Chapter 1

I didn't know exactly when it started, but I noticed that my deskmate, Willow Quist, began looking at me in a strange way.

At first, she subtly moved her desk a bit farther away from mine. Later on, she moved her chair over to the window.

I patted her shoulder to remind her to focus on the lesson. Unexpectedly, she was so startled that she fell off her chair.

With a terrified look in her eyes, she scrambled to her feet and bolted out of the classroom in a panicked state.

I was utterly confused, and I wondered if I had somehow upset her. So, I decided to talk to her the next day to clear up the misunderstanding.

But when I arrived at school the next day, the seat next to mine was already empty.

Our Elandric teacher, Nadia Long, hesitantly told me that Willow had voluntarily requested to transfer to a regular class.

The class we were in was the top honors class in Yewtree High. We had the best teachers and resources. Willow had told me not less than ten times about how hard she had worked to get into this class.

Hence, I found it baffling that she had transferred to a regular class willingly.

In the end, I couldn't contain my curiosity. As soon as class ended, I found out which class she had transferred to.

I bought an expensive gift and went over to her new class. Despite not knowing the reason for her abrupt transfer, I approached her and offered my sincerest apologies.

Willow was sitting by the window, chatting and laughing with her new classmates.

As I stood near the window hesitantly, one of her friends noticed me and nudged her on the shoulder. "Hey, Willow. Someone's looking for you."

The smile on Willow's face froze instantly when she turned around and saw me. Her cheerful expression was instantly replaced by a fearful one that looked very strained. Her whole body began to tremble violently.

"Ah—It really has nothing to do with you! Please don't come looking for me anymore. I'm begging you, please!" Willow begged desperately.

The other students in the classroom were alarmed by her frantic reaction. They chased me away so that I wouldn't further agitate her.

Left with no choice, I took the gift and returned to my class.

My best friend, Ramona Lynch, guessed the outcome of my attempt at reconciliation by looking at my downtrodden expression.

She came over to pat me on the shoulder and comforted, "Let it go. There's no point forcing something when the other party isn't receptive. You sit so close to the front. The teacher will definitely assign a new deskmate to you from one of the seats at the back.

"Who knows? The new desk mate might be even better."

I sighed and responded, "I hope so."

But would my new deskmate really get along with me?

My new deskmate, Jean Claremont, turned out to be a lively and cheerful person.

It only took us two class periods to go from being strangers to casually passing notes and chatting. We quickly hit it off with each other.

But after lunch, she suddenly became quiet.

When Nadia called on her to answer a question during class, Jean acted differently from her usually enthusiastic character. She hesitated for two seconds before standing up and saying she had been distracted and didn't know the answer.

Nadia was very unhappy about this. "First, it was Willow. And now, you're becoming like her. None of you seem to be focusing on your studies. What's going on?"

Jean's eyes seemed to glance in my direction almost imperceptibly. It was only for a brief moment. However, I had become unusually sensitive lately, so I caught it.

Suddenly, I realized something—Jean was acting strange too.

She started avoiding me in any way she could.

One afternoon, during our nap time, I stirred from my sleep and opened my eyes slightly. To my shock, I saw Jean glaring at me intently.