How could this happen??

After school ended, nothing really happened — just another normal day that slid by quietly, the way most of my days usually do.

And honestly, I wasn’t excited for the next one either.

It’s not like I hated the new school.

It was just… ordinary.

Too ordinary for someone like me, someone who struggles to make friends, someone who always takes longer to open up.

That night, I chatted with my online friends, the people who’ve known me longer than anyone in this city.

They kept asking the same questions:

“Are you okay?”

“Did you talk to anyone today?”

“Please don’t isolate yourself.”

They worry about me because I’m shy and introverted.

But what they don’t understand is that I’m actually funny and talkative once I’m comfortable — once I feel safe.

It just takes time to reach that point.

Sometimes too much time.

---

The next morning felt like the same routine.

Same uniform.

Same walk.

Same quiet thoughts swirling around in my head.

When I got to school, something different happened — a girl approached me.

She wasn’t new like me.

Her uniform looked worn in, familiar to her, and she walked with the easy confidence of someone who already had memories attached to this place.

“Hey,” she said with a warm smile. “You’re Stephani, right?”

I nodded. Her voice was gentle, the kind that makes you want to answer without thinking too hard.

She already had two friends waiting for her, watching our conversation with curious eyes.

I assumed she’d leave after introducing herself, but instead she told them:

“I’m sitting with her today.”

I blinked in surprise.

Her friends didn’t really approve — I saw it in their expressions, subtle and quick — but she ignored them and took the seat beside me anyway.

It was such a small thing, but it made my chest loosen a little.

Someone choosing to sit next to me felt strange… and oddly comforting.

We talked quietly throughout the morning.

Nothing deep — just small, soft conversations about classes, teachers, and what we thought about the school.

During tiffin break, two other new girls joined us.

The group felt awkward but warm, like a blanket you weren’t expecting but accepted anyway.

In the back of the classroom, a bunch of loud girls were singing and laughing, their voices echoing in the hallway.

I didn’t really get annoyed at them.

Just… jealous.

Jealous of how easy happiness came to them, how freely they existed, how comfortable they were in a place that still felt unfamiliar to me.

---

And today, the new girl named Reese, the one who was absent yesterday, finally showed up.

But I didn’t even look at her.

Didn’t notice her walk in.

Didn’t know what her voice sounded like.

She was introduced by the teacher, everyone whispered for a moment, and then the day went on.

For me, nothing changed.

Not yet.

---

That day ended the same way — quietly, smoothly, without anything exciting or unusual.

But inside me, a small worry grew.

I didn’t want to call the girls I sat with my “friends.”

What if they didn’t actually like me?

What if they were just being polite?

What if I was only tagging along until they found someone better?

I’ve always been scared of assuming I mattered to people.

We had tons of homework that evening, and while I studied, I wondered how everyone else acted so comfortable when they were also new.

How did they smile so easily?

How could they talk so freely?

Why did I still feel like an intruder standing at the edge of a group?

I studied all night because the teachers seemed strict, then set my alarm for 7 a.m.

Another normal night.

Another normal morning ahead.

---

The next week, something shifted — very quietly, almost unnoticeably.

Reese finally caught my attention.

It happened during homeroom when the teacher asked all the new students to stand.

I stood up with the others, sleepy and uninterested.

Then Reese stood up too.

I stared for a second longer than necessary.

She looked… different from what I expected.

Honestly, I thought she was an old student.

She stood with this relaxed ease, this natural confidence, like the room belonged to her.

Her tie was loose, her posture casual, but she didn’t look careless — she looked comfortable.

In a place that still felt sharp and new to me, she already seemed settled.

Even though she didn’t have many friends at first, I kept seeing her play basketball with the boys during breaks.

They laughed with her like she’d been there forever.

She wasn’t loud, but she was funny.

Not clingy, but friendly.

Not attention-seeking, but attention just naturally followed her.

But at that time… I didn’t feel anything.

Because honestly, I liked someone from my old school.

Someone I never confessed to.

Someone who stayed in my old life.

And I had a new friend here too — another new student who was shy like me.

We sat together during lunch, shared snacks, talked about our crushes, and giggled quietly at the back of the class.

It was warm.

It was safe.

It was simple.

---

But after a month — maybe two — something about Reese began to stand out.

I noticed her more.

Her pale skin.

Her wolf-cut hair that moved when she laughed.

Her transparent glasses reflecting sunlight in a soft, pretty way.

Her energetic, bright aura that made her impossible to ignore.

She wasn’t too feminine — something I instantly liked, even if I didn’t understand why yet.

I wasn’t surprised to learn many students had crushes on her.

How could they not?

And then… something even stranger happened.

I started staring.

Not on purpose.

Not meaning to.

Just… naturally.

My eyes kept finding her even in crowded hallways.

Even in classrooms.

Even during breaks.

And every time, it made my heart feel strange — too light, or too heavy, or both at once.

It was unusual.

We were both girls.

I tried telling myself it was nothing — that she was just beautiful.

That I was only admiring her like anyone else would.

But no matter what I told myself…

I couldn’t stop staring at her.

Over and over again.

Like something in me had begun moving toward her without permission.

---

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