After a long summer holiday, the new school year started. It was Eva's first day as a high school student, so she was nervous and excited at the same time.
"I'm glad that I've got a place in this school..." she thought and smiled to herself
While she was wandering around and admiring the beautiful historical building, she accidentally hit a tall guy. "Hey you!" the boy hissed.
Eva immediately tried to apologize by bowing a bit, but the boy seemed to be pretty bad tempered. "You stupid chick, can't you apologize more properly? I can't even hear the word 'sorry'!" he demanded harshly.
Eva had never expected she would get into trouble on the very first school day. She really wanted to say sorry and get over it as soon as possible. But she was mute. She couldn't speak and the guy didn't know sign language.

Micah, everyone was afraid of him, he didn't know why, but all he knew was that Batari was his only friend, he boredly watched as people moved out his way as he held a tennis racket on his shoulder, he may be the shortest male at the school but others knew not to mess with him. That was when he noticed a much taller male student seemingly like he was picking on a girl that was clearly apologizing by the way that she was bowing, after all reading body language was one of his many talents. He walked up to the two of them, standing a bit towards the side as he watched what was going on. "How dimwitted can you be....Chase? She clearly can not speak and clearly she is apologizing." he said to him in rather calm, serious voice that most people have considered to be deadly just as much as the look on his face people considered deadly also though it was just a straight face in his book.

It was a beautiful day and Clair was admiring the sunflowers that had bloomed over the season on the bush Mr Tennant, the gardener had planted last Spring. It was her and Noir's second year in highschool and she was excited to start the semester. Hers would be Calculus while Noir had Literature for her first class. She tugged a lose strand of her hair behind her left ear and took in the wonderful scent of Autumn.

"Gorgeous day, don't you think?" She gushed, finally turning her head to Noir but her sister's attention was somewhere else. "Soeur? What's the matter?"

"That girl," she murmured. Clair glanced to where her sister had motioned. She could see a girl with chocolate brown hair, bowing profusely to a male student that was in her English class last semester-Chase, was it?-and another boy she recognized.

"The one with Micah? What are they doing?" she inquired to Noir curiously. Chase did not look too happy while Micah held his usual calm demeanor. And the girl-was she new?-seemed flustered and upset. Clair did not like it when someone seemed upset.

"I think she's mute," Noir stated flatly, seemingly bored. "She's working out sign languages but I don't think that dickhead understands."

Clair clasped her hands to her mouth, amazed by Noir's brilliance. Noir had been studying sign language since she was 10. "Oh, that's wonderful! Then we can go help her, then!"

"What? I didn't mean-" Noir exclaimed when Clair started pulling her arm. She really did not want to meddle in someone else's business but she knew there was no way she would win when Clair was this excited. Surrendering, she let herself be dragged by her sister to the scene.

"Morning! Chase. Micah." She addressed them respectively in a cheerful manner. Clair beamed at the new girl and wrapped her arms around her neck from behind. "Hello there! My name's Clair and this is my twin sister, Noir. And what's your name?" She turned her head to her sister expectantly.

Sighing, Noir put her right hand up to her head and did a salute, sign language for hello.

Chase, the tall boy, raised an eyebrow. "Man, that's..." He was quite embarrassed as he looked like a bully at the scene. What's the bloody point of gathering here? This is freak'in annoying! he thinks.

He particularly hated the attitude of the short freshman. He, as a second-year guy, could not stand being mocked by a freshman. "Who do you think you are?" he frowned. But when he saw Clair coming, his expression somehow softened as he did not want to impress his classmate in a negative way.

Eva was surprised to see somebody helping her. After all, she knew nobody in this new environment. While she was glancing Micah silently, somebody wrapped her neck suddenly, nearly made her scream - if she could.

Seeing the siblings' friendly greeting, she smiled back. And using the sign language, she greeted and thanked Micah, Noir and Clair.

E . V . A ., she spelled quietly. "Her name's Eva and she said thanks."

Clair's eyes shone brightly. "Oh, how sweet!" She loosened her grip on Eva's neck but her hands still rested on the girl's shoulders. A soft smile graced her features which she shared to everyone present. She glanced up to Chase and inquired whether they still attended the same class. Clair then silently eyed Micah. She knew him from rumors but never spoke to him in person. She was glad that she finally had a chance to talk to him and since he helped out with Eva, she was certain he must be a kind person.

