The classroom felt oddly quiet that morning.
Rei walked in with his hand wrapped in a clean white bandage, his usual confident air dimmed slightly. He didn't make eye contact with anyone not even Kuroyuki. In fact, he walked right past her and sat at his desk without a word.
"Did he just… ignore me?" Yuki blinked, twisting in her seat to look at him. Rei was staring out the window, headphones in, acting like she didn't exist.
Yuki chewed on her pen, annoyed. What's his problem now? Last week, he kept calling me Yuki like we were childhood friends and now he's suddenly an anime villain in silent mode?
Meanwhile, Shinbou who had been strangely distant for the past few days was chatting with a girl from another class just outside their classroom door. He even laughed at something she said.
Yuki narrowed her eyes.
Okay. That's not suspicious at all.
Hinata leaned over, whispering dramatically, "Ooh… are we having a jealousy triangle?"
"I'm not jealous," Yuki snapped too quickly.
"You're definitely jealous," Hinata grinned. "Anyway, stop looking over there. I've got something way better to tell you."
Yuki blinked. "Better than gossip?"
Hinata's cheeks turned faintly pink. "It's about… Itsuki."
Yuki immediately straightened. "Wait. Field trip Itsuki?"
Hinata nodded shyly. "We've been texting since the trip. He's… actually really nice. He helped me when I dropped all my notes in the hallway yesterday. And today, he waited at the school gate for me."
Yuki gasped like she was watching a drama. "So, is this love?"
Hinata buried her face in her notebook. "I don't know yet! But when he smiles at me, it's like… my chest does that weird jumpy thing!"
"A heart attack?"
"YUKI!"
They both burst into laughter, gaining a few confused looks from the teacher at the front.
Meanwhile, Rei didn't speak all morning. Not even when the teacher made a bad joke or when the class burst into group laughter. He didn't look at Yuki once.
But when class ended, Rei stood up, walked past Yuki and paused.
"I forgot my pen," he muttered to himself loud enough for her to hear.
Yuki looked up.
Rei still didn't meet her eyes. "Don't worry. I won't call you Yuki anymore."
Then he left the classroom.
Yuki sat frozen in her chair.
What. Was. That?
And why did it feel like her chest did that weird jumpy thing too?