Morning classes passed without incident.

  Chalk tapped against the board. Pages flipped. Someone yawned loudly from the back of the room. I stared out the window as clouds drifted lazily across the sky, pretending I cared about the lesson. In this place, I was just another student. Nothing more.

  And that was exactly how it had to be.

  I moved through the hallways with my hands in my pockets, blending into the crowd. Conversations floated past me, complaints about homework, rumors about couples breaking up, weekend plans. Normal things. Small things.

  At lunch, I sat at my usual table with a plastic tray and lukewarm food. I had just taken a bite when someone dropped into the seat across from me.

  “Man,” one of the guys said, squinting at me, “you’re kinda weird, you know that?”

  I looked up slowly. “Weird how?”

  He leaned back, smirking. “You’re quiet. Too quiet. It’s like… you’re never really here. Almost like you’re hiding something.”

  For a second, the words landed a little too close.

  A few others at the table looked over. Then one of them laughed. “Hiding something? From who? This guy?” He pointed at me. “Please. He barely hides his bad grades.”

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  More laughter followed.

  I shrugged, poking at my food. “What would I even be hiding?” I said calmly. “I’m just a loser. Nothing special.”

  That earned another round of laughs.

  “See?” someone added. “Even he knows it.”

  The conversation drifted away after that, just as easily as it had started. They went back to talking about a game and some drama in another class. I kept eating, expression blank.

  They weren’t wrong.

  Here, I was nothing. And that was fine.

  Outside, a group of students kicked a soccer ball across the yard, shouting and laughing. Someone tripped. Someone else recorded it on their phone. The world kept spinning, completely unaware.

  I rested my hand near my jacket pocket out of habit. Mana slept quietly beneath my skin. As long as it stayed that way, this world would never notice me.

  Classes ended. Lockers slammed shut. The building slowly emptied as students poured outside. I walked home alone, my footsteps swallowed by the noise of traffic.

  The street smelled like rain and asphalt. Leaves crunched beneath my shoes. A cat sat on a fence, watching me for a moment before losing interest.

  My phone buzzed.

  One message. No name. No icon.

  “You free later?”

  I paused, then relaxed.

  That didn’t sound like trouble. If anything, it sounded familiar. Casual. The kind of message you sent without thinking twice.

  I slipped the phone back into my pocket and continued walking.

  Somewhere else, Akari was probably still searching for me. Wondering why I hadn’t come back yet. The thought lingered, heavy but distant.

  I glanced up at the sky. Clouds drifted lazily above, harmless and slow.

  For now, both of my worlds stayed separate.

  And for now… that was enough.