Elena was looking at me.
Silently.
I wasn't looking back, obviously. I was staring down at my lunchbox like it held the secrets of the universe. Wow. Rice. Truly fascinating. Never seen that before in my life.
Around us, the others were still messing around, laughing, play-fighting, being loud like this was the best day ever.
Augh… how long until school ends?
"Hi…"
Her voice was soft. Barely above the noise.
I flinched.
Wait.. Why did I flinch?
I slowly lifted my head and looked at her.
"H-hey," I said, forcing out an awkward little smile.
Okay.
Why is this so painfully awkward…?
Before I could think of literally anything else to say—
"Oh?" Josh suddenly spoke up, eyebrows lifting.
"Do you guys… know each other?"
He pointed between me and Elena, very helpfully as if this situation wasn't already bad enough.
Jhanel and Faye immediately stopped mid play fight and turned to look at us.
Oh no.
No no no no.
See, Elena? Look what you just did!
What am I supposed to say now?
I'm terrible at lying. Like, embarrassingly terrible. Even Faye knows that, my face gives me away before I even open my mouth.
Should I act cool?
Like, yeah, totally, I know her.
She's literally out of this world, guys. Not because she's pretty but because she's an alien teehee.
…Oh god. Please end me already.
Faye tilted her head, glancing between us.
"Why do you ask, Josh?"
Josh shrugged.
"Well, uh… while you guys were busy messing around, I kinda noticed Elena was looking at Mayumi."
Jhanel's lips curled into a teasing grin.
"Oh?" she said slowly.
"Well, well… didn't expect our dear Mayumi to already be friends with the new transfer student."
My stomach twisted itself into a knot.
Dammit, Josh if I could shove rice down your throat to shut you up, I absolutely would.
I bet he's just stealing glances at Elena… ugh. Boys.
Then—
"We don't know each other." Elena's voice cut in calmly.
I snapped my head toward her.
Huh…?
She was facing them now, wearing that same gentle, polite smile. Composed. Unbothered.
"I just noticed she has a pretty hairpin," Elena continued smoothly.
"So I couldn't help but look for a moment."
She smiled a little wider, like it was the most normal explanation in the world.
Faye blinked… then leaned closer to me, squinting.
"Oh—you're right!" she said suddenly.
"When did you get that, Mayumi? It's cute!"
She laughed. "Where'd you buy it?"
Just like that, the attention shifted.
I sat there, frozen, my heart still racing, trying to process what just happened.
…She covered for me.
And made it sound like nothing.
The guy sitting right beside Josh finally spoke up.
"Yo, guys. P.E. is next and lunch is almost over."
I blinked, mildly surprised he even had a voice. I mean, he'd been silent this whole time then I noticed it, he was reviewing a book on his desk like we weren't in the middle of a cafeteria circus.
That was Ian.
He was the smart one of the group always buried in textbooks, wearing those silver-framed glasses that somehow made half the girls in our class swoon. Apparently, intelligence was attractive now.
Good for them I guess…
When I first met him, I honestly thought we'd be the same kind of person.
I was very wrong.
Back in first year, I showed him one of my hobbies, thinking hey, maybe we could bond over it?
He looked at it once and said,
"That's kind of childish."
…Wow. Okay Damn, no need to be harsh.
Ian's always like that… Blunt, no sugarcoating, zero emotional cushioning a full-time bookworm with the personality of a correction pen. To this day, I still have no idea how Faye manages to get along with Mr. Know-It-All.
Maybe it's a mystery of the universe or maybe I just don't get along with both popular and smart people.
Then it was P.E. time. We went back to the classroom to grab our gym uniforms and change.
"Hey, Mayumi!" Faye shouted. "C'mon, hurry up! This is my favorite subject!"
She laughed like she was about to run a marathon for fun.
"You should consider liking other subjects too," Ian said nonchalantly, already slinging his bag over his shoulder.
"Well, that's just no fun," Faye pouted, crossing her arms.
"Yeah, yeah—give me a sec," I muttered.
I shoved my hand into my bag.
Nothing.
I dug deeper.
Still nothing.
…What.
I froze.
What the heck? Did I forget to bring my gym clothes?
Oh my god. How distracted was I this morning before school?
Ahhh..
First day back, and I might already flunk P.E.
This is so embarrassing. And they're all just standing there by the door, waiting.
