The princess glanced back at him, steadying her hand in the same breath she fixed her blade toward the horde of monsters. It glinted under the dregs of the moonlight, the golden hilt of the dagger turning a crisp autumn color. She took a step back, spreading her feet shoulder-length apart like her instructor had ground into her from little up. “Do you think we stand a chance?”
The twinkle in his crystal-clear eyes and his arrogant smirk normally would have frustrated her, but at this moment, she found his presence reassuring. “I think we’re more than capable.”
“Whole room to yourself and this is what you decide to do?”
With a start, I tore my gaze away from the book I had been reading and hastily slid it into my backpack. My heart was hammering in my ears as I wasn’t expecting to get completely caught off-guard. Had she seen the cover? Was she going to tell her friends about the nerdy light novel I’d been reading? No, I think I was quick enough. But why was she even here? The beating of my heart slowed, and I swallowed the lump in my throat.
Everything was going to be fine; I would play it cool until she got whatever this was out of her system and left.
The intruder didn’t make any further comments, walking past me to sit at the other end of the table. She immediately placed her elbow on the edge of the table and planted her cheek in her palm, looking bored to pieces. The sleeve of her baggy sweatshirt fell past her wrist while her black bangs ghosted over her eyelids, and I honestly couldn’t help thinking she was a little cute like this. If she could just fix that rotten personality of hers, she might actually be cute.
“Why don’t you take a picture? It’ll last longer.”
“Whatever,” I said, glancing away toward the window on the side of the room where I was seated. Snowflakes danced around outside, tapping the windowpane on the whims of the light breeze. The sky was still a hazy gray, but there was enough sunlight filtering through to reflect off the flakes, making them appear a similar shade to the sky.
A weight fell onto the table, and I turned back to see she had laid her head down and was facing me. “What do you think she’s up to?”
The ‘she’ that Nicole was referring to, I assumed, was our teacher. I didn’t have an exact idea of what her motivations were, yet if I had to hedge my bets, I was certain it had to do with a generous amount of apathy she applied to everything in her life. There was little doubt in my mind that she set this up to ensure that she didn’t have us repeat the year as having three extra students would kill her on the inside.
She hummed and carried on the one-sided conversation. “There’s got to be some reason for her sticking me in the same clubroom as a pervert who’d peep on his own teacher and that bitch who doesn’t know when to quit.”
There was not a whole lot I could say to that. A rebuttal was kind of out of the question, considering it was exactly like she claimed. I was just glad that she hadn’t called me out for leering at her yesterday–or today I supposed. Whether that was out of whatever kindness she had in her heart or because she was adept at reading a room, I wasn’t certain. I also wasn’t about to push my luck and find out.
“Why did you bother to show up?” I asked, thinking that was the possible politest way I could ask her to screw off and leave.
“I asked around, but it seems like most clubs aren’t accepting new members. And the ones that were are already so far into their activities that I would just be getting in the way.” She pinched the bridge of her nose. “I don’t want to look like an absolute idiot, so this turned out to be the best option.”
Damn it. She raised some solid points and sounded considerate of others. If it was like this, though, I was never going to reclaim the clubroom as my own. We were going to be stuck together until we moved on to the next phase of our lives. I barely managed to conceal the shudder that coursed through my body. Was there any possibility of driving her out without making myself a target?
“I know you don’t like me, but you should know the feeling’s mutual.”
I scoffed, forgoing beating around the bush if she wasn’t going to. “Why because you have to worry about me gossiping to my friends and spreading rumors?”
She tilted her head to the side. “Fair enough. I won’t deny it.”
“So why are we even bothering having this conversation? Just go. I’ll lie and tell Miss Halsey that you show up everyday.”
“That would be a great plan if you can guarantee that another staff member wouldn’t show up and bust me.”
I grit my teeth together knowing that was impossible. It was the whole reason I hadn’t even considered skipping out on this makeshift club to begin with.
“Thought so,” she said. “In that case, let’s make a deal. Anything you say or do in this clubroom wouldn’t see the light of day. You can geek out over anime, or porn, or whatever other shit you do in your free time, and nobody else will ever know.”
I quirked an eyebrow. “And what’s in it for you?”
She shrugged her shoulders, tresses of her hair falling over her chest. “We’re going to be stuck with each other for awhile. The less awkward we can make it, the better. Besides, it sure as hell beats you switching up between glaring at me and staring at my boobs.”
Son of a bitch. Once again, her logic was flawless, and while it wasn’t the perfect solution I had been hoping for, it was workable. Ignoring her wouldn’t be too difficult, and I could then use this time to catch up on my backlog of novels and video games instead of being hypervigilant around her.
“Fine. Let’s do that.”
No response from her. I retrieved Emerald Princess Squire and read through a few more pages before finding myself getting distracted, unable to get immersed like I had earlier. The wind picked up, rattling the window panes and swaying the curtain slightly. The snow that had been dancing around outside began settling down onto the windowsill, glittering in the dim light. There was some accumulation on the ground as well and some people scooped it up, laughing loudly while they pelted each other with snowballs. Clubs and sports teams must have been letting out, which probably meant I could call it a day as well.
“Is it really that interesting?”
“What’s that?” I asked, pushing back some folders in my backpack to make space for the book.
“Don’t play dumb. What you’re reading.”
“It’s alright.”
She rose from her chair and walked over toward me. It was a slow shuffle, where she dragged her feet until she was a few feet away. Nicole held out an outstretched hand, her face turned away. “Let me borrow it.”
That was a strange request, an almost unreasonable request from somebody who hated this kind of stuff.
“Why?” I asked.
“Expanding my horizons. I promise I’ll give it back to you once I finish.”
“Not a chance.”
I threw my bag over my shoulder, ignoring her pounding footsteps as I passed into the next room. It proved more difficult to ignore her wrapping herself around me, fingers digging into my back. Her nails pressed into my skin while the corners of her mouth crinkled maliciously. Blonde curls bounced in her uncontrolled laughter, those clouded, dark eyes not showing a hint of remorse or understanding of where she was. The stench of cigarette smoke and booze covered up with cheap perfume assaulted my nostrils, and I jerked away from her. “Don’t touch me!”
She stumbled into the table, knocking over empty paint cans while trying to regain her balance. They clattered to the floor, one in particular rolling over and bumping into my ankle. It took whatever limited self-control I had left to not kick at it. My nostrils flared, and the rest of my body had gone rigid. My arms were tense, and my legs felt like they had bags of cement tied to them. I could only stare at the black-haired girl who was staring back at me with wide eyes.
Wide eyes that were a stunning shade of light blue.
Instantly, the anger faded and was replaced by dread. What had I done? She had barely brushed my back with her hand. She might not have even meant to touch me. And she definitely hadn't been trying to hurt me. But at that moment, my body had already decided what was happening. It didn't matter that she wasn't that woman.
“I-I’m sorry.”
Lowering my bag to my side, I unzipped the front pouch. She regarded me carefully, likely watching for any sudden movements. That made me sick to my stomach.
I tossed the book onto the table beside her. “It’s yours.”
I didn’t bother waiting around to see how she reacted.