───── ❝ are you okay? you're staring ❞ ─────
[akabane karma]
I was unbothered by the transfer student; she didn't interest me y'know? My friends, however, are still thinking about the rumors surrounding her. Then suddenly, they stood from the table and marched over to the edgy kid to berate him with questions.
Feeling kind of left out and bored, I scooted to the edge of the bench to listen in.
"Does Chiba-kun have a special someone~?" Nakamura bounds to a ridiculous conclusion. Of course, that's the first thing she'd ask. I hold back a laugh at his uncomfortable yet comical reaction.
"No."
"Then how do you know her, man?" Sugino inquired, placing his hands on the table. "We're all curious, so spill it."
"Yeah, what's with the handshake?" Kayano imitated what was supposed to be their handshake but it was just randomized motions with her palms and fingers.
"why weren't we given an email about her?" Nagisa.
"Is she a good fighter?" Sugino—
"Is she smart?" Okud—
"Does she like K-dramas?" Nak—
"How old is she?"
"What's her zodiac sign?"
"Are her parents divorced?"
"Is she a criminal?"
"Where is she sitting?"
"Can she take my spot as the class rep?"
"Do you think she'll have a crush on Karasuma too?"
"Is she single?" Since when did Okajima join this conversation?
I stared out the window as they continued to talk, voices overlapping and overwhelming the edgy kid as he signaled them to stop with his annoyed face. He was about to talk, but the creak of the sliding door made our heads turn in sync.
Kayano and Nakamura's eyes brightened like cats that just spotted a meal.
Chiba sighed and strode towards the new student when she stopped to take a glance at all the new faces eyeing her intensely.
I admitted that I was staring too but for a completely different reason.
"Everyone, this is my cousin, Emei," Chiba said as he gestured to her. On cue, she slightly bowed and waved.
"Karma, are you okay? You're staring..." Nagisa awkwardly said as he tapped my shoulder.
I was stuck in thought; two years ago a man moved into the house down my street and I remembered him having a daughter. I remember seeing said daughter at the train station on some mornings when I was headed to school.
I also recognized her face on the television as I was scanning through the news channels. She was part of some scandal...Other than 70% of her hair cut short, she was the spitting image of—
"That's my neighbor."
♡