Andy Zhang was chasing after her.

Andy with his stupid blonde bowl-cut.

“Shay!” he called out, “Can we talk?”

Nope.

Shay hugged her new bookbag tighter as she increased her pace.

Talking to Andy, the locker room jerker, was nowhere on her list of things she wanted to do.

An amused ‘OhHh’ and a low ‘huhuhu’ giggle signaled that Aquila was close behind.

She jogged up to Shay’s side wearing what looked to be the blacks of a classic, feudal-era ninja.

“Master Yan,” she said, “I’ll remain here and hold off your pursuers de gozaRU!”

“What?” Shay frowned, “Is that guy still following me?”

“Psh, no,” Aquila said, “It just sounded like something that’d be cool to say.”

She swept back her hood, letting her black and blue hair drift down. Then, she pulled down her red ninja muffler, revealing a mischievous smile that paired with her mysterious gray-eyed gaze.

“So are you running from someone? Or are you running to someone?”

Shay slowed her pace. She wasn’t running anywhere.

“You can tell me!” Aquila said. She held her two fingers forward, adding, “A ninja keeps her master’s secrets safe! Nin nin.”

Psh. What was that? Shay found herself smiling wide, despite her frustration and utter exhaustion~

Even if Aquila wasn’t the best at being a friend, she was still great at making Shay feel better with her ridiculousness.

“I don’t have any cool secrets for you today, Aki.”

“Everyone’s got cool secrets,” Aquila grinned, “Who bought you that bag, then?”

“I bought it myself,” Shay said.

Her heart felt warm with pride, saying it. Her new bookbag was a physical symbol of her recent accomplishments.

“And what about that shiny button on the strap?” Aquila asked. “Is that newWww??”

“NooOo~” Shay said, stretching out her response to match Aki’s mYsteriouS-ness.

She quickly unclipped her employee pin and hid it in one of her bag pouches.

Aquila was a nosy girl who always wanted to know everything (and always got what she wanted.) So it was natural that Shay would choose the fun option, hiding her secrets as long as she could.

(Also, she didn’t need the entire school to know that she stole a golden pin from a millionaire. Also, was her snake pin made of real gold? And how much money did Tyvan actually have?)

“You should get me something too,” Shay said. “I’ll put your pin right under his.”

Aquila scrunched up her eyebrows, suddenly looking serious, “It’s a pin, then?”

“Uh... y-yeah?” Shay said nervously. “So?”

Aquila’s mouth widened into a grin.

“And. it’s from. a guy!” she shouted.

“Ahaha...” Shay sighed. She let that slip. “Can I trust my loyal retainer to keep her master’s secrets?”

Aquila rotated her arms out, then folded her hands into the two-finger-up gesture from earlier.

“A ninja has no master.”

“Pfffff... trrrAaaaaitor,” Shay snickered. Of course.

“Probably best you don’t let Andy find out though,” Aquila added with a lazy shrug.

“Why would I care about what that guy thinks?”

“Because you care about how people think of you at school,” Aquila teased.

Egh. That was somewhat true.

And, just then... Shay thought she saw something-- something far more worrying if it got out.

“Hey, Aquila... I’ll talk to you later, okay?”

“Huh?” Aquila tilted her head, “You’re not headed back to class?”

“I-- I have something to take care of!” Shay said as she turned right past a corner.

She counted to ten before doubling back in the opposite direction. She even walked on the balls of her feet so her footsteps weren’t as loud. It was maybe the first time in her life that her Tae Kwon Do training had actual use.

Once she was sure Aquila wasn’t around to witness it, she made her way toward the fully-grown adult man loitering on school grounds.

It was the most casual Shay had ever seen Tyvan: beige suit and beige vest with dark buttons and a dark-green collared shirt underneath. But he was still dressed more professionally than 100% of teachers and faculty.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

--and he was having a conversation with two girls that should have been illegal for him to talk to!

“No, I currently have no plans of working here,” he said. “I... don’t believe I have the qualifications.”

--”You don’t need any of that! What matters is your DeSiRe!”

--”Can we just introduce you to our Student Council President? She can do anything!”

“Hi,” Shay said. “That’s me! Please, sir, allow me to have a Moment of Your Time.”

She hooked Tyvan’s arm, dragging him away from the two hormonally-charged first-years.

Really?! Have the girls in her school always been so shameless??

“Good afternoon, Miss Yan,” Tyvan said. “I appreciate your timely arrival. It’s been a rather droll process, seeking the proper channels to enter your learning institution.”

