Hi All,

Thanks for reading this. I'm really glad to see that some of you like it. I know all the chapters are pretty short, but I'm really busy so I'm already staying up until 2 am to write this for you guys. Being a competitive tennis player, I have to train five hours a day and it's really tough! I love writing though, so I hope everyone enjoys this next short chapter. And I'll try to update as soon as possible, when the academy lets me back onto the internet. (Yeah, they turn off the Wifi sometimes because they know people like me stay up past bedtime, which is eleven pm.)

Thanks,

Miya Azlikov

I walked into first period and sat in the back row, behind Hotaru. She looked up at me from her thick notepad of invention sketches, her face void of any emotion whatsoever.

"Morning," I greeted enthusiastically. I nodded at her sketches. "Who hired you this time?"

"Hyuuga Enterprise," Hotaru said blankly. My face immediately turned sour at the thought of that good for nothing jerk.

"I don't understand how you can tolerate him. One glance at his face and I feel like convulsing!"

"His parents are extremely nice, and his sister isn't that bad. Besides, I work with his parents. And they pay me a lot of money," Hotaru shrugged. "They are also the ones who host the annual Crab Fest. It's a win-win situation."

I rolled my eyes. "Of course. They got you with the crabs."

"Anyways, I heard that Natsume is tutoring you?"

I huffed and replied: "Narumi forced me."

Hotaru shook her head, amusement in her eyes. "You do know that every other girl in this school would die to be tutored by him, right?"

I scoffed. "Well, they're all stupid. Especially Luna. I mean, seriously? Going so far as to make a fan club? The girl's nuts!"

"For once, you're right about something," Hotaru muttered under her breath. "Anyways, this is your least favorite classes, right?"

"Yeah….I mean, it's math. And with Jinno teaching? Please," I exclaimed sharply. A few seconds later, the bell rang and everyone took their seats and started settling down.

"Well," Hotaru answered, a hint of mischief laced in her voice. "It's going to get a lot more interesting." And with that, she turned towards the board.

We were all confused, as Jinno didn't start the day off with his usual pop quizzes. Instead, he walked to the door and opened it wide. I took it as an opportunity to rest my head on my desk. Having to work two jobs after school, I missed out on a bunch of sleep, but how else was I supposed to pay the academy tuition? For me and Youichi, my younger brother. Luckily, we were both on seventy percent scholarship, but still. Alice Academy was quite the expensive boarding school.

I heard Jinno say: "Please welcome these two students into our class. Due to schedule changes, they'll now be in this class."

"New students" picked up my interest, and I lifted my head up to meet crimson eyes, which were definitely cast in my direction. Swear to God, I was so surprised that I literally fell out of my chair. Hotaru gave a low chuckle, and I glared at the back of her head. I'm sure she felt my heated leer, but it didn't affect her at all.

"Natsume Hyuuga," Natsume said, hands loosely in his pockets. I'm pretty sure all the girls around me sighed in admiration and (of course) Luna fainted.

"Ruka Nogi." The second one, who was the same height as Natsume, greeted. He had blonde hair and cerulean blue eyes, which shone like the ocean. Again, cue the ridiculous reaction from the girls.

I only rolled my eyes and put down my head, hoping everything would pass over quickly.

"Ruka, sit next to Hotaru in the back," Jinno barked coldly. The blonde immediately nodded and sat next to Hotaru, who didn't move an inch, but only kept sketching.

My heart plummeted before Jinno even said anything, because I knew that the only desk left was the one beside me. So when Natsume appeared next to me, I only cursed under my breath and yanked my bag off the seat for him and turned away towards the window.

I raised my hand. "Jinno, can I switch seats with someone? I'm sure someone would be willing, right?"

All the girls stood up, fighting each other like wild animals. Unfortunately, Jinno told us all to sit down and said no; that the next person to interrupt would be in his detention. Which was worse than hell - trust me.

I took a very deep breath, hoping to calm myself. But I was fuming in anger. Why did the scumbag transfer? On purpose to annoy me? I was going to strangle him within the next few minutes if he and his testosterone didn't go somewhere far, far away...

He sat down next to me, and I visibly tensed. I told myself that I would be mature and calm. But when he teasingly twirled a strand of my hair with his finger, I lost all calmness and faced him with a glare. He was smirking until I brought up my foot and kneed him.

Right where it hurts.