The next morning, at school…
Rai was reading a book at his desk while being watched by Xeno, who had been forcing Rai to go to the cafeteria with him since earlier.
"Hey, damn it. Because you didn't accompany me to the cafeteria, I ended up having to go alone," Xeno said while holding a chocolate bread in his hand.
"So? What does that have to do with me?" Rai replied without taking his eyes off the book he was reading.
Xeno glanced toward Aveline, who had been staring at the two of them for a while. Realizing that, Xeno began to feel slightly uncomfortable.
"Hey, why has that new girl been staring at us this whole time?" Xeno asked.
Hearing that, Rai also looked toward Aveline. When their eyes met, Aveline quickly turned her face away.
"Finally, she's not looking at us anymore. I feel like she really is weird, just like what the girls from Percival class said," Xeno said.
Suddenly, the classroom door opened loudly. A female student with the Luminara class symbol on her shoulder entered and immediately shocked the entire Opportunis class—including Xeno.
"What the hell is this?" Xeno said.
The girl walked straight toward Rai, making the entire class even more shocked, including Aveline, who was staring at her with a serious expression.
"Ehem…" the girl said.
Rai closed the book on his desk and turned toward the source of the voice. But when he looked to his right, his eyes widened slightly when he recognized the girl standing in front of him—the one he had helped yesterday afternoon.
"Hm? What is it?" Rai asked.
"Are you free today?" the girl asked.
Hearing that question, the entire class immediately became noisy, shocked by the words spoken by a girl from the Luminara class.
Rai remained silent, while Xeno immediately reacted in an annoyed tone.
"Oi, oi! Listen to me, Lia! Today Rai and I already have plans to go to the arcade," Xeno said while wrapping his arm around Rai.
Rai looked confused. 'Since when did I have plans like that' he muttered to himself.
Hearing that, Lia began to feel annoyed with Xeno.
"Can't you change your schedule, huh?"
Seeing the situation, Aveline began to show an annoyed expression. She squeezed the pencil in her hand until it snapped. The friend sitting next to her was immediately shocked to see how easily Aveline broke the pencil.
"No, no! We already made plans today! You can come back tomorrow!" Xeno said.
Having no other choice, Lia finally decided to leave.
"Alright then. See you again," Lia said while waving at Rai with a bright smile.
Lia walked out of the classroom in a cheerful mood. As soon as she left, the male students in the class immediately crowded around Rai.
"Oi, Rai! What did you do, huh?! How could you get close to such a beautiful girl? Are you dating her? Please teach us!" they said repeatedly.
Rai became even more confused.
"There are too many questions. I can't answer them," he said.
Xeno tightened his arm around Rai.
"Then how could she ask you to go out with her, huh?"
"I don't know about that. You should loosen your grip…" Rai replied.
Suddenly, the math teacher entered the classroom, causing the male students surrounding Rai to immediately disperse and return to their seats.
"Oi, Rai! You still haven't answered my question properly," Xeno whispered.
Rai ignored the whisper. He put the book he had been reading under his desk and began copying the lesson from the board.
---
In the afternoon, when the dismissal bell rang…
Rai and Xeno walked toward the arcade. However, because his curiosity had not been satisfied, Xeno continued to press Rai the entire way.
"Oi, Rai! What actually happened between you two?!" Xeno asked.
Already annoyed, Rai finally answered,
"Yesterday afternoon she fell near the minimarket, and I helped her," Rai replied while deliberately lying.
"That can't be all," Xeno replied.
"That's up to you whether you believe me or not," Rai said flatly.
Xeno fell silent for a moment, then began to think.
"But why would someone like Lia Ladysta fall?" Xeno asked.
Rai began to feel curious.
"Who exactly is she? You seem to know her very well."
"Bro, that's LiaLadysta! A female student from the Luminara class who is a very famous high school model around here," Xeno answered.
Hearing that, Rai fell silent.
"When I think about it, this place feels like a country… even though it's just an island that doesn't exist on any map."
Seeing Rai lost in thought, Xeno lightly punched his shoulder.
"Oh yeah, I need to tell you something."
"What now?" Rai asked coldly.
"You'd better stay away from Lia. I heard one of the Reviva council members also likes her," Xeno said.
"Who would want to get close to a girl like that?" Rai replied seriously.
They arrived in front of the arcade, a place Xeno often visited every Tuesday and Thursday. Without any further words, they went inside and were greeted by many game machines.
"So, what do we play first?" Xeno asked while carrying many coins.
"Up to you. We're going to compete anyway, right?" Rai replied.
"Then how about this shooting game? Whoever gets the highest score wins," Xeno said.
They each took their pistols. However, when the high-score leaderboard appeared, Rai was slightly surprised to see the name RyuzakiLyube at the very top.
"Don't expect to break that kid's record. He's been holding the top spot since he was still in first year," Xeno said.
Rai ignored Xeno's words. He gripped his pistol with a serious expression and aimed it at the screen. When the game began, Rai and Xeno started their match.
-- End Chapter 7 --