Chapter 13

"Knock, knock, knock." Another loud bang rattled the door. "Is anyone here?" came the voice of my home teacher. For a moment, the banging ceased, and I let out a breath of relief, thinking maybe she'd leave. But then her voice called again, firmer this time, "I am coming in, if you would excuse me."

Panic surged through me. I glanced over at the nurse, Trish, her lab coat lying forgotten on the floor. "Hey, Trish! Pick up your lab coat and wear it, button it up to cover your body." My voice snapped her out of her frozen, stunned state. She blinked, nodded quickly, and scrambled to grab her coat, hastily slipping it on, fumbling to cover the torn part of her dress underneath.

I could hear the doorknob slowly turning, time running out. I turned to Trish again, my heart pounding in my chest. "Act natural. Don't let her notice anything. If she notices, the plan's ruined."

Trish gave me a quick nod, her hands trembling slightly as she whispered, "Okay."

Without wasting another second, I rushed back to the bed, throwing myself onto it, and squeezed my eyes shut, pretending to be fast asleep as the door creaked open.

The moment the door creaked open, my school teacher stepped in, her eyes scanning the room with a sharp gaze. They swept over the space until they landed on Trish, sitting at the far corner, seemingly engrossed in typing at the computer. Without hesitation, she made her way toward Trish, but as she passed by my bed, she glanced at me briefly. A split second. Then her focus shifted back to Trish.

"Hey, Trish, I've been knocking on the door, why didn't you respond?" she asked, her voice holding a note of irritation as she walked closer to her.

A few silent seconds ticked by. Trish didn't react, completely absorbed in her screen, and my heart rate spiked. I squinted my eyes open slightly, just enough to see the interaction without drawing attention. My teacher, Sarah, now had a hint of frustration etched on her face, her lips pressed into a thin line.

"Trish, ain't I talking to you?" she said, her tone sharper as she placed a hand on Trish's shoulder. My stomach twisted in knots. I prayed desperately for Trish to act normal, not to mess up. Please don't mess this up.

Trish pulled out an earbud I hadn't noticed before, turning to face Sarah with a casual smile. "What's up, Sarah? Is there a problem?"

Hearing her respond so naturally sent a wave of relief through me. I exhaled slowly, glad she hadn't slipped.

Sarah's irritation was clear, but she seemed to let it slide. "Well, how is Kazuma doing? Is he okay now?" she asked, trying to regain some calm, though her voice still carried a bit of tension.

"Kazuma? He's okay now," Trish replied smoothly. "But he's still asleep. Is there anything wrong, Sarah?" she added, a smug smile playing on her lips.

Sarah sighed, clearly not in the mood for Trish's attitude. "Why are you giving me that smug look, Trish? The thing is, his classmates are worried about him. They wanted to check if he's doing okay, but I told them I'd come since it's still class time." She let out another tired sigh.

Trish's smile widened. "You really care about your students, don't you, Sarah?"

Sarah gave a small smile in return. "Why wouldn't I?"

As she smiled, memories of the past hit me like a punch. I remembered those days in her class when I begged for help while being bullied. She always looked the other way. Never once did she step in. It didn't matter now; she was already on my list. I had no use for her fake concern. Besides, I had bigger things to focus on—like figuring out how to control these powers. And maybe, just maybe, getting something else I'd missed out on all this time.

I mulled over my thoughts, frustrated. "Hmph, wouldn't it be easier if I had a skill like in *Redo of Healer*? Some instant mastery over my abilities like in the revenge stories I used to read. But no, this is real life. You only get one shot. One wrong move, and it's game over," I muttered to myself, feeling the weight of reality press down on me.

Then, a devious idea sparked in my mind. "Silly me, how could I forget about our classmate Susan?" I whispered under my breath, a sly grin spreading across my face. "The class slut," I added, almost licking my lips. I could already picture the next step.

"This is going to be interesting," I thought, a twisted excitement bubbling up inside me.