Her Reject

It took her approximately one week to find out who the daredevil was. She had already considered it impossible with the little she had to describe her—but fact proved that enough stubbornness with a little luck was all that's needed in life sometimes.

After asking around for a while, someone finally pointed out to her who she might be looking for.

"Is that her?" they whispered while motioning to a sleeping student whose head was on the table.

Anne squinted her eyes, unsure. After all, she had only captured the daredevil's image for a brief moment, but soon the student raised her face slowly, rubbing her eyes harshly enough to leave Anne cringing. Couldn't she try to be a bit more gentle?

Never mind that! I think… she's the one…? Anne groaned internally.

"Thank you." She faced her helper with a smile. "I'm truly grateful."

The helper was flabbergasted. They said beautiful people had a halo of looking good in whatever they did—an undeniable reality—but coming face-to-face with it now was… something else!

"I-it's fine!" he stuttered fiercely. "As long as I can be a good service president!"

Anne watched the male run off with a flustered face and merely shrugged. Something like this… was but a normal Tuesday for her. Minus the search, of course.

---

Class 3C was very unruly. As soon as the bell rang and the teacher left, the troop out of students resembled that of an unorganized herd.

Gabrielle watched with uninterested eyes. She'd rather be locked up in class all day than throw herself into that whirlpool of madness.

She observed for a while, and only when a trickle of students remained did she begin packing. Even then, some lingered around the door, hanging about like ghosts who hadn't yet found closure.

Gabrielle frowned, then rolled her eyes. Reaching out, she slipped out her phone and began fiddling with it while constantly glancing at the door.

Fortunately, the students were finally gone. Although some remained in class, at least they weren't blocking the door!

She swung her bag over her shoulders and, with a quick and stealthy motion, managed to slip out of the classroom.

A soft sigh escaped her. Maybe mixing with the crowd would be better. She couldn't tell and probably never would.

The first obstacle had been cleared. The second—leaving the school—was also cleared relatively easily. Then there was the final obstacle… which had never been a thing until today.

Gabrielle's hand tightened on the handle of her bag.

'Who… was that?'

Why was there a student in her pathway home?

This path was relatively easy. Unlike the other, which took an hour or more, she would be home in about 30 minutes with this route.

Not only was it lonely, to the extent of being regarded as desolate, but even better—there were no classmates to clash into.

It was the perfect route for her… so why this now?

Her eyes squinted, and an expression of worry clouded her face. But after much war with her mind, she decided to move regardless. If she moved quickly enough… she should be fine, right?

Meanwhile, Anne, who had her face to her phone, eagerly pretended not to notice the girl's arrival. She sighed in relief when her peripheral vision caught her rushing over swiftly.

She pouted. The person who had pointed her to the girl had left her with some helpful info.

Firstly, the fluffy-haired girl disliked attention. Secondly, she was bold enough to ignore your existence even when you were right before her eyes and wouldn't hesitate to involve the school authorities if you didn't free her as she wanted.

And lastly, she was invisible in school—at best, disliked. But the good tip he had left her with was that the girl was so in her head she couldn't tell who was who. This meant that even though Anne was a popular figure and a threat to pretty much everything she stood for, she wouldn't know.

But that was it. There was nothing else he could tell her to help except that she should be ready to run after her if she had to—it was that bad.

She gritted her teeth and bit her lip softly to ease her nervousness. Her slender fingers clenched onto her phone harder, and as soon as a shadow approached, she leaped.

"Urgh!"

Gabrielle was caught off guard by the sudden attack, which sent her vision spiraling. Upon regaining herself, she heard an elated voice.

"It is you! You're even prettier than…"

She looked up with a scowl—and was blinded.

Hair the color of the sun bleeding into darkened wheat. Eyes with a clarity that shamed blooming greens even with the pair of spectacles worn. Cherry lips with the lusciousness of fresh apples.

The female smiled, a beauty so dizzying it transcended any idea of 'taste' and simply remained on top. Were people always this lovely?

She wouldn't know. The only person she had ever seen was her mum.

"You!"

She clenched her palms, her excitement so palpable it left her rooted in place—or maybe it was the girl's beauty that did.

"Will you be my muse?"

She could barely form any words. All she knew, however, was that the girl was pretty, and if her heart didn't stop racing at this speed, she might suffer heart failure anytime soon!

"I…." she mumbled softly with a heated face. She didn't need a mirror to know that she was redder than a monkey's butt right now!

"I…"

Who was this girl, and what did she want? Why wouldn't she leave her alone? Why wouldn't her heart stop racing? Why was everything suddenly so hot and stuffy?

'Urgh… was the world spinning?'

"Yes?"

Her hand was held tighter, and the dizzying face was brought even closer to her. She stumbled—a stumble so light even the girl hadn't noticed.

But it helped her look away from those hypnotic eyes. All this while, they had held her rooted in place, and when she was finally freed, her autonomy was magically restored.

"No!" she exclaimed fiercely, ripping her hands free from the hold as she fell back harshly.

Anne was still in a daze when the panicked girl ran away like a mad dog was chasing her.

She stared, flabbergasted.

'What's so scary?'