"Why do you always have to be a dick?"
I looked up at the girl with platinum hair and bluish ends, her pure blue eyes filled with disgust.
Ariana.
I watched her for a beat, then let my eyes drift shut. Fighting back was just plain stupid; she was too strong for me.
"Didn't you hear me?!" Her voice climbed higher.
Suddenly, I felt something was wrong, but before I could react...
BAM!
Her fist cracked against my jaw.
"Ow." I worked my jaw, tongue, checking for loose teeth. "Bloody fuck, it wasn't even you!"
But she was already moving; she grabbed my collar and pulled me closer to her. I tried to free myself, but then caught sight of her meta-watch.
[POWER LEVEL: 7]
Shit.
"That doesn't matter... She asked for your name, and you acted like—like the scumbag you are!" Her grip tightened around my shirt.
"Let go." I kept my voice level, though my brain was already running the math on this fight. The numbers weren't pretty.
[I'm sensing elevated negative emotions.]
Really? From the girl trying to choke me? That's news.
[No... from you.]
I didn't answer.
"It's okay." The voice was softer, careful. "I shouldn't have asked. It's my fault."
A blonde girl with braided hair and worried green eyes stepped closer.
"She said it's her fault," I told Ariana, wrapping my fingers around her wrist. "Now let go."
For a moment, we were locked there.
"I hate you," she muttered, finally releasing me.
The elevator doors slid open, and she stormed out, dragging the blonde behind her.
"The feeling's mutual," I called after her, making sure she heard every word.
Her free hand clenched, but she didn't turn around.
Sighs.
I stepped out into a hallway full of stares. Great. This is just the second day.
The lecture hall stretched out in neat rows, all facing a podium. I picked a spot halfway up, near a window where cherry blossoms swayed outside. From here, I could see Ariana and her friend settling in near the front.
[Why do you hate her so much?]
"Who says I hate her?" I folded my arms on the desk, resting my head on them.
[I can sense it, your negative emotions spike every time you look at her.]
"Maybe you should mind your own business." I closed my eyes, hoping for five minutes of quiet before the professor showed up.
[You're hiding too many secrets. At least tell me about the novel you read.]
So you want to know the future?
[Yes.]
But you already know it. Did you not read my memories?
Silence.
I will take that as a no.
....
[…That girl from your past. Why do I sense such an overwhelming level of obsession whenever you think about her?]
I stared out at the cherry blossoms, at the pink petals.
Hmm.
"I don't know," I said finally. "When we first met, I couldn't stand her. But somehow... she became my everything."
[You must have noticed... those feelings aren't normal. It's as though—]
As though I was 'programmed' to feel that way?
The voice went quiet.
I watched the cherry blossoms dance outside, their delicate petals already starting to fall. Beautiful for a moment, then gone.
Seemed about right.