The courtyard was loud with overlapping voices and echoing footsteps when Kai followed Annika outside.
She led him to a stone bench beneath a grand sycamore tree, already occupied by her group of friends—Yuen sprawled like a sunbathing cat, Mila sitting upright and elegant, Leo focused on a tablet, and Rei peeling open a bento with calm precision.
They all turned as Kai approached.
"You brought the transfer," Yuen announced, saluting with a sandwich.
"He's not a pet rabbit," Annika sighed.
"Depends," Rei murmured. "Does he bite?"
Kai blinked. He wasn't sure how to reply.
"C'mon, sit," Yuen said, patting the ground next to him. Mila smacked his arm.
"He can sit wherever he wants," she said. She looked at Kai. "Sorry about him."
Kai sat on the open spot beside Annika. He unpacked a plain lunch, arranged with military precision.
Rei observed the equal slices of vegetables. "Neat."
"Efficient," Leo said without looking up.
Annika laughed softly. "You all really don't filter before speaking, do you?"
Kai nodded—slightly, respectfully.
They started chatting while eating—about homework, club activities, and the rumor that the vending machines would finally restock milk tea.
Kai didn't say much. But he listened.
He listened to Yuen's playful nonsense, Mila's smart retorts, Leo's calm logic, Rei's quiet sarcasm, and Annika's gentle warmth tying it all together.
For once, he wasn't preparing for violence. Just sitting. Existing.
---
It didn't last long.
A soft shadow fell across their group.
"Annika."
They all stopped mid-sentence.
Cyrus Vale. Top rank, student council member, popular across nearly every social circle. His posture was perfect—confident and controlled. Polished shoes, uniform crisp, smile flawlessly timed.
Annika's face didn't shift. "Cyrus."
"Didn't expect to see you out here today," he said, as if genuinely surprised. "Thought you were studying in the library."
"Not today," she said casually. "Got invited."
Cyrus looked at the group, a polite smile stretching a bit thinner. "Ah. I see."
He chuckled. "You could've told me. I was going to invite you to a meeting. The council's got some ideas for the fall fair."
Annika shook her head. "I'll pass."
"...Again?" Cyrus asked, smile fixed.
Rei cleared her throat loudly. "Is he running a membership club?"
Mila smirked with deliberate sweetness. "She said no, Cyrus."
Yuen leaned forward. "Maybe next time, huh? Or the next one. Or maybe one in 2040."
Even Leo looked up slightly. "You're being statistically persistent."
Cyrus froze for a beat, then exhaled sharply through his nose. He looked at Annika again.
"You know," he said softly, "you could let me know if someone else has your attention."
Annika didn't flinch. "If that happens, I will."
Just before leaving, Cyrus's eyes flicked to Kai.
Kai looked back—eyes calm, steady.
Cyrus blinked. Smiled—tightly.
Then he walked away.
---
The moment Cyrus retreated, Yuen erupted in a whisper-shout:
"Dude that was SO awkward I got secondhand embarrassment."
Mila nodded. "Cyrus keeps trying to claim her like a trophy."
Rei raised an eyebrow at Annika. "You okay with it?"
Annika just shrugged. "He's persistent. Not dangerous."
Kai continued eating in silence, gaze lingering briefly on the path Cyrus left through.
Something about his retreat felt like a threat disguised as courtesy.
---
After lunch, they headed back to class.
Lessons resumed. Math turned into history, turned into literature. The usual rhythm.
"Yuen, stop tapping your pen or I'll staple your hand," Mila muttered.
"These are taps of genius," Yuen replied.
Leo didn't look up. "Statistically, they're taps of disturbance."
Rei shook her head. "Imagine being a prodigy and using it this way."
Kai watched. Quiet amusement flickered under his composure.
It was… peaceful. He almost didn't feel like an outsider.
---
The final bell echoed like a sigh across the school.
Yuen stretched. "Survived another day."
Mila hummed. "Barely."
Rei tucked her hair behind her ear. "Tomorrow won't be so kind."
Annika packed her things, eyes drifting toward the empty desk beside her.
"He left fast," she murmured.
Leo was already gathering his tablet. "He likes to avoid noise."
Yuen leaned back. "Or he's secretly anti-social vigilante level five."
"Yuen," Mila said, smacking his arm. "Stop narrating life like a webcomic."
---
Kai walked out quietly, backpack slung over one shoulder.
No one followed.
Students chatted, laughed, drifted toward the gates.
The sky was painted gold and pastel blue—calm.
Until three shadows stepped in front of him.
"Yo, transfer!"
Kai slowed.
Three boys leaned casually against the school gate fencing—clearly waiting.
They weren't older by much—probably seniors. But they wore their arrogance like a uniform.
The one in the middle had bleached hair and a cocky smirk.
"Kai Ardent, right?" he said, pretending to be friendly.
Kai didn't respond.
The boy grinned wider. "Quiet one, huh? I'm Nolan. That's Ross and Jamie."
Kai scanned them briefly—loafers, loose ties, toned bodies from sports—or fights. Nothing he hadn't seen before. Nothing dangerous.
He stepped to the side.
Nolan moved with him, blocking the exit.
"Whoa. Rude. Can't introduce yourself?"
Kai's eyes narrowed just slightly.
Ross smirked. "He thinks he's better than us."
"No, I think he's scared," Jamie chimed in. "Look at him. He looks like he's about to cry."
Kai stopped.
The courtyard noise faded in the background.
He stared at Jamie—blank yet piercing.
Not a single emotion cracked through.