How do these people keep finding my house? When she finally caught sight of me, a frown immediately appeared on her face. I approached her and gave her a friendly smile.
"Kiki, what are you doing here?"
She folded her arms and gave me a look that could cut steel.
"I wanted to talk to you," she responded flatly. "I'm busy, so I'll make this quick. Stay away from Cassian and Ken."
I raised an eyebrow. I couldn't help but feel like a mistress being confronted by a girlfriend about seeing her boyfriend.
"They don't need someone like you bringing them down," she continued.
"Someone like me?"
"Someone with no ambition or purpose," she said in a hurtful tone. "I hate guys like you. Ever since the beginning of the school year, you've been walking around with this dead fish look in your eyes, and now you're suddenly buddy-buddy with Cassian and his friends. They are out of your league."
I nodded, understanding what she was saying.
"Is that all?" I asked.
"Yes, that's all I wanted to say," she said, turning on her heels and walking away. I watched her enter a rather luxurious car that was waiting not too far from my house.
[You were right,] Alexa chuckled, clearly amused by what just happened. [She definitely doesn't like you.]
"I don't particularly like her either. She's not my type."
[Your type is otherworldly beauties, right?] she mocked, but I took it as a compliment.
"You know me so well. I can't remember the last time I had feelings for a regular girl."
[That's called coping, darling. They've rejected you so many times that you've deluded yourself into thinking the type of girls you like doesn't exist in this world. It's sad, really.]
"Tsk! Do me a favor: from now on, stop acting like you know me."
Getting rage-baited by Kiki and Alexa wasn't on my list of priorities for the morning, so I quickly washed them from my mind and left for school. When I got to class, Ken, Cassian, and Adam were all seated together, talking.
They waved me over the moment they saw me, and at the same time, I spotted Kiki eying me. She gave me a look that said, 'Don't you dare go over there.'
I ignored her threatening gaze and went over to greet them. I could feel her eyes on the back of my head; it sent a shiver up my spine just thinking about it, but other than that, I didn't care much.
Ken and Cassian were part of the boxing club, so remaining friendly with them would be necessary if I wanted a peaceful life there. Some of the club members already didn't like me because of that incident with Cassian.
It was one of Cassian's friends, a second-year; I think his name was Damon. He kept eyeing me yesterday while I was training, and something told me he wasn't admiring my jump rope form. During our match, he was in Cassian's corner coaching him, and when I knocked Cassian out, he was the first to rush into the ring.
The two seemed close, so it kind of made sense that he would hold a grudge. I was hoping that as long as I stuck with Cassian, he would eventually forget it. At lunch, I ate with them just like yesterday. This time we ate in the cafeteria, and that's when I noticed someone.
Ivy was seated alone in the cafeteria, eating her lunch. She was also reading a small notepad while she ate. It was the same notepad she used while taking notes about my training routine. I was curious about her, so I decided to ask the guys.
"Hey, isn't that Ivy over there?" I asked.
Cassian turned his head to look, then shrugged as if it didn't matter.
"Yeah, she's eating lunch alone again, just like always."
I raised an eyebrow.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"You've met her; it isn't that hard to figure out."
"Huh?"
I still didn't understand what he meant. Seeing my confused expression, Ken answered.
"Ivy doesn't really get along with the other third years. In fact, most of them don't like her."
"It's her fault," Cassian said, chewing on his meatballs. "If she wasn't such a bitch, then maybe she would have more friends."
"I don't think she's so bad," I replied. "She's a bit too serious and has a straightforward personality, but apart from that, I don't see a problem."
"Maybe for you, but her stuck-up personality drives others crazy," Cassian said. "I heard from some of the upperclassmen that the previous captain of the boxing club used to play pranks on her. She would just accept everything they did to her without uttering a word of complaint. All that girl cares about is being the manager of the boxing club."
"But why, though?" I asked, but Cassian only shrugged his shoulders, implying that he didn't know.
Why is being the manager of the boxing club so important to her? There must be some reason behind it, right?
"She is a beauty, though," Adam commented. "I've heard so many stories about her, you know, like the different guys she's dated and the stuff they did."
"I heard that too," Cassian smirked.
Wait, that doesn't make any sense.
"Don't believe everything you hear," Ken said casually, shaking his head. "From what my brother told me, all those stories were told by guys she had rejected and amplified by girls who were jealous of her."
I glanced back over at Ivy and studied the serious expression on her face as she examined her notes religiously. I couldn't help but wonder what drew her to boxing, what led her to become the person she is today, and another thought swirled in my mind:
From one loner to another, the two of us seemed so similar.