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It was another morning.
Leo put on his winter clothes and headed for school. It was the last day of the school week. Christmas was in two days, and the schools would be closed for a week-long holiday starting tomorrow.
He passed by the usual crossroads, but he didn't run into Nami. He wondered if she was still on sick leave.
As he was passing the park next to his community, a small orange beast jumped out of the grass, startling him. The events of the past few days had left him on edge. He had one foot in the world of the extraordinary, and his nerves were frayed.
He cautiously looked at the creature and saw that it was just a kitten, less than a year old. Its thin body and orange fur marked it as a common stray.
"It's just an orange cat," he sighed, a wry smile on his face. He was really getting paranoid. How often did one encounter the supernatural, anyway?
"What's the matter? Are you hungry?" he asked the kitten. It had no collar and looked a little dirty, so he figured it had been abandoned.
He ran to a nearby convenience store, bought three ham sausages, and returned. The kitten, seeing him approach, quickly hid in the grass, its green eyes wary.
"It's edible, see?" Leo said, unwrapping one of the sausages and taking a bite. He placed the other two on the ground in front of the grass.
It was almost time for class, so he didn't stay long. As he walked away, he glanced back and saw the grass rustling. The ham sausages were gone.
He smiled and continued on his way to school. In the grass, the kitten licked its paws, its green eyes following him until he was out of sight. The two ham sausages, including their wrappers, had vanished, leaving its belly no fuller than before.
At the school entrance, he ran into Nami, who had just arrived. They were both surprised to see each other.
"Nami, is your cold any better?" he asked, walking toward her.
But Nami just puffed out her cheeks, deliberately ignored him, and walked into the school at a faster pace.
Leo was dumbfounded. What's going on? Girls were impossible to understand. He shook his head and decided not to think about it. But he still had to catch up to her. He quickened his pace, but the faster he ran, the faster she ran ahead of him. They chased each other into the school building.
"Senior, please wait," a girl's voice called out from the corridor.
Leo turned and saw a younger female student, about fifteen years old. She had long blonde hair tied back in an old-fashioned ponytail, with a few stray strands falling across her face. She was wearing a pair of thick, black-rimmed glasses and kept her head down, as if afraid to look at anyone. She was the type of girl who was invisible at school, the kind who often became the target of bullies.
Leo didn't recognize her, but he asked politely, "Yes? Can I help you?"
"Um…" the girl hesitated, biting her lip. Then, with a surge of courage, she said, "My name is Kayla Danvers. We met at the school's opening party."
"I remember," Leo said, a memory suddenly surfacing. He had seen her standing alone at the party, and it had reminded him of himself before he had met Nami. He had gone over to her and explained some of the school's rules and events. But that had been almost half a year ago.
"You remember me," the girl's eyes lit up, and she lifted her head slightly to look at him, her hesitation giving way to determination.
"Huh?" Nami, who had stopped at the end of the corridor, felt a sudden sense of foreboding. She wanted to interrupt, but it was too late.
"Senior," Kayla said, her words rushing out in a torrent, "I-I like you! Please go out with me!"
Her voice was not loud, but it was clear enough for everyone in the corridor to hear.
Leo's mouth fell open.
"What?!" Nami's eyes widened in shock. A few seconds later, the corridor erupted in an uproar.
"Ah, to be young," a passing teacher said with a shake of his head, a nostalgic smile on his face.
Ring!
The final bell of the day rang. The school erupted in a cacophony of noise as students poured out of the classrooms. The main topics of conversation were the silver-haired goddess and the morning's confession.
A childhood friend versus a mysterious newcomer? The most popular girl in school versus the most invisible? It was the kind of drama that would surely make the school's weekly newsletter. But thankfully, the holiday was starting tomorrow.
Leo, the male lead in this particular drama, packed up his things and left early. Nami, her schoolbag in hand, chased after him, her previous embarrassment forgotten.
"Leo," she said angrily, "you're not really going to say yes to a girl you've only met once, are you?"
"It wasn't our first meeting," he corrected. "It was our second."
"That's even worse!" she said, her voice filled with anxiety.
"Don't worry," he said. "I didn't say yes."
"But you didn't say no, either."
"That's because…" he paused, turning to look at her with a serious expression. "Do you know how much courage it takes to confess to someone like that, in public?"
"I… I haven't figured out how to respond to that kind of courage," he said apologetically. "I'm sorry, Nami. I accidentally dragged you into this. It has nothing to do with you."
Nami stared at his back as he walked away, her lower lip caught between her teeth.
No, she thought. It has everything to do with me.
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