The Academy's Terminally Ill Side Character-Chapter 55: Red Flag [3]

Nora’s gaze briefly swept over me, head to toe, like she was inspecting a suspicious package.

Then her eyes landed on Leona—who, to her credit, still looked very much like "Leon," my cross-dressing roommate.

But Nora’s eyebrows twitched ever so slightly.

She was already suspicious.

’This scene... it’s just like the novel,’ I realized, caught somewhere between amusement and dread.

In the original story, Leona was still mad at Ryen for that dumb joke about bathing together in the bathhouse. Ryen, in his infinite protagonist wisdom, decided that just saying sorry wasn’t enough. After all, she’d rejected his apologies more times than anyone could count.

So what did he do?

He dragged her to the cafeteria under the pretext of treating her to lunch—as a peace offering.

And of course, that’s where they met.

Nora and Leona.

—"Who are you?"

—"Hello, I’m Leon Harper. Ryen’s roommate."

—"What are you talking about? Aren’t we friends already?"

Right after Ryen said they were "friends," Nora, who could put a landmine to shame with her volatility, immediately picked a fight with Leona.

Classic jealous-heroine move.

But here’s the thing.

Leona was disguised as a boy. Just like in the novel.

Which means Nora’s jealousy wasn’t limited by gender.

This girl was so emotionally constipated and obsessed that she even felt threatened by other guys.

Right now, Nora was staring at Leona with those cold, sizing-up eyes. Leona, ever the awkward one under pressure, gave her a tight smile that barely reached her eyes.

The atmosphere was thick—almost too quiet.

I was bracing myself for the explosion, expecting Nora to start some thinly-veiled passive-aggressive interrogation.

But instead, she blinked... and turned to look at me.

Wait—me?

Wasn’t she supposed to get into it with Leona?

Then I remembered.

Right. This was the first time Ryen and Leona met in this version of events.

He hadn’t introduced her as a "friend" yet.

So her radar skipped right past Leona... and locked onto me instead.

Great.

"You were cheering for Ryen the other day, weren’t you?" she asked, voice honeyed—but with just a touch of frost underneath.

She’s talking about entrence ceremony when terrorist attack happened.

Huh. That wasn’t what I was expecting.

"Uh... yeah," I replied cautiously.

She nodded, slowly. "Thank you for supporting him."

That... almost sounded sincere?

"But just so you know," she added with a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes, "I’m Ryen’s best friend."

Right.

Of course you are.

I wasn’t going to argue. I wouldn’t call myself her friend even if she begged me.

"Hey, don’t be mean~" Ryen chimed in suddenly, his voice light, "I had a hard time dragging him here. He kept trying to ditch me since he said he already had company."

Nora’s gaze flicked back to him, a little colder now.

Ah. There it was.

The first crack in the cotton-candy façade.

It was subtle—barely noticeable, like a shimmer in glass just before it shatters—but it was there. The shift in her expression lasted less than a second. A twitch in her cheek. A brief flicker in her eyes.

The storm hadn’t started, but the sky just got a lot cloudier.

And then—just like that—it was gone.

She slipped the mask back on, wearing that perfect smile again like nothing had happened.

"I see," she said sweetly, turning back to Ryen. "You must’ve had a hard time convincing him, huh?"

What?

That didn’t sound like a compliment. That sounded like she was saying, "I know you’re mine, and this outsider had the audacity to say no."

Then it happened.

She turned her gaze toward me.

And suddenly it felt like I was standing under a microscope. Her eyes scanned me from head to toe—calculating, dissecting, judging.

I braced myself. Any second now, I expected her to explode.

Maybe she’d scream.

Maybe she’d smile while lunging at me with a lunch tray.

Maybe she’d hiss something like, "How dare you turn down my Ryen?"

But none of that happened.

Instead, she smiled.

A real one.

Not the plastic one she gave to crowds or teachers—but something softer, even sincere.

"You’re a reasonable person," she said.

I blinked.

Wait—what?

That was... surprisingly not homicidal.

I stared at her, unsure if I should feel relieved or deeply unsettled.

What was that supposed to mean?

Then it clicked.

Oh....!!!

Ohhh.....!!!!!!!!

She wasn’t mad that I rejected his invitation.

She was glad.

She thought I had enough sense to stay away from Ryen—her Ryen—and now, in her eyes, I was no longer a threat.

She thought I knew my place.

...Which was honestly the best misunderstanding I could ask for right now.

So I did what any sensible person in my situation would do.

I smiled back.

"Of course. It didn’t seem right to intrude."

Ryen looked between us, blinking, probably wondering why the sudden tension felt like it had dipped then spiked again.

"Well, great!" he said, completely missing the undercurrents. "Let’s head inside, yeah?"

Nora nodded, then moved closer to him, looping her arm around his like she’d done it a thousand times before.

I swear, I saw my death flash before my eyes just from that contact.

And as we walked into the cafeteria—me trailing a very awkward third wheel—While Leona just follow along me.

The four of us walked into the cafeteria, and I could already feel the unspoken tension floating above our heads like an invisible storm cloud.

Well—three of us were tense.

Ryen? Oblivious.

He had that same cheerful smile on his face, as if he hadn’t just dragged me into a political minefield during lunch break.

Nora was still glued to his arm, and though she kept her smile in place, every step she took radiated silent possessiveness. She walked like a queen returning to her throne, except instead of a crown, she wore pink hair and barely-suppressed hostility.

Leona, meanwhile, was walking beside me with the quiet, awkward stiffness of someone trying very hard not to draw attention to themselves. She glanced at me sideways, and I caught her mouthing: "What the hell is going on?"

I gave her a look that basically said, "Don’t ask. It’s best if you don’t know."

Leona frowend little but just nodded her head.

...Now it was time to eat something.