From the corners of her eyes, Noir saw the secret glance that Clair had given to Micah. She internally groaned. Clair always sees the good in everyone that it will definitely hurt her one day. She moved closer to her sister protectively and glared accusingly at the boy. She knew about his dangerous background and will not allow him to be involved in any way with Clair.

"Eva, do you need help to go to your class? We would be delighted to help you." Clair offered a kind smile to the girl.

Not, Noir finished silently.

"I guess I'm fine getting to my classroom. Thank you very much." she used sign language to tell Noir and Clair thankfully. She was delighted to know Noir could understand sign language. She usually had to write on pieces of paper in order to communicate with others.

Chase scratched his head, "I think we are, Clair. Good news, huh?"

Eva rolled her eyes.

"She said it's fine," Noir translated, secretly relieved. "Let's go, else we're gonna be late." She prompted hastily, starting to tug on Clair's long sweater.

"If you're sure, then," she said, a small pout on her lips as Clair allowed herself to be pulled away from the group by her sister. "But, promise to have lunch with us, s'il te plaît!" She called out as she waved back enthusiastically.

Noir groaned. "Why'd you invite them for lunch? Especially that Micah kid. You shouldn't be too friendly with people you don't know, Clair."

"Silly, Soeur. How would I get to know them if I'm not friendly with them?" She laughed easily. "Oh and Eva is such a nice girl! I'm so glad we went to talk to them." She hummed happily to herself.

Noir glanced at her sister, a dark look in her eyes. "I can never understand you," she mumbled, returning her gaze to the pavement. Clair stopped humming her quiet song and turned to look at her sister, her eyes softening. "You will understand one day, ma Soeur."

"They are so nice." Eva thought and smiled.

After the girls left, Chase found it meaningless to stay and pick on the newcomer. "Make sure you won't get into my way, dumb girl." he sniffed. As he was about to turn away, he saw Micah's cool, indifferent face. He did not like it. But it was apparently not a good idea to get into a worse conflict while many students were around. "Tsk." he walked away with an unpleasant face.

Then, only Eva and Micah were left at the spot. Eva was not good at dealing with guys, so she could only give a nervous smile. The school bell rang. She picked her bag, slightly waved to convey the message "see you" and went looking for her classroom.

The first session was a class period. All classmates have to introduce themselves. Eva managed to get over it by writing on the blackboard. Many of her classmates looked thoughtfully at her when she attempted to express herself by written words. The first session was boring to her.

During the first recess, Eva and her friendly seat neighbour went to have a walk. They passed by a classroom and Eva immediately recognized the boy who kind of "rescue" her that morning.

"Who are you looking at?" her mate asked and traced the direction of Eva's sight. "Oh, that's Micah Kasugu... He's not somebody to mess with."

The mute girl did not understand it, maybe it was because she had no idea about Micah's background or personality. She personally thought a boy that was brave enough to stand against a baddie would not be a nasty one.

Literature was easily her favorite subject. However, the teacher she got this year wasn't someone to get too excited about. Noir closed her eyes in frustration.
Of course, the worst teacher in the school just had to teach her the one subject she actually enjoyed. She opened her eyes slowly and left them to wander to her surroundings. Natalie Jons aka Nat the Rat was in her class again this year and lucky her, the guy sitting in front of her is twice her size and obscuring anything written on the whiteboard from her view. She sighed.

Maybe it was her fault for letting herself anticipate the start of the new class. Fate just had to get it's way.

She glanced at her notebook. Next class is Music.

Great. Just great. Like things couldn't get any worse.

As the teacher started talking about the semester's activities and expectations, Noir started scribbling in her notebook.

I'm suffocated
By the very air that I breathe
I'm drowning
In the blood that is running through my veins
It's deafening
The sound of my own heart beating
Maybe I'll feel alive
At the moment where death finally takes me

"I'm sure, this will be a wonderful year for us." The woman said as she clasped her hands together, beaming.

Noir looked up from her scribbling and scoffed quietly.

I doubt it.

Clair loved Math. She loved knowing that if she worked hard enough, at the end there was going to be an answer that made sense.

Since it was the second year, the teachers didn't bother with introductions anymore and started with the first lesson. She watched attentively as the Calculus teacher wrote down the differential equation for the graph on page 13 of her textbook. She tapped her blue pen rhythmically on the paperback cover of her notebook while subconsciously humming a tune. The person sitting next to her coughed in a warning manner and Clair stopped, biting her lower lip apologetically.

