ATTENTION

"OKAY," Sol said, agreeing to go to school with Dusk. "I promised that I'll hang out with you if we meet for the third time. I don't break promises."

Because from she was, breaking a promise was equivalent to death.

Dusk's face lit up, obviously pleased by her answer. Then, he took off his helmet and handed it to her. "Please wear this. I only brought one helmet with me so…"

"I don't need to wear it," she said, then she pointed to the school. "The school is just around the corner."

"Yes, but I want you to be safe."

"Don't you trust your driving skills?"

"I'm a capable driver," he said with a smile. And oh, his cheeks were flushed again. Was it because of the heat or was she making him blush? "But I want you to be extra safe, Sol."

"Whatever," she said, then she grabbed the helmet and put it on.

"Wow," he said, amazed. "You put the helmet on pretty quickly, Sol."

Well, her brother had a wide collection of big bikes. She would often borrow one of those bikes even though she didn't have a driver's license yet.

She then rode on the back seat of his scooter, placed her foot on the footpeg, and proceeded to swing her body over the seat like how she would ride a horse. Her skirt was long enough for her to be able to move freely like that. Plus, she wore biker shorts underneath her skirt.

But it looked like Dusk was worried because he took off his hoodie and placed it on her legs. "Use this."

She just rolled her eyes at him when he smiled before he rode on the scooter. Then, she wrapped her arms around his waist. "Let's go."

"S-Sol," he said, obviously flustered. "Y-You don't have to hug me like that. You can just grab on my waist."

"Why not?" she asked, acting innocent. To tease him furthermore, she held onto him tighter. "This is safer."

And that was how she was used to.

Her brother would always insist that she hugged him every time she was on the back seat of his big bike. Apparently, it was safer that way.

"But your ch-chest is pressing against my back!"

She just laughed at Dusk's innocence. But she didn't want to get into an accident on her first day of school. So she stopped teasing him. Then, she placed her hands on his waist. "Is this fine?"

"Yes," he said in a relieved voice. "Let's go."

He said that, but he drove so slowly.

She instantly regretted riding with him.

"Dusk Quijano, can you please speed up a little?" she complained. "Do you want me to be late for my first class?"

"Safety first," he said nervously. "And, uh, this is the first time that I'm riding with a passenger."

"You're scared?" she asked in disbelief. "Then, I can just get down from here."

"No!" he said in a panicked voice. "I'll drive you to school."

And he finally stepped on the gas.

This guy is so unnecessarily cute.

Anyway, she noticed something when they reached the school premise. They were gaining too much attention, especially from the girls. She was suddenly reminded by the time the girls in her previous school would often glare at her for being close to Yue and Cloud.

[It's the same kind of hostility.]

"Dusk Quijano, are you famous?"

"Uh, no," Dusk said and he sounded really clueless. "Why do you ask?"

"Nothing," Sol said, but her brain was already working. [It looks like I'm already in trouble with the girls here, huh?]

***

FORTUNATELY, Sol wasn't in the same class as Dusk Quijano.

She was in the class called 11-C. Their homeroom adviser was a pretty yet gloomy woman in her late 20s named Aira Pagtalunan. Worst of all, the classroom had no air conditioner. There were only one ceiling fan and two stand fans.

[Should I donate AC in this school?]

Her classmates were as unruly and as cheap as she expected.

[No, don't be like that,] Sol scolded herself. Thank goodness she wasn't the type to sweat a lot even if it was hot. [If you give up now, your brother will make fun of you.]

But she was really starting to get bored.

The boys in her class kept stealing glances from her, while the girls kept on whispering among themselves. They were obviously talking about her though.

[Everywhere I go, I garner unwanted attention.]

"Uhm, d-do you need this?"

Sol's thoughts were interrupted when Kaia, her seatmate, handed a scrunchie to her. "Is it okay if you lend it to me?" she asked, acting nice and polite. She needed a servant anyway. "You have long hair, too and it's quite hot."

