"Really? You mean... nobody wears it? Like, ever?"
Karin glanced around the room again, her face turning a shade of red that clashed spectacularly with the blue of her school blazer. She looked like she wanted to shrink into the floorboards and vanish. "Leander, this is literally my first time ever being inside a school building with other kids. There are so many things I don't understand. Can you... maybe teach me? I don't want to look like an idiot on the first day."
Leander turned his gaze back to the front of the room. A girl named Isis was currently on the podium, and she wasn't just talking—she was actually performing a TikTok-style dance routine to gain favor for the class monitor position. It was a desperate, high-energy bid for social relevance.
He turned back to Karin, his brow furrowed. "What do you mean, 'first time at school'? Where were you for middle school? Or elementary?"
"At home," Karin whispered, leaning in closer until Leander could catch a faint scent of lavender. "I had four full-time tutors. They were very strict, very thorough, and very... boring. I finally got tired of seeing the same four faces every day, so I made a deal with my dad. I took the entrance exams for public school to prove I could handle it. They were actually much easier than the work my tutors gave me."
She looked at Leander and smiled, and for a moment, the dull classroom seemed a bit brighter. Her skin was incredibly pale, almost translucent in the morning sunlight, giving her a delicate, porcelain-like beauty.
"So, the girl who was homeschooled her whole life decided to rebel by riding a bicycle with no brakes through the front gates of a Queens high school?" Leander gave a light, rare chuckle.
"No! I fell on the way here," Karin admitted, her voice dropping an octave as she sheepishly rubbed her leg. "That's how the brakes snapped. My dad wanted to send the bodyguard's car, but I insisted on riding myself. I wanted to complete my first day as a 'normal' person, by myself. It's a matter of principle."
As she spoke, Leander's eyes underwent a subtle shift. His pupils, normally a deep, obsidian black, emitted a faint, imperceptible golden glow. His gaze didn't just see Karin; it pierced through the biological layers of her body, reading the electromagnetic signatures of her circulatory and nervous systems.
His brow furrowed deeply. There was something wrong with her—something major.
Her sickly pale complexion wasn't just a lack of vitamin D from being indoors. It was the sign of extreme, chronic anemia. Her red blood cell count was dangerously low, a biological deficit that should have had her bedridden. Under his spectral vision, he could see the strain on her heart and the sluggish flow of her oxygen-depleted blood. Heart failure, internal hemorrhaging, respiratory distress—by all rights, she shouldn't even be standing.
"How are you moving around like this?" Leander asked, his voice suddenly serious. "Are you on some kind of heavy-duty medication?"
Karin's blue pupils constricted. The upbeat energy she'd been projecting suddenly flickered and died. She looked at him with a mix of shock and something bordering on fear.
"How... how could you possibly tell?" she stammered, her voice weak. She looked at his face, her hands twisting the hem of her skirt. "Are you... do you know Traditional Chinese Medicine or something? My doctors said only the best specialists would know just by looking."
She leaned in even closer, her eyes scanning his face. "Leander, for a second there... did your eyes turn gold?"
"No. It's the sunlight hitting the window," Leander lied effortlessly, his pupils fading back to a flat black. "And I don't need to be a doctor to see that you're about two seconds away from fainting. You should be in a hospital, not a history class."
"I'm fine," she insisted, though her voice lacked conviction. "I have my own... treatments."
Before he could press her further, Mr. Heck stepped back onto the podium, tapping a ruler against the wood. "Alright, everyone's circus acts—I mean, introductions—are mostly finished. I've noted down the names of our future politicians and dancers. Enthusiastic. Very... active. You're definitely a Queens class."
The students cheered, though the room remained chaotic. Mike, the fast-food heir, was already walking between rows, shaking hands and making promises like he was running for Governor.
"Alright, we have two left. Karin Fete and Leander," Heck said, glancing at the roster. "Wait, Leander, you don't have a surname listed? Just the one name?"
Leander stood up as the class turned to look at him. "Leander is my name. If it makes you feel better, you can put it in twice. Leander Leander. It saves time."
"Interesting," Heck said with a dry smirk. "According to my records, Mr. 'Double-Leander' here entered this school with the highest entrance exam score in the district. A genuine scholar. Please, come up and tell us why we shouldn't be intimidated by your giant brain."
Leander walked toward the podium with a graceful, effortless gait that caught the attention of several girls in the front row. However, Mike and his group of friends watched him with blatant hostility. In the social hierarchy of high school, the "smart kid" was always the first target.
"Hello," Leander said, standing behind the podium. He didn't look nervous; he looked bored. "My name is Leander. I like building models. I'm not interested in being class monitor. Thank you."
He turned and walked back to his seat before Heck could even blink.
"Short. Sweet. I like it," Heck said. "Next, Miss Karin Fete."
Karin walked up, her face pale and her hands shaking. She had never stood in front of thirty people her own age before. She looked at the sea of faces, felt the judgment of the girls in the front row who were already sneering at her "perfect" uniform, and panicked.
"I'm Karin," she whispered. "I... I like reading. Thank you."
She practically ran back to her seat, her face burning. Despite her short introduction, her exquisite features and the unique "innocent" vibe of her school uniform had captured the attention of every boy in the room. Conversely, the girls' eyes were filled with the kind of instant, instinctive jealousy that only exists in a freshman classroom.
'Look at her,' one girl whispered loudly. 'She wore the uniform just to look 'cute' and 'studious.' Such a try-hard.'
"Alright," Heck announced. "That's everyone. We have ten minutes left. Use this time to lobby, bribe, or convince your peers. Next period, we vote for the interim class monitor. I'm stepping out for a coffee. Don't set the room on fire."
Heck walked toward the door, then paused. "Leander? Could you come out into the hall for a second?"
Leander felt the room's temperature drop as the eyes of his classmates turned toward him again. He frowned, knowing exactly what this looked like. He stood up and followed Heck out, closing the heavy door behind him.
The moment the latch clicked, Mike and two other burly students rushed to the door, pressing their ears against the wood.
In the hallway, Heck leaned against the wall and pushed up his glasses. "Leander, I spent some time in Hong Kong a few years back. Beautiful place. Incredible discipline. Your middle school teacher, Mrs. Dina, is an old colleague of mine. She told me you were her best student."
"I'm sure she did," Leander said, his gaze shifting to the door. He could hear the heavy breathing of the eavesdroppers on the other side. "Mr. Heck, you realize that by pulling me out for a private chat during a campaign period, you're basically painting a giant target on my back, right?"
"I suppose so," Heck said with a shrug. "But I think you're the only one in that room with a level head. I want you to run for monitor. We need someone who can actually handle the paperwork and keep the peace."
"No," Leander said firmly. "I don't want the title. I'm not a manager, and I'm not interested in being the teacher's pet. Since you know Mrs. Dina, you should know I never took on those roles in her class either."
Heck's brow furrowed. "It would look good on your college applications, Leander. A boy with your scores and a leadership position? You could go anywhere."
"I already have a plan for my future, and it doesn't involve college applications," Leander said, thinking of the Stark Tower and the workshop. "If there's nothing else, I'd like to go back in."
Heck sighed, looking a bit disappointed. "Fine. Go back. I'll look for another candidate."
Leander pushed the door open. He didn't even have time to take a step before he was blocked by Mike and a boy named Walker, both of whom were significantly taller and broader than him.
Mike looked down at Leander, his eyes full of arrogant disdain. "Hey, 'Double-Leander.' What did Baldy Heck say to you? Was he giving you the answers to the election? Or were you two just talking about how much you love homework?"