"If I remember correctly, she had blue eyes and pink hair. Her face was very cute, so much so that I thought she looked like a little girl."
Julian described the characteristics of the student who had been following him, and as Arcane had suspected, he recognized her as Freya Morgan. She was the troubled student who had been targeting him lately.
His genius brain began to connect one problem with another that had arisen over the past two weeks, and he was sure that the person who rang the doorbell was also Freya.
"She must have wanted to see what Julian looked like when she first rang the doorbell. Then she seemed to be seeking his attention and watching his reaction to tease him because she was jealous," he calculated at the time.
And the reason she was following Julian now was because she was still around his neighborhood, and she happened to see him leaving the house. So, wanting to see him up close, she followed him all the way to the grocery store.
Knowing all that, Arcane gripped the cherry tomatoes in his hand so tightly they crushed. Julian, witnessing this, was utterly shocked and puzzled. What was wrong with his husband, who suddenly seemed so angry?
Had he just made a mistake or said something he shouldn't have?
"Why did you crush that tomato? Do you know the girl I mentioned earlier, or is she someone famous at school?" he asked.
Arcane, who had been daydreaming because of his frustration after getting all the answers he was looking for, turned to him and shook his head.
"It's nothing. I just did it reflexively, and you'd better avoid that girl. Never try to talk to her or answer any questions she asks because she is known to be a troublemaker at school," replied Arcane, warning Julian about Freya's "dangerousness."
Julian was confused. What made a beautiful girl like her considered dangerous? Arcane briefly explained what Kyle had said earlier about Freya.
He had also heard some things that the girl had done from other students. That certainly made Julian think that Freya must be jealous of him.
"But why didn't Freya's parents say anything? I mean, it must be obvious that their daughter is getting close to a married man. But it seems like they don't really care," he said.
"I think she acts so sweet and polite in front of her parents. So they wouldn't believe that their daughter has done something that bad. Plus, parents will always defend their children, especially if they make mistakes."
Arcane had often encountered parents like that since he was in school, even up to the present. So he thought it was Common for most parents to defend their children's mistakes.
He just warned Julian not to ever talk to Freya if she tried to approach him.
"Just find any excuse to leave. I'm sure she'll easily turn the situation around even if you think you've won."
The young man could only nod in understanding, then he helped Arcane make dinner.
The next day at school, during break time, Arcane was in the teacher's office correcting his students' homework. As he was looking at each answer in the book, suddenly a girl came up to him and stood right next to his desk.
"Hello, Mr. Romano," she called out, reflexively making him turn his head.
"Hello, Freya. Do you need something?" he asked, trying to pretend he didn't know anything.
The girl then placed a packet of cookies on his desk and said that she had baked them especially for him. At that moment, several teachers in the room turned their heads and looked at them.
They seemed to know that Arcane was indeed her next target. They felt sorry for him, remembering that Arcane had only been working at the school for almost eight months. And now he had become the target of the most troublesome student in the school?
Looking at the cookies, Arcane could only smile politely and say thank you.
"They look delicious. Thank you for making them for me. I'll try them later," said Arcane.
"Why later? You can eat them now. I want to see you eat my cookies," she said with a teasing smile.
"I can't. Right now, I'm grading the 1B class's tests. So I feel like I'll eat them later, or else the cookies will get my hands and the books dirty."
He tried to avoid the cookies and not eat them right in front of her. He thought that reason was reasonable enough to give. Unfortunately, Freya always seemed to have ideas to get her favorite teacher to eat the cookies.
"Then how about I feed you? I'll wash my hands to do it. After all, my hands are always clean for you," said the student, who clearly showed her interest and even dared to tease in front of the other teachers.
None of the teachers dared to reprimand her, because they didn't want to lose their jobs, let alone face serious accusations.
They could only watch with pitying glances, holding back even though they wanted to help Arcane.
However, of course, the genius teacher wasn't out of ideas. He said something that made Freya's heart race even faster.
"No need, I want to eat them later when I'm relaxing and enjoying the cookies. I'm sure they taste really good and it would be a shame if I ate them without being able to enjoy them," replied Arcane.
Freya's face finally turned red and she nodded in agreement. She also wanted Arcane to enjoy her homemade cookies without rushing. Finally, she left the teacher's room because class was about to start again.
Seeing her leave, Arcane glanced at the cookie package and picked it up.
"Mr. Romano, are you okay? Are you... planning to eat those cookies?" asked one of the teachers.
Arcane turned and smiled kindly. "Of course, these are a gift from a student, and of course I have to appreciate what she gave me. Regardless of what she may have done."
He left the teachers' room and headed for the bathroom with the cookies still in his hand.
Taking out all the cookies, he immediately crushed them into crumbs and threw them into the toilet.
His gaze was cold, his eyes darkening as if he was unhappy with what Freya had given him. He then flushed the cookie crumbs along with the wrapper.
"I won't let anything you give me enter my body."