Chapter 57 - She shouldn't be here

Misha intensively stared at the transfer student, so much so that his eyes almost fell out of their sockets. It made him look quite foolish, but right now, he could care less about his appearance, much less what others thought of him.

Over and over again, he kept on telling himself that it was impossible. The little voice in his mind sounded very much like a broken record.

Vanessa shouldn't be here.

At this point in time, she was studying in America, living with her father in Buffalo. She would come back to Canada only when she had become an a.d.u.l.t as she had long decided to attend university in Ontario.

Then, in ten years or so, the two of them would meet at a bar, play a game of pool with stupid mates, and drink enough to turn their brain into mush. It would be a memorable evening that neither of them could ever forget.

Yes, their meeting was supposed to be just like this.

Refusing to accept reality, Misha rubbed his eyes a few times, thinking that he had mixed Vanessa up with someone else. However, he knew it couldn't be the case. Her appearance was quite striking, having a little something that no one else had.

Hence, it was hard to mistake her.

Moreover, the boy had met her only a few weeks ago, and so, that cute little face of hers was still fresh in his memory.

The shining light in the little girl's eyes had dimmed, dulling her gaze. No sweet smile remained on her lips, and her eyes were locked on the floor. The atmosphere surrounding her was a lot gloomier than when they had seen each other at the hospital.

Before Misha could ponder over the changes, the teacher loudly clapped her hands, successfully grabbing her student's attention. She said with a gentle smile:

"This is Vanessa, your new classmate. She had a car accident a few weeks ago, and her wounds are slowly healing. She will probably have to miss a few classes, so I'm counting on you to take care of her and help her with her studies."

The teacher went on, but Misha wasn't listening anymore. He felt as if someone was viciously twisting his stomach, leaving it in knots.

Suddenly, he was short of breath.

In their past life, Vanessa had never been in a car accident. Or at the very least, she never brought it up.

It took a while, but the gears in Misha's brain finally started to turn. Previously, he had been hospitalized for a few weeks because of a fever. There, he had met the young Vanessa, who had come to visit her great-grandmother with her father. The little girl was bored to death and dragged him to the playground, where they played together for a while.

And that was probably the only difference there was with their past life. They should never have met as kids. Still, how could it lead to a car accident? And why would she then go to his school? His guts were telling him that he didn't want to hear the truth, yet he still had to know.

Soon, a lovely but loud voice snapped him out of his trance. It said:

"Ha! You're that girly boy from before!"

Misha felt his mouth twitch a little, and he couldn't help but reply with a grunt, "I'm not girly! You're the girly one!"

"Of course, I'm girly. I'm a girl!" slightly laughed Vanessa, a bit of light flashing in her beautiful eyes.

The little boy opened and closed his mouth several times as if he was trying to find a comeback, but ultimately, nothing came out of his mouth. So, he chose to press his lips into a pout, wearing a wronged expression on his face.

With an upright posture, Misha ignored the laughter that resonated within the room and stubbornly stared at the little girl.

"You know each other?" slowly asked the teacher after a short while, a stiff smile stretching her lips.

"Yes, we meet at the hospital," nodded Vanessa before shyly asking, "Since he is the only one I know here, can I sit next to him? Please?"

The old lady hesitated a second before eventually nodding and asking a student to move his seat. Yesterday, the director had taken her aside to explain the little girl's situation, and thus she knew that Vanessa was going through a lot lately.

Although she wasn't the best teacher, she wasn't heartless either. She didn't like Misha since he was a problem child, but if he could bring Vanessa the peace of mind she needed at school, she could put aside her misgivings, albeit reluctantly.

"Thank you, teacher," sweetly smiled Vanessa before walking to her new desk.

At the same time, she didn't forget to thank the boy who moved aside for her, saying that she would return the favor later. Her polite and sensible behavior greatly pleased the teacher, while Misha couldn't help but roll his eyes.

Young or not, that girl sure knew how to please others, making them fall into a honey trap each time. Thinking back, she had always been good at handling people, which also made her an excellent waitress.

Now that Misha thought about it, it seemed that that skill of hers was innate. She had it since childhood and carefully cultivated it as she grew up.

Right now, she was only showing politeness and cute smiles, but later, Misha knew she would be able to adapt her behavior to suit her interlocutor's tastes, becoming a chameleon.

Because of this, whenever Vanessa was pulling pranks, no one suspected her. As such, Misha was always the one who had to deal with the aftermath. When he was finally able to clear the misunderstanding, she had already slipped away.

That girl was a devil.

And upon seeing the mischievous light shining in her eyes, Misha knew he would become her scapegoat once again. Like before, he had the feeling she would hide behind him, using him as a shield.

'Oh well, the school already deemed me to be a lost cause, anyway,' silently smiled the boy as he took out his schoolbooks, gesturing for the girl to bring her desk closer to his so they could read them together.

Although Vanessa had her shortcoming, he knew she was serious about school. She was a year younger than him, but she was much more serious than him.

"Thank you," whispered the little girl as she tilted her head to look at the schoolbook, dutifully reading its content.

Misha glanced at her from the corner of his eyes before turning his head, gazing out of the window. He hummed a small, "You're welcome."

He had so many questions he wanted to ask, yet he couldn't. For Vanessa, he was merely a boy she had met once. They weren't familiar enough.

Sadly, he could only swallow back his questions and uncertainties, hoping that the ominous feeling in his stomach was only due to nervousness and nothing more.

____________________

Author's note:

On Tuesday last week, it was raining heavily, and while I was working, I slipped and fell down the stairs. After a week (in which I worked 50 hours, by the way), my b.u.t.t still hurt, so I went to the hospital, mostly because going to the toilet was and is still a pain in the a.s.s, literally. Know what? I fractured my tail bone. No wonder it hurts.

So, this is what happened at work yesterday:

Boss: Do you want to take a few days off?

Author: No, I'm fine, I can still work.

Later

Boss: Are you sure you don't want to take a few days off?

Author: Yes, I'm sure.

Boss: Take a few days off.

Author: … Okay.

Also, author: On the bright side, I have got the time to write a little now.

MC/ML: YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO REST!!!

Author: Haha.

As of today, I should go back to work on Monday, although the doctor's paper says I'm not supposed to work for the next 8 to 12 weeks. Anyway, my workload will diminish a lot since I can't do a part of it, so I'm going to have a bit more time! (≧▽≦)