You try not to throw up as you walk through the gates of West Ridge High the next morning.
Your backpack feels like it weighs more than a thousand kilos, even though the only extra thing in it is a stupid diary that predicted you'd spill your entire guts in front of the class today.
You haven't told anyone yet, but you've definitely considered texting your mom and asking if you can transfer schools, then legally change your name, and move to Jeju Island.
... Because what... Who is pranking you with secrets?
Jisoo meets you at the school gate, waving a triangle kimbap in your face.
The girl just loves kimbap like it's her life itself.
Unconsciously you rub your arm where she had hit you yesterday and roll your eyes.
"Hey!" She half yells, even though she's right in front of you.
"You look like someone who just watched the last episode of a drama where literally everyone dies," she says, biting into her breakfast.
You mumble something that sounds like a "good morning" but it sounds more like a dying frog screaming in a pond.
Anyway, you endure having to walk beside Jisoo and inhaling the aroma of your meal without reaching out to eat it.
When you two reach outside the shoe lockers, Hana pops out of nowhere, slamming her hands down on one of the shoe lockers.
"You two!"
"Yaaaaaaah!" Jisoo screams, jerking back.
"Hanaaaaa," she whines, looking at her kimbap which had fallen down.
"Can't you say hello properly?"
Hana however ignores her and turns to you, already arching her brows at you.
"What?" You ask.
Hana arching her brows is never a good sign, because it always means that she wants something and once she wants something... she becomes a pest.
"Did you bring the cursed diary with you?" she asks.
'It's not cursed,' You retort in your mind while Hana just keeps looking at you, waiting for an answer.
However you don't answer her, you just keep walking as the three of you head upstairs.
The second-year hallway of course still smells like it always does; this time someone just HAD TO add in old ramen to the mix of smells.
You sigh but keep walking anyway, it's not like you can actually dodge walking through this hallway.
Inside the classroom, you keep your head down and move straight to your seat.
Your desk has the usual faded graffiti carved into the top: a sad cat, a broken heart, and a 'summer vacation please come faster' written on top of it with a permanent maker.
Taehyun is already there at his seat beside yours with his head buried in another one of his cursed creature sketches.
His demon- cat hybrid drawing now has two tails and weird dreamy eyelashes.
Yuri is standing at the front of the room like she's about to announce the arrival of the president and you almost roll yours again at how she thinks that being the class president is the most honourable duty in the whole of south Korea.
Her ponytail is tied so tightly, almost as tight as the poker face she's putting on and she's holding a clipboard in her hands.
When Mr. Kim enters the class, he's muttering something about caffeine being the only thing that's keeping him from committing crimes.
Seeing him, you think maybe, just maybe, today won't go bad at all.
Then Yuri claps her hands.
"Everyone," she chirps. "As per Mr. Kim's brilliant suggestion—"
Mr. Kim grunts but says nothing.
"—we're going to spend the first twenty minutes of class today doing Personal Presentations!"
You flinch, but at least so do at least five other students at her announcement.
"Each of us will stand in front of the class and share something personal," Yuri continues, looking about excitedly with the same sort of energy villains in movies have right before they stab someone in the back.
... And you can't help but think that SHE suggested this presentation.
Maybe she's the one that wrote in the diary?
"It could be a secret, a dream, or a confession, just share anything that tells us more about you!"
You briefly consider flinging yourself out the window by your left, not to hard die of course, just… enough to avoid this.
"I'll call on people randomly so no one gets the chance to rehearse," she adds sweetly and you almost puke.
You slowly turn your head and look down at your bag, where the diary is and touch it, feeling the cover through the bag's fabric.
"Minjun," she says and you jerk, in fact your soul leaves your body in that instant right before you look at her.
"Why don't you go first?"
The classroom collectively goes "ooooh."
Some feel bad for you but of course some are snickering, especially those Back Benchers at the back who think they can get away with anything.
Slowly you stand to your feet but your legs suddenly feel like microwaved noodles.
"Go on," Jisoo whispers behind her hand that's covering her grinning lips.
"Tell them you're secretly a vampire or something."
You walk to the front of the class with every pair of eyes in the class following you.
Taehyun looks up for once from his drawings, Hana leans back in her chair like she's watching a drama and even Mr. Kim has paused his grading---- that he never seems to finish throughout an entire semester---- to raise an eyebrow.
You try to speak, really you do.
... You open your mouth to say something 'normal', like I'm scared of spiders, or I used to suck my thumb until fourth grade.
... But instead what actually comes out is—
"I cheated on the midterm math test last semester."
And everywhere goes silent.
Then you blink; Did you actually just say that?
Yuri gasps like someone just slapped her; Taehyun's pen falls to the floor with a soft clinking sound and Hana slaps her desk and lets out a long, wheezy laugh.
"Wait— what?" someone in the back shouts.
"You? But you sit right in front of me! I copied from you!"
'How does not even matter?' you think, wondering how to get yourself out of this mess.
While at it---- still standing in front of the class----- Mr. Kim slowly sets his pen down and squints at you like he's trying to decide if you're worth yelling at, so you do the only logical thing.
You mutter "thank you," bow quickly, and walk back to your desk.
Your ears are burning are burning with embarrassment as everyone looks at you like they've never cheated in a test or exam for once in their life.
... Or maybe they're all shocked at the fact that you said it aloud.
Hell, you're shocked too!
You slump in your chair, bury your face in your arms, and fantasize about time travel Or maybe spontaneous combustion.
Either of the options would be fine right now.
Then Jisoo pokes your arm.
"That was SO much better than I imagined," she whispers sounding excited.
If only she knows just how you feel now.
Hana leans over to you whispering, "Did you drink too much sugar or something? Why have you suddenly got balls? What's next? Are you gonna admit to murdering the vending machine last week?"
"Please die," you mumble into your sleeve, now even more embarrassed.
The rest of the day drags by in a ton of shame, other classmates' presentation and hushed gossip.
You catch people whispering behind their textbooks and a second-year from Class 2-D gives you a thumbs-up in the hallway.
Why? Who knows.
When the final bell rings, you don't even wait for Jisoo or Hana, you rush home like someone's chasing you, burst into your room and dump your bag on the floor, then yank the diary out.
You don't want to open it---- actually you don't know what drives you to---- but you find yourself doing that anyway and find that a new line has been written, again in YOUR OWN handwriting.
> Tomorrow you'll hit Taehyun in the head and call him 'hot demon boy.
You stare, blink and reread the sentence.
Then you throw yourself onto your bed and scream into your pillow.