Sorry, she mouthed, offering a smile.

As the teacher continued with his explanation, Clair's mind wandered to her sister. She was upset that she wasn't in the same class as Noir again this year. She just couldn't compete with Noir's brilliance. However, she knew it was a good opportunity for them to gather different experience and a great motivation for her to do better in her studies.

Then, she thought about Eva. Clair wondered how her first class was going. Hopefully she's fine. There are so many kind teachers in the academy that they'll make sure she would fit right in!

"And what are you smiling about, Miss Boheur?"

Clair started and glanced up when her name was called. The teacher was staring at her with a stern expression and the whole class had turned to her direction.

Clair grinned. "What's not to smile about, Sir?"

The bell rang. The students flushed out of the classroom. Of course, Eva followed.

How exciting it was! Since she was invited by Clair, she was so cheery. It was great to start making friends from the very first school day. The freshman girl was not a party type, but she definitely enjoyed being around nice people, and Clair was certainly classified in this "nice people" group. Eva was curious about Noir too. It was obvious that she was Clair's sister, but Noir seemed to have the totally opposite personality. "It's cool to find out how can they get along with each other so well!" she giggled to herself silently.

As she reached the end of the corridor, a thought boggled her mind and cut her daydream - "Oh dear, where is the cafeteria?"

"Soeur, over here!" Clair stood up from her seat and waved to her sister, standing on her toes so that she could be seen more clearly among the crowd. Noir, spotting her sister, walked past the rows of tables before finally reaching the seat Clair had saved for her. Clair was grinning from ear to ear as she resumed her own seat. "Hey, so how was class?"

Noir chewed on a Hershey's bar she had brought with her from home. They had a whole stock of Hershey's chocolate stuffed in the freezer. Their mother was currently dating the factory manager and Noir thought she might as well enjoy the freebies that came along with every bachelor their mom brought home. "I endured it," she shrugged.

Clair frowned. "I thought you had Literature."

"I did. And I also happen to get Mrs Sunshine and Rainbow to teach me for the whole year." She answered cynically with a roll of her eyes.

Clair grimaced but didn't say anything in reply. She could see that Noir was feeling down—more so than usual—and anything she says wouldn't be taken well. Trying to change the subject, she glanced around the cafeteria. "I wonder what's taking Eva so long. Dear, she wouldn't be lost, would she?"

"She'll be fi—" Noir was cut mid-sentence when Clair suddenly got up from her seat and dashed to the hallways. "Save the seats for us!"

Sighing, Noir ran her fingers through her hair out of frustration and anger. That was when she noticed a white tray filled with two cheese burgers—one had been completely coated with mustard. Just the way she liked it.
"Stupide Soeur," she muttered, a soft blush warming her cheeks.

Clair greeted a few people she knew and smiled to strangers she didn't. It was a really big academy. Clair always got lost during the first week of her first year. Noir however, never seemed to encounter that problem. She always, always knew her way.

Oh, how am I going to find her?

Just then, Clair caught sight of a familiar figure with messy blond hair. A sly smile creeping to her face, she quietly sneaked behind the boy and slapped her hands gently on his shoulders.

"Akio! Oh, how I missed you!"

That's bad... Eva looked around like a pitiful little kid. She was a fool when it came to exploring a new place. Then, a conversation caught her attention.

"Ah! Aki what? Gosh he's on the next floor?!" a girl jumped in excitement and almost screamed to her gang of friends. "Oh we gotta rush - our prince is talking to another girl!" the gang of fangirls immediately headed towards the staircase.

So there is a popular guy called Aki something? Eva giggled at the fangirls' craze. I'd better get to the cafeteria soon, otherwise they will have been waiting for too long.

As she finally arrived at the cafeteria, she could only see Noir sitting there with a bored face. She felt really sorry for being late. Using sign language to apologize, she sat down opposite to Noir and next to Clair's original seat. There were two cheese burgers on the table. Confused about Clair's absense, Eva used her hands to ask, "Where has your sister gone?"

In the backyard of the school building Inyaki was walking around to have some fresh air. He suddenly notices a student was sleeping on the ground, he already knew who it was as he got closer to him. “Hey hey hey don’t you know it’s a first day of school you got some guts laying around here again” while he looks around for something.

Akio was sleeping on the ground as he turns around “mmmp I already know, give me some time to sleep for awhile Yamada-Sensei”

Inyaki looks at Akio again “you do know as a teacher___” he suddenly saw a grasshopper and catches it “I don’t take special students” he smirk.

