the shock of being flipped so easily—but landed on his feet. Interesting indeed.

"Whoa," he muttered, shaking his arms out. "You're not kidding."

"Told you."

He stepped forward again, more seriously this time, trying a low sweep. I parried it with a hip shift and ducked under his arm, spinning behind him. I tapped his shoulder with two fingers.

"Dead," I teased.

Raven turned, grinning now. "Ready for another one?"

"Go ahead."

He moved with surprising control, circling me. I blocked a palm strike, but his next motion was too smooth—I found myself stumbling back.

"Hey! What the heck was that?!" I exclaimed, but found myself weirdly enjoying this.

"You've started it," he replied cheekily.

Something about the way he moved—fluid, precise—wasn't beginner's luck. There was training in it. I didn't say anything, but my instincts sharpened. Not sure where he learned how to move like this, but it surely impressed me. His weird excuse for training the other day started to begin to make sense. Maybe there was more to it than I thought.

We circled each other instinctively, and something electric passed between us. He came at me with a light jab—nothing serious—and I countered with a quick step and a feint. He dodged with ease, and our rhythm began to build into something that felt almost choreographed.

It was a light spar, unspoken and effortless. Not angry. Not flirtatious. Just... exhilarating. Like testing the limits of something we didn't quite understand. I've never really had someone to test my skills before, except my dad back then. This was exciting. Fun, even.

Then, in one moment that felt too perfectly timed, he opened himself up. A misstep? A trick? Either way, I didn't hesitate. I swept his leg again and this time, he went down with a solid thud.

He hit the ground with a grunt, straight on his ass. With both arms leaning back, he looked up at me, one eyebrow raised in surprise.

"Oops," he said with a half-smile.

But something in his expression flickered—like he'd let me win. It wasn't obvious, just a subtle pause, a faint delay, the kind you only notice if you're looking. I narrowed my eyes slightly but didn't comment.

The Terrible Two—otherwise known as Jacob and Antonio—erupted in laughter from their nearby spot. And they weren't the only ones. We had a full on crowd watching us. Good. I hoped everyone saw that I wasn't to be messed with. He he.

"Dang, Miri! Took him out like a ninja!" Jacob shouted, doubling over.

"Dude, you got owned by a girl!" Antonio grinned, giving me a mock salute. "Total respect. She's a secret weapon!"

Raven, still sitting on the floor, chuckled, then leaned forward, propping up one arm on his knee. "Guess I deserved that. Definitely underestimated her."

"Ya think?" Jacob, one half of the Disaster Duo, called. "Remind me never to sneak up on her."

I offered Raven a hand, which he took without hesitation. He pulled himself up, still grinning, but there was something thoughtful in his gaze.

"Not half bad for a womanizer like you," I admitted. "What do you think? Was this sufficient to pass your boring test?"

He laughed again. "Yeah. Full score, making me fail with style."

"Barely," I smirked. "Better let that be a lesson not to mess with me. Or test me. Or stalk me."

I turned back toward the classroom, passing several students that happened to watch the spectacle while leaving Raven and the Idiot-Duo behind. My cheeks were flushed, but I felt... better. Like I'd proven something. To him, to myself, maybe even to the world.

Behind me, I could still hear Jacob and Antonio giggling. With my head held high, I entered the classroom again. My class appeared to have not noticed the tumult going on. They were far too busy with making chaos themselves. Lea too, who was staring out the window, lost in thought, most likely about millions of scenarios why Raven has wanted to see me. She only awoke from her trance when I sat down next to her. "Oh, what happened? Did he ask you out?" she blurted out excitedly. What a hopeless romantic. I just shook my head as an answer.
"Aww, Miri! You gotta share." Her puppy eyes made me open my mouth, but just as I was about to tell her what happened, our homeroom teacher Mr Solomae entered the classroom and a moment later the bell rang, marking the beginning of lesson. I could still feel the tension from earlier—charged and electric. I had no idea what game Raven thought he was playing, but I was done being the passive character in it. Let him make the next move. I'd be ready.

The lesson went on as usual. Homework was checked, and the topic was finally wrapped up. Mr. Solomae promised that starting tomorrow, we'd begin a new subject—one I definitely hadn't covered yet. On one hand, I was glad for a change. On the other, it meant I'd actually have to start studying again. At least it was something I could occupy my brain with.

After that, we had English with Mrs. Silvester. The chubby woman looked frazzled as she frantically leafed through her papers, cheeks flushed pink. Eventually, she admitted she must have left the English exam in the teachers' lounge and dashed off to retrieve it.

As soon as she disappeared, wild murmuring filled the room.

Lea leaned in toward me, her brown bob swaying with the motion.
"I think Raven must have a crush on you. The way he looks at you—totally smitten!" she gushed, practically sighing out the words like a love-struck poet.

"Mhm. That must be it..." I said flatly. Sure, as if he was capable of anything like love. He's just a stalker that likes to play games.

A few minutes later, Mrs. Silvester returned with the tests. To my surprise, I breezed through it. Now that was a real test. Raven could take notes—assuming he ever took anything seriously.
Damn. Why was he still on my mind? How obnoxious!

I gently slapped the side of my head with the palm of my hand, trying to knock him loose. It actually helped a little.

We spent our lunch break in the cafeteria for a change. Outside, clouds had gathered, and it was already starting to drizzle. Lea and I loaded our trays and found a table tucked away near the back.

