The next morning at school, I could barely process what was happening.

Standing at the front of the classroom was Lina, dressed in the school uniform as if she had always belonged here. The teacher introduced her as a new transfer student from Poland, and instantly, the class was buzzing with excitement.

"Whoa, a foreign student?"

"She's so cool!"

"Her Japanese is really good!"

I slumped in my chair, rubbing my temple. How the hell did this happen?

I shot a glance at Lina, who stood there with a perfectly composed expression, nodding politely at the teacher's words. She didn't seem nervous at all—if anything, she looked like she had done this a hundred times before.

Did she hypnotize the teacher and the principal too? I thought, trying to wrap my head around how effortlessly she had slipped into my life.

"Alright, Lina, you can take a seat next to Hikaru," the teacher announced.

My body stiffened. You've got to be kidding me.

Lina walked over with a small smirk, clearly enjoying my discomfort. She sat down beside me, setting her bag down like this was all perfectly normal.

Leaning slightly toward me, she whispered, "You look surprised."

I sighed, keeping my voice low. "I just don't get why this is necessary."

She tilted her head playfully. "Blame Ayami. She said I needed a proper cover. And, well... here I am."

I groaned, already feeling a headache coming on. This was going to be a long day.

***

Lunchtime rolled around, and as expected, Lina was the center of attention.

A small crowd of curious classmates gathered around her, bombarding her with questions.

"So, what's Poland like?"

"Is it true it snows all the time there?"

"Do you eat bread every day instead of rice?"

Lina answered each question smoothly, her tone light and confident. "Oh, Poland? Yeah, it's really cold most of the year. Lots of forests, too. And the food? Well, we eat a lot of hearty stews, dumplings, and sausages."

I nearly choked on my rice. She's just making stuff up.

I glanced at her, wondering just how much of what she was saying was true and how much was complete nonsense. She didn't even flinch, just kept smiling and answering every question like she was some kind of cultural ambassador.

Then, someone asked, "What about your lunch? Is that something from Poland too?"

Lina chuckled. "Oh, no. This is just from home."

Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

She casually opened her bento box, revealing a neatly arranged meal—rice, grilled fish, tamagoyaki, and a few side dishes. Nothing remotely Polish about it.

For a moment, the group admired how well-prepared it was, but then one guy furrowed his brows, glancing between her bento and mine. "...Wait a second. Your food looks exactly like Hikaru's."

I froze mid-bite. Crap.

Lina blinked innocently. "Oh? Maybe it's just a coincidence."

The guy looked at me, then back at her, clearly suspicious.

I quickly looked away, stuffing more food in my mouth to avoid saying anything. Of course it's the meal my mother made...

***

Science class was a chaotic mess of bubbling flasks, foaming reactions, and excited chatter. Today's experiment? Elephant toothpaste.

Each team had their own setup—hydrogen peroxide, dish soap, and a catalyst to make the reaction explode into a towering column of foam.

I was partnered with some classmates I barely talked to, which was fine. The real problem? I had no idea what I was doing.

"Uh... how much peroxide do we use again?" I asked, glancing at the instructions.

"Just pour a little," my teammate shrugged.

I poured.

"Maybe a little more," another teammate said.

I poured more.

"Yeah, that should be good," they nodded.

That was absolutely not good.

Meanwhile, across the room, Lina's group was working with precision. She handled the materials like she'd done this a hundred times before, carefully measuring out each ingredient. She didn't hesitate, didn't second-guess anything.

"Wait, you've done this before?" someone in her group asked.

Lina smiled. "Ah, yeah, back home. We had experiments like this all the time."

I squinted. Yeah, right.

"Alright, time to mix!" one of my teammates announced.

I dropped the catalyst into the bottle.

For a second, nothing happened.

Then—

BOOM!

A massive burst of foam shot up, overflowing and spilling onto the table. Some of it even splattered onto the floor.

The entire class turned to look.

I coughed, staring at the mess. "...Oops?"

Lina, watching from her side of the room, just sighed and shook her head.

The teacher rushed over, their face a mix of exhaustion and disappointment. "Hikaru! What did you do!?"

I quickly wiped some of the foam off my sleeve. "Uh... science?"

The class burst into laughter. Even Lina, who had been calmly observing, let out a small chuckle, covering her mouth as she tried to hide it.

The teacher sighed, pinching the bridge of their nose. "Clean it up. And next time, follow the instructions properly."

As I grabbed some paper towels and started wiping up the mess, one of my teammates patted me on the back. "Well, at least it looked cool."

"Yeah, if cool means getting in trouble," I muttered.

Meanwhile, Lina's experiment went perfectly, producing just the right amount of foamy reaction without making a mess. The teacher praised her group, which only made my failure feel even worse.

When class finally ended, I packed up my things, ready to escape to the next subject. But as I stepped into the hallway, Lina casually walked beside me.

"You're really bad at this," she commented, smirking.

I shot her a look. "Oh, thanks for that. Really helpful."

She just chuckled. "Maybe I should start tutoring you."

"As if you'd have the patience," I scoffed.

Lina shrugged. "Who knows? I might surprise you."

I wasn't sure if that was a threat or a genuine offer, but I decided not to push my luck. One disaster per day was enough.

***

As the game went on, the sound of sneakers squeaking against the polished gym floor filled the air, mixed with the occasional cheer from the sidelines. Most of the guys were focused on the match, but a lot of the girls were more interested in watching the players—especially Lina.

She moved with sharp precision, effortlessly dodging defenders as she dribbled the ball. With a swift turn, she faked a pass before smoothly sinking a shot from mid-range. A small cheer rose from the crowd, clearly impressed by her skills.

I wasn't even thinking about it, but my eyes kept following her movements. Not out of admiration—just curiosity.

"Why are you staring at her so intensely?"

I snapped out of my thoughts as Risa and Sakura walked up to me. Risa had her arms crossed, a teasing smirk on her face, while Sakura looked mildly curious.

"I'm not staring," I said flatly, looking away.

Risa raised an eyebrow. "Sure. You've been watching her the whole time."

Sakura tilted her head. "Do you know her from somewhere? You weren't this interested in the game before."

I sighed, realizing I needed to be careful. "I just... didn't expect her to be good at basketball."

Risa hummed, unconvinced, and leaned against the wall beside me. "But I guess guys really like her."

To Be Continue.