Chapter 11: Twice Shy

I walked in and approached the group. Normally, I would’ve just joined as a spectator, but these were my teammates. It would be inconvenient if external causes jeopardised our team dynamics. However, I still preferred not to draw attention to myself.

Thinking quickly, I absorbed all the electrical energy from the lights in the classroom. The room went dark. My classmates started gasping and murmuring in confusion.

“Uhm, did something break?” Jonah asked.

Spencer rushed to the light switches, flicking them on and off again in an attempt to turn them back on. “It’s not working!” he cried.

I restored power to the lights for a few seconds, before taking it away again. As I kept playing with the lights, alternating every couple of seconds, I noticed Kaede looking at me. Her facial expression said “Seriously?”, but I could tell she was amused. Admittedly, it was fun to toy with the class.

“I think our lights are broken,” Jonah spoke, still oblivious. “Let’s just tell Ms Reina when she arrives.” Right on cue, our teacher stepped in, glancing at the lights. I immediately returned full power to them.

“Huh, that’s weird,” Jonah continued.

Now that the lights were functioning again, Ms Reina addressed the class. “Class has started, everyone back to your seats please.” My classmates shuffled around, heading back to their seats.

I sat in my seat in front of Scarlette. I turned around, whispering, “Hey, are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Scarlette replied. I noted that her voice was lacking the spark that it usually had.

“You’re clearly not. It’s fine, you can share with us your problems during lunchtime,” I said, turning back to face the front. Scarlette didn’t reply.

The lessons continued uneventfully until lunchtime arrived. Once again, we sat at our usual spot in the cafeteria. On an unrelated note, I spotted Zoey Leomane, the 5-Star who could change the size of her body parts, eating with some friends at one corner. It had been a while since I had last seen her. I wondered if Kazen was ever going to take his revenge on her ever since she beat him in their duel the other day.

But getting back to the topic at hand, Jonah decided to kick things off. “So… did something happen?” he asked Scarlette curiously. The rest of us waited patiently for a reply.

“I… I guess I was just feeling a bit tired after the practice session we had yesterday,” she said softly. “I’m not really in the mood to fight someone else now, especially another 5-Star.”

“That’s alright then, you could always schedule a fight with Kazen for next week,” Jonah continued, smiling innocently.

“Uhh, I gotta get in the mood for it first,” she replied, fidgeting in her seat. It seemed like a weak excuse. She was clearly uncomfortable because of a separate reason, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on why.

Kaede’s eyes were full of concern. “If you’re more comfortable talking in a one-on-one setting, you can always talk to me,” she offered.

“Thanks Kaede, but I’ll be back to myself in no time,” Scarlette replied with a reassuring smile.

“But can you beat him though?” Jonah pressed. To be honest, I was quite curious about her thoughts about this question as well.

Scarlette’s smile vanished. Kaede, who was sitting next to Jonah, lightly punched him in the arm. “Not now…” she whispered.

Jonah seemed like he finally understood that something was still wrong, so he switched it up. “Damn, the food today is really good! But I bet the mall has way better options, right guys?” he chuckled.

“Uh, yeah!” Kaede jumped in. “I mean, this IS still school food, after all.”

“Actually, since the mall is still part of the school compound, the food there is still considered school food.” That was a rare dialogue from Mira. Her face was also filled with concern though, so I guess that was her way of trying to lighten the mood, even though it was a bit awkward.

My friends chuckled lightly, including Scarlette, who’s faint smile reappeared. “I guess you could say that the food better be ‘fire’, right?” she joked.

Cue another round of laughter. I was glad that the uncomfortable atmosphere had eased up, at least for now. Thankfully, we managed to keep this mood up for the remainder of the meal.

The rest of the school day passed by smoothly, with my friends and I preparing to set off for the mall after dismissal. Unfortunately, something put a stop to our plans.

“Sorry guys, I think I have a headache now, I don’t think I’ll be able to accompany you all to the mall,” Scarlette winced.

“Oh, that’s okay, please don’t push yourself,” voiced Kaede.

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“Yeah, I think I’ll go back to my room for now. You guys enjoy the meal. Let me know how it goes,” Scarlette murmured, before walking out of the classroom.

“Ooh man, I hope she’s okay,” said Jonah, sympathy etched on his face.

There was a tense silence.

“I think—” Mira started to say, but Kaede spoke at almost the exact same time.

“I’ll go chase after her!” the latter asserted, immediately sprinting out of the classroom.

The rest of us stood around awkwardly, not knowing how to proceed.

“So uhh, cafeteria?” Jonah offered.

I felt wrong if we continued onwards to the mall without Kaede or Scarlette, so I agreed. More importantly, since the school food was technically free, I would be able to save money.

As such, the three of us continued towards the cafeteria. After collecting our food, I got a call from Kaede.

“Hey Cadel? Could you meet us at the dormitory entrance? As fast as you can please,” she urged.

It sounded serious, so I quickly polished off my plate and set off to the dormitory after informing Jonah and Mira.

When I arrived at the dormitory blocks, I noticed the 2 girls sitting side by side on a bench. Kaede had her arm put around Scarlette’s shoulder. Scarlette’s eyes were puffy.

“I got the basic idea of what’s stressing her out,” started Kaede. “But I think it’s better if Scarlette tells you herself. I think she’s more comfortable if there’s just one other person with her, so I’ll make some space for the both of y’all. In the meantime, I’ll get us dinner, okay?” she gently told Scarlette, who nodded submissively.