Once Shay had gotten well away from anyone that could listen in, she turned to Tyvan, glaring at him with mild suspicion and moderate-to-severe disapproval.

“Tyvan, what are you doing here?”

“I was hoping to find you,” he said with his usual polite half-smile. It was charming-- but not charming enough to make up for Shay’s panic and... and... everything.

“Briar Rose chided me earlier this sun,” he said. “I have been informed that it was terribly rude of me to ask you to pay the valet.”

He took out his wallet. And he removed the fattest sTack of 100 dollar bills Shay had ever seen in her life.

It wasn’t a good look-- Shay still in her high school uniform being offered money by a well-dressed adult. So naturally, she spun around in a full 360, checking to see if anyone was around.

Her heart dropped when she recognized one of her teachers (who was, thankfully, too far away to see exactly what was happening.)

Miss Esha Ansari! Her English Lit. teacher! The kindest and most understanding and sweetest teacher in the world!

Miss Ansari would understand! She knew that Shay wasn’t that kind of girl!

But the situation-- oh, no... she didn’t want to have to explain!

Shay grabbed Tyvan’s sleeve, “We have to go! Come on!”

She dragged him along, running faster than she ever had in her life-- faster than when it was raining, faster than on the track. She ran like her life depended on it.

--and considering her social life was her life, it did.

Once they turned the corner, she turned back to Tyvan and grabbed his gloved hand.

He... calmly pried her grip off in a smooth motion. But wHy!?

“Tyvan!” she said, “Let’s do the hand-holdy thing!”

He calmly put his money away, not taking the situation nEarLy as seriously as he REALLY should have. “I’d like you to be more specific, if you would.”

“That thing!” Shay cried, “We hold hands and-- and I close my eyes! And we just-- we magic!”

“That’s not how that works,” Tyvan said. “My magic-- most magics are highly situational and not at all convenient.”

“We need to get out of here!” Shay said, “It’s-- it’s dangerous!”

Tyvan glanced up.

Up? Why up?

Oh! Tyvan was a genius. Shay almost kissed him for it. (And maybe she would have, if she wasn’t a CoWard!)

She tugged his sleeve again, “There’s an outside stairwell at the other end. Let’s go up to the second floor!”

Tyvan’s gaze drifted toward the building. “I see an open window. Is that a viable option?”

Shay frowned and looked to where he was pointing, “H-how are we going to get up there? Do you have a spell that can help?”

“No?” Tyvan said, “Magic is unnecessary for just that.”

He knelt down with his back facing her.

What he was suggesting was absolutely crazy.

Still, Shay wrapped her arms around him, in front of his chest.

When he stood up, she was tempted to wrap her legs around his waist, too-- but that would be even harder to explain if Miss Ansari spotted them.

--of course, she should have done it anyway, for safety reasons.

Tyvan started running.

He jumped.

And Shay, being an idiot, slipped off.

She should have screamed, too-- but she was so shocked and terrified (and stupid) that not even a primitive scream came out.

When she looked up, Tyvan had one hand grabbed onto her wrist, his other hand grabbing hold of the second-floor window sill.

“Can you climb?” he asked.

Shay shook her head. She cried a little bit.

But somehow... Tyvan lifted her up... with just one arm.

She reached the window, grabbing onto the edge... trying and failing to pull herself up.

She felt Tyvan pushing her butt-- which shocked her so much that she almost threw herself off the building and to her death.

But thankfully... she made it through the window. Alive. Her heart pounding like a bongo drum was a painful reminder of that.

She made it into the faculty room!

And no one was around?

How lucky was that?

Tyvan climbed in shortly after.

“This is fun,” he said.

Was it?

He wasn’t smiling or anything.

“Is this a common game?” he asked, “avoiding your instructors? I almost regret not attending classes when I was younger.”

That was incredibly interesting!

Shay wanted to ask more-- but it wasn’t the time or place to learn about the guy she liked.

“So why can’t we do the hand-holdy magic?” she asked.

“It only works in areas with a larger concentration of people”

Shay closed her eyes and groaned. Highly situational and not at all convenient-- just like he said.

“Shay? Are you in there?”

--a voice from the other side of the door.

Shay’s eyes popped open. Andy? Why was Andy still looking for her?!

Oh, no~

If Miss Ansari could be reasoned with, Andy would absolutely destroy her reputation if he found her with Tyvan! Alone! In private! In the normally forBidDen faculty room, with ZERO adult supervision!