14. A Brief Story From The Past (3)

Winter. The final class: a group assignment.

The format was simple—decide on a magic formula based on the theory learned over the past year, then present it. Naturally, group members were assigned at random.

Elline breathed in slowly.

"…"

This wasn't her first time working on a group assignment like this.

She'd done it twice before, once in spring and once in autumn, if she remembered correctly.

And each time, the method had been the same.

Elline led. The others followed without complaint.

Given her reputation, everything fell into place without anyone needing to be told twice, so her groupmates never had much to say.

The results were excellent, and no one had any grievances—so group assignments had always been nothing more than a formality to get through.

But today, for some reason, she felt strangely nervous.

*No…*

She tried to shake her head clear, but her heart kept beating half a beat too fast.

She told herself it was just the cold of winter and did her best to ignore it.

Crossing the academy corridor with its view of a snow-white landscape, Elline—scarf wrapped around her neck—quickened her pace.

Past the lecture halls, she arrived at a corridor lined with small meeting rooms.

When she reached the one marked *4-B*—the group she'd been assigned to—she could already hear the muffled chatter of students gathered inside.

"…Being in the same group as Elline—ugh, I'm so nervous."

"Don't worry. From what I've heard, as long as you just do what she says, it's practically guaranteed to go well."

"Still, I'm anxious. I've never even spoken to her before."

Voices drifting through the door, all directed at her.

Voices full of apprehension, a little fear, and a touch of admiration.

Elline closed her eyes briefly, then opened them and slowly pushed the door open.

The warmth from inside seeped into her body.

"Oh."

"She's here."

The students who'd been chatting comfortably just moments before fell silent the instant they saw Elline, all eyes turning toward her.

"…"

The center seat at the table was empty.

As if its occupant had already been decided.

When Elline glanced around, the others simply gave awkward little waves.

She settled naturally into the remaining seat and began making eye contact with each of them, one by one.

Faces she'd seen at least once before.

But people whose names she only vaguely knew, or didn't know at all.

None of them stood out in her memory.

"Hello."

At Elline's stiff, businesslike greeting, the conversation seemed to find its footing, and one by one they began to speak.

"Nice to meet you, Elline. Looking forward to working with you."

"We won't be a burden, just leave it to us!"

"Where should we start?"

Elline nodded at their cooperative attitudes and took her seat.

Not bad groupmates—actually, good ones.

In the first group assignment, someone had talked back to her.

In the second, there'd been someone who did nothing but slack off.

She'd never intended to be group leader, but things always ended up flowing under her direction—so dealing with those kinds of groupmates had always fallen to her as well.

But this time, whether they simply didn't want friction with her, or had already learned their lesson the hard way, they were cooperative from the very start.

"…Am I the group leader?"

"Yes!"

"Who else would it be?"

When Elline asked, half out of habit, the rest of the group all nodded—and her gaze drifted to the one empty chair at the far end of the table.

"… And the last person?"

At that, the other three flinched.

"Uh… yeah, good question?"

"No idea. We've been here for a while now…"

The atmosphere in the room grew subtly tense.

The three students exchanged glances, saying nothing, clearly anxious about whether they'd somehow upset Elline.

There were still about five minutes until the agreed meeting time.

Elline decided to wait quietly.

Tap, tap, tap.

The sound of running footsteps made Elline's ears perk up.

The footsteps drew closer, then stopped just outside the meeting room.

With a rough exhale, the door swung open.

"Sorry—a professor caught me on the way."

The cold draft from the corridor made her shiver slightly, but she turned her head without letting it show.

And there stood the boy she'd seen on the roster.

This was now the third time—or from his perspective, the second—that they had met.

It was Rutess.

"Hey! You're late!"

"Is it okay to be late on the very first day?"

The three students, apparently worried about upsetting Elline, laid into Rutess with more force than was strictly necessary, and the atmosphere in the room heated up in an entirely different way.

"… Am I late?"

Rutess scratched his head, caught off guard by the unexpected scolding.

"We've been here for twenty minutes already. Isn't that just common courtesy?"

"Twenty minutes early for a meeting? That's a bit—"

"Elline was here ten minutes early!"

The unspoken pressure was clear: *even Elline came ten minutes early, so who do you think you are, showing up like this?*

"6:58."

Elline said it plainly, glancing at the clock.

"The meeting starts at seven, so he's not late."

Then she turned her head slightly and looked at Rutess again.

"Just come earlier next time."

"… Oh. Yeah. Sorry."

When their eyes met, Rutess flinched again and looked away, as if trying to avoid her gaze.

…

There were others who looked away when they met her eyes.

Was it the unusual shade of blue that felt like too much? Or was it that they were afraid of her?

She'd never cared about that. Not until now.

*…Why does he keep looking away?*

It was the first time she'd ever wondered.

And at the same time, something else stirred quietly in a corner of her chest.