Lunch break that day felt noisier than usual due to the latest rumor about the Hot New Teacher. Leci, who had been enjoying her curry rice, suddenly lost her appetite. Can't they just eat quietly? She thought.
"Leci, have you heard?" Taryn had just arrived, carrying a tray filled with seafood pasta, and sat down across from Leci. Her face was glowing with excitement from the fresh gossip she'd just picked up.
"Let me guess—it's about that phenomenal couple, right? Mr. Kieron and Amanda," Leci muttered lazily. Rumors like that didn't interest her in the slightest. The only time this girl ever got enthusiastic was when she was given a stack of horror or murder comics.
"What do you think? Don't you think they're a perfect match? If they walked together, people would think they were celebrity couple," Taryn commented honestly. It wasn't because Taryn admired Kieron or Amanda—this girl was simply a maniac for romantic stories.
Leci herself couldn't understand how two people so completely different could be such good friends. When standing side by side, Leci and Taryn seemed to emit the aura of Black and Pink.
"They're making enemies everywhere," Leci muttered, observing the expressions of everyone in the cafeteria. Almost everyone there was talking about the same topic, and most of them looked displeased. The idol of girls dating the idol of boys—soon enough, there would definitely be a great war at their school.
Taryn seemed to agree. "Even though romantic stories always make my heart race, a relationship between a teacher and a student still feels… inappropriate."
Leci's hand, which was about to scoop up another bite of curry rice, froze midair. The spoon slipped from her grip and clattered onto the table. Quickly, Leci pressed her palm against Taryn's forehead.
"Are you sick? Or—wait, are you possessed?! Tell me! Who are you?!" Leci exclaimed in panic.
Taryn's words had truly shocked her. For someone like Taryn—who even considered same-gender relationships romantic—to suddenly say she disapproved of a love affair? This is impossible! That can't be the Taryn I know! Leci screamed inwardly.
Taryn twirled her pasta on the plate with a serious expression, then quickly glanced at Leci and winked.
"Just kidding! Of course I totally support them! I need to find out how they started dating, where their first date was, who confessed first, and how far their relationship has gone!" she said enthusiastically.
A moment later, Taryn had already disappeared, leaving her seafood pasta completely forgotten. For a romance maniac like her, digging up information like that was far more important than filling her stomach. Leci couldn't help but sigh in regret for having worried.
"Right… a person doesn't change that easily," she muttered.
Because Leci couldn't stand letting food go to waste, she pulled the plate toward herself. One of the many differences between Leci and Taryn was their taste in food. Taryn disliked spicy dishes, while Leci couldn't eat anything unless it was spicy.
Seeing the seafood pasta looking so pale, Leci, of course, took the initiative to make it look more colorful—and hotter. She poured in a generous amount of chili sauce. Once the pasta's pale white color turned bright red, Leci finally smiled. She ate it cheerfully. Good food, happy heart.
However, Leci had no idea what consequences awaited her after that. The curry rice and seafood pasta she had eaten were extremely spicy. As a result, when class started, Leci kept running back and forth to the toilet until the Foreign Language teacher scolded her and told her to go to the infirmary for some medicine.
Leci couldn't refuse—she had been running back and forth to the toilet every fifteen minutes. Now her stomach felt scorching hot and tightly twisted. She also struggled to hold in the gas in her stomach so she wouldn't fart in class. So when the Foreign Language teacher told her to leave, Leci honestly felt relieved.
But after only five minutes of walking, her stomach cramped again. "I need to get some diarrhea medicine right now," she muttered. She quickened her pace toward the infirmary.
Leci was all ready to barge in the moment she reached the wooden door marked 'Infirmary' above it—but her steps froze abruptly when she heard a strange sound coming from inside.
"Master… I'll show it to you."
Leci's brow furrowed in confusion as her mind started racing. Did I hear that right? Show what? What does she mean by that? She wondered silently. It wasn't that Leci was curious—she just wanted to make sure she'd heard correctly. Slowly, she pushed the door open just a little, creating a small enough gap for her to peek through.
Leci's almond-shaped eyes widened when she saw a girl unbuttoning the maroon blazer that marked the uniform of Red Maple High School students. A mischievous smile curled on the girl's pretty face. Leci quickly covered her eyes with her hands when the girl playfully poked the cheek of a boy sitting on one of the infirmary beds, his back facing Leci. Unfortunately, that strange and awkward scene was still visible through the gaps between her fingers.
Leci knew she should leave, but her knees suddenly went weak. She could only freeze in place, watching as the girl began removing parts of her uniform, while the boy in front of her remained still—arms crossed, eyes fixed on her.
Wasn't this something forbidden? She was only sixteen. Leci would have to wait another two years to see something as mature as this. Speaking of mature, Leci was pretty sure the girl who was about to show off her body was a student at Red Maple High School. Who is she? Leci wondered, her chest tightening at the strange sight before her.
The girl then stepped closer, her movements slow and deliberate. She now wore only the inner uniform, her black-checked skirt swaying slightly as she sat beside the boy, resting her head gently on his shoulder.
Leci unconsciously pushed the door open a little wider, wanting to know the identities of the two people doing something that clearly seemed improper. Because of the distance and the narrow gap she was peeking through, she couldn't be completely sure. Still, the girl's long curly hair looked familiar.
If Leci remembered correctly, Amanda Hayes—the one who'd recently been the subject of rumors—also had long curly hair like that. Could it be…?
Thud!
Leci couldn't quite grasp what had just happened. Everything occurred too quickly for her eyes to follow. She blinked several times, trying to confirm what she had seen. The girl… why had she suddenly collapsed unconscious?
Bang!
Without realizing it, Leci burst through the door. Her eyes widened when she saw the girl lying helpless on the floor — it really was Amanda Hayes, the most beautiful girl and the famous captain of the cheerleading club. Then, the boy who was with her was…
Thud!
Suddenly, Leci was shoved against the wall beside the infirmary guard's desk near the entrance. Her tanzanite-colored eyes narrowed in shock as she stared at the boy who, for the past few months, had been the talk of the entire school.
It was Kieron Branduff — the new Biology teacher who had become the heartthrob of every girl at Red Maple High School… except Leci.
Kieron gripped both of Leci's hands tightly above her head, pinning her against the wall so she couldn't escape. To romance-obsessed maniacs, this might've looked like a kabe-don scene that makes hearts race—but Leci absolutely hated being in that position. It was clear that Kieron was holding her wrists too tightly, pressing her arms against the wall.
Right now, Leci's heart was pounding—partly from shock, partly from fear. At the same time, pain spread through her arms, and her breath came short.
Leci couldn't escape!
Worse still, Kieron's obsidian eyes glared down at her, dark and menacing, as if they could swallow her whole.
"Forget what you just saw," the man whispered right next to her ear. His voice carried a threatening edge, matched by the sharp aura of intimidation that radiated from him.
"I didn't see anything. I didn't see anything at all," Leci stammered, desperately searching for an excuse. Seeing Amanda suddenly collapse for no apparent reason had made her terrified of what Kieron might do next.
Unfortunately, Leci's words only made Kieron angrier. With his free hand, he grabbed her neck tightly.
"Should I kill you so you'll keep your mouth shut?" he hissed.
Leci gasped as Kieron's grip grew even tighter, choking the air from her lungs.
"W-wait a second…" she managed to breathe out, her voice trembling.