The next day at school, I handed the form to Lucas.
"Hey, Amara, did you also fill out the form? You know, I'm excited about it too—"
I was happily sharing my thoughts, but before I could finish, Amara cut me off, talking about some random date she had with her boyfriend. I just smiled awkwardly, pretending not to mind.
Then one of my classmates, Lyra, walked in. I waved.
"Hey, Lyra! Um… she's Amara, my best friend. And Amara, this is Lyra, my tuition friend from section B. I heard both sections A and B will be joining together soon, so she'll sit with us from now on, okay? We'll have fun together this year—"
Before I could finish again, Amara interrupted with a soft smile. "Hi," she said to Lyra sweetly.
Once again, my words faded into the background. It felt like I didn't matter in my own conversation.
A few minutes later, Lucas, Draven, and Lyric entered the classroom. Lyra and Draven already knew each other—they were both loud, funny, and a bit chaotic.
Draven grinned at her. "What are you doing here, lizard?"
Ugh, here comes the monkey, I thought. He really doesn't know how to talk to girls properly.
Lyra shot back, "Got nothing else to do, huh?"
Before their playful bickering could go further, Draven's best friend, Anny—the popular girl of our class—pulled him away with an eye roll.
"Don't stick with her too much," she said loudly. "She's not that touchable~"
I whispered to Amara, "Weren't Lyra and she best friends? How could she insult her in front of everyone?"
Before Amara could answer, the bell rang. Our Maths teacher entered—he was also our homeroom teacher. Lucas collected all the forms and gave them to sir.
"Elina," sir said, looking at me, "you're participating, right? It's good to see you joining the Olympiad."
As class went on, the merge of section A and B was announced, and we shifted to the new building. Amara, Lyra, and I found seats together near the window.
And of course, Draven couldn't sit quietly.
He threw a paper ball toward Lyra, but it hit me instead.
I turned around slowly and glared at him.
He flinched, muttering, "Mummy! She's a witch, dude!"
Then leaned toward Lucas and Lyric and whispered, "I'll prove it someday."
Lucas chuckled. "She's innocent, Draven. She only glares at you. Better not mess with her—she might complain to the principal."
Draven just smirked but looked at me again. For a moment, our eyes met. Only for two seconds—yet it felt much longer. His gaze was sharp but strangely focused, and for that tiny heartbeat, it felt like the world had paused.
Then he rolled his pen and turned away, pretending to look bored.
I whispered to Amara, "Is there something on my face?"
She said, "No."
Lyra giggled. "Yeah, it's written IDIOT!"
I sighed. "Ugh.LYRA! Stop mocking me nah."
---
Lunch break.
The canteen buzzed with noise as students rushed for food. The three of us sat together. Amara went to get water, while Lyra leaned closer to me.
"Elina, you know Lyric messaged me last night?" she said.
"Oh? What did he say?"
"He asked for notes," she said with a grin.
I raised an eyebrow. "Why do boys always ask for notes when they never talk to girls before? Don't their guy friends have notes too? It's either an excuse to talk or a genuine reason."
Lyra laughed. "Exactly! He even followed me on Insta and liked all my posts. I didn't continue the chat—I just sent the notes."
Amara came back with her tray, smiling. She placed something in front of Lyra.
"This is for you! You wanted tofu, right? There was a long line for it."
Lyra grinned. "Thanks, Amara!"
"I'll take half a piece—" I said, reaching for it, but Amara quickly pulled her plate back, smiling a little.
"Uh… sorry, I already gave this to Lyra."
My hand froze mid-air. I forced a smile, pretending it didn't matter.
I always shared my lunch with her—sometimes even brought extra food just so she could try. But now she acted like I was a stranger i feel like I am some kind of food hunger. Wanted to snatch it and rejected I feel too awkward.
The air around me felt heavier, like my appetite disappeared with my words.
Then a familiar voice spoke behind me.
"Hey, Lyra! You want some tofu? The servers gave me too much."
Draven.
His tone was casual, but it carried that familiar mix of teasing and charm.
Lyra laughed. "No, I'm fine. Maybe Elina wants some."
Before I could even turn, a hand slid into my view—his hand.
Draven's fingers held a spoon with a tofu piece, and he placed it gently on my plate.
The spoon made a small clink against the edge, and for a moment, I froze. He stood just behind me, close enough that I could sense his presence—the quiet warmth of someone too confident for his own good.
He leaned slightly, his voice low and teasing.
"Don't look so shocked, topper. It's just tofu."
I looked up, ready to reply, but his smirk made my words vanish. His eyes sparkled with amusement, like he knew exactly how to get under my skin.
Then Anny arrived, ruining the quiet moment.
"Why are you giving her your food?" she said, flipping her hair dramatically. "She'll become tofu if she eats more! Share with me instead."
Draven caught her hand before she could touch my plate.
"Let her eat, Anny. I already gave you. I don't know of her but ,You'll become tofu yourself if you eat any more if you want ask for lucas or lyric they have too."
Anny scoffed. "Ugh, you're so mean."
Lucas sighed. "Draven, handle your own circus."
Lyric chuckled. "Yeah, don't drag us into your tofu drama i got only two peice bro and I have to take more protein for sports dude!."
I said quietly, "It's okay, Anny. You can take it if you want."
Anny smiled sweetly. "Oh no, it's your plate now. I'll take from Draven's instead—he'll get in line for me."
She left, and the noise returned.
Lyra shook her head. "A few minutes ago she didn't even want tofu, and now drama."
I smiled faintly but couldn't help glancing at Draven again.
He was already back to eating, pretending to be busy, yet that same quiet grin stayed on his lips.
Then I looked down—
and froze.
The tofu was burnt from one side.
My lips parted. Slowly, I turned my head toward him.
Draven was watching me, his bright smile widening, proud and unapologetic. His eyes glimmered like he'd just pulled off the most harmless crime ever.
I narrowed my eyes, stabbing the tofu with my fork hard enough to make it clank.
He chuckled, not even trying to hide it.
For a moment, neither of us said a word—just the silent spark between my anger and his amusement filling the air.
His smile stayed. My glare did too.
Cunning angelwith her Frustrated demon.