Ponytail Girl snatched her hand out of Umbrella Girl's grip. "Stay out of this, Prez. Do you know what she did to Guiying? She—"
"What she may have done—which, you have no proof of—has nothing to do with the fact that you tried to hit her." Umbrella Girl said calmly, turning around. "Sit back down."
As she turned, there was a shift in her posture and her eyes briefly flickered to me.
…The heck?
"Hello, everyone," The Umbrella Girl said calmly, as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. "My name is Yue. It's nice to meet you all. I'll be serving as your class president this year."
The room immediately erupted into whispers.
"That Yue? The only one that actually beat Guiying on the mock exams?"
"The one who's been consistently the top in the school and top five across the prefecture in academics?"
"Arts, too—doesn't she play five instruments?"
"She's so pretty…"
I stared at her despite myself.
In the curtain of lightning-washed rain behind her, her hair gleamed faintly like spilled ink and her glistening cherry-red eyes seemed to draw the gaze of everyone in the room.
For a second, the storm outside looked like it bent its glow around her.
Objectively… yeah, she was pretty. The school uniform with the blazer, button up, tie, and skirt fit her well—she'd even pulled on black tights underneath.
For some reason, she kept glancing back at me in quiet intervals. It reminded me of how Guiying used to check on me when I was exhausted or overwhelmed.
…Whatever.
I was probably imagining it. Hopefully she wasn't one of those 'your wellbeing is now my solemn duty' types.
…Still, I should thank her later. For now, though, I was trying too hard in an effort to focus on anything but my soaked uniform.
The door slid open with a *clack*. Wang Laoshi returned, pushing a trolley stacked high with heavy textbooks.
"Ah, I see you've all met Yue," he said. "Thank you. Just leave the papers there."
Yue nodded, retrieved her bag, and walked straight toward me. She passed Ponytail Girl without a glance, slid into the empty seat beside mine, and sat as if she'd always belonged there.
She didn't look at me directly, but something in the way she sat—angled toward my side, keeping me shielded from the rest of the class—made my stomach twist.
It was like she'd decided I was now her responsibility.
…Great.
I guess she really was one of those types.
Wang Laoshi glanced around the room and cleared his throat. "We'll start the year with introductions—share your name and share something about yourself."
He leveled a sharp glare at Ponytail Girl. "Since you're already standing, why don't you go first, Lisha?"
Lisha flushed, opening and closing her mouth like a fish. A couple of students snickered. She straightened quickly, regaining her haughty posture.
"My name is Lisha. I believe in standing up for my friends." Her eyes flicked to me like a threat. There was polite applause as she bowed stiffly and stalked back to her seat.
Yue bristled at this and shifted to cover me.
What was her deal? We didn't even really know each other.
I just hoped that this wouldn't happen again…
More names followed—thirty-something of them—blurring together. Artsy kids in one corner. High achievers clustered around another desk with who I assumed were the popular girls.
Eventually it was Yue's turn and she stood, the room holding its breath.
"As I said earlier, my name is Yue." Her smile was small and serene. "I like…" she paused thoughtfully. "I like… mn. My favourite food is egg fried rice. Especially with chicken."
Soft laughter rose. Then all the eyes turned to me. I pushed down my skirt and forced myself up, my heartbeat tightening in my chest.
"I'm Yunhua," I said quietly. "And I like…"
A flicker in the window caught my eye as another thunderbolt split the sky. Something was moving in the reflection behind me—something with tail-like shapes that trailed faintly before dissolving into the storm.
What was that?
My voice faltered.
"…I like…"
I saw Yue straighten with something that I assumed was… concern? It was like she thought that my hesitation was a threat worth writing up on a report slip to a teacher.
The reflection of the tails faded, and I saw thirty pairs of eyes and one pair of particularly cherry pupils staring back at me.
"..."