Boy with Bad Luck

Felicity was still deeply lost in her thoughts as she stood in front of the school entrance after her last class, leaning against a column while waiting for Rosalia and her friends. The weather was cold and windy, tousling her wavy blonde curls, but at least it wasn't raining. She couldn't shake the thought of the boy who had ended up in an awkward situation because of her. She also wasn't sure why fate had arranged for Rosalia to invite her out to eat after school. At first, she thought this would be the moment she met Claude Holloway, but that had already happened. Life had never thrown her into situations that weren't useful in some way, but she couldn't figure out what opportunity this one held for her.

"Lissy, there you are!" Rosalia's voice rang out from behind her.

As she turned around, she found herself facing a small group, with Rosalia waving at her at the front. Right behind her, she spotted a familiar face: Claude.

Both paled slightly upon seeing each other, but the boy quickly regained his bored, annoyed expression, retreating beneath his black curls. Felicity, by reflex, tucked a few strands of her wavy bangs behind her ear. Rosalia, oblivious to the momentary tension, stepped beside Felicity and wrapped an arm around her in a friendly manner.

"Everyone, this is Lissy! My savior."

"Hi, I'm Felicity," the girl said a bit shyly.

"Ah, Felicity Ashbourne from literature class, right?" asked a tall boy with dyed blonde hair. "I'm Liam." He shot a sly glance at Claude. "You two know each other, don't you, Mr. Holloway?" he added with a chuckle.

Claude's eyes shot daggers at his friend while carefully avoiding Felicity's gaze.

"What is he talking about?" Rosalia asked. "Anyway, the girls are Anne and Olivia," she continued, cutting off the awkward moment.

Anne and Olivia's styles were very similar to Rosalia's—dyed hair, heavy makeup, and piercings. The boys fit right into the group as well. The only one who stood out was Felicity, with her wavy, naturally colored hair, which she did nothing to besides washing and drying. She didn't wear makeup either, just her round glasses—not because she had vision problems, but because she felt it made her even less noticeable, allowing her to carry out her daily missions in peace while maintaining the facade of an average schoolgirl focused on her studies and teenage life.

She looked as if she had just been captured by a school gang.

No matter how unusually uncomfortable she felt because of Claude, she knew that fate wouldn't lead her into a dangerous situation.

"Did Felicity actually let you give her a nickname?" Olivia, the platinum blonde girl, asked accusingly as they started walking.

Rosalia hesitated for a moment, but Felicity quickly reassured her.

"It's no problem, you can call me Lissy too. My parents do as well."

Rosalia hugged her newfound friend again, gratefully.

"You're the sweetest," she said enthusiastically.

Felicity still couldn't figure out why fate had led her here—unless it was a sign that she was doing something wrong in her missions and that her luck would soon run out. But that was impossible. As she walked with the others, listening to their conversation, she occasionally glanced at Claude, who still refused to look at her. She knew something was off, and that this boy had something to do with it. However, the best idea she had was that this meeting had to happen so she could smooth out the newfound tension between them. She resolved to find an opportunity to talk to him alone, hoping to learn something that would help her understand the situation—or at least ease the awkward atmosphere.

Just as she had anticipated, as soon as she formulated this thought in her mind, Rosalia stopped in front of a burger joint and turned to Felicity.

"Here's the plan, Lissy. Liam and I will go to the convenience store. Anne and Olivia will wait in line to pick up the orders because at least one of them is always flirting with one of the cashiers and can score us extra food. It's pretty crowded at this time, so you and Claude will hunt down a free booth. He looks just attractive and intimidating enough that no one will dare cut ahead of him or start a fight over a table. At least this way, he won't have to be alone."

Felicity nodded silently, and Claude had just opened his mouth to protest when everyone suddenly disappeared around them, leaving only the two of them. The boy's gaze met Felicity's for a brief moment, making her stomach tighten, but she followed him closely inside. The restaurant was packed with a mix of school uniforms from students of various ages. Fortunately, Claude was tall enough that Felicity could easily follow his raven-black curls through the crowd.

Within minutes, they were sitting across from each other in a booth. Felicity stared at the table, gathering her thoughts before speaking. She had never had to put effort into making someone like her—it always happened automatically. But she wasn't interested in making a friend; she just wanted to ensure tomorrow's mission went as smoothly as possible. This thought strengthened her resolve.

"Listen, Claude," Felicity tried to lock eyes with his bored stare. "I know today didn't start off great for us, but since we're both friends with Rosalia, how about we start with a clean slate?"

Now that she had mustered the courage to speak, she smiled, proud of her bravery, and decided to be even bolder—she reached out her hand toward Claude.

The boy, however, continued to stare at her with the same expression.

"You can put your hand down," he said shortly, then looked out the window. "I don't particularly care about what happened. So, you'd be doing me a favor if you didn't care either."

Felicity, embarrassed, placed her hand in her lap. That wasn't the response she had expected, but she felt slightly relieved knowing that Claude didn't care about what had happened. Without sparing her another glance, he pulled out a pen and a scrap of paper from his pocket, scribbled something under the table, then put it away before finally looking at her again. Felicity thought she saw a faint trace of curiosity in his eyes—but it only lasted a moment before a bag of fries landed in Claude's lap.

"Oh, man, sorry, buddy!" Liam said apologetically, but Rosalia burst into laughter behind him.

The others joined in as they slid into the booth beside them.

"I think you've already learned everything there is to know about Claude," Rosalia said, while Liam picked fries off Claude's now grease-stained uniform. "Something hilariously unlucky happens to him every single day. Sometimes more than once."

Felicity, however, had just noticed that Claude was still looking at her, with that same faint curiosity in his gaze. She wasn't sure what to make of the sudden attention, but at last, she understood why she had to be here. Claude had chronic bad luck. She had heard of this phenomenon before, though she had never met anyone who suffered from it so clearly that even their friends considered it their defining trait. It explained everything that had happened between them that day, and suddenly, she saw the next day much more clearly and optimistically.

According to protocol, if she encountered someone like him, she had to handle the distribution of luck with extra sensitivity and generosity. Several strategies immediately formed in her mind. Feeling relieved, she smiled at Claude.

Don't worry, you're in good hands now, she thought.

However, upon seeing her smile, Claude immediately put his indifferent mask back on and turned away from her.