Akio realizes something is going to happen it’s Yamada-san alright, as he sit up to look at Yamada schemes again, seeing Yamada holding a grasshopper.. “Don’t you DARE!! Don’t you Fuckin Dare”

Yamada laughs evily as he throws the grasshopper on Akio.

“Don’t you fuck__” as he gets up fast when Yamada throws the grasshopper at him, making him run for a distance “You monster” He suddenly remembers something and changes his expression quickly with a smile “oh thanks Yamada-Sensei for waking me up”

Yamada was surprised by changing Akio expression quickly, as he put his both hands on his hip with a proud look on his face “it’s alright, it’s the responsibility of the teacher anyway” as he looks at Akio with a shimmering look.

“This idiot” he mumbles… He starts to walk off leaving Yamada-san “oh by the way” as he make his voice a bit insulting “they are looking for a rocker image, sorry to hear that you didn't got the chance to be on tv” while he laughs, he was the only one who knew Yamada-san past life and due to that they were always having fun teasing each other.

Yamada flinches hearing those words making his good day disappear and shouts at Akio “you lucky bastard I got work today” as he walk off going to the Music Room.

Akio just wave his hand back as he starts to walk off yawning, he was in the school hallway when suddenly someone taps him. He looks at who was it “oh who are you again?” as his smirk for a second “I’m kidding, so how was your vacation?” Hearing noises again makes his ears numb as he stretched his arms up looking for a peaceful place.

"She's off looking for you."

Noir glanced up to the girl. She wasn't really good at talking to strangers—she wasn't really good at talking to anyone, period—and was hoping that Clair would pop up any minute to take over. Seeing as that wasn't going to happen anytime soon as Noir knew her sister wouldn't return unless she finds the mute girl, she flipped open her phone and typed a text.

whre r u? shes in the cfetria w me.
come hre asap.

After she had pressed 'SEND', she flipped it shut and glanced around awkwardly, not knowing what else to do. She turned to Eva and noticed that she hadn't bought lunch yet. Noir wouldn't have bothered normally but then her stomach was grumbling as she eyed her burger longingly. But no matter how hungry she gets, she would always wait for Clair.

And Clair would wait for this girl, she concluded. Ugh, too time consuming.

Standing up, Noir locked her gaze to the food counter. Without turning to look back at the freshman, she started to move towards the line. "Come on, let's get you something to eat."

Eva nodded at Noir's idea. If Noir had not sent Clair a text, she would feel so blameworthy and she would insist to go and find Clair. But that was clearly not a nice solution as she was new to the campus. She could end up being lost easily.

Queuing up in the long line, Eva dared not to bother Noir. The year-two girl seemed not to be in the mood for chit chatting. Since she was the one who kept her waiting, Eva would not want to give an even worse impression. I'll talk to her when the atmosphere's better, she smiled to Noir quietly.

And then, all they had to do was to place the food trays on the table and patiently wait for Clair.

Clair mocked a gasp and made a dramatic show of looking hurt when Akio appeared to not recognize her. "Oh no. You didn't hit your head on a wall when you were out sleeping anywhere, did you?" She teased playfully.

She was about to start on her summer vacation—she and Noir were sent to France with their father because their mother had gone on a month cruise to the Caribbean with a film director—when suddenly a deafening shriek filled the hallways. Clair widened her eyes as she saw a herd of girls charging to where they were standing.

"Not again."

She grabbed Akio's arm, pulling him towards the opposite direction as they broke into a run. The girls were quick to react and started to gain pace of their own. Clair slipped into the Chemistry lab stealthily and ducked behind the doors. She panted, feeling out of breath. Neither she nor Noir was any good in sports. Leaning on the door, she let out a long relieved sigh as she heard the sounds of heavy footsteps quickly fading past them. "Is it just me or there seems to be more of them compared to last year?"

Suddenly, her front pocket vibrated. Reading the text, a smile crept into her face. Clair turned towards Akio, grinning.

"Wanna join me for lunch?"

He chuckles seeing Clair’s expression “maybe I was smacked by Yamada-Sensei” as he added.

He looks at Clair with a worried look “Hmmm? Something wron___” he was being dragged by Clair into the Chemistry Lab as he kept quiet but seeing Clair reaction made him laugh a bit. “Hmm maybe some of them are your fans” as he chuckles but wondering Clair is really right they really more than before “just thinking about it make me more exhausted” as he mumbles.

