Luckily, my ruse seemed to work. I spent the next few days toiling over the presentation, making the most of the three-hour morning class by creating beautiful slides with wonderful, in-depth notes right below, perfectly visible when in editing mode. Bai Yul didn't show up once for the rest of the week, but he had given me his email and responded promptly to any questions. I sent him the presentation Friday morning, notifying him via a text that he answered with a simple "ok". Thus, the rest of my first week at the Academy went by fast as I juggled work with escape, doing my best to evade the overly-friendly heroine everywhere I went; lectures were left just a tad early, lunch was spent alone on the balcony, and the bike rack was scrutinized before approach. 

Until, finally, it was Saturday morning. 

I sleepily laid on my bed, examining the rectangular ray of bright light taking up a portion of my wall. It had leaked in through a crack in the curtains, outshining the dim orange glow that the rest of the room was bathed in. 

My arm lazily slid off the bed, easily reaching the floor to pick up my charging phone and lift it to eye level. 

10:26 AM...So, a bit over eight hours of sleep.

A groan slipped past my lips as I dropped the phone on the bed, spreading my arms wide and wiggling them as my legs stretched out. 

I'm still sleepy though. 

I gave the ceiling a sluggish blink, my eyes eventually squinting and closing completely. Distant conversation trickled through into the small room, laughter and a teasing tone shining through the incomprehensible shouts of the happy group. Their dialogue, along with other words of people passing by, were filtered into obscurity as my mind drifted off, contently listening to the neverending, trilling birdsong. The little ballad intertwined with the regular sounds of a sunny morning, creating a bustling, peaceful atmosphere. A lone sentence went through the heavy darkness of my languid mind:

You need to start studying for that quiz on Monday. 

I felt my lips twist into a grimace at the unwelcome reminder. 

Curse you, brain. 

A strange sound escaped me - a cross between a groan and a sigh - as I rolled right, pushing myself up from under the covers to form something closer to a sitting position. My gaze trailed the room, landing on the minifridge at the far wall. 

Right, there was that too. I need to go buy more sandwiches today.

***

Oh.

The plastic bag bounced against my leg as I slowed to a stop, automatic doors sliding closed behind me. 

The end of the short street gave a clear view of the nearby promenade, and standing on the leftmost edge of that view was, unexpectedly, the villainess. Two girls flanked her sides as she stood still, her lack of movement only accentuating her fancy outfit. The longer I looked, the more prevalent one thought became:

The Academy's uniform policy really is a travesty. 

The young woman wore a knee-length checkered-plaid coat, the lapels outlined in blue and buttoned asymmetrically at her abdomen. She wore some kind of dress shirt underneath, the monochrome white delicately reaching up to cover half her neck in lace. Of course, it was practically impossible to miss the near-centerpiece of her outfit: a deep blue, silken lavalier tied around her neck, the ribbon comfortably sitting between the coat lapels. 

It was all quite eye-catching. 

I never cared much that students had to wear a skirt or dress pants with a white blouse and tie, but the villainess put my lack of fashion sense to shame. Her ensemble remained business-like, yet at the same time leagues above the uniform get-up. 

But...what is she looking at?

Her duo of friends seemed to be talking to her, but Milana didn't even move her head, keeping it trained on something at her left. 

I followed her stare to the best of my ability, spotting a charming, seemingly popular cafe that sat along the promenade. 

"Milky Stars"...does she dislike the little cartoon cow on the signboard? It's pretty cute though, peeking out behind the letters like that. 

A group of people entered the cafe, my eyes shifting to the expansive windows accompanying the glass door. 

Yeah, it definitely isn't the cow. This makes more sense. 

There, at a table arranged next to the window, was my explanation. A redhead sat typing on a laptop, taking a moment to turn it towards the blonde guy sitting across from her. She said something, he nodded after giving it half a glance, and when the girl returned to whatever she was typing up, the guy went right back to watching her. 

The redhead was, of course, Elinka, and the blonde was, of course, Augustus. 

And the villainess is, of course, jealous. 

A sympathetic sigh escaped me as my gaze shifted back to the black-haired girl. I wouldn't say I understood what it was like to be in a love triangle, but romantic rejection was fair game. It happened to everyone at least once, and I guess now was the villainess's time to suffer. 

The automatic doors clinked open, a middle-aged man giving me a strange look as he moved around me. I could only offer an apologetic smile, readjusting my grip on the plastic bag in my hands as I awkwardly began to walk towards my parked bike. However, I had just taken a couple of steps when a flash of silver assaulted my eyes. 

What is this? Did I stumble into some kind of in-game event?

I restrained my urge to look until after the bag of sandwiches was placed into the bike basket. There, on the rightmost edge of the street, stood Yohan - right across from Milana. He wasn't dressed as intricately, wearing a simple crewcut sweater with jeans. 

His mask is the most interesting part of his outfit. So boring...Oh, I sound like mom.

I grumbled internally about the sudden influx of main characters, but my lips inadvertently quirked up at the strange symmetry: waves of people lapsed around them, yet the villainess and love interest #2 were positioned similarly, both peering at the cafe as they watched Augustus admire Elinka. 

The situation only became even more comedic when Yohan tentatively looked away, facing his front and inevitably discovering Milana. The young women mirrored his actions near-simultaneously, both lurkers catching each other. 

Neither one of them reacted right away, and the embarrassment was almost visible through the air between them. Then, as if agreed upon beforehand, the lovestruck duo ignored their predicament and moved synchronously, the villainess speed-walking forward while love interest #2 veered left, towards the store. 

My smile was accompanied by a chuckle as I unchained my bike from the rack, taking a few seconds to situate myself and push off the ground. 

The masked eccentric strolling by wasn't given a second thought as I pedaled off home. 

A/N: Thanks for reading+commentinggggg! The pic is a lavalier, a type of cravat.