Chapter 1
The road leading to the school was, as always, packed with cars lined up in a long queue. Parents were dropping off their kids just in time for class.
Koi pedaled hard, weaving past the stationary cars waiting at the traffic light, quickly cutting across the street. A car approaching from a distance slowed down slightly upon spotting Koi’s bicycle. He pushed his legs harder, making a beeline straight onto the school grounds.
At the same time, students were stepping out of their cars, greeting each other.
“Sara, over here!”
“Did you watch Eternity last night? I literally cried at that scene. How could it end like that?”
“My dad wants to go camping again. So lame.”
After parking his bike in the designated area, Koi walked past groups of chatting students toward his locker. Kids gathered in their usual cliques, animatedly chattering away, but no one greeted him. No one spoke to him.
He was used to it. It was so familiar that he didn’t think much of it as he opened his locker, grabbed the textbooks he needed for his morning classes, and shut the door.
Then, suddenly, a ripple of excitement spread through the hallway.
Koi, instinctively drawn by the shift in atmosphere, turned his head—and it immediately made sense.
The ice hockey team’s star players, all six of them, were striding through the corridor, chatting and laughing loudly.
Of course, they instantly commanded attention.