Unwanted Attention

 "Sapphire," Pierre said with his eyes twinkling. "Have you eaten yet?" He grabbed the other girl's hand and smiled even brighter. 

 'This is blinding,' Eirin thought while squinting. 'Is she, his lover? No wonder he's smiling so brightly,' the teenage girl backed away while looking at the girl named Sapphire. The girl has a petite build, her straight black bob haircut reaching her shoulders exuding an adorable look. Despite the thick glasses she wears, Eirin could catch a glimpse of her beautiful sapphire-blue round eyes. 

 "What are you doing with Eirin Luxfield?" Sapphire asked while stealing glances at Eirin and would quickly look away before meeting Eirin's gaze. "She's Shade Cromwell's girl." 

 "What? When did that happen?" Eirin was dumbfounded. "I-I'm sorry, could you repeat what you said?" She tried to calm herself down after realizing that the two had been surprised by her. 

Sapphire quickly hid behind Pierre. Her eyes quivered in fear as she did not know how to answer Eirin and not make her mad. "I-I heard it from the other kids," she stuttered. "I-I thought my b-brother might get in trouble with S-Shade Cromwell if he hangs out with you," Sapphire continued stuttering, making Eirin feel bad for suddenly raising her voice like that. 

 "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," Eirin said. "But wait, brother? You guys are siblings?" Her eyes went wide as she kept changing glances at Pierre and Sapphire. 

 "I know that my brother is pretty, and I look like an ugly duckling. No wonder you're surprised," Sapphire said, causing Eirin to panic. 

 "I didn't mean it like that. I just thought you were his... uhm, never mind." 

Pierre laughed seeing how the two became all panicky with each other. "You two look so adorable. Are you friends now?" 

 "Eirin Luxfield's my classmate, but she probably does not know me," Sapphire said. "See? She probably doesn't know—" 

 "Wait! I remember you," Eirin cut her off. "That girl who answered Ms. Hockenbury's question." 

 "Yes, before you sparred with Shade Cromwell." 

Silence followed and the awkwardness Eirin felt made her want to disappear into thin air. 

 "Ms. Luxfield, what are you doing here?" 

Eirin could not thank Ms. Anna Welkins more after she appeared in front of them and initiated a conversation, breaking the silence between the three. 

 "I have some... inquiries," Eirin said. "May I enter your office and talk about it?" She wanted to leave as soon as possible, and Anna didn't mind. 

 "I'll leave first," Eirin bid Pierre and Sapphire goodbye before entering Anna's office. 

 "What is it you want to discuss?" 

Eirin heaved a sigh after closing the door behind her. "I want to ask if I could send a letter to someone back home." 

 "Home?" 

 "I mean, back in the Infirmus." 

Anna sat on her chair. "Yeah, we could do that. But the mailman who delivers from Næra to Infirmus only goes once a month to deliver letters. Would that be fine with you?" 

 'Næra? Months? It didn't even take us a day to arrive here. How come the letters take months?' Eirin hesitated due to her lingering thoughts, and she did not want to sound rude. "Uhm, why does it take that long?" 

Anna smiled while fixing her glasses. "It is because there's only one mailman in Næra, and since delivering mail to the Infirmus is not a priority, they only do it once a month." 

 "Oh." Disappointment flashed on Eirin's face. "That's fine, I guess. Please tell me if the deliveryman arrived." 

Anna patted Eirin's arm. "Alright, I shall inform you." 

Eirin walked out of the office and just couldn't hide her disappointment. It hasn't been a week, but she's sure that Bright must be waiting for her letter. If only she brought her phone, then things would have been easier, was the thought that filled her mind. 

 "I can't even contact my grandmother," she muttered and sighed. 

 "Eirin! I've been searching for you." 

The teenage girl winced after hearing Kara's shrill voice. "Lunch's over. We need to go back to class now," Kara said and pulled Eirin towards the classroom without once again asking for her thoughts. She couldn't even eat. 

 'I don't like this,' Eirin thought with her stomach grumbling, but she did not have a choice and ignored it. She got pushed and pulled around by Kara and when Eirin was feeling like she shouldn't be coping with it, male students she didn't know started flocking around her again like flies. 

 "Where did you go, Eirin?" 

 "What kind of foods do you like? We should hang out downtown sometimes." 

 "Would you like to go on a date with me to the capital later?" 

 "You're new here, right? Why don't I give you a tour around and then we can eat some delicious foods later." 

