"Welcome to class, everyone. I would like you all to pay attention now—"
Rin looked around the classroom and immediately noticed the empty chair where Amelia was supposed to sit.
The only reason he knew this was because he had seen the class list, and her name was on it. But there wasn't a trace of blonde hair in the class.
Since Amelia was not here, Rin had to fake paying attention to the teacher. He feigned being interested as he heard her yap about history he had no interest in.
Finally, the class ended and another one started. It was going to be a long day. And with that, Rin also figured out why Amelia was absent on the first day of school.
The answer came from their homeroom teacher, who quickly took out some notes and handed them over to the chosen class representative.
"As you already know from middle school, Miss Amelia is a sickly child and cannot come to school often. So I'll have to ask you to give these notes to her. Can I trust you with this task?"
The teacher asked, and the class representative looked irritated.
"Alright, miss. I will give these to Amelia."
Rin immediately noticed that the class representative clearly didn't want to do it. And yet, she could not say no to the homeroom teacher.
It was the perfect opportunity for Rin to take advantage of.
"Ugh, do I really have to take these to Amelia's house? If she's sick, it's her problem. She could take online classes or something. Why does she have to enroll here and make her sickness our problem as well?"
"Hey, keep your voice down. I know you are annoyed, but let's not get in trouble over this, alright?"
"But this is not fair! Today is the first day of school, and all the clubs will be recruiting with extra benefits. If I miss my chance today, then I won't get those extra benefits."
Seeing the pair grow desperate, Rin decided it was his time to shine.
Approaching someone like this felt a little awkward. But Rin forced a smile on his face and approached the pair.
"Hello. Do you need my help with anything? Is that for Amelia Swan? I can give it to her on your behalf if you want. After all, we are old friends."
The lie passed Rin's lips naturally. But the pair in front of him did not look convinced.
"You are…Amelia's friend? From where exactly? I don't think we were in the same class in middle school."
Rin was a skilled liar, and his mouth worked faster than his mind did.
"I am a family friend. Actually, I came to this school because I heard Amelia would be here, and I wanted to be near her(Sister). So, I can actually take this to her home for you if you would like me to."
A flush covered Rin's cheeks as soon as he realized how bad that lie was. A single word from Amelia and he would be exposed.
But in such a situation, there was only one thing he could do—pretend nothing was wrong and show confidence.
"A family friend? How can we believe you? What if you want to cause her—"
"Hey, I think it'll be fine. Here, take this to her. Since you are her family friend, I assume you know her address, right? Then, I will leave it up to you."
The class president handed Rin those sheets and books before she dragged her friend outside. Her friend kept making arguments, but the class president whispered something while pointing at Rin. Suddenly, the friend's face lit up with understanding, and she nodded.
"I see…so that's why. Fine, if that's the case, then I will hand these books over to you. You can take them to Amelia in the future as well."
There had been a misunderstanding. Rin could tell that much even without knowing the details.
But he had no desire to know what the misunderstanding was or correct it since it was helping him out.
He quickly gathered the supplies before he made his way out of the classroom. But he soon ran into another issue—he did not know Amelia's address.
"Looks like I have no choice but to go to the office and ask the teacher for Amelia's address. Hopefully she'll tell me—"
"Whose address are you looking for, kid? Why do you need Amelia's address? What do you need with her?"
Rin paused and looked beside him, only to see chilling amber eyes looking at him from a familiar face.
Reina Swan walked toward Rin with measured footsteps, and he instinctively stepped back.
"It's nothing dangerous. I promise I mean her no harm—"
When people were threatened, their first instinct was usually to diffuse the situation. Rin was no different as he tried to explain himself.
But Reina didn't seem to hear him. Her slightly shorter body cornered Rin against the wall, and her hair framed her face, making her eyes reflect an unnatural light.
"You mean my sister no harm? Am I supposed to believe that? Now, out with the truth—"
"I have some class notes to hand to her. Since she missed the first day, the homeroom teacher asked the class president to handle this. But since the class president was busy, I volunteered to do it."
Rin explained as he forced his racing heart to calm down. Reina's face was too close, and her presence made Rin a little startled.
"Teacher's notes? Let me see."
Reina demanded, without pulling back. If anything, her face was too close, and her hands moved toward Rin's arms before she snatched the papers from him.
The paper was pressed against the wall, right beside Rin's face, and he watched Reina's face carefully as she scanned the papers.
Understanding lit up her eyes, and a flush covered her face once she realized that she had made a mistake.
She quickly pulled herself away from Rin, but her hand still clutched that piece of paper as she tried to control her reaction.
"It looks like you were telling the truth. I (cough) apologize for my outburst. It's just…Amelia's been a fragile and sick child, and she's had some problems in the past. Anyway, since you have brought these sheets, I will take them to Amelia. You can bring the future notes to me as well, and I will take care of delivering them."
Rin suddenly felt like he had hit the jackpot. He had taken this job to get closer to Reina, but unexpectedly, she had decided to approach him first.
This was truly the best stroke of fate he could have asked for.
And it seemed like his luck wasn't done yet, as he watched Reina holding out her phone toward him.
"Give me your number. You can contact me whenever you have something to deliver to Amelia."
Rin tried not to be excited, but it was hard to hide his reaction when he was getting exactly what he wanted out of this interaction.
"I will make sure to message you."
Reina nodded and left with those papers, and Rin's smile finally spread across his face. He looked around, only to meet eyes with the class president and her friend. They were discussing something and had a knowing smile on their faces as well.
It did not take them long to come over to him and place their hands on his shoulder.
"Hey, are you still interested in handling things for Amelia? We can pass on the assignments and other stuff to you if you like."
Their tone was sly and slightly teasing, but Rin did not mind. He only nodded and replied with a single word.
"Thank you."
And he meant those words from the bottom of his heart.