Leo Valdez leaned against the doorframe.
Mr. Ocampo looked at his sloppy, defiant posture and felt his irritation spike, but Leo was also someone you couldn't easily offend. He suppressed his annoyance and said mildly, "Come in. Don't be late next time."
Leo walked in. As he passed Alina's desk, he paused for a moment.
Alina was resting her chin on one hand, idly tapping the small, missing-in-action chocolate bottle with the forefinger of her other hand.
Leo's gaze shifted away, and he continued to the back of the room. He briefly noticed the new, tall classmate. He only glanced at her once before looking away, not interested in Bianca. Leo casually found a spot in the corner, tossed his blazer onto the neighboring desk, kicked out a chair, and made a loud racket in the back row.
"Some students could be a little quieter," Mr. Ocampo called out, his patience gone.
Leo quieted down. After shuffling a bit, he slumped onto his desk and went to sleep.
Alina was completely distracted during class. She picked up a pen and doodled on a blank sheet of paper, writing down several names, then shaking her head and crossing them all out.
What had caused such a massive change in Bianca's body and personality?
The original Bianca was supposed to be timid and kind. Perhaps because of her family background, she was always cautious after transferring to Santa Catalina. Even after being bullied in the novel, her personality never drastically changed.
Is she not Bianca? But the face is exactly the same!
Or... had she "awakened" too? But Alina remembered the look in Bianca's eyes when she came out of the stall. It was the look of a stranger, not someone who recognized her at all.
The situation was getting more and more confusing. Alina cupped her face in her hands and sighed quietly.
She didn't even hear the final bell until Gabby, sitting behind her, tapped her with a pen. "What were you doing all class? You were just staring out the window, miles away."
"Zoning out. Thinking about what to eat for lunch," Alina said.
She used the excuse of talking to Gabby to glance toward Bianca's desk. The seat was empty.
As Alina was about to look away, she happened to see Leo waking up.
He lifted his head, his eyes momentarily blank and desolate, but he became alert almost instantly. He narrowed his eyes, his gaze turning sharp. Frowning slightly, he sensed a gaze on him and looked in that direction.
Alina quickly turned her head back and pretended to chat with Gabby.
Leo glanced at Alina, thought nothing of it, and slumped back down, closing his eyes again.
From the corner of her eye, Alina saw Leo go back to sleep. She self-consciously tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, hoping he didn't think she was staring at him.
After the last class of the day, Alina received a text from her father.
[Come home tonight. I've already arranged your leave with the school. I heard you caused quite a bit of trouble today. We need to have a talk when you get home.]
The text was cold and impersonal, like a directive from a boss to an employee.
Alina showed the text to Chloe and Gabby. They both groaned. "Aww, so it's just the two of us in the dorm tonight?"
"It's fine, I'll be back first thing tomorrow morning," Alina said. She was worried that if she left, they would go after Bianca again. She leaned in and warned them quietly, "You two, don't go looking for Bianca, okay? If you actually start a fight, you'll be the ones who get hurt. Just leave her alone."
"We know, we know. We'll listen to you," Chloe pouted. "If she hadn't knocked you over this morning, I wouldn't even bother to look at her."
With their promise, Alina finally relaxed.
After school, she left the campus. The Alcantara family's sedan was already waiting at the gate. Alina walked over, opened the back door, and slid inside.
"Mang Ben, let's go."
"Yes, Ma'am."
Mang Ben, the driver, glanced at the young woman in the rearview mirror. She was staring out the window at the scenery rushing by, her beautiful face reflected in the glass. Compared to usual, Alina's face was indeed pale today.
"Alina, Sir Ricardo is very worried about you. When he heard you fainted from low blood sugar, he immediately called the kitchen and asked them to prepare a nourishing chicken soup for you. It'll be ready when you get home."
Mang Ben had worked for the Alcantaras for decades, driving Alina to and from kindergarten, through all these years, rain or shine. He was practically family.
"Okay, I understand," Alina said, managing a faint smile.
Her expression was calm; she seemed thoroughly uninterested in the soup her father had arranged for her.
Alina felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. She pulled it out and saw a message from Chloe in their three-person group chat, punctuated by an angry emoji.
She typed a single question mark in reply: ?
Chloe, who could never hold anything in, immediately sent a burst of text.
Alina, you won't believe this! The dorm administrator is trying to put Bianca Santos in our room! I refuse to live with that charity case!
The dorm rooms at Santa Catalina were designed for four people, but their room had always been just the three of them. Even the dorm admin had long accepted this and never assigned anyone else to their suite.
And now Bianca Santos was going to be their new roommate?
That wasn't in the novel at all, Alina thought. The dorm fees were expensive. Bianca didn't have the money; even with a full scholarship, it wouldn't be enough. In the book, she was the only day-scholar at the entire school.
Alina frowned and typed out a message.
Is Bianca really moving in?
A moment later, Gabby replied.
No. I called my dad's assistant. They're putting her in the empty dorm room next to ours.
Alina let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. Thank God Gabby had handled it.
She was indifferent to Bianca, but she definitely didn't want to wake up and see the novel's heroine first thing in the morning.
The knot of anxiety in her stomach loosened. She put her phone away and went back to watching the scenery outside.
As they pulled up to the main gate of the Alcantaras' exclusive village, Mang Ben suddenly stopped the car.
"Why is there a child here?"
He honked the horn twice, trying to get the little girl by the iron gate to move.
But the little girl didn't move. Instead, she gripped the bars of the gate, crouched down, and buried her head in her knees like an ostrich.
"What's with this child? Ma'am, let me go and ask her to move. Please wait in the car."
Mang Ben got out. From the car, Alina couldn't hear what he was saying, but she saw the little girl suddenly plop down on the pavement and burst into tears.
She was wailing, and her loud crying clearly made Mang Ben uncomfortable and unsure of what to do.
Alina watched them for two or three minutes. Mang Ben was completely failing to calm the child down. Finally, Alina sighed and got out of the car.
The little girl looked to be about three or four years old. Her little dress was covered in dirt and smudges, and her knees were scraped, as if she had fallen. She was wearing a small red backpack with the words "Little Stars Kindergarten" printed on it.
Alina knelt. "Hi, little one. What's wrong?"
The moment the girl heard Alina's voice, she instantly stopped crying. Her large, dark eyes, like black grapes, reflected Alina's face. Tears still welled in her eyes.
The little girl just stared at her, stunned, no longer crying or making a sound.
Alina took a tissue from her purse and gently wiped the tear tracks from the girl's face. The little, dirty kitten turned back into a cute doll.
"Don't cry anymore, okay? Ate will help you find your family," she said softly.
But what Alina didn't expect was for the little girl to suddenly scramble up from the ground and launch herself into her arms like a small cannonball, wailing.
"Mommy! I finally found you! Waaaaah, Maya was so scared! I thought I'd never see Mommy and Daddy again!"