Why that of all things? Sheltering him for a while? It was a ridiculous request, but feeling this boy had a hand in her safety the previous night, Nova agreed to it.
The warm water cascading over her body was soothing. She didn't want to get out of the shower but couldn't stay in it forever. Either way, she really had an awkward interaction ahead of her. She reached for the valve and closed it, then wrapped herself in a towel. Before walking out of the bathroom, she audibly exhaled. "Couldn't this boy at least use common sense and step out of the room?"
With a towel on her head, she moved out of the bathroom and stood at the door, her chin tucked down. Ares was seated on the bed, staring at a weird music video on the television. When she saw that he wasn't paying attention to her, she muttered, "I'd like to get dressed."
Her voice was muffled, so Ares didn't hear her. He faced her, scanning her body from head to foot. Her face turned red. This was the first time Ares had met someone who seemed indifferent to his appearance, so he feared making her regret hosting him. He stood up and walked out of the bedroom, shutting the door behind him.
"Jeez, is he doing this deliberately?" Nova let herself fall on the bed and began applying a vanilla lotion to her arms.
***
On Monday, at school, during lunchtime, Nova arrived at the cafeteria when it was already crowded. She picked up her food, then gazed around. All the tables appeared occupied. After scanning for a few more seconds, however, she spotted an unoccupied table at the center of the cafeteria. Though not a sweet spot, it was better than nothing. She went and sat down, inserting earphones into her ears. She was listening to ambient jazz.
Before starting to eat, she glanced around again. Blaze and Pyro were seated by the window, five tables away. She turned back and saw Orlyssa seated alone, her head lowered. Blood immediately pounded in Nova's ears. Since morning, this was the first time she had seen Orlyssa. She was still seething from what Orlyssa did to her on Friday night. "Look at her, having a good time." Clenching her jaw, Nova pushed back on the chair. The scraping sound as the chair's legs rubbed against the floor was so loud that the crowd in the cafeteria immediately went silent, turning their heads at Nova. She stared back. Was she overreacting? This certainly wasn't the right place to deal with Orlyssa. She took a deep breath and sat back in her chair.
There was a girl and a boy standing before her table, each holding trays of food in their hands. She hadn't noticed them until then. The boy's mouth was moving. Nova removed one of the earphones from her ear. "What?"
From Nova's tone, the boy realized they had made a mistake approaching her. He hesitated for two to three seconds before timidly replying, "Are these seats taken?"
Nova immediately shook her head, returning the earphone to her ear. When these two sat down before her, the positioning of their arms turned weird. Were they holding hands under the table? She surreptitiously glanced at them. Their cheeks were flushed red. Even so, they pretended to be engrossed in eating. Why do something that'll make you embarrassed? Nova sighed inwardly, stood up, and left the cafeteria.
Some of the benches in the courtyard weren't occupied, so she sat down on one. Unlike the cafeteria, the courtyard was silent, except for the muffled voices of some chatting students.
The cold wind blew, caressing her face and fluttering her hair. This place was a paradise. Yet, it looked like demons could also enter this paradise. She had been seeking a chance to face Orlyssa, but it appeared Orlyssa had decided to go to her of her own accord.
"This saves me a trip." She stood up.
Orlyssa glanced at Nova's hands. She had clenched them into fists. She didn't move any closer. "I'm not here to pick a fight."
Why change the attitude now? This change of attitude made more heat crawl up Nova's neck. With a scowl, she declared, "It doesn't matter. I'm going to pummel you."
Orlyssa was dumbfounded. A vein was visible on Nova's temple. Was she possessed by a demon? She could have walked away and approached her later when she had cooled down, but it didn't appear like she would be allowed to walk away. She fished out her cellphone from the blazer, fiddled with it for three seconds, then pointed the screen to Nova. "Look, I know I have no right to apologize, but—"
"Playing nice, are we?" Nova hissed, interrupting her. She loathed this change of attitude with every cell of her body. She thought this was a card played by rascals when cornered. She began taking steps forward, glaring at Orlyssa.