In the packed lunchroom, I spotted two familiar figures heading straight for us—Kyle and Mollie, my cooking class groupmates. Mollie had styled her short hair to match Kyle's—though his was a little longer—and both of them wore their signature dark aesthetic. She had a fake flower tucked into her fringe and looked like she was on her way to either a goth fashion shoot or a very dramatic wrestling match. Heavy makeup, fake lashes, black lipstick, and enough dark eyeshadow to blot out the sun.

"Can we sit with you?" Mollie chirped, already halfway onto the bench.

Lea nodded enthusiastically, and I didn't mind either. I liked them both. They gratefully took seats across from us.

"These two are from my cooking class," I explained to Lea as they settled in. "Mollie and Kyle—this is Lea, my seatmate-slash-lunchtime-laugh-partner. Lea, these two basically stopped me from blowing up a salad."

"Actually, Rave should earn all the credit. He was literally the one who prevented a total cucumber massacre," Kyle deadpanned, which earned him an elbow from Mollie. I just gave him a tight lipped smile. He better not elaborate on that topic.

"Great to meet you," Lea said with a friendly smile and the two of them agreed happily.

Nice—It looked like we officially had a group.

Mollie leaned toward me, holding a piece of chocolate between her fingers.

"What I haven't told you yet: our dear friend here," she said, gesturing to Kyle with the candy, "is gay."

I blinked at her. Suspiciously. That was... random. I also wasn't sure why she felt like we needed to know or what I should do with this piece of information.

When she didn't elaborate, my eyes slid to Kyle. He looked at me through sleepy, square-framed glasses and gave the world's smallest shrug while pushing his glasses back into place.

Since he didn't object, it was probably true.

Well, whatever. Not a big deal. Although now that I thought about it... being gay at a mostly all-boys school probably came with its own little hurdles.

Before I could ask more, someone suddenly slid into view out of nowhere and jammed their head right between Mollie and Kyle.

"Jesus!" Startled, I flinched so hard I toppled backward off the bench, still clutching my drink cup. The lid popped off mid-air and I landed flat on the linoleum floor—covered in orange soda.

Excellent.

My left eye twitched with pure irritation. Just what I needed today.

Lea rushed over and offered me a hand, which I gratefully took. With her help I sat back on the bench, soggy and sticky.

"You okay?" she asked, wide-eyed.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a mini-heart attack," I said hoarsely, brushing orange droplets from my shirt.

Mollie looked vaguely amused. Kyle? Unbothered, like this was the most normal thing to happen.

Okay... yeah, it was a little funny. I smirked, wondering where the hell the culprit was. If I hadn't imagined things again.

Mollie's eyes were locked on something behind me, her smile widening.

I tossed my hair back, turned around and looked up—only to find blue eyes and a tousled head grinning down at me, all teeth and no shame.

I immediately looked back at Kyle. Ignore him. Maybe he'll evaporate.

"Sorry, Wildcard. Didn't mean to scare you," came the mischievous voice.

My eye twitched again. Please go away Satan.

"Well, I'm off then! Enjoy your lunch." he chirped.

A warm hand ruffled my already-frizzy hair, and before I could whirl around and slug him, he'd vanished into the crowd like some caffeinated raccoon.

I froze, head tilted and staring at nothing in particular. My eye kept having a spasm of annoyance. No one said a word.

Horrified, I slowly lowered my forehead to the tabletop and sighed deeply, then bumped my head a couple of times lightly against the wood. This guy. He couldn't be real. Unstable. Yep. That was his new label: unstable.

After a moment, I sat back up and wiped the sticky cup sweat from my arms.

"He's not normal," I threw into the group.

Everyone nodded solemnly in agreement, Mollie giggling. Thank God. At least I wasn't the only one thinking this.

"Don't tell me you like him too, like every other girl at school," Lea said, aiming the question at Kyle.

Classic Lea.

Kyle snorted. "No thanks. He's way too weird for me." He rolled his eyes. "Also, I'm bi. Just so you know." He threw a playful glare at Mollie.

"Yeah, yeah," she said, waving him off. "And I'm not exclusively into girls," she added casually. "Anyways, we should clean you up before that soda starts to crystallize." Without a pause she continued to talk, not giving us a chance to question or comment on anything else.

"Very good idea!" Lea agreed.

The two of them grabbed me by the arms and half-dragged me to the girls' restroom, leaving Kyle alone at the table like a forlorn side character. My shirt wasn't that bad, but my arm had somehow picked up enough dust to qualify as a lint trap.

In the bathroom, we scrubbed me down with wet paper towels. Both girls agreed—almost in perfect harmony—that Raven was "totally in love with me" and this was just his warped way of showing it. Something like his own special love-language.

Yeah, right.

He didn't care about me. Didn't even know me. He just enjoyed tormenting me. Watching me squirm. That guy got a kick out of poking the metaphorical bear.

Also? I was almost certain he was schizophrenic.

The school bell announced the end of recess. Having just finished cleaning up, we returned to class. Mollie had to part ways with us, smiling as she went.

The rest of the school day passed without incident, much to my relief. I met our geography teacher—that was the only new development. From the start, I didn't like her. With her jutting chin and sharp cheekbones, she looked a bit creepy. Still, everyone paid close attention in class, as usual. The teachers at this school clearly knew what they were doing.

After school, Lea and I strolled casually toward the bus stop, chatting easily. Raven faded quickly into the background, and I realized, with deep self-satisfaction, that I had proven myself completely immune.

But I had a strange feeling that things were about to change and that this was just the beginning.