Eirin could not understand the fuss and why all these male strangers wanted to get to know her and have a date with her. As if it was their first time seeing a girl. They all looked hungry for attention, and Eirin did not want any of that. 

 "Why don't you people piss off? Are you blind? Can't you all see she's just enduring your annoying asses?" 

All the male students and some female students glared at Coleen after she said that. "You're all in the way," she added since they were all standing near her seat beside Eirin's. 

 "Why don't you mind your own business, you jealous freak," Kara said making Eirin's eyes go wide. She was astonished hearing such mean words Kara let out towards Coleen, and she did not know how to react to that either. The teenage girl did not want to do anything that might offend her roommate and make her hate her even further. 

 "I don't think you should call her that," Eirin said. Due to her reaction, the people who were trying to capture her attention felt guilty as well. 

 "Eirin's right. You were out of the line there, Kara," one of the female students said. "You should just hang out with us, Eirin." They weren't even Eirin's classmates, and they just barged into the classroom, following Eirin inside. 

 "Shut the hell up." 

Silence and nothing but silence came after Shade said those words. All the students in the classroom did not dare to say another word. The fear he inflicted on everyone did not vanish even after he went back to sleep on his desk. 

 'He's so rude,' Eirin thought and grimaced. 

 "Guys! Sir Blade said that we should go back to the dormitories for now," Link announced to the whole class not knowing about any of what happened. 

 "We'll just go back later." Those other students bid Eirin goodbye after being told to shut up by Shade. However, Kara stood still in front of Eirin's seat. 

Eirin noticed how Kara balled her fist and flashed a smile on her face. "I'm sorry for disturbing you like that," she said as she sat beside Shade. Her eyes glowed and she cupped her chin while moving closer to Shade. 

 'Wow, she's going at it,' Eirin thought in awe while watching Kara. She could not believe that Kara would flirt with a grumpy and crude guy like Shade Cromwell. Before she could even think of it more, she heard Coleen tidying up her belongings and getting ready to leave. 

 "Thanks for that." 

Coleen's forehead creased and their eyes met. 

 "Y-You know, for telling others to leave." 

Coleen raised an eyebrow before shaking her head. "Why are you thanking me for that? All I did was tell them off. It was Shade who made them leave." 

Hearing that left Eirin speechless. Despite not knowing what to say, her wish to get along with her roommate got a strong hold on her. "Say, may I go back to the dorms with you?" She took all the courage and asked; however, Coleen didn't respond. "Or maybe we could go and eat some snacks in the cafeteria." 

 "Why would I do that with you?" Coleen's twin ponytail swung right through Eirin's face, slapping her, after Coleen turned around. "I didn't mean to." It made Coleen, the wary and indifferent girl flustered. 

 "It's fine. It didn't hurt that much." Eirin flashed the brightest smile she could show, but Coleen got more flustered and embarrassed, making her grab her bag and run away. "Wait—" 

But it was too late. 

Eirin's hand was left hanging after Coleen completely left her. She soon heard a snicker from behind, realizing that there were only three students left inside the classroom. Eirin, Kara, and Shade who was still fast asleep. 

 "You got rejected," Kara giggled. "It makes me wonder, why do you want to get along with that freak more than me?" She pouted, but she couldn't hide the amusement in her eyes. 

 'It's no use listening to this.' 

Eirin grabbed her bag and ran to the door. "Hey! Are you ignoring me right now!?" Kara screamed, causing Eirin to turn around and smile. 

 "To answer your question as to why I want to get along with Coleen, it's because she's, my roommate." Eirin rushed out of the room, leaving Kara and Shade all alone. 

Kara shook her head and rolled her eyes. "It's just us here. How exciting," she giggled and stared at Shade's black hair. "Shade? Are you asleep?" She reached out her hand and tried to touch Shade's head, which resulted in her hand being slapped. 

Shade's deadshot eyes glared at Kara. While clicking his tongue, he grabbed his bag and walked out of the room. He was able to witness Eirin running towards Coleen. 

 "Wait up! Coleen." 

No matter how much Eirin tried to catch up to the girl, Coleen ran as fast as she could to escape. 

 "She didn't have to run like that," Eirin whispered and sighed. "So, this is why Ava was trying to teach me how to get along with other people. It's too hard," she sighed. 

The exhaustion from all that running caught up to her and she started gasping for air. "How should I get along with her?" Questions filled her head, but before she could come up with an answer, some of the students started recognizing her. 

 "That's her! The one who sparred with Shade Cromwell!" 

 'Why must I suffer all the time because of Shade Cromwell's reputation!?'