As Kaede set off, I sat down beside Scarlette. I wasn’t very good at consoling or empathising with people, so I hoped my company would be sufficient. The silence continued for a bit, and I realised I had to say something.

“Sooo, is there something else troubling you?” I asked.

Scarlette sniffled. “I mean I … just don’t really wanna fight Kazen, or any other 5-Star right now.”

“Is there a reason why?” I continued.

There was a quick pause. “It’s your fault,” she said.

I stayed silent, waiting for her to continue.

“If I… if I hadn’t met you… I wouldn’t hate myself so much.” Her voice broke. “Look where I am now: I’ve fallen from District 1 to 4, and got myself humiliated not once, but twice by you. I’ve never felt so helpless while facing off against another esper—” she sobbed, covering her face with her hands.

I wasn’t sure what to think. It sounded like she was blaming me, but no matter what angle I approached this from, I failed to see how it was my fault. Her own incompetence had led her here. Then again, I also failed to see how any other esper could face off against me without being utterly outmatched. Still, I was empathetic enough to know that saying any of these thoughts would be a foolish choice.

“Don’t worry about it. My Ability just happened to directly counter yours. In fact, you make up for my weakness, which is producing my own energy. Your Ability can generate a ton of power from out of nowhere, which is impressive in itself. Don’t beat yourself up over it,” I said.

“I know, but what if I get outmatched again? I don’t think I could handle such one-sided losses consecutively. I’m supposed to be a 5-Star, but right now I feel nothing like one,” she admitted.

I glanced at her. She was leaning forward, head still in her hands. Her stunning white hair was obstructing the view of her face, but her ragged breathing clearly revealed she was crying. This was rare, but I felt out of my depth. This was why I never really bothered consoling people.

Yet, a strange feeling gnawed at me. Was this what people would describe as sympathy? Pity? Guilt?

I was not sure what practical advice to give her other than “Get stronger,” but I didn’t think this was what she wanted to hear right now. Instead, I offered another option. “Perhaps you would like me to fight Kazen first? If you see how easily he gets dominated, maybe you’ll be more willing to fight him?” I asked.

Scarlette gave a raspy chuckle. “Haha… that sounds like something you would say. I’m not sure if that helps my situation though. I don’t wanna have to rely on you for everything,” she managed.

“It’s not really ‘relying’, per se. Besides, I’ve been wanting to have a go at Kazen ever since he introduced himself at the cafeteria.”

“Thanks, but no thanks. If you just steamroll him, it’ll just remind me of how inferior I am compared to you. You’re basically rubbing it in” she retorted.

“What makes you think you can’t "steamroll" HIM though?” I shot back.

“What makes you think he can’t steamroll ME?” she raised her voice.

“Nothing,” I said. “But there’s no shame in losing to another 5-Star.”

“There is,” she mumbled. “I guess it’s not like you can relate.”

She had me there. I wasn’t sure how to respond, so I decided to throw a curveball. “Say, what if I was actually a 6-Star? Would you still be ashamed?”

She looked up, turning to face me. Her eyes were red, her face wet. She blinked. “Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised. In fact, I would probably give you a 6-Star rating myself.”

I smiled. “Thanks for the compliment.”

She gave a glimmer of a smile back. “It sucks that you’re hiding your abilities though. You could completely dominate everyone here. You could even rule the school,” she continued.

I looked at her, my expression serious. “That’s what I plan to do.”

She stared at me, mouth agape. “Didn’t you say you wanted to avoid standing out?”

I nodded. But I had no choice if I wanted to get myself to District 1. I needed to win as many events or tournaments as possible, and there was no avoiding attention for that. As such, I wanted to make the most of my current life as an average student, one who has the freedom to just fade into the background.

“Let me tell you a little something about myself. Please don’t share this with anyone else.”

She gave a quick nod in agreement.

I began telling her the same information about myself as what I had previously told Kaede. I explained my current situation, but deliberately left out the more personal details. Once I was finished, Scarlette didn’t say anything at first.

“Looks like life isn’t easy for you as well, huh?” she finally said.

“Everyone has their own problems,” I explained.

“At least you’re insanely powerful.”

“My own power got me into this mess.”

I let slip a little bit of backstory deliberately. I hoped it was enough to distract her from her current emotions.

“What do you mean?” she prompted.

“It’s a little bit more personal,” I said.

“I— I see. In that case I won’t press you further.”

We sat in silence for a bit.

Eventually, she broke the silence. “Thanks Cadel, I feel a bit better now.”

“No problem,” I shrugged.

She smiled. “Yeah, thanks for telling me a little bit more about yourself too. You didn’t really have to do it if you weren’t comfortable sharing.”

“Our leader was crying, what other option did I have?” I offered. Who would’ve thought that the prideful, arrogant girl was such a crybaby?

She giggled for the first time today. “You’re right. It wouldn’t be cool if the leader was seen acting like a wuss right? Also, you did not see me cry today, you hear me? I will smack you up if I find out you snitched on me.”

As we waited for Kaede, I sensed a shift in our relationship. The light-hearted moment had eased the tension, and I couldn’t help but feel the bond between us had perhaps grown just a little closer. Still, I wasn’t sure how long I could keep the mood up so I prayed for Kaede to hasten her return.