Orlyssa looked around her surroundings. What was with this girl? If she wasn't going to stop her from going on a rampage, then Nova herself would face the consequences. She raised her cellphone again, pointing the screen to Nova. "I've at least deleted that photo from Friday to show I'm sorry."
Nova stopped in her tracks. Orlyssa seized the chance, adding, "You'll be the one who gets in trouble if you resort to violence. We're at school."
Nova sighed, "I'm losing it again, huh?" She shifted her eyes in the courtyard, where the boys and girls were stealing glances. She felt their judgment, convinced that in their eyes, she was simply a delinquent.
She slowly walked past Orlyssa, returning to the classroom. Her blood still boiled. Nevertheless, she hadn't expected Orlyssa to do away with the compromising photo. "I'm good with that for now."
At the end of the classes, the homeroom teacher reminded them that there would be a Sports festival taking place at school two weeks later. Immediately, the homeroom teacher left, Nova picked up her bag and walked out of the classroom. What worried her was that from tomorrow until the sports festival day, all students were required to do compulsory sports practice in the department they were good at. Additionally, participation in the Sports festival was compulsory.
Students poured out of the school entrance, gossiping things that left Nova's mouth open.
As she walked down the sidewalk, a tiny cold sensation kissed the back of her neck, making her look up. The sky had turned dark, and the grey clouds seemed to float just above her head. Thunder rumbled in the distance.
Since she hadn't carried an umbrella, she walked into a nearby store and bought one. The moment she stepped outside, it started raining. She opened the umbrella and began walking.
Unfortunately, the umbrella was only useful until the downpour increased and the wind picked up. She was soaked from her feet to her chest. "Fuck! Waste of money!"
She could have sheltered under an awning, but what was the point now that she was already drenched?
Forty meters away, her bicep began burning from trying to keep the umbrella stable against the blowing wind. She slightly loosened her grip on it. There were stores and cars parked on either side of the street. If she were to let go of the umbrella, it would certainly smash into them. She tightened her grip and kept walking.
When she got home, water was literally falling off of her in drops. She tossed the umbrella at the door area and climbed the stairs, her legs trembling due to the cold. "H-hot... coffee... please." She murmured, hugging herself.
The rain was still pouring heavily outside, bringing with it slight darkness. Pushing the bedroom door, she stepped inside. The sight of her bed made her plan for a nap after a hot coffee. Her eyes then landed on a folded paper on the carpet beside the bed. She walked to it and picked it up before unfolding it. It had wrinkles. "What's this? A city map?... No." Rather than a city map, it was a specific urban sector. All the residential buildings on the map were crossed out except for one. As she scrunched her nose, trying to identify what part of the city this map depicted, the hairs on the back of her neck suddenly stood on end. Her eyes snapped toward the balcony. At that moment, a shadow shifted at the balcony's edge. She stepped back, calling, "Ares?"
The balcony's curtains slid open, and Ares entered. Nova quickly inserted the paper in her pocket, her gaze boring into him. He wore her hoodie, its hood pulled up over his head. He pulled it back before speaking, "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."
Nova frowned, picking a pillow from the bed. She drew it back, planning to fling it at him. However, after a moment, she lowered it. With her chest rising and falling, she observed him. His clothes were wet. "Where have you been?"
When Ares noticed Nova staring at him, he couldn't resist the urge to fool her. He looked at the balcony, then back at her, asking, "Was your day fun?"
'That's the best you've got?' Nova smirked to herself, then maneuvered behind him, pushing him inside the bathroom. "You're wet. Go take a shower."
Ares put up a half-hearted struggle, not intending to win. "Didn't they teach you about bathing during a lightning storm?"
Nova shut the bathroom door behind Ares, then looked at the balcony. "What aren't you telling me?"
She walked to the balcony, then looked around. However, there was nothing noteworthy. "Fuck him."