The next day, Alia began to understand that her life at school would never be the same again.
Ever since Ravian had openly revealed that she was his biological younger sister, almost all the students had started treating Alia differently.
As she walked toward class, several students greeted her.
"Alia!"
"Morning, Alia!"
Alia answered with a smile.
"Morning."
At first, she was happy.
But after a few days, she began to realize something.
Not everyone genuinely wanted to be her friend.
Some of them only wanted a chance to get close to Ravian.
Even while Alia was sitting in class, several girls came over just to ask her one thing.
"Alia, what time does your older brother usually come home?"
Alia sighed.
"I don't know."
"You live under the same roof."
"Yeah."
"Then you must know."
Alia stared at them.
"Why don't you ask him directly?"
They immediately laughed awkwardly.
"Ravian is too hard to talk to."
Alia almost laughed.
She knew what her older brother was like.
Ravian wasn't the kind of person who easily started conversations with other people.
Even at home, Ravian often spent his time reading or working on something by himself.
But to Alia, Ravian was still her older brother.
Someone who had always been by her side since they were children.
During lunch break, Alia chose to sit in the school garden.
She wanted to enjoy her lunch without being surrounded by too many people.
But only a few minutes later, someone approached.
Daren.
"Mind if I sit here?"
Alia smiled.
"Go ahead."
Daren sat on the same bench, leaving a comfortable amount of space between them.
"Are you avoiding people?"
"A little."
"Because of them?"
Alia nodded.
"They keep asking me about Ravian."
Daren chuckled.
"Looks like your older brother is really popular."
"Unfortunately."
"Unfortunately?"
"Because I'm the one they're targeting."
Daren laughed.
Alia smiled along with him.
"I just want to have a normal friend."
"Then think of me as a normal friend."
Alia turned to him.
"You sure?"
"Sure."
"You don't want to ask about Ravian?"
Daren shook his head.
"If I want to get to know him, I can try on my own."
Alia smiled in relief.
"Good."
They ate while talking about simple things.
Their classes.
Their PE teacher.
The cafeteria food they both thought was way too spicy.
They didn't talk about Ravian at all.
For the first time since her secret had been exposed, Alia felt truly comfortable.
But from a distance, several girls were watching them.
"Is Alia close with Daren?"
"Yeah."
"And it's only been a few days."
"Looks like Daren really likes her."
Selina, who happened to be walking past the garden, overheard the conversation too.
She stopped for a moment.
But this time, she said nothing.
After what had happened in the bathroom, Selina had really kept her distance from Alia.
Not because she had suddenly come to like Alia.
She was simply afraid of getting involved with Ravian.
Meanwhile, in the sophomore classroom, Ravian was working on an assignment.
One of his friends came over and sat beside him.
"Van."
"Hm?"
"Your younger sister."
Ravian looked up.
"What about her now?"
"She's been spending a lot of time with Daren lately."
Ravian fell silent.
"Who told you that?"
"I saw them myself."
Ravian looked back down at his book.
"Good."
His friend laughed.
"You're not mad?"
"Why should I be mad?"
"Because he's a guy."
Ravian sighed.
"Alia has the right to be friends with whoever she wants."
His friend raised both hands.
"Wow."
"What?"
"You sound like a really mature older brother."
Ravian gave him a flat look.
"I am."
His friend laughed.
But a few seconds later, Ravian said,
"Daren's a good kid?"
His friend immediately fell silent.
"I thought you said you didn't care."
Ravian looked at him.
"I was just asking."
His friend laughed again.
"In that case, yeah. Daren's decent enough."
Ravian nodded.
He went back to his assignment.
But his thoughts were still focused on his younger sister.
He knew Alia was learning to adjust.
And he didn't want to control his younger sister's life too much.
But as her older brother, he still wanted to make sure the people around Alia were truly trustworthy.
After school, Alia waited for Ravian in front of the school gate.
Daren stood a short distance away from her for a while.
"See you tomorrow."
Alia smiled.
"Yeah."
Daren left.
Not long afterward, Ravian appeared.
As usual, he took Alia's bag without asking.
Alia laughed.
"Aren't you tired of carrying my bag?"
"Is it heavy?"
"No."
"Then let me carry it."
Alia shook her head with a smile.
"You're seriously too protective."
Ravian didn't answer.
They walked away from the gate.
But after a few steps, Ravian said,
"Alia."
"Hm?"
"Are you comfortable being friends with Daren?"
Alia turned to him.
"Yeah."
"Has he ever bothered you?"
"No."
"Forced you to do anything?"
"No."
Ravian nodded.
"Then it's fine."
Alia smiled.
"You were worried, weren't you?"
"I was just making sure."
"You were obviously worried."
Ravian sighed.
"Don't overthink it."
Alia laughed.
But then she looked at her older brother's face.
"Big brother."
"Hm?"
"Thank you."
"For what?"
"For always protecting me."
Ravian was silent for a moment.
Then he rubbed Alia's head.
"You're my younger sister."
That was all.
But for Alia, those simple words were enough.
That night, Alia was studying in her room when her phone chimed.
A message came in.
From an unknown number.
Alia furrowed her brow.
She opened the message.
"Don't trust everyone at school too much."
Alia went still.
A second message came in.
"Including the person who's been spending so much time with you lately."
Alia stared at her phone screen.
Daren.
His name immediately came to mind.
She didn't know who had sent the messages.
She didn't know what they meant, either.
But for the first time since starting school, Alia felt that something much bigger was happening behind all the attention she had been receiving.
And apparently, someone at school had been watching her from afar.
Not to be her friend.
Nor because they wanted to get close to Ravian.
But because they were keeping a secret connected to Alia's family.