Kaia's face turned red and she smiled shyly. "I'm fine. You can use this."

"Thanks," she said, then she used the scrunchie to tie her hair into a high ponytail while observing her seatmate.

In fairness, Kaia was pretty even though she looked like a pushover (and she might be). She had straight long hair and full bangs that almost covered her eyes. And it was obvious that she was painfully timid.

[She reminds me of Dusk.]

She smiled at Kaia after she tired her hair. "Thank you, Kaia."

For some reason, the girl's face lit up. "You remembered my name?"

"I remember everyone's name," she said. Well, to be honest, she had to memorize their names for her mission. "Also, your name is pretty so I remembered it."

Kaia's cheeks suddenly turned pink.

[Argh. She's really the same pure type as Dusk Quijano.]

"Hey, Sol," Michelle Viran, one of her classmates, called her rudely.

The bitch wasn't alone.

Michelle Viran was followed by her loyal "maid" called Nichoel Santos. The two were the prettiest among the girls in that class. And they looked like twins because of their matching accessories from head to toe.

[Michelle Viran must be the "queen bee" here.]

"Get out of my sight," Michelle said to Kaia rudely. "I have something important to tell Sol."

Kaia immediately stood up as if she was scared, then she mumbled to herself. "Sorry."

[Argh, what a pushover.]

She didn't care about weaklings so she pretended that she didn't notice that Kaia was the target of the bullies in that class.

Nichole, the "maid," sat on the armrest of her chair. "We saw you riding on the back seat of Dusk's scooter. Do you know that you're the first girl that he allowed to be his passenger?"

[Ah, so that's what it is all about.]

"How are you related to Dusk?" Michelle asked as if she was trying to intimidate her. She even crossed her arms over her chest. "Just so you know, Dusk is the idol of this school. Everyone owns him so you can't monopolize him." She smirked haughtily. "Don't even think about becoming his girlfriend."

Sol couldn't help but smirk. She felt like she suddenly became the heroine in a trashy teen W*ttpad novel. It was cute how these girls worry about something as trivial as monopolizing a boy toy. "You're obviously threatened. Maybe I'm pretty enough to be your idol's girlfriend, don't you think so?"

"You don't know what you're saying," Nichole snapped at her. "You have nothing against Eloise."

[Eloise.]

Now that was a familiar name, and it was even on her target list.

[One down, more to go.]

"Who's Eloise?" she asked to gain more information. "And why did you bring her up in this conversation?"

"Eloise is the only girl who has the right to be Dusk's girlfriend," Michelle said proudly. "She's the prettiest and the richest girl in HHS. You can't beat her."

[Ah, so this Eloise girl is the read queen bee, as expected.]

"And this is just a friendly advice," Nichole said with a smirk. "Stay away from Dusk if you want to have a peaceful school life."

She wanted to roll on the floor while laughing.

Nichole's words were so cringe-y. It was like a line in a badly written teen fiction. She was sooo enjoying this new mission of hers.

"Did this "Eloise" girl send you here to threaten me?" Sol asked, amused. "Do you threaten every girl who comes close to Dusk Quijano in her place?"

"Eloise has nothing to do with us," Michelle said defensively. "The girls who admire Dusk just collectively agree that only Eloise suits Dusk. So be careful, Sol Fontana." The bitch had the audacity to put a hand on her face. "This pale face of yours would turn blue if you piss us off."

That was definitely a threat.

If Yue was here, he would have laughed at her for letting these dumb girls threaten her.

"Are we shooting a drama?" Sol asked while laughing. Then, she slapped Michelle's hand away from her– obviously shocking the bitch. "You two are quite cute, like baby hamsters about to get eaten by their mommy."

Michelle and Nichole glared at her at the same time.

"Come with us after class," Michelle said threateningly. "You're dead if you escape."

"Let's see if you can still act arrogant later," Nichole added. "Bye-bye."

The badly written script made Sol smile wide. [Yep, "normal" doesn't suit me.]

***

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