CHAPTER 5

The week before the Oakwood High School Festival was, in one word, bedlam.

Students ran through the halls with half-painted signs, someone had accidentally glued their hand to a prop sword, and a suspicious trail of glitter had permanently stained the west staircase.

In the middle of the chaos? Sophia Patel—organized, sharp, and currently pinching the bridge of her nose as she stared at the new announcement tacked to the student bulletin board.

"FESTIVAL TASK REASSIGNMENT: Due to scheduling changes, Sophia Patel will assist the student council with general coordination in addition to leading the Debate Club’s booth.

— Head Teacher Mr. Yamada :)"

“Please tell me this is a prank,” she muttered, rereading the cursed notice.

“Aw, Patel,” came a far-too-cheerful voice from behind her, “you finally realized the school runs better with my help.”

She didn’t even have to turn around. “Chen.”

“Present,” Alex replied with a mock salute, sliding beside her. “Looks like we’re teammates. Again.”

Sophia turned her head slowly, expression flat. “If this is karma, it’s overcompensating.”

“Think of it as... fate,” he said, flashing the infuriating grin that always made her want to throw a folder at him. “The universe clearly wants us to bond.”

“Or burn,” she muttered under her breath.

By Tuesday, they were knee-deep in prep madness. Alex had roped Sophia into helping hang a massive “Welcome to Oakwood Fest!” banner across the courtyard—an endeavor that involved a ladder, three tangled ropes, and Sophia nearly losing a shoe.

“This side is higher than that side,” she called down from the ladder, squinting. “The angle’s off.”

“It’s artistic,” Alex shouted up. “Let it breathe!”

Sophia peered down. “Do you want to come up here and breathe crooked?”

“You know, most people say thank you when someone volunteers to help.”

“You volunteered me,” she snapped, wobbling slightly as she reached for the rope.

Alex immediately moved beneath her ladder. “Okay, okay, don’t fall. I’m morally obligated to catch you if you break your neck.”

“Gee, that’s comforting.”

“You’re welcome.”

With one final tug, the banner fell into place—slightly off-center, a little wrinkled, but up.

They stood side by side, panting.

Sophia tilted her head. “It’s… aggressively mediocre.”

Alex grinned. “Like us.”

Before she could respond, they heard a giggle from behind. One of the juniors walked by, whispering not-so-quietly to her friend, “Seriously, they act like a married couple.”

Both Sophia and Alex froze.

A beat.

“Anyway,” Sophia said loudly, brushing imaginary dust off her hoodie and walking ahead.

Alex followed with a lopsided smile. “Didn’t say which couple. Could be the ones who get divorced in act two.”

Wednesday brought more mayhem. The booth map had been rearranged last-minute, which meant the Debate Club and the Student Council stalls were now side by side.

“This has to be on purpose,” Sophia grumbled, setting up a folding table. “Whoever planned this hates me.”

“Correction,” Alex said, unfolding chairs beside her. “They hate us. Equally.”

A gust of wind knocked over the debate club’s poster board, sending it tumbling into Alex’s legs.

Sophia winced. “Oops.”

Alex lifted it with dramatic flair. “It’s like the universe keeps throwing us at each other.”

“It’s throwing things at you,” she corrected.

“Same difference.”

By Thursday, the two of them had developed a rhythm. A snarky, slightly competitive, oddly functional rhythm.

Sophia coordinated performance timing while Alex smoothed out logistical nightmares with vendors. They argued over tent placement, clashed over budget forms, and somehow still managed to high-five when a volunteer list got filled ahead of time.

During a shared lunch break under a shady tree, Sophia actually laughed—like, really laughed—when Alex told her how he walked into a storage closet thinking it was a restroom and got trapped for ten minutes with a janitor named Greg.

“Greg was cool, though,” Alex said, sipping his soda. “He gave me life advice and a peppermint.”

Sophia shook her head, grinning. “You attract the weirdest situations.”

He shrugged. “Maybe I just make the best of them.”

Her smile lingered a second too long.

Alex noticed.

Then she caught herself, coughed, and turned to check her clipboard like it had suddenly developed critical new information.

Friday came too fast.

The festival would kick off the next morning, and tensions were running high. Paint needed touch-ups, light bulbs flickered, and someone forgot to order napkins for the food stalls.

Sophia was triple-checking a checklist when Alex appeared beside her, holding two ice-cold canned coffees.

She blinked. “Is this a bribe?”

“No,” he said, handing one to her. “It’s an apology in advance. The drama club might have added a surprise musical number without clearing it.”

Sophia stared at him.

He winced. “They wanted fog machines. I caved.”

“You’re the worst co-planner ever.”

“And yet,” he said, clinking his can against hers, “here we are.”

Sophia sighed and took a sip. “If fog ruins my debate finals, I’m blaming you.”

“Fair,” Alex said, watching her. “But… thanks for sticking with all this. You’ve actually made it more fun.”

She looked up, caught off guard. “Oh. Um... you too.”

For a moment, neither of them said anything.

Their usual teasing fizzled into something quieter. Softer. Like the space between them wasn’t just rivalry anymore—but something else. Something... maybe not entirely unwelcome.

“Anyway,” Sophia said quickly, clearing her throat. “Don’t expect me to go easy on you tomorrow.”

Alex grinned. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”

As they parted ways that evening, heading home to rest before the big weekend, Sophia glanced back over her shoulder once.

Alex was already walking away—but he lifted his hand and gave a small wave, like he knew.

She waved back before she could stop herself.

Neither of them logged into Eternal Realms that night.

But somehow… they still felt like they’d spent the evening together.

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***