The first couple days of the first week of school went by in a flash. Through it all, Callisto met and befriended a lot more people, causing her popularity to skyrocket so much that students were already debating which one was more popular between Callisto and Mina Minana, the most popular girl in Silangan High.

Today was thursday, lunch time. And of course, Mina Minana caught wind of this debate through her three friends.

"Have you heard the gossips, Mina?"

"Everyone’s saying that Callisto is as popular as you."

"There’s no way, right?"

Mina chuckled softly, putting on a calm facade as she addressed her friends’ comments. Even though deep down, she was irked by the fact that Callisto, who came out of nowhere and had a wig for hair, was being compared to her, the high school crush, the one who was called the ’queen’ of Silangan High.

"I don’t mind. Let them gossip. It’s not like we’re actually competing about who’s the most popular in the school or something. If anything, I’m more interested in the rumors of Callisto acing the tests on the EPT, especially the college-level test. If it’s true, then maybe she is a real genius."

"If the rumors are really true, then why is she settling for grade 10?" the nonchalant friend of Mina argued. "Wouldn’t it be better to just go straight to college?"

"You’re right. I don’t get why she’d choose to stay in highschool if her knowledge is already university level. It doesn’t make sense at all."

"The rumors have to be fake then!"

Mina wanted to believe that the rumors weren’t real just like one of her friends stated. But without proof, calling the rumors fake would be pointless. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

"Well, whether the rumors are true or not, there’s only one thing I need from her. And for that, I need to make sure to be on her good side."

Mina’s three friends gave her a nod of approval.

* * *

That same day, just a few minutes before the ring for lunch break rang, Elesis risked a glance in Callisto’s direction, who was taking notes like the rest of the class as their teacher was discussing something related to the current Filipino subject.

As if she could sense it, Callisto suddenly looked at Elesis, and their eyes met. The redhead was caught off guard, and she had to say something to make it seem as though she wasn’t just looking at her for no reason.

"Let’s have lunch on the rooftop," mouthed Elesis.

Callisto nodded in approval before returning to her notes, and so did Elesis.

Since the last couple of days, Elesis had been watching Callisto get approached by students; most of them were curious about the rumors of Callisto acing all the tests in the EPT. El vowed to herself that she would make Callisto open up, but really, there was no need for her to do anything other than to spend time with Callisto herself.

That was Elesis’ initial thought.

But then, a few days went by since school started, and yes, the redhead understood that it had only been a few days since school started, and she wasn’t trying to rush things. Elesis noticed how, despite hanging out with her classmates and entertaining the ones who approached her with her captivating smile, it felt as though no progress was being made at all.

The wall Callisto put up between herself and the others remained strong as ever.

Ring!!

The sound of the bell echoed throughout the school, signaling lunch break, but Elesis’ mind was focused on the questions boggling her mind.

"Am I doing it wrong? Am I not supposed to just let things go with the flow until Calli eventually opens up? What if Calli is intentionally distancing herself from the beginning? If so, how am I supposed to help her understand that it’s okay to let her guard down?"

"Hey... El? Earth to Elesis! El, can you hear me?"

Callisto’s voice slowly faded in into the redhead’s ears, pulling her back to her senses.

"Oh!"

"Let’s go before the line gets too long."

"Oh, right! Sorry! Let’s go."

The two of them walking side by side toward the cafeteria were like a magnet for attention. It wasn’t just Callisto, but Elesis was also well-known in school that she was drawing attention as well.

"Hi, El!"

"Hey, Elesis! Can I recommend you a novel I’ve been reading recently?"

"Of course! Send me the title later!"

"Oh, it’s Callisto! Hello!"

"Hey, Calli!"

"Hi, you two!"

The admirers couldn’t resist whispering to themselves as their gaze followed the two’s silhouettes.

"Man, they are so pretty."

"You’re so right."

"I wonder if they both have boyfriends?"

"Even if they don’t, they’re so out of your league. So don’t even try, bro."

"I-I was just wondering!"

One admirer’s outburst caught the attention of Elesis and Callisto. Their eyes met for a second, and the two girls shot a kind smile at the boy before they disappeared out of his and the others’ view.

"T-They looked at me! They smiled at me!"

"Stop kidding yourself, idiot!"

Before long, Callisto and Elesis arrived at the cafeteria, pleased to find that the line wasn’t too long.

They each bought their food—one steamed bun with a box of Moo Moo Pure Milk because there was no chocolate milk variant on sale for Callisto and two hamburgers with a bottle of cola for Elesis. After that, the two of them headed straight for the rooftop of their school building.

Once they reached the rooftop, Elesis’ eyes zeroed in on an empty bench next to the grille wall surrounding the edge of the rooftop for the sake of safety.

"Over there, Calli."

Callisto followed her friend’s lead toward the bench, but not before looking around, confusion visible on her features.

"Where are the others?"

Elesis sat down first, a mischievous expression on her face as she explained the absence of their classmates. "Didn’t I tell you? I’m quite possessive. There are so many people vying for your attention these last couple days that I started to feel neglected. So I told them I’m eating lunch with you alone."

"Is that so?" Callisto said in reply, deciding to play along with the redhead’s jealous partner act rather than show her exasperation when she wasn’t annoyed to begin with. "I’m sorry if I made you feel neglected."

Elesis smiled, pleased by the fact that her friend was playing along.

"Apology accepted."

After that, they took a moment to enjoy their food in silence, broken only by the sounds of birds chirping away and a plane flying up in the sky. Then, as Callisto looked at the half-eaten steamed bun on her left hand, she turned to the redhead next to her, a heavy solemnity settling over her features.

"Is something bothering you, El?"