**Clara**
I was exhausted after Mike's party. I finally arrived home in a taxi, the city lights flickering past us like fading stars. As I fumbled with my shoes, trying to kick them off, Mom turned to me with a concerned look.
"Do you need me to cook dinner?" she asked, her voice soft but laced with genuine care.
I glanced down at my feet, switching to my comfy slippers. "No, I'm full enough already," I replied, my voice a bit more tired than I intended as I walked through my bedroom door.
"Then good night," Mom said, a hint of relief washing over her face.
"Good night, too," I said, forcing a smile as I opened my room door, the warmth of my space welcoming me like a hug. I could hear her footsteps retreating down the hall, the soft click of her door closing echoing in the quiet.
I slipped under the covers and fell asleep almost instantly, the exhaustion from the night melting away. When I finally woke up, it was late as usual. My mom was outside my door, her voice firm yet familiar.
"Clara! Time to get up! You can't be late for school again!" she called, nudging the door open.
Groaning, I rolled out of bed and hurried through my morning routine. Breakfast was a blur of toast and half-hearted conversation, but I managed to share some sweet moments with my mom as she drove me to school.
"So, any plans for today?" she asked, glancing at me with a smile.
"Just the usual," I replied, trying to stifle a yawn. "Classes and maybe hanging out with Rose later."
As we pulled up to the school, I turned to my mom. "Thanks for the ride. Bye!"
"Have a great day, honey!" she called as I hopped out of the car.
Stepping out, I spotted Rose standing by the gate, her eyes scanning the crowd.
Was she waiting for me?
A flutter of excitement raced through me. I quickened my pace, eager to see her.
I walked up to the gate, feeling a mix of excitement and nervousness as I got closer to Rose.
"What's up?" I said, flashing a smile.
"Nothing much, by the way, good morning!" Rose replied, her face lighting up.
"Are you waiting for someone?" I asked, curiosity piquing.
"Yeah," she said, her eyes sparkling.
"Who is it?" I pressed, trying to keep my tone light.
"Mark," she said, her smile growing wider. "I think he's already here." I noticed her cheeks turning a shade of pink.
I guess she forgot about me after she met him but, I was happy for her, even if it felt like I was fading into the background.
Just then, I spotted Mark walking through the gate, John right beside him.
"Girl, John is here too!" Rose exclaimed, her gaze fixed on Mark.
"So what?" I replied, trying to sound indifferent as I turned away.
"Girl, did you have ice for breakfast?" Rose teased, raising an eyebrow.
"What do you mean?" I shot back, feigning confusion.
"You just keep acting cold," she said, her tone playful but probing.
At that moment, Mark and John approached us, their presence suddenly filling the space.
"Hi!" Mark greeted us, his voice warm.
"Hey!" Rose replied, her enthusiasm evident.
"Hi," I said, my tone icy as I crossed my arms.
"Hi, Clara," John said, looking at me with those familiar eyes, reminding me of last night.
"I think I need to go, I have Math class," I said abruptly, turning on my heel and walking away without even a backward glance.
I walked into Math class, relieved to find the teacher wasn't there yet. I slid into a seat in the corner by the window, the sunlight streaming in, illuminating the empty desk beside me. I opened my Math book, waiting for Mr. Deago to arrive.
Thoughts of Mike's birthday party swirled in my mind.
Why had he kept smiling at me? Had I really forgotten he was my enemy?
I rested my head on the table, hoping to catch a few moments of sleep. Just as I closed my eyes, I was interrupted by the sound of a chair scraping against the floor.
I turned to see who it was.
"John? What are you doing here?" I asked, surprised.
"As you can see, I'm taking a lesson," John replied, casually placing his books on the table.
I felt a wave of annoyance wash over me.
I needed to change seats, now.
But just as I was about to stand up, Mr. Deago walked in, and I reluctantly settled back down.
"OK, silence!" he commanded, and the chatter in the room faded into quiet.
Mr. Deago began his lecture, and I tried to focus. Halfway through, I felt a piece of paper slide across my desk. I glanced down to see John's handwriting:
Clara, 𝓭𝓲𝓭 𝓲 𝓭𝓸 𝓼𝓸𝓶𝓮𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝔀𝓻𝓸𝓷𝓰?
I quickly scribbled a reply and passed it back to him:
𝒩𝑜.
The paper returned to me almost immediately.
𝓣𝓱𝓮𝓷 𝔀𝓱𝔂 𝓪𝓻𝓮 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓴𝓮𝓮𝓹𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓲𝓰𝓷𝓸𝓻𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓶𝓮?
I rolled my eyes and wrote back again:
𝒥𝑜𝒽𝓃, 𝒸𝒶𝓃 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓅𝓁𝑒𝒶𝓈𝑒 𝓈𝓉𝑜𝓅 𝓈𝑒𝓃𝒹𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓅𝒶𝓅𝑒𝓇𝓈? 𝑰 𝒶𝓂 𝒿𝓊𝓈𝓉 𝓉𝓇𝓎𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓉𝑜 𝒻𝑜𝓊𝒸𝑒𝓈 𝑜𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓁𝑒𝓈𝓈𝑜𝓃.
He finally stopped sending notes, and I took a deep breath, trying to refocus on Mr. Deago's lecture. The numbers and equations started to blur together, but I was determined to push through the distraction.
After a few minutes, the bell rang, signaling the end of class. As I packed my things, I noticed Rose at the door, Mark standing beside her, both of them chatting animatedly. Just then, I saw Mike making his way toward me.
"Can we have a chat?" John asked, his expression earnest.
"Hey, Clara!" Mike interrupted a smile on his face.
"Hi, Mike!" I replied, returning his smile.
"Do you want to sit with me for lunch?" he asked as I zipped up my bag.
"Hmmm, sure," I said, placing my last book inside.
As I glanced at John, I noticed his warm expression shift to something colder. He turned away without saying a word, disappointment etched on his face.
"Come on," Mike urged, gesturing for me to follow.
"I'm coming," I replied, trying to shake off the awkwardness.
We walked toward the classroom door, joining Rose and Mark.
"Were you in Math class?" I asked Mike, curious.
"Yeah," he replied casually.
"Then why didn't I see you?" I pressed, eyebrows raised.
"Maybe it's because I was sitting at the front," he said with a playful grin.
I laughed softly, feeling a mix of excitement and confusion.
"Oh," I said, trying to process the situation.
"Hey," Mike greeted Rose , a friendly smile on his face.
"Girl, what did you do to him?" Rose asked, her eyes darting between me and Mike.
"Who?" I replied, genuinely confused.
"John," she clarified, her tone teasing.
"Nothing! I don't even know what happened to him," I said, shrugging.
Rose didn't respond instead, she kept glancing at Mike and then at Mark, her eyes communicating something secretive. It felt like they were sharing a silent conversation about him.
"Do you want to sit with us at lunch?" I asked, trying to include her.
"No, you guys go ahead. Today, I need to talk about something with Mark," Rose said, her focus still on him.
"Oh, then see you later," I said, feeling a bit left out.
Mike and I made our way to the cafeteria, grabbed our food, and found a table tucked away from the crowd. It felt strange; Rose had completely forgotten us in her excitement with Mark.
Mike sat across from me. "So, what happened with that guy?" he asked, his brow furrowing.
"You mean John?" I replied, taking a bite of my food.
"Yeah," he said, leaning in slightly.
"I don't even know," I said with a smile, trying to lighten the mood. Just then, I turned to the left to tuck my hair behind my ear and caught John staring at us with sharp, intense eyes. It felt like he was ready to kill us.