The rest of lunch passed quietly.
Elizabeth didn't say anything more, but her meters were louder than words. Guilt pulsed like a heartbeat. Sorrow flickered in and out, like a candle fighting the wind. And that persistent pink glow… it hadn't faded.
She packed up her lunch and left without a word. No goodbye, no glare.
I stayed under the sakura tree a bit longer. I needed the silence to reset. Being around too many people meant constantly watching emotions, even if I didn't want to. It's like walking through a gallery where every painting screams how it feels.
When I returned to class, the desks were already shifting for group work. Mr. Rizal smiled as he pointed me toward one of the circles forming near the back.
"Claire, you'll be with Group 4 today. Elizabeth's team."
Again?
Elizabeth didn't even look surprised this time. If anything, her Emotion Meter shifted into something worse: Resignation. A dull grey bar hovered like stormclouds over her head.
Our team consisted of four people:
Me (new and very much ignored),
Elizabeth (cold as ever, but flickering),
Toma (the loud guy whose Fear bar flared earlier), and
Mina (a quiet girl whose meters never moved much — like still water).
We were supposed to brainstorm ideas for the upcoming cultural festival.
Toma immediately took the lead, loud and cheerful. His Joy meter blazed like the sun, but behind it was that familiar Fear, always just beneath the surface. It spiked every time Elizabeth spoke, even when she was calm.
"We should do a haunted house!" Toma said.
"No," Elizabeth cut in flatly.
"Ahaha, right, that was dumb," he laughed, rubbing the back of his head. His Fear bar spiked again.
I frowned. "It wasn't a bad idea."
Elizabeth turned to me slowly, as if I'd just spoken in another language. Her Surprise meter glitched pink for a second before settling into something unreadable.
"You're defending him?"
"I'm just saying, it's not a bad idea. We could twist it. Like a fairy tale haunted house."
"…You like weird things," she muttered, but I saw her Guilt meter shrink slightly.
The group kept talking. I mostly listened.
But halfway through the meeting, I caught a strange flash — from the hallway.
Someone was standing just beyond the door, watching.
Their meters were… wrong.
No color. Just static.
I blinked. Gone.
Did I imagine it?
"Claire," Elizabeth's voice snapped me out of it. "You okay?"
"Huh? Yeah. Just spaced out."
She narrowed her eyes at me like she could read my bar. Her Trust meter blinked uncertainly.
---
After School – The Rainfall
By the time class ended, clouds had rolled in like a slow curtain, and rain started drumming lightly against the windows.
I had just packed my things when Elizabeth tapped me on the shoulder. Her bar was a rainbow mess — Love, Guilt, Embarrassment, Trust, Frustration.
"You walk home?"
"Usually."
"Where do you live?"
"West block, near the train station."
"…Same," she muttered.
I raised an eyebrow. "Are you inviting yourself?"
"I'm escorting you. To make sure you don't get kidnapped," she snapped.
"Oh? How noble."
"Shut up."
We walked in silence down the hill, sharing my umbrella. I offered it — half expecting her to refuse — but she didn't even hesitate.
As we passed the vending machines outside the school gate, I spotted someone again.
Same place. Same static meter. No emotion. No anything.
They turned and walked away the second I made eye contact.
"What is it?" Elizabeth asked, noticing my pause.
"Nothing," I lied.
For the first time… I couldn't read someone. And that terrified me more than any bright red meter ever could.
---
Scene Break: A Glitch in the System
That night, I stared at the ceiling of my room.
Why couldn't I see their emotions?
Every living person has them. Even the coldest person in the world — even Elizabeth — has meters that flicker.
But that person… nothing.
Was I losing my ability?
Or was that person… something else?
My phone buzzed. A message.
Unknown Number:
"Stay away from Elizabeth."
My breath hitched.
The sender ID wasn't saved. And worse — I could feel a chill crawl up my spine.
Because even through the phone, even though it made no sense…
I couldn't feel any emotion behind it.
Like it wasn't sent by a human at all.