After the footsteps faded, he checks if it’s alright to go out when Clair is checking her message on the phone “got a message from Noir?” He looks back and forth seeing no one makes him more comfortable “thank God” as he sighs with relief.

He looks at Clair again with a cheerful expression “talking about foods then, I’m into it” He waited for Clair outside “thanks for helping me out there again” he and Clair starts to walk towards the Cafeteria “but I hope no one rampage in the Cafeteria” as he chuckles.

Where is she?

Noir was getting restless and impatient from the wait. And Eva, sitting opposite her, looking anxious really wasn't helping the matter at all. She knew that it was her expression that was scaring the girl off but she really didn't know what to say.

Clair would've known, she thought. Clair always know the right words to say and the right things to do.

Suddenly a crash followed by a burst of laughter came from behind her. Noir turned and saw it was Natalie and her gang. They were laughing at a boy who had apparently tripped—deliberately, she assumed. His lunch of scramble eggs and pasta were scattered across the floor as the scrawny male fumbled blindly for his glasses. His audience cackled as Natalie stepped on the frames and kicked it away from the boy. Noir gritted her teeth, fuming as she stood up and forced her way through the crowd and dove right into the mess. She held the boy up from the ground and carefully guided him to her table, picking up his bent glasses that had crashed onto a wall and landed on the white tiles. Whispers and murmurs replaced the laughter momentarily before the crowd moved on, continuing with their daily activities, their shallow minds already forgetting about the offending event.

"Don't you think it sucks?" She spat angrily, her eyes narrowed on the mute girl. "How someone like you can't even talk while people like them," she hissed, glaring at the table where Natalie and her gang had settled, a shrill of laughter erupting from them as if on cue. "Can say all the shit they want?"

She shook her head in disgust, her eyes lowered to the boy's empty, dirty tray.

"It's just not fair," she choked.

"Oh," she gasped quietly. Clair stared at the dirty floor that was splattered with meat balls and thick, lumpy spaghetti noodles. "Maybe someone did rampage the cafeteria."

Spotting her table, Clair cheerfully made her way there with Akio at her side. "Eva, there you are!" She grinned. Only then did she notice a boy sitting beside Noir, his shirt stained by spaghetti sauce and eggs. A tense atmosphere hung in the air where they sat and Clair turned to her sister, a puzzled look in her eyes.

"Akio, why don't you go ahead and buy something?" She said to her friend. Noticing the empty tray in front of the freshman boy, she added warmly. "And bring the boy with you, s'il vous plaît?"

Clair took her seat beside Eva and facing her sister. She glanced to them both respectively, her eyes filled with worry and concern.

"What happened?"

So that's Akio... Eva glanced at the boy. He's tall... The daydreamer almost lost her mind, luckily Clair's question brought her back to the real situation.

Eva took a notepad and a pen out. She always had them with her because most people around her did not know sign language. It was essential for her to overcome the inconvenience caused by her aphonia.

The boy was tripped by the gang of girls over there and Noir helped the boy out. she wrote.

And of course, she also apologized for her lateness by writing.

Looking at the cafeteria he signs for a janitor to clean it “who the hell can still eat if the cafeteria full of flies” as he mumbles making his appetite disappear.

He glances at the table seeing a boy with a dirty clothes next to Noir “maybe he was tripped” and notice a girl “so I think that was Eva” He waved at them.

“Hmm then I’ll take a pizza, spaghetti, lasagna, omelet and French fries for all of us” as he keeps blabbering foods while he starts taking off his coat. He goes near to the boy “wear this for a while after you eat I can spare you some shirt” while he puts it on the boy “let’s go as Princess Clair told me to take you”. The boy stood up smiling and thanking him as they were about to go, he suddenly saw Eva handed a notepad to Clair. He also reads it and makes him mad as he glance at the gang of girls “so you were ganged up” he mumbles. Some girls are staring at them as they get on line, but the gang girls were just shocked and lowering their heads seeing the boy was with Akio.

After they ordered he put the foods on their table he then went back to pay it, he aimlessly orders one bucket of sauce for the spaghetti as his excuse. He was going to go back when he purposely tripped as he throws the full bucket of sauce at Natalie and the gang. “Oh my GOD... I’m so...” When all the girls get up saying it’s alright as he bows and went to their table to eat lasagna cheerfully that something didn’t even happen.

