Chapter 2: It's her

"Samaru-kun, what are you doing?"
"You're so brave!"
"You were so young."
"If anything happens, kill the girl if you have to!"
"You don't have to do this, you know!"

People won't stop convincing Samaru to just walk away, and he admits, he never really cared about Mako's grades, he just discreetly yearns to see the so-called notorious valedictorian, to know for himself if she is what everyone else thinks she was. He shrugged off their pointless persuasion, and reached his hands to the handles of the library door. A sea of gasps echoed around the used-to-be empty hallway, now filled to the brim with students of different degrees, watching the most popular boy, come face to face with the most feared valedictorian.

Again, he admits that he's anxious himself. He found his eyes averting to the small, square windows in both sides of the door. He peered over the windows, feeling his heart pound against his chest.

He expected to see a a hooded girl like what everyone described her to be, glaring out through the window like she's been expecting him, with books littered in almost all tables. But, all he saw was a neat, tidy, and an unused looking library with a crestfallen librarian in her middle ages, fiddling with the fringes of a nursery rhyme book. Surpassing Samaru's intelligence and possibly having the knowledge that she's feared by the whole school(except the school staff. They deem her as a talented lone wolf), she must've foresaw that curious students, mostly gossipers, would examine what her true nature was, but being smart, isolated herself from those peering eyes. How he wished he could do the same.

A tiny bit of anxiousness drained out of his system, some lingering in his conscience, telling him that she could've hidden in the deeper parts of the library. So, there's a good chance of not running in to her, since it's huge. Relieved, he changed his objective, to get the book and get out of there, before he gets himself into dirt.

He pulled the handle back, a slow creaking sound was heard perfectly as everyone stood completely still. Others didn't even breathe.

The librarians head craned up, looking at the handsome, blond boy who visited the library for the first time in months. Or was it years?

"O-oh! H-how may I help you, young sir!" The librarian fumbled, as the young boy neared the desk.

"Where can I find a book about arithmethics?" Samaru asked with a smile.

"There's a whole aisle filled with arithmetical math, could you be more specific?" The librarian said, she felt like she could scream and jump around in joy.

"It's okay, I'll just borrow what I need."

The librarian told him the aisle number, and he sought for the book.

"Aisle 13....aisle 13...........aisle 13......aisle 13!" He ran his fingers through the books, and he can't seem to find what he needs. He searched the whole aisle once again, and nothing was even close to arithmetics. He saw gaps between the books, mostly the ones he really needed for Mako.

An unexpected chill ran down his spine for some reason, the hair on his skin forming goose bumps, and he didn't want to find out the cause. It felt like a person, or an ethereal being just flew behind him very slowly, but when he turned his head back, he saw no one.

He gulped heavily, and his desperation for the book grew more and more by the second. Even the smallest creaks from a protruding, wooden plank made him jump.

He exhaled silently, motivating himself inside his head. It's fine. I'm not going to be scared of a girl. I'm not. Just a girl. Girl's aren't scary.

He bit his lip, and went to the other side of the shelf just in case it fell on the other side, or was misplaced by clumsy readers. Nonetheless, no one even comes here anymore ever since those rumors started last year. Coming from the reaction from the librarian, she looked like she hasn't seen a student for centuries.

When he turned to the corner, a blue hoodie was the first thing he saw before feeling his heart almost stop. Aghast, he instantly ducked down, trying to make less noise as much as possible. Yep! That was her! He internally screamed. Samaru blanched, chastising himself for being terrified of a girl based on rumors.

To prove he's not scared of a girl, he will walk up to her and ask where the books might be, judge her attitude personally, walk out to the library becoming a school legend. He didn't want to be, but if he came out of here alive, he was sure that they'll crown him king once he gets back.

He gave a deep sigh, as his two-faced conscience debated in his brain, currently having a battle whether he's committing a death wish or not falling for those stupid gossips, from stupid people.

Apparently, they tied.

So, he treaded to the girl who draped her upper part with clothing, trying to maintain as calm and casual as he can while walking. Despite his trembling feet.

He stood few feet away from her, reaching his hand to her shoulder for a tap.

"U-uhh, excuse me. I need to fi-" he reached out for her shoulder, but that was when the inner demon was released, and was about to prove that those rumors were right.

It all happened in slow motion. The girl swiveled her head backward, giving him a glimpse of her predatory growl, that made his eyes as wide as saucers. You could really see hell through them. Her ankle twisted sideways, as her other stayed in a wide distance from her left in a stance he wasn't familiar with. Her other hand lurched to Samaru's left hand, the one currently touching her and latched her arm to his with a bone-crushing squeeze, and within a point second, she placed her left leg behind his. She gave him a hard push against the table, slamming his arm on a pile of books of different heights, not giving his arm a smooth landing, and also adding more pain.

Time reverted back to normal, giving him enough time to comprehend what happened. His arm was in an odd position, and his body was uncomfortably laid against piles of books, but he never really paid attention to his painful situation. She still held his left arm and completely pinned him down on the table, long strands of hair falling down from its place in the back of her hoodie.

Her hair. It was brown.

It was her! The one who purposely fell on him at the clearing! He can't mistaken that golden-brown eyes from anywhere. He was suppose to feel angry, irritated, or hurt from his position, but instead, he looked.....astonished. No girl can simply do that, and he thought he considered himself to have an intense instinct that almost broke a rib from his best friend. Only an extremely trained martial artist would be able to do such a tactic.

