I turned, and there she was—standing with Chloe by her side.
For a moment, I forgot to breathe. They both smiled politely, a little hesitant but genuine.
"If it's okay with you… can we sit here?"
Daniel and I exchanged a glance, then answered at the same time,
"Sure."
They slid into the seats across from us. Chloe fiddled with the edge of her sleeve, while she tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, eyes darting between me and the table. The silence that followed was short but heavy, like everyone was waiting for someone else to speak first.
"So…" Daniel leaned forward with that mischievous grin of his. "How's the first day treating you two?"
Chloe offered a shy smile. "It's… okay. Just a lot to take in."
Her friend nodded. "Yeah, everything feels new. The classes, the people… even the clubs."
Daniel chuckled. "Especially our club, huh?"
That earned a quiet laugh from her. "Honestly, yeah. Your president is… something else."
"Something else is putting it lightly," I muttered before I could stop myself.
Her eyes flicked to mine in surprise, and then she covered her mouth, stifling a soft laugh. Warm, unguarded, it was the kind of sound that lingered. For some reason, my chest tightened.
Daniel, of course, noticed. He leaned back in his chair, smirk plastered across his face, sipping his juice like he was enjoying front-row seats to some comedy show.
"So, Willy," he said suddenly, voice dripping with mischief, "aren't you going to properly introduce yourself?"
I shot him a glare. The girls looked at me expectantly, and I drew in a breath, ready to say Sky for once. But Daniel cut me off, raising his hand dramatically.
"As you know, he's Willy, and I'm Daniel."
I let out a long sigh. There goes my chance to fix my name.
Chloe smiled. "I'm Chloe. And she is…" She turned toward her friend.
In a low, hesitant voice, she said, "And I'm Maylentia."
I froze for a second. "Ah… that's a good name."
Daniel gave me a helpless sigh, then Chloe tilted her head. "Uh… is there some problem?"
Before I could answer, Daniel jumped in, smirking. "He's not good with long names."
"Uh… that's not true," I said quickly, shaking my head.
"Really?" Daniel grinned wider. "Then prove it. Say her name."
I glanced at Maylentia—she looked amused now—and tried. "Mayl…len…t…i—" I stopped halfway, exhaled, and admitted, "Sorry, I can't."
Chloe giggled softly. "It's okay, senior Willy. Not everyone in our class can say it properly either."
Daniel leaned forward curiously. "So that's her full name?"
Chloe hesitated a moment. "No… it's just her first name."
My mind paused, curious now.
Maylentia lifted her gaze and said softly, "My full name is Maylentia May Featherstone."
Chloe jumped in quickly, smiling. "But we all just call her Tia for short."
I was still turning the name over in my head when Daniel waved a hand in front of my face.
"Hey, Willy… earth to Willy."
I blinked back to reality, and Chloe added gently, "You can call her Tia if it's difficult."
I nodded, relieved. "Let's stick with that then."
We all laughed, the tension breaking.
Chloe leaned forward, curious now. "So, senior Willy, let's go back to the previous topic. Why did you join that club?"
I thought back, scratching my cheek. "Nothing special. I just… picked it randomly while filling out the form."
Her eyes widened. "What?"
She looked so stunned that I couldn't help but chuckle, but then she turned her gaze to Daniel. "And you?"
Daniel grinned, unbothered. "Oh, I went with him. When I saw him write Horizon Explorers, I just wrote it too."
Chloe's expression shifted from shock to blank disbelief. I lost it, bursting into a laugh. Across from me, Tia pressed her hand to her mouth, but soon she was laughing too.
That set everyone off, the table filling with laughter until Chloe herself broke down and laughed as well.
When we finally calmed down, Chloe sighed but smiled. "So… we were thinking of joining Horizon Explorers."
I raised an eyebrow. "That's good to hear, but… are you sure? There are plenty of clubs you could pick instead. It's your decision, after all."
She nodded firmly. "It's okay, senior Willy. I think Horizon Explorers would be fun. And besides…" She hesitated a moment, then smiled brightly. "Where else could we find such funny and kind seniors?"
I froze, caught off guard, then quickly looked away. "…Thanks for the compliment."
Daniel coughed loudly, clearly hiding a laugh.
Before anyone could add more, the bell rang, sharp and final.
We all stood, gathering our things. I gave them a small smile. "That's all for today. Bye. Maybe we'll meet again."
"Bye, seniors," Chloe and Tia said in unison.
Daniel and I rushed back to class to grab our backpacks before heading toward the exit.
For the first time that day, I thought… maybe the start of this new session wasn't bad after all.