The sports period finally ended.
However, for Alia, her problems were only just beginning.
As soon as she entered the classroom, several pairs of eyes immediately turned toward her.
Alia had just set her bag on the desk when she began to feel uncomfortable.
“What is it?”
Her deskmate, Naya, looked at Alia with open curiosity.
“You really don’t know?”
“Know what?”
Naya leaned closer.
“Everyone’s talking about you.”
Alia sighed.
“Because of what happened earlier?”
Naya nodded quickly.
“Not just one or two people. Almost everyone in the sophomore class knows, too.”
Alia covered her face with her palms.
“Oh, my God.”
“I’m curious.”
“Be curious later.”
“I can’t.”
Naya laughed.
“Alia, what exactly is your relationship with Ravian?”
“We’re friends.”
“Friends?”
“Yeah.”
Naya narrowed her eyes.
“Just regular friends?”
“Yes.”
“If you’re just regular friends, why did he take your water bottle?”
Alia fell silent.
She couldn’t answer that question either.
Ravian could easily have gotten water from one of his own friends. There was even a water dispenser by the edge of the field for the students to use.
But for some reason, her older brother had walked straight over to her.
And to make matters worse, Ravian had drunk from her bottle without paying the slightest attention to everyone watching.
Alia knew her brother truly didn’t care what people said about him.
But she did.
It was only her first day.
She didn’t want her name to become the subject of gossip already.
“I don’t know,” Alia finally replied.
Naya grew even more curious.
“You must be hiding something.”
Alia gave a faint smile.
“Maybe.”
The school bell rang before Naya could ask anything else.
The teacher entered the classroom, and all the students returned to their seats.
Alia let out a relieved sigh.
At least she could escape the questions for a while.
However, that peace didn’t last long.
During lunch break, several girls from the sophomore class came to the front of Alia’s classroom.
They stood there, occasionally peeking inside.
“Which one?”
“That one.”
“The girl from earlier?”
“Yeah.”
Alia, who was opening her lunch, immediately realized that several people were watching her.
She turned around.
Their eyes met.
One of the girls quickly looked away.
Alia furrowed her brow.
“Why are they looking at me?”
Naya, sitting beside her, answered while chewing her food.
“Because you’re famous.”
“After just one day?”
“At this school, one incident can make someone famous in five minutes.”
Alia let out a small laugh.
“That’s ridiculous.”
“It is.”
Naya then leaned toward her.
“But there’s one thing I find strange.”
“What?”
“Ravian is known for being cold.”
Alia immediately stopped eating.
“Cold?”
“Extremely.”
Naya nodded.
“He rarely talks to the girls. Even when someone tries to talk to him, he only gives short answers.”
Alia held back a smile.
“That’s just how he is.”
“How do you know?”
Alia almost answered incorrectly.
Fortunately, she quickly picked up her drink.
“It’s obvious.”
Naya continued staring at her.
“I don’t know. I think there’s something strange going on.”
Alia only smiled.
Inside, she thought,
If you knew we were siblings, you’d probably be even more shocked.
Elsewhere, the sophomore class was abuzz with talk about the same thing.
Ravian sat in his seat, reading a book.
Several male classmates around him kept teasing him.
“Van.”
Ravian didn’t answer.
“Van!”
“What?”
“Do you know that freshman girl?”
Ravian turned a page.
“Who?”
“The girl you gave a drink to earlier.”
Ravian stopped reading.
“Her.”
“What’s her name?”
Ravian stayed silent.
His friend laughed.
“Don’t tell me you don’t know.”
“I know.”
“Her name?”
Ravian gave him a flat look.
“Why?”
“Because I’m curious.”
“No need.”
“Why not?”
Ravian went back to reading.
“Because she’s none of your business.”
Several of his friends immediately whistled.
“Whoa!”
“Someone’s defensive.”
“Don’t tell me she’s actually your girlfriend.”
Ravian closed his book.
“She’s not my girlfriend.”
“Then what is she?”
Ravian was silent for a moment.
Then his answer came calmly.
“She’s someone important.”
Everyone immediately fell silent.
Even the friends who had been joking around exchanged glances.
Ravian almost never said that someone was important to him.
One of his friends raised an eyebrow.
“Seriously?”
Ravian went back to reading.
“Are you done?”
They laughed.
But not one of them knew that the person Ravian meant was his own younger sister.