Her eyes widened, assuming she noticed him too, and reluctantly released him. She fixed her hair and positioned her hood to lower down further from her forehead.

She clicked her tongue, and slithered her hands, hands that were so dainty, that no one would ever thought that she could be capable of something so deadly.

Samaru recovered quite quickly, and instead of fleeing for his life, he felt more than ever to know her better.

His eyes averted to the pile of books in the table, and from what it seems, there's more than twenty books piled up, and eventually fell to a single, open book. His hands reached for it, but a jerking motion seized his hand, he turned to her, her face was blank and the malicious glint in her eyes degraded to stern, stolid ones piercing through him like sharp daggers. Her hood fell to the back of her head, resting on the bumps of her twin tails.

Samaru held her look for a brief moment, unconsciously his eyes narrowed into a glare. Not an angry one, more like a mocking one. Though the girl was unfazed, he still resisted the twitching urge of the side of his lips. What do you know? The first time he glowered at someone since elementary.

Her lips pursed into a thin line, slowly separating as words exuded from her lips.

"What's your problem," She said, her voice not the same sweet melody that produced from her lips, now more of like a robot.

"I couldn't find the arithmetics series. It was all vacant when I looked at the aisle." He stated blankly, watching her frown deepen, shifting in her position uncomfortably before trudging to the circular table loaded with books of different subjects all piled up with its according category.

"Too bad." She said in an icy tone. She locked her attention on the open book he was about to grab, her eyeballs rolling to Samaru from time to time, checking to see if he would leave. But, he just stood there. Watching her scan the book with extreme focus, yet slightly disturbed by another person's presence. She showed her teeth as she crouched down to lessen the proximity between her and the book, growling under her breath.

Samaru grabbed the wooden rims of the chair and sat on the chair, grabbing a random book and pretended to read. At first, she looked uncomfortable, preferring to have a braying donkey as a companion, rather than a person. A person, and a real one, didn't hesitate to sit beside her like a normal person. Well, she wasn't just a normal person. Students out there prefer to leave things that didn't bother them much, but others couldn't pacify their thirst for gossip, and went through extremes.

Just like this idiot.

Samaru's eyes never left her, studying the way her pupils move from left to right, her bangs the we're in perfect length with her forehead, except for two strands of hair that grew longer on each side of her bangs, and her hair tied in twin tails, twin tails that were already outdated, yet she still preferred to keep it that way.

"Stop staring." She said in an unemotional tone, not flinching or moving her gaze to whom she was referring to. Samaru didn't notice the blood rushing to his cheeks as he scoffed.

"I'm not staring. Staring is gazing for someone for a brief duration. I was doing no such thing." He defended, her brow raising at his book that was locked on one page since he took it. He fumbled and threw it at another pile, grabbing a thinner book that sat in another pile away from her study area. Which was unfortunately a magazine about female models in bikinis.

A victorious smirk was plastered on her face, raising her eyes to the baffled blond.

"Hmm......kinky." She remarked in a snarky, yet studious manner.

Samaru growled under his breath. She returned her gaze on the book, her amused expression exchanged with concentration. He threw out the magazine and grabbed another book, this time checking its contents.

In a matter of minutes, she slid the book aside bringing out a notebook with springs, it's hardback didn't really seemed hard, since it has creases and ripped parts. She flipped it open, scrawly notes filled the each page. He grimaced as she flipped the dainty pages gently to prevent ripping and got to a page with a centimetre spare of space and began to scribble down more notes.

"Your penmanship is appalling for a valedictorian."

She scowled. "Why don't you tell that to your friends over there." She faced the door filled with clamorous students elbowing and stepping on each other just to see Samaru. "By the way, this is just notes. Not my actual penmanship."

Samaru pursed his lips together, grateful that students couldn't see them.

"Whatever." He said. "What's your name?"

"Why are you talking to me? Join your friends and cower in fear." She hissed.

"Just curious. Just tell me your name and I'll leave."

Her eyes widened for a split second, before reverting back to its narrow state. She paused her work for a while, and gave a sigh.

"Ayo. It's Ayo." She relented.

"I see. I'll be going then." He stood up from his seat, her jaw clenched in anticipation as he began to head towards the exit. She exasperatedly sighed, closing her book and moving on to the next.

Samaru halted, looking over his shoulder. "Oh, and one more thing."

Ayo frowned, and begrudgingly faced him.

"Yes?"

"The arithmetic series."

"The third pile across the one where you got your vulgar magazine." She deadpanned.

Samaru groaned, treading past her to the pile and swiped it, stomping out the door. He inhaled then exhaled to calm his vexed nerves and faced the crowded entrance of the library. He pushed the door open, as students interrogated him like the social media.

They assaulted him with questions regarding the feared valedictorian, giving them a dissatisfied, false answer.

"I'm sorry everyone, but I was not able to cross paths with her."

They groaned dejectedly, the crowd lessening to give him a chance to breath fresh oxygen.

Mako walked through the retreating crowd, slinging an arm to his blond friend and grinned.

"You lied didn't you." Mako grabbed the book from his hands and patted him in the back.

Samaru smirked. "You always see through me. I'll explain the details at dismissal."