It had been three weeks since classes started, and every day Isabella seemed to be running around, doing something, or handling one task after another.

Julie and Olivia couldn’t help but notice, and curiosity was eating at them.

They wanted to know what was going on, to investigate, but Julie decided it was better to mind their own business.

What do they even know about her anyways?

"I don’t think we should even call her a friend anymore,” Olivia said quietly, nudging Julie as they sat in class.

Julie looked at her, puzzled. “Why do you say that?”

Olivia shrugged. “It’s obvious she doesn’t see us that way. She’s always with Kayla Rowan. Didn’t you notice?”

Julie sighed and looked toward the back of the hall. Isabella had just arrived and was just standing there, catching her breath like she’d run a marathon, though her hood made it hard to tell for sure.

There was something about her that Julie couldn’t quite figure out. She was mysterious, almost unreadable.

Isabella’s eyes scanned the room and landed on Julie, sitting in the middle row. Julie gave her a small, encouraging smile, using her hand to motion her toward where they sat.

Then her gaze fell on Kayla, sitting over in the left row, also motioning for her to come sit with them.

Isabella paused, conflicted. She knew what she needed to do, but she also knew that her genuine friends might start wondering what was up with her, and maybe even decide to stop noticing her at all and forget she ever existed.

That was a thought she didn’t like, but unfortunately she was left without choice.

She gave Julie an apologetic look, and made her way toward where Kayla sat.

Julie was confused, but the smirk on Kayla’s face when she looked at her told her something was definitely wrong.

"You see? We didn’t really need her anyway. We were just trying to make her life easier,” Olivia said, her tone smug.

Julie looked at Olivia. "And I don't think we did."

Olivia frowned. “What do you mean?”

Julie lowered her gaze, thinking. “I don’t know yet… but I’ll figure it out.”

Olivia just nodded and turned her attention back to the board.

“You finished the assignments, right?” Kayla asked Isabella.

Isabella nodded, her voice quiet. “Yes… all night.” She opened her backpack and carefully pulled out the sheets.

Kayla and her friends exchanged satisfied smirks. “Good. When everyone else is done submitting theirs to me, you’ll be the one to submit it to the lecturer after this lecture. Got it?”

Isabella nodded obediently. "Yeah."

_______

Luc stopped in the middle of the hallway, looking a little lost. He glanced left, only to see girls staring at him with annoyed looks. He glanced right, same thing.

“What’s going on?” Ezekiel asked, noticing Luc’s discomfort.

Luc frowned, unsure how to explain. “I… I just don’t know.”

Ezekiel nodded. “Well, let’s keep moving, then.”

Luc let out a heavy sigh, but as he looked straight ahead, he sawa strange girl running towardwhere they stood, clutching papers in her hands.

There was something about her, something that made his heart skip and his stomach twist.

A strange, intense feeling bubbled up inside him as she got even closer. It was a feeling confirming something in him.

When she passed, Luc let out a shaky breath, eyes locked on her retreating figure. Without thinking, he whispered, “Her.”

Ezekiel looked confused, following Luc’s gaze. “Her? What do you mean?”

The girl turned into another hallway, and he was left frozen, dumbfounded by the intensity of the feeling she sparked in him. She didn’t fit any description he had been given, yet something deep inside told him she mattered, somehow.

"Luc,” Ezekiel called again, trying to snap him out of it. “Focus.”

Luc blinked and shook his head slightly, but his eyes stayed locked on the hallway she had disappeared into, his thoughts racing with thoughts he couldn’t shake.

"Something’s not right,” he finally muttered. “I… I felt something when that girl passed by.”

Ezekiel raised an eyebrow. “Felt something? Like what? Were you happy? Angry?”

Luc shook his head slowly. "I… I felt relieved. Like a weight had been lifted off me. For a moment, all the anger inside me, it just… disappeared.”

Ezekiel’s brow furrowed. “That girl made you feel that?”

Luc nodded. “Yeah.”

Ezekiel tilted his head at him. “And you think… it’s her?”

Luc’s jaw tightened, determination hardening in his eyes. “I’ve never felt this way before, Zeke. I have to find out why.”