"Hey... uh, you guys go on ahead," I said quickly.
"You know how it takes me forever to change."
Okay, that part was technically true.
Faye paused, then smiled.
"Well, okay then! See you there, Mayu!"
She bounced out of the room, dragging the others with her, still buzzing with energy. The moment they were gone, I slumped forward, resting my forehead on my bag.
"…Great."
What am I supposed to change into now?
Should I bike home and grab my gym clothes, then come back? That sounds exhausting and knowing me, I'd probably still be late.
Augh…
Then—
Tap.
I stiffened.
"Mayumi…? Is something wrong?"
I turned around and it was Elena.
She was already changed into her gym uniform.
"Oh—uh… you could say that," I said awkwardly.
Her gaze flicked briefly to my bag, then back to me I instinctively shifted, half blocking it with my body.
She tilted her head slightly.
"So… you're missing your gym clothes?"
"…Yeah," I admitted.
"I was thinking of biking back home to get them, but I don't even know if I'd make it in time."
She paused for a moment.
Then—
"I can help."
I blinked.
"Huh?"
Help?
Does she have an extra set?
Or wait, is this her way of getting closer to me?
No. No. Don't overthink. Friends lend each other clothes all the time. This is normal. Totally normal.
…Right?
I swallowed and looked at her again.
"Sure," I said.
The moment the word left my mouth, Elena smiled then she glanced around the classroom. I followed her gaze without thinking.
…Empty. Completely empty.
Guess everyone already left.
Wait. Why was she looking around?
Before I could process that thought, I heard footsteps.
She was moving towards me. I turned and suddenly she was closer, like… a foot closer.
Too close.
She's not… going to do anything weird, right? Then she lifted both hands and placed them gently on my shoulders.
She stepped even closer.
WAIT.
WHAT IS SHE DOING—
"Uh—! E-Elena??" I blurted.
"What are you—"
She didn't answer.
She was just… looking at me.
Her eyes slowly traveled down, studying my clothes, her expression calm and focused then those same honey glazed eyes lifted and met mine...
"Stay still," she said softly.
Aughh—!
I squeezed my eyes shut.
She's not—
She's not going to kiss me, is she?!
WAIT—what if she is?!
No no no no—
Is this some kind of transaction?!
Gym clothes in exchange for a kiss?!
I should've rejected her offer, this was clearly a trap. A sly alien trick! I instantly braced myself.
…Nothing happened.
No lips. No impact.
Just a soft rush of air, like a gentle breeze passing over me.
"…Mayumi?"
Huh?
I slowly opened one eye, Elena was right in front of me… looking confused.
"…Are you okay?" she asked.
Wait…. She wasn't going in for a kiss?
Was I overthinking it..?
"There," she said, suddenly smiling again. She stepped back, letting go of my shoulders.
"We can go to the gym together now."
…Huh?
"But—" I blinked.
"I don't have gym clothes."
I looked down and nearly short-circuited. My uniform… my skirt, my blouse—
Gone.
Replaced with gym clothes. Proper. Clean. Perfectly fitted.
"…My clothes," I whispered.
They changed. They actually changed.
I stared at myself confused.
"…Eh?," was all I managed to say.
I looked up at her, then down at myself, then up at her again, then down. Honestly… I was in complete shock.
"Come on, Mayumi," Elena said calmly, already turning toward the door.
"We can't be late." She opened it like nothing just happened.
"I'll see you in the gym," she added coolly, then stepped out into the hallway.
The door closed behind her.
Click.
Silence.
I stood there. My mouth opened.
Closed, opened again.
"…WHATT??!!"
Did she just use some weird alien technology to change my uniform into this? Instantly?? Without touching anything else?? Like some kind of sci-fi magic trick?!
I stared down at my gym clothes once more, lightly tugging at the fabric like it might suddenly revert back to my uniform if I questioned it hard enough.
Nope.
Still gym clothes.
"…I'm going insane," I whispered to myself.
First day of school.
Aliens are real and apparently they can do wardrobe changes better than professional stylists.
I slapped my cheeks lightly.
"Okay. Okay. This is fine," I muttered.
Totally normal.
Just your alien classmate casually bending the laws of reality before PE. I took one last look at the now very empty classroom, and hurried after her.
…If this keeps up, I'm not surviving the week.