Observing was great fun. Being mute somehow facilitated observation. Eva could not talk as conveniently as the others anyway, so she enjoyed taking the role of a quiet observer. People's personalities could be presented by the ways they talk and behave, and getting to know more about her acquaintances was one of Eva's hobbies after all. While holding her cheese burger, she had a close look at her new buddies.

Her gaze then unintentionally rested on Akio Tsuki. She heard some fangirls mentioned his name before she managed to find the cafeteria. He sounded like a prince-in-fairytale to those girls. As Eva imagined a medieval prince version of Akio, she giggled at the funny picture. Scanning from his blonde hair tips to his slender fingers, Eva felt so curious. She was not a gossip girl though.

When Akio gave a random glance at her, she immediately lowered her head and continued eating.

One of her classmate, who had just been elected as the class representative, went to Eva and tapped her shoulder. Eva turned to him with a confused expression. "Just to inform you that we won't have Maths today. Our Math teacher has switched her lesson with the music teacher, so we are having a music class after lunch." the class representive said casually.

Who is our music teacher? Eva wrote quickly on the notepad and showed it to her classmate.

"Oh, somebody called Yamada if I haven't got it wrong." he smiled, "See you later than." The boy was surprised to see Eva's companions but did not make any remark. He kindly waved and walked away.

Eva gave Clair a who-is-Yamada look.

Clair smiled gratefully to Akio when he had offered to get their food. "Sounds great." She resisted a smile when he had called her a princess. "Always the charmer," she chuckled, shaking her head.

After she had read the note, Clair turned to look at the 'gang of girls' Eva had mention and was surprised to discover that it was Natalie. Natalie had been Noir's classmate since their first year and they used to be close before Natalie started hanging out with some other girls from the Drama Club. Clair would still say hi to her whenever they pass by each other but Natalie somehow never seemed to notice her.

'She's ignoring you, don't you get it?!' Noir used to spit out angrily but for some reason Clair didn't quite believe that was the case.

"Well," she said finally, reaching out to touch her sister's hand. "I'm glad you helped him."

Noir glanced up to meet her sister's gaze.

"I—" She was cut mid-sentence by the sound of another crash. A rare grin crept to her face when she had seen what Akio had done. One would assume that she would hate the boy considering he was arguably the male version of Clair, but Noir knew that Akio had a wicked side of him that Clair did not possess. "I think you're the best, man." She finished, slapping him on the back.

Clair wrinkled her nose disapprovingly before letting it go with a roll of her eyes. She turned towards Eva, glad to see a full tray already prepared for her. Taking a sip of her Coke through a straw, she smiled to the girl.

"So you got Yaki-chan for Music?" She let out a small laugh, her eyes teasing. "Lucky you, he's the second most best looking guy in the school." Clair tugged a hair behind her ear, grinning in Akio's direction. "Don't you have Music next too, Noir? I think your class is a joint."

Noir nodded, looking annoyed. Akio she could tolerate, but that idiotic excuse for a teacher could really get on her nerve.

Clair laughed. "So, anyway, how are you liking high school so far, Eva?"

Oh I will have a joint music class with Noir? That's good. Eva smiled. She liked listening to music but she did not like music lessons much due to her awful experiences of having ridiculous music teachers before. Secretly she prayed right after she was told about her next class, hoping the teacher was no worse than the music teachers she had before. If Clair's right about our music teacher and the teacher is truly NORMAL, it may well put my history of terrible music classes to an end. Eva nearly wanted to do a facepalm. At least she would not expect much.

Lovely being here. No one made fun of me in my class and they accept the way I "talk". OvO she wrote, And it's brilliant to be around some genial people like you.

He chuckles when Noir slap him on the back “well if you think of me a lot just be careful you may end up falling in love with the BEST guy like me” as he winks at Noir and laughs at his own joke. He looks at Clair’s reaction as he makes his face hurt “It was just an accident I tripped, don’t feel bad about them” as he smirks slightly “I’m the one who tripped, I should be the one you feel bad about”.

He glances at Eva “I didn’t know you were new, sorry if it's late” as he puts spaghetti in front of Eva “I Akio Tsuki welcome you in this school and by the way you should eat more” as he smiles at her while he eats his food. When someone just barge in as he glance at Eva again seeing her writing on the notepad she got, ‘maybe she can’t talk’ as he thought. His thoughts vanish when he heard Yamada’s name again as he saw Clair grinning at him making him facepalm “Yamada is a great guy” as he puts big sliced lasagna inside his mouth and starts to chew it with anger.

