After a somewhat embarrassing morning… You know what? None of that happened. Right? That never happened. Erase it from your mind.

  Anyway… I quickly followed Viola.

  "Hey, Viola! Wait a bit, will you?" I called out, jogging to catch up.

  Behind me, the four girls—Kotori, Yukari, Irana, and Ariana—were walking at a much more leisurely pace, heading in the same direction.

  Viola finally stopped and turned slightly. "Oh, Aria. Didn’t see you there."

  I narrowed my eyes. "What do you mean you didn’t see me?"

  Viola gave a small smirk. "Just joking. Sorry, I ignored you back there—I just really didn’t want to get involved with that girl."

  "That girl?" I raised an eyebrow. "Which one are you talking about?"

  "Ariana," Viola said without hesitation. "She’s… annoying."

  Oh. Her. Yeah, I could understand where she was coming from.

  "You know her?" I asked, curious.

  Viola glanced at me briefly before shrugging. "I met her when Irana and I were doing volunteer work over the weekend."

  Ah… so that’s how Ariana knows Irana.

  Then suddenly, I felt a hand yank me backwards.

  "What the—?!"

  Before I could react, I was repositioned right beside Irana. The culprit? None other than Ariana. She squinted, scanning us both like some kind of scientist examining a new species.

  "You two really are identical twins… That’s trippy." She tilted her head. "If not for this one having short hair and…" Her gaze shifted downward before she muttered, "Bigger boobs… I probably wouldn’t be able to tell the difference."

  There was a moment of silence.

  Then—

  "Did you say that just to insult me about my chest size?!" she snapped, her voice rising.

  Ariana, completely unfazed, shrugged. "I mean, it’s just an observation. No need to get all worked up."

  Meanwhile, I just stood there, utterly confused. How did I get roped into this nonsense?!

  I instinctively turned around, searching for Viola, hoping she could somehow save me from this ridiculous situation—

  But she was already gone.

  How the hell did she disappear so fast?!

  "Quit with that nonsense, Ariana-senpai," Kotori said, pulling me to her side.

  "Indeed… that was quite rude of you, Ana. Look how confused our cute little junior is," Yukari-senpai added, her tone playful as she suddenly reached out and held my chin between her fingers.

  The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  What is this?! My body tensed at the unexpected gesture, and without hesitation, I grabbed her arm and gently pushed it away.

  "Excuse me," I said, keeping my voice firm but polite.

  "Oh my… my apologies," Yukari-senpai replied, her smile unfazed.

  "It's fine. Just… don't do that again in the future," I told her, trying to keep my composure.

  To my surprise, she only grinned wider. "Oh? So I can do it again in the past? Alright then!" she said cheerfully.

  I blinked. What… what does that even mean?!

  Let's just leave before this gets any weirder... Oh yeah, I should grab Irana too.

  I turned to my sister, who still seemed mildly annoyed by Ariana's earlier comment. Without wasting any more time, I reached for her wrist and gave it a light tug.

  "Irana, let's go," I said firmly.

  She glanced at me, then at the others, before letting out a small huff. "Fine," she muttered, crossing her arms but ultimately following my lead.

  With that, we made our way toward the cafeteria, leaving behind whatever bizarre energy remained in our conversation. Besides what had happened earlier, nothing much else was going on—at least, that's what I hoped.

  “Aneki!!”

  I sighed. Just when I thought I’d have a peaceful meal. In the middle of the cafeteria, I heard Arthur's loud, grating voice calling out to me.

  “What?” I snapped, barely looking up from my tray. “I thought I told you not to bother me?”

  “It’s urgent, boss!!”

  I narrowed my eyes. “What now…? And why hasn’t the school suspended this little gremlin after that incident?”

  Arthur, completely ignoring my muttering, excitedly blurted out, “We got an arcade machine in our base camp now!!”

  I blinked. My eye twitched slightly at the ridiculousness of what I just heard.

  “…That’s your ‘urgent’ news?” I deadpanned. “And what base camp?”

  But Arthur, in true Arthur fashion, ignored my question entirely.

  “Anyway, if you’re free this weekend, come to the base camp, Aneki!” he said with a wide grin before dashing off, as if he had just accomplished something major.

  I stared at his retreating figure in disbelief.

  “…What was that?” Irana asked, looking just as confused as I was.

  “I have no idea…” I muttered, shaking my head.

  After grabbing our food, we spotted Viola already seated at a table, quietly eating. Without hesitation, Irana and I made our way over and sat down beside her. Not long after, Kotori joined us, sliding into the seat next to me.

  Thankfully, it seemed like the other two wouldn’t be joining us. A small relief. I wasn’t exactly in the mood for any more early-morning chaos after what had already happened.

  The cafeteria buzzed with chatter, students talking about weekend plans, upcoming exams, and random gossip. Our table, however, remained relatively peaceful as we focused on our meals.

  Once we were finished, we stood up and made our way toward class.

  As I entered the room, my eyes instinctively scanned the seats. I wasn’t sure what I was expecting, but a small part of me was searching for someone in particular.

  “What are you looking for, Onee-chan?” Irana asked, tilting her head as she caught me glancing around.

  “Ah… nothing,” I replied quickly, trying to sound nonchalant.

  Viola, however, wasn’t convinced. She smirked slightly before casually saying, “If you’re looking for Syena… she won’t be here today.”

  I blinked, a little taken aback. “Huh?”

  “You’re looking for Syena?” Kotori chimed in, adjusting her bag as she sat down. “She has a shoot today… I think it’s for a movie.”

  I turned to Kotori, and something clicked in my mind as I remembered a question I had been meaning to ask.

  “Oh yeah… I’ve been wondering—Is Yuya related to Syena?”

  Kotori nodded without hesitation. “Yeah, they’re cousins, along with Yukari-senpai.”

  I raised an eyebrow. “Wait, really? So you grew up alongside Yuya, right? Does that mean you were close to Syena too?”

  Kotori shook her head slightly. “Not really. That girl has always been pretty reserved. She doesn’t let people in that easily.” She rested her chin on her palm, thinking for a moment. “If I had to say, the only person she’s truly close with is probably Yukari-senpai.”

  So that’s how it is… I had assumed she might’ve been closer to Yuya or Kotori, given their connections, but it seemed like Syena kept to herself more than I expected.

  Kotori smirked suddenly. “Why are you asking about her anyway? Are you trying to get an autograph or something?”

  I scoffed. “No, it’s nothing like that.”

  It wasn’t about her fame. It wasn’t even about the fact that she was my classmate.

  I just had this nagging feeling—something about Syena felt oddly familiar. Something beyond her being an actress or a schoolmate.

  But what exactly was that… I couldn’t quite put my finger on it.