Westridge High, Ravenwood, Washington.
8.30am, Monday, Class 3-2.
The bell rang.
"Alright class. Before we start, there is a new student who just transferred here, and he will be joining us starting today."
The announcement sent a wave of whispers across the room.
"Oh my god, it's a guy? Is he hot?"
"Shut up, Jessica."
"Alright, quiet down."
"You can come in."
The sound of the door sliding and the new student stepped in.
Luna : *A new student?...*
His face with a light expression.
"Introduce yourself."
He put on a soft smile, "Hi, my name is Rowan Anderson. I just moved here from New York."
"You can sit at the empty seat at the corner next to Luna." (The seat where every MC sit)
As he walk to his seat, she kept staring
at him-only her eyes moving.
His gaze met hers before he sat down, and she quickly turned her eyes away.
For some reason, it doesn't make her feel nervous.
"Alright, we will continue with—"
Luna : *Something about him feels... off. His smile—it's fake.*
He wore off his smile as he sat down and looked out of the window, resting his chin on his palm.
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It's already lunch.
She steal glances at him while he was looking out the window.
Her curiosity only grew stronger but her old scars warned her not to look too closely.
She lowered her head in despair.
She didn't want to repeat the same mistake.
She decided not to look at him anymore-
"Luna."
. . .
Someone called her name.
The voice came from her left.
Is it just her imagination?
She turned her head slowly.
He was standing there with a soft smile.
"Luna, right?" His voice soft.
Luna : H-h-how do you know my name?!
"Oh, the homeroom teacher mentioned it."
Luna : O-oh... R-Rowan.. right?...
Rowan : Yeah, Rowan Anderson.
Luna : I-I'm Luna.. Barnett...
Rowan : Nice to meet you.
He held out his hand offering a handshake—with his soft smile.
She froze.
Luna : *A handshake?... Do people usually shake hands?... Is it, really okay?...*
She reached his hand slowly—her hand shaking when,
"Rowan!"
"Did you say you're from New York?"
Their classmates interrupted them.
She pulled back her hand quickly.
Rowan : Yeah.
"Before that, I'm Jessica. This is Emily-"
She went out to the restroom.
"Why did you move here?"
"Do you play any sports?"
Rowan saw her went out of the classroom as their classmates kept talking.
They noticed him looking at her.
"You should ignore that girl. She's a bit... you know. No one talks with her anyway."
"So,—"
Without saying anything, he walked out, ignoring all of their questions—leaving them speechless.
. . .
--------------------
At the restroom,
Luna looked at herself in the mirror.
Flashbacks flooded her mind.
She clutched her head with both hands, shutting her eyes tightly-her breath unsteady.
"Arghhh."
--------------------
At the rooftop,
Rowan was standing by the fence, looking at the view.
He looked at his hand.
He was holding something.
. . .
sigh...
--------------------
Meanwhile,
Luna came out from the restroom.
She went back to grab her lunch.
As she was walking down the hallway-passing by the lockers,
"Ah!"
some "bullies" bumped into her making her stumble and dropped her lunch.
She sat on the ground, staring at the scattered food.
. . .
They laughed at her.
She couldn't do anything about it.
She could only accept her fate that this is how the rest of her high school would be.
Suddenly,
she noticed someone in the corner of her eyes, kneeling in front of her.
"Are you okay?"
A soft voice.
She raised her head, her eyes widened when she saw him—
Rowan.
She froze.
He helped her clean off the food on the floor.
Before she could even say anything, he handed her the lunch box.
Rowan : Be careful next time.
As he walked away.
Luna : T-thank you...
Her eyes followed him, but then she noticed something on the floor.
A charm.
Luna : *It must be his...*-H-hey! Wait!
She turned around but lost sight of him.
She went back to the class, assuming that he probably went there.
And she was right.
As she was about to enter the class, she already let out a breath of relief after trying to catch him up-when she saw the bullies earlier approached him.
She was able to pull herself back on time and hid behind the door—with her back against it.
Her breath heavy.
"Yo, new kid!"
One of the bullies-the biggest guy called him out.
Rowan : Yo... What's up?
He gave them an awkward smile.
"I'll tell you what's up,—"
As he put his arm around Rowan's shoulders.
"—did you just helped that girl just now?"
Rowan : What's the matter?
"Oh, nothing. Just wanted to give you a piece of advice since you're new here.
You should avoid that girl. She's... how should I say it? -not really right in the mind."
They laughed.
"Didn't you hear the rumours about her?"
"Not long before you transferred here,—"
She listened quietly behind the door, every single words they said about her.
She can't deny it. It was the truth.
The light in her eyes dimmed over time.
"That seat you're sitting was actually-"
Luna : *It's over, now that he knew everything
about me—...*
. . .
: scraaaape :
He stood up from his chair.
Everyone in the class looked at them.
Rowan : I don't know if that's true or not but... Even if it's true, you shouldn't treat people that way.
His voice soft.
But he sounded a little different from
before-like he was holding something back.
Rowan : She has feelings too, you know...?
His words caught her off guard.
"Heh, whatever man. Unless you want the same fate as her-or worse, our classmate before."
As they were leaving the class.
He looked around at his classmates as they were looking at him.
. . .
Silence.
The atmosphere was heavy.
They just went back to do their own things like nothing happened.
Then the bell rang.
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"Alright class, back to your seats—"
Luna entered the class and went to her seat.
She took a glance at Rowan before sitting down.
His fingers interlaced as he rested his forehead on them, facing down with his eyes closed.
She didn't dare to approach him in that state.
She couldn't focus during the whole class session thinking of how to give his charm back.
Before she knew it, the bell rang-her body jerked.
Everyone left in a matter of seconds.
She became more nervous.
She had no choice but to muster up her courage.
He was about to leave.
She squeezed her eyes shut.
Luna : *Come on Luna!*
She stood up and turned her head towards him,
: Vrrrrr :
Luna : R-Ro—!
: —Thunk! :
. . .
She quickly ran to the door and peeked her
head-looking around before losing track of him.
She saw him taking a corner, but it was the opposite way from the school entrance.
Luna : *Where is he going?*
She followed him, keeping her distance.
He went to the rooftop.
She hid behind the door, while peeking at him.
He stood by the fence, leaning his head on it.
He laughed softly,
while tears flowing down his cheeks.
"Everything is the same... Everyone is the same... treating other people like they never make mistakes themselves. Like the other person doesn't have any feelings.
That girl... and now, the charm's gone. It must be a sign..."
He climbed the fence and sat on it.
"I'm going to see you."
He closed his eyes.
. . .
"I love you too, grandma."