Keifer’s POV My mind refused to stay inside the classroom.
Sir Alvin had been explaining the lesson for the past twenty minutes, his voice echoing steadily through the room, but none of it registered.
The words blurred together into meaningless noise while my thoughts wandered somewhere they had absolutely no business wandering.
To her.
To the girl who had somehow managed to haunt my mind without even being here.
Jay.
Her seat sat empty near the window, untouched since the morning.
Every few minutes, my eyes drifted toward it on their own before I forced them away, only for them to wander back again a few seconds later.
It was irritating.
No…
It was infuriating.
I hated admitting it, even to myself.
Why?
Why was I so distracted?
Why did my heart beat differently whenever she was around?
Why was the classroom suddenly so…
empty…
without her?
I clenched my jaw and looked down at my notebook, trying to focus on the lesson.
It didn’t work.
Instead, memories replayed inside my head against my will.
Her sarcastic remarks.
The way she’d roll her eyes whenever I annoyed her.
The smirk she’d wear after winning an argument.
Even the stupid way she’d unconsciously smile whenever she looked at something on her phone.
That smile…
It annoyed me.
No.
That wasn’t true.
It didn’t annoy me.
It made something inside my chest tighten.
Who was she smiling at?
The thought alone made my blood boil.
Was it another guy?
Was someone texting her?
Why did she smile like that?
The questions came one after another until I slammed my pen onto the desk a little harder than I intended.
Yuri, sitting beside me, slowly glanced in my direction. You are reading on novelping.com, the official source.
“You’ve been staring at her seat for the last ten minutes.” “I wasn’t.” “You were.” “I said I wasn’t.” Yuri didn’t argue.
He simply sighed and returned his attention to his notebook, though I could practically hear him thinking You’re hopeless.
I looked away before anyone else noticed.
This was ridiculous.
She was absent.
That was all.
So why couldn’t I stop thinking about her?
Why did every passing minute make me wonder where she was?
Was she sick?
Did something happen?
Or…
Was she with someone else?
The last thought left an unpleasant feeling twisting in my stomach.
I hated it.
I hated every second of it.
I hated how easily she occupied my thoughts.
Most of all…
I hated that I couldn’t make it stop.
“Class!” The sharp sound of a book hitting the teacher’s desk echoed through the room, pulling everyone back to reality.
Sir Alvin adjusted his glasses before looking around the classroom.
“Prepare well for your upcoming exams,” he said firmly.
“They’re only a week away, and I expect everyone to take them seriously.” The class groaned in unison.
Books opened.
Pens began moving.
Everyone returned to studying.
Everyone…
Except me.
Because no matter how hard I tried to concentrate…
My eyes drifted back to the empty seat one more time.
Where are you, Jay?
The moment Sir Alvin stepped out of the classroom, the room came alive.
Books slammed shut, chairs scraped against the tiled floor, and conversations that had been held back during class immediately filled the air.
Cin stretched lazily before swinging his backpack over one shoulder.
He looked unusually excited, almost like he couldn’t wait to get somewhere.
Felix, who had been stuffing his notebook into his bag, glanced over at him with a puzzled expression.
“Where are you going, Cin?” Cin stopped at the classroom door and flashed his usual carefree grin.
“To Jay’s house!” he announced proudly.
The classroom went unusually quiet.
“…Jay’s house?” Rory repeated, raising an eyebrow.
Cin nodded as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.
“Yep.” Felix frowned.
“Did she invite you?” Cin laughed.
“No.” Everyone blinked.
“…Then why are you going?” He shrugged so casually it was almost irritating.
“Because I invited myself.” The room fell silent for a full second.
Then Blaster burst into laughter.
“You WHAT?” “I invited myself,” Cin repeated shamelessly.
“She never said no.” Felix pinched the bridge of his nose.
“That’s because you never gave her a chance to say no, did you?” “Nope.” “You seriously just told her you’re coming over?” “Yep.
I told her tomorrow.
But I figured why not today?” “And?” Cin grinned wider.
“She sighed.” “…That’s it?” “She sighed and sent me her address.” The entire class stared at him.
Denzel let out a whistle.
“You’re unbelievably smart.” “I prefer the word confident.” “You’re a nuisance.” “I’ve heard that one too.” A few people laughed.
I didn’t.
Instead, my mind caught onto one particular detail.
She had given him her address.
Whether he’d invited himself or not…
She could’ve refused.
She could’ve ignored his message.
She could’ve blocked him.
Instead…
She’d sent him the address.
An unpleasant feeling settled heavily in my chest.
Before I even realized I was speaking— “We’re going too.” Every head turned toward me.
Cin blinked.
“We?” I stood from my seat and slung my backpack over one shoulder.
“Yeah.” Felix looked between the two of us before a grin slowly spread across his face.
“I guess this just became a Section E study session.” “Exactly!” Cin clapped happily.
“The more, the merrier.” Yuri quietly sighed beside me.
His gaze lingered on me for a moment.
He knew.
He knew this had absolutely nothing to do with studying.
And everything…
To do with Jay.
I simply walked past him toward the door, pretending I hadn’t noticed the knowing look in his eyes.