Lunch break.
A stampede of chairs scraping back echoed through the halls like war drums. Students rushed out in packs toward the cafeteria or onto the roof, or just collapsed at their desks with bento boxes like it was the end of the world.
I was the "quiet corner bento" type.
Same as usual. Same spot. I pulled out my lunch and looked at my rice like it had secrets to tell.
"Yo," came a familiar voice.
Ryusuke Endo, red hair a mess, orange eyes sharp like a fox, popped up at our desk like he lived here now.
He plopped his melon soda onto Zay's desk and pulled over a chair backwards to straddle it.
"Dude, you ditched us. What, math class too powerful?" he said, cracking the soda open with one hand.
Zay didn't even glance up. "You were late."
"Traffic," Ryu replied, deadpan. "By which I mean my alarm failed me and Kiro didn't even bother knocking."
"I did knock," said Kiro Yamakaze, walking in right on cue with his pristine white hair and unreadable blue eyes. He held a convenience store sandwich like it was a work of art. "You just sleep like a corpse."
Zay lazily waved a hand toward the empty chairs beside us.
"Sit wherever. It's not like we own the desks."
Kiro sat down without comment. Ryusuke rolled his shoulders, casually glancing at me.
"Oh hey, Nakahara. You still hangin' with this guy?" He jabbed his thumb at Zay.
"I sit here because the board says so," I replied, unbothered.
"That's cold," Ryu grinned.
Kiro unwrapped his sandwich. "They worked on the winter project last year, remember?"
"Ohhh right," Ryusuke said. "The one where Zay nearly burned the gym."
"It wasn't the gym," I corrected, chewing a bite of rice. "Just the model. And a little bit of the carpet."
Zay sipped water like this conversation didn't involve him.
Then the classroom door opened.
Click-clack.
Heels.
Lip gloss.
Presence.
The blonde girl—I didn't know her name, just that she had black eyes like ink and wore her skirt shorter than regulation—walked in like she was entering a fashion runway.
Behind her were her two usuals: the one with the curled brown hair who always hovered near Zay, and the soft-voiced one with a habit of staring dreamily at Ryu.
They headed straight for us.
"Zay~," Blonde said sweetly, drawing out the syllable like a purr. "We're going up to the roof. You should join us."
"No thanks," Zay replied without looking.
"Ooh, but we brought snacks," Curly added, holding out a bag like it was a bribe.
Ryu muttered under his breath, "Here we go again…"
Kiro bit his sandwich in complete silence, eyes on the desk like he wasn't involved.
Blonde's gaze landed on me.
Her smile tightened.
"Oh, you're still sitting here? That's cute. It's like you're part of the group."
"I'm just eating lunch," I said, eyes still on my rice. "Didn't realize that needed clearance."
Zay, very slowly, turned his head toward her.
"Are you done?" he asked.
She blinked. "...Done with what?"
"The performance."
The classroom went quiet for a beat.
Blonde scoffed and flipped her hair. "Whatever. Come on, girls."
They left with the sound of collective eye-rolling trailing behind them.
"Harsh," Ryusuke said, biting into a meat bun. "Not that I'm complaining."
"You could've said something too," Zay replied.
"I'm preserving my energy," Ryu grinned. "Besides, Nakahara handled it."
I shrugged. "It's not that deep. I just wanted to eat in peace."
Kiro glanced at me then, voice low. "You're surprisingly calm."
"I mean… you get used to this school."
They didn't say anything else after that. Just ate quietly, like it was the most natural thing in the world.
And somehow, I didn't feel out of place.
Not part of their inner circle, but… not pushed out either.
Weird.