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Chapter 02 - Elia

                            
                           
                                  Chapter 2 : Elia   


As I entered the classroom, a whirlwind of questions flooded my mind. Who was she? What was she doing in my spot? Why did she swap our bags? Despite the curiosity swirling around my head, I didn't want to make a scene on my first day. "Hey," I attempted, but my voice was drowned out by the chatter of students. I tried again, louder this time. "Hey, girl!"
She glanced in my direction but didn't respond, returning to whatever she was occupied with. Irritation bubbled within me. Did she deliberately ignore me? Or perhaps she hadn't realized I was calling out to her. Determined to clarify, I called out again, this time more assertively and closer to her.

"Hey, girl," I reiterated, catching her attention once more. "Yes, you. You're in my seat."

Finally breaking her silence, she retorted, "I arrived in class before you, so I get to pick where I sit."

"No, girl, you clearly didn't," I countered. "I was the first one to arrive at school today!"

"Are you sure?" she responded nonchalantly.

"Yeah, there was only one girl at the last bench before me," I explained, glancing towards the empty last bench. Then it hit me. "Unless that's you."

"Exactly," she confirmed before putting on her headphones.

I was taken aback, rendered speechless by her response. I quietly took my place behind her at the second bench. As the rest of the students filed into the classroom, the teacher—a bald, stout man of about 32 to 35—began taking attendance, pulling out the register from his desk drawer.

"Roll number one, Elia Carey," he called out.

"Present, sir," the girl in front of me responded confidently.

Of course, she had to be roll number one too. It seemed she had a penchant for being first—first to arrive at school, first to claim a seat, and now, first on the attendance list. My mind buzzed with questions about her, but when the teacher called out "roll number two, Ankit Grgn," my thoughts were interrupted, and I promptly announced my presence.

She turned around, flashing a mischievous smile. "Loser."

"Loser for what?" I asked.

She simply grinned in response.