He saw Eva’s handwritten again as he reads it “I don’t think being mute is kind of bad it’s kind of had a great side also due to the fact that you can see the people who truly can be your friends as they got time to read your beautiful writings” as he smiles while finishing his lasagna.

Noir rolled her eyes at Akio's remark. "You wish," she muttered under her breath.

Clair beamed. "Oh, you're so cute, Eva!" She was pulling Eva in a tight embrace and wrapping her arms tightly around the girl's small neck.

Her sister sighed. "You're going to suffocate the kid, Clair." She pushed a serving of lasagna to the boy earlier and forked her own fries, dipping it in the spill of mustard that had overflowed from her burger. "You better start eating or your burger's gonna turn cold." Scowling, Noir snatched the can of Coke from her older sister. "And how many times have I told you not to drink while you're eating," she scolded.

Clair released her hold on Eva. "Sorry," she smiled sheepishly as she stroked the girl's curls. Turning to her sister, she giggled. "Maybe I just like hearing you remind me."

Glancing around the cafeteria, Clair wondered aloud. "I wonder where Micah is." To Akio, she added enthusiastically, "He helped Eva out this morning."

Eva blushed when Akio welcomed her. Dealing with good looking guys was always her weakness. In order to hide her red cheeks, she focused on her meal right after thanking Akio soundlessly.

But then, there came Clair's bear hug.

Just as Noir described, Eva felt as if she was going to be suffocated! However she was happy inside. Hugs usually means warmth and friendliness. So despite being choked - which she was experiencing - hugs are lovely. Clair must be a bear in her previous life span! she joked in her mind.

"I wonder where Micah is." after loosening her wrap, Clair asked.

That was mind-boggling. Eva saw her in another classroom that morning. And of course he was wearing his indifferent and uninterested face at that time. Eva believed he was a nice person, but it was not agreed by her classmates. They did not say anything concrete about the boy, but they advised her not to get close to him.

Aldwyn finally got out of his class. It was unbearable since it was Arts class, his least favourite. He never did understand the concepts of lines and scribbles everywhere would make a magnificent art. All he knew was finger-painting and yet, he is still horrible at it. He just needs to make sure that his Arts grade was B-, so that it won't jeopardize his perfect cgpa.

He washed the red and blue paints off his hand and removed the apron. He gathered his stuff and off to the cafeteria. It has been months since he moved to America and everything was quiet decent. Nothing more and nothing less.

He went straight to the counter and ordered for his usual. He walked pass by a group of people, who are apparently having the time of their lives except for that one girl. He sat all by himself at the far end of the corner in the cafeteria besides the window. The window gave such a pleasant view of the grassy field which was very tranquil to him. He was eating an apple while enjoying his copy of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde for the third time.

"I need something to drink," Noir blurted out of the blue. She made it a habit to only drink after she'd finished eating. Clair was still devouring her one burger—she had always been a slow eater, and the habit of talking while she eats wasn't much of a help.

As she was passing Natalie's table, a sudden hush fell over the group. Noir could feel that every pair of eyes from that table was focused on her. She felt the heat of their glares on her back. Ignoring them, Noir held up her head and made her way to the counter.

"Iced coffee, please. Make it black," she recited dryly.

It took a few minutes for them to prepare her order. The academy was indeed a prestige one, and it showed by the quality of the food served. Unlike her previous school, the coffee served wasn't cold, black gunk that had been brewed the previous night, but fresh brewed from the highest qualities of bean.

"Thanks," she muttered as she placed her bills on the counter.

Noir really didn't feel like facing Natalie again. So instead of using her previous route, she stepped into a longer path—one that forced her to walk all the way to the farthest corner of the cafeteria and turn 90 degrees just to head back to her table.

But, it's better than having to face them again.

As she walked, she shook her cup slowly, amused by the sounds of ice clinking against each other. Passing the window, she was caught by the scenery of the school yard—it was green with the subtle hint of autumn on the drying leaves—and stopped in her tracks suddenly.

The first thing she noticed was the cold sensation that was dripping down her fingers. And the next was the large black stain that had appeared on the faded brown paper, leaving only the following lines;

"—oor old Harry Jekyll, if ever I read Satan's signature upon a face, it is on that of your new friend."