When we finished eating, we headed to the practice building, just like the teacher had instructed.

  To my deep sorrow, I had to say goodbye to Maxi. She had css in another room.

  Our farewell was sad. Mencholic. Dramatic. Epic trumpets and violins pyed, as if we were parting forever in the middle of a cruel war.

  “…Don’t exaggerate.”

  I could hear Maxi’s voice echoing in my head, dry and blunt as always.

  Scary.

  I took a deep breath and stepped into the assigned cssroom.

  And yeah.

  The scene that greeted me felt like a straight punch to the jaw.

  There were a few students scattered here and there, background NPCs with no real importance, but not many. The ones who really stood out were them. The three vilins occupying the visual center of the room as if the whole world revolved around them… Well, I guess in a way, that’s kinda true, right?

  And of course, their gazes locked onto me instantly.

  Alright. C’mon, Julia. Don’t screw this up. Just say hi normally. Don’t piss any of them off. Please.

  “Sup!”

  I greeted them, raising two fingers in a peace sign.

  Silence.

  All three of them shot me looks full of annoyance… or at least I think so. Clementine was hard to read, with all that hair covering half her face, leaving only her plump lips barely visible, which puckered like a squirrel’s when she “saw” me.

  Well, that went about as well as I expected…

  I decided to head to my seat.

  With steady steps—or at least as steady as I could fake—I walked to my seat. Which… for fuck’s sake, was right in the middle of the three of them.

  To my right, Fisalia with a face like she wanted to dig her nails into my face.

  Clementine on the left a couple seats back, who just turned her head away in disgust.

  And Carlotta in front of me, who… gave me a kind smile?

  That’s terrifying!

  I never thought seeing someone smile could make me tremble like a Chihuahua.

  Those looks… were the same ones I used to get in the past, when I walked through the hallways of my old school.

  As I moved forward, I could hear the murmurs of the NPC′s, poisonous whispers slipping through without even trying to hide.

  “What a pain, that degenerate Nen is here.”

  “Does she seriously have no shame?”

  “She shouldn’t have come…”

  Breathe, Kathryn. Remember what Mom taught you. Breathe. One, two. One, two.

  Don’t turn around. Don’t hit them. Not in front of your enemies.

  I pressed my lips together and forced myself to swallow every venomous reply I wanted to spit out. I sat up straight like a good girl.

  Even so, those looks dragged me straight back into memories I’d rather forget.

  The bad old days at school when I was little… No! I’m not that scared girl anymore.

  If I don’t smash their faces in, it’s not because I’m a coward. It’s strategy. I don’t want to worsen my retionship with the vilins… that’s all.

  Fortunately, Teacher Isac walked in at that moment, restoring order with his dull voice.

  “Well,” he said, pulling out another Jade Tablet, “throughout the semester you’ll be working in groups. You’ll do practices and projects together, so I hope you won’t make my job harder. In other words… get along.”

  Work groups.

  Oh. That doesn’t sound good at all.

  I seriously doubted I could work with NPC′s without losing my sanity and punching someone. And as for the vilins…

  Fisalia probably wants to stab me in the ass with a wand, I’m sure of it.

  Carlotta would strangle me with her own hands the moment the professor looks away if she had the chance.

  So if I have to choose, Clementine is clearly the safest option. Besides, she’s the one I have the least fucked-up retionship with. Not to mention I’m like three heads taller than her, so that gives me better chances of surviving if I have to run from her.

  If I py my cards right, I could make her understand that I do NOT want anything to do with her precious Elion. Hell, I could even help them get together so I can avoid a bad ending with him.

  Alright. Decided. The big-boobed dwarf with ridiculously long hair will be my work partner.

  But before I could even move, I heard the sound of a chair being dragged right next to me.

  I looked up.

  And there she was.

  A blonde beauty, illuminated by the soft light of the sunset filtering through the windows, as if the world itself conspired to make her look perfect. The gentle movement of her hair. That delicious lemon scent. And finally, her smile so soft, elegant… mysterious.

  “Carlotta…?”

  “We’re partners,” she said, smiling. “Let’s get along, okay?”

  “…E-eh… EH!? H-how?”

  By the time I reacted, it was already too te. Around me, the teams had already formed. Clementine and Fisalia were together.

  “W-when did that…?”

  “As I suspected,” Carlotta replied calmly, pcing one of her fingers over my lips, “as distracted as always. I figured that would happen, so I decided to do you the favor of staying with you. I don’t want you getting hurt during the practices, wild kitty.”

  She paused, and her smile sharpened.

  “Besides, you don’t have another option. We’re already together.” With her thumb she pointed at the teacher, who was holding the Jade Tablet, writing something. “I registered our names while you were distracted. I appreciate that the honorable Master Isac is very rexed. So if you don’t work, we’ll fail the practice… and if that happens, I’ll kill you.”

  I don’t have a good feeling about this.

  That smile, in any other context, would be charming. Even beautiful. But right now… it’s just screaming that something really bad is waiting for me.

  N-No, don’t think like that!

  Think positive, just like Dana always told you.

  C’mon, what was it Mom used to say? Take advantage when a window closes to break the gss… no, wait… that’s not how the saying goes…

  B-but still, the point is I have to take advantage of this opportunity!

  I have to make peace. I have to avoid getting a knife stabbed into me when I’m not looking.

  “L-let’s… get to work!”

  I said it while raising my fist, like I could convince myself.

  And the system once again reminded me why I absolutely CANNOT fail at becoming “friends” with this blonde yandere psychopath.

  Please. Let this semester not kill me.

  Ouro