Meanwhile, Alia was walking to the cafeteria with Naya.
She didn’t notice that a male student was walking toward them from the opposite direction, carrying several books.
His name was Daren.
He was a sophomore known for his achievements in sports.
Unlike Ravian, who was famous for his academic achievements and cold personality, Daren was easy to get along with.
He was often seen joking around with his friends.
But that day, he stopped when he saw someone in front of him.
Alia.
The girl was walking along with a soft laugh.
Her long hair moved with every step.
Daren didn’t know why, but his eyes simply stopped on her.
“Why did you stop?”
His friend bumped his shoulder.
Daren snapped back to reality.
“It’s nothing.”
He started walking again.
But a few steps later, one of the books in his hands fell to the floor.
Alia saw it and immediately stopped.
“You dropped your book.”
Daren turned around.
“Oh.”
Alia bent down and picked it up.
Then she handed it to him.
“Here.”
Daren accepted it.
“Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.”
Alia was about to continue walking.
But without thinking, Daren asked,
“Are you new here?”
Alia turned around.
“Yeah.”
“A freshman?”
“Yeah.”
Daren smiled.
“Welcome.”
Alia returned his smile.
“Thanks.”
Then she left with Naya.
Daren remained standing where he was.
His friend patted him on the shoulder.
“Don’t tell me you’re interested.”
Daren laughed.
“We just met.”
“But you kept staring at her.”
Daren shook his head.
“I’m just curious.”
“Curious, or do you like her?”
Daren didn’t answer.
He only watched Alia’s back as she grew farther away.
For the first time in a long while, someone had managed to capture his attention in just a few seconds.
And Daren didn’t know that the girl he had just met was anything but ordinary.
That afternoon, Alia returned home.
As soon as she entered the family room, she saw Ravian sitting on the sofa.
Ravian was playing on his phone.
Alia immediately walked over to him.
“Big brother!”
Ravian looked up.
“What?”
“Do you know what happened today?”
“I know.”
“Then why did you do that?”
“Do what?”
“Drink from my bottle in front of everyone!”
Ravian looked completely calm.
“So what?”
“Now everyone thinks there’s something special between us.”
“That’s not a problem.”
“Maybe not for you.”
Alia sat down beside him.
“But I want to keep my identity a secret.”
Ravian looked at his younger sister.
“Then don’t get too close to me at school.”
Alia’s eyes widened.
“You’re the one who came over to me!”
Ravian fell silent.
Alia grew even more annoyed.
“Starting tomorrow, don’t do anything like that again.”
“Fine.”
“And don’t say hi to me.”
“Fine.”
“Don’t look at me.”
Ravian raised an eyebrow.
“That’ll be difficult.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re my younger sister.”
Alia fell silent.
Ravian’s tone was still as cold as ever.
But that simple sentence slowly made her anger fade.
Ravian then ruffled Alia’s hair.
“Relax. I won’t let anyone bother you.”
Alia smiled.
“Now that’s more like my big brother.”
Ravian picked up his phone again.
But before Alia could leave, he suddenly asked,
“Who’s Daren?”
Alia stopped in her tracks.
She turned around.
“Daren?”
Ravian looked at her.
“He spoke to you in the hallway.”
Alia nodded.
“Oh. He’s an upperclassman.”
“Don’t get too close to him.”
Alia furrowed her brow.
“Why?”
“He’s a guy.”
Alia laughed.
“So?”
Ravian didn’t answer.
He simply looked back at his phone.
Alia shook her head.
“You’re weird, big brother.”
Then she went up to her room.
But without Alia knowing, Ravian continued staring toward the stairs after his younger sister had left.
His face remained cold.
But his thoughts were restless.
Not because of Daren.
But because he knew one thing.
Ever since Alia had started school, too many people had begun paying attention to her.
And Ravian wasn’t sure all that attention would end well.
Meanwhile, in her room, Alia stood in front of the mirror.
She looked at her reflection with a small smile.
Her first day hadn’t gone according to plan.
The secret about Ravian had almost been exposed.
She had also caught the attention of several people.
Including an upperclassman named Daren.
But Alia didn’t yet know that their brief meeting in the hallway was only the beginning.
Because starting tomorrow, her school life would become much more eventful.
And without realizing it, two men would gradually enter her life.
One was her own cold, fiercely protective older brother.
The other was a boy who had only just seen her for the first time, yet was already growing curious about a beautiful girl named Alia.