The soft hues of the setting sun painted the sky in gentle colors.
The street was bathed in a pale, gentle glow.
Avira walked slowly down the street, her thoughts simple and mundane: should she eat dinner first and then sleep, or sleep first and then eat?
Yawning lazily, she reached up to wipe the crystalline tears from the corners of her eyes when an exaggerated burst of laughter suddenly caught her attention.
Her gaze drifted unintentionally to a group of teenagers gathered not far away.
“Isn’t that the trash from Eastwest? What, coming to the court to play piano?”
One of the boys, with a buzz cut, spun a basketball on his finger, a contemptuous grin on his face.
The others burst into laughter at his words.
“Playing piano or maybe dancing like a sissy?”
“This kid looks pretty enough. Slap a wig on him, and he could pass as a drag queen singing! Isn’t Eastwest known for its ladyboys?”
“Move aside.”
A cool, indifferent voice spoke up from the boy trapped in the center of the group. His tone was calm, without a hint of disturbance, as if even speaking two words more was beneath him.
Avira squinted her eyes slightly and could just make out the blue-haired boy whose eyes, like his hair, betrayed no emotion at all.
George Backer.
“What’s the matter? Afraid to be mocked because you lost?”
“Have you heard? Eastwest’s basketball team started recruiting new members, and I heard there’s this shorty, only 165 cm tall, who supposedly dunked! Isn’t that hilarious?”
“A 165 cm shrimp dunking? Eastwest must be desperate to win, coming up with such lies!”
The boys laughed uproariously.
“It’s not a lie…”
A languid voice chimed in from behind them.
The boys turned to see a young figure approaching from the rear.
Avira pursed her lips, correcting them quite earnestly, “That dunk wasn’t a lie…”
George glanced at her, a fleeting and enigmatic gleam passing through his cool gaze, before vanishing without a trace, swallowed by his usual cold demeanor.
“And who the hell are you?” the boy holding the basketball sneered at her, giving her a disdainful once-over. “Skinny little thing, looking all frail and girly. You really are a product of Eastwest!”
Avira glanced down at her chest, which was bound flat with strips of cloth. Although Orson Flynn had once joked that even if she danced naked, no one would mistake her for a girl, she still felt she was cute and girly enough. So, hearing someone call her a girly-boy didn’t upset her at all.
Seeing her looking dazed and easy to bully, the boys shifted their target and surrounded her.
“Hey, Eastwest trash, you said that wasn’t a lie. Did you see it with your own eyes?”
She shook her head. “Nope.”
“Then why are you so sure?”
Her lips curved into a lazy smile. “Because that dunk was mine.”
“You?”
The boy’s voice shot up, his eyes scanning her from head to toe. Then he laughed scornfully. “Did you forget to take your meds?”
“Meds…?”
Avira tilted her head. “I’m not sick, so I don’t need any.”
“This kid’s brain must be busted!”
“I’ve always said that Eastwest students are a bunch of crazies. Spending all day staring at musical notes and piano keys or sketching things out. No wonder their heads are messed up!”
“I don’t see what there is to be so proud of. So many people still want to get into that lousy academy.”
Avira Nassy’s innocent gaze shifted back and forth as the boys exchanged jabs, as if she were a clueless little rabbit.
Her eyes flicked past their shoulders to George, who was standing aside, calmly adjusting his clothes as if the situation had nothing to do with him, before turning to leave.
He lived in that direction, so he must have intentionally passed by the court, even though he claimed not to care about basketball. How contradictory.
“Hey, shorty, if you can really play ball, how about a one-on-one?”
The boy sneered at her.
“But I’m sleepy…”
She bit her lip, shook her head, and tried to refuse.
“Are you looking down on us?”
The boy’s eyebrows shot up, a flash of anger crossing his face.
Just like the previous boy, this one couldn’t stand being ignored by someone from a garbage school like Eastwest.
He decided they couldn’t let her go so easily!
“You won’t leave here unless we play today!”
Avira seemed to seriously consider his challenge, her gaze falling as if she were weighing her options. Finally, she nodded. “Okay… but make it quick. I’m really sleepy and want to hurry home for dinner…”
“…”
Sleepiness and dinner weren’t related!
And that nonchalant tone—what was that about?
The boy’s mouth twitched, and seeing her clueless look, he suddenly came up with a nasty idea. “Since it’s a game, it has to be fun with some stakes! If you lose, strip down so we can check whether you’re really a girl or not!”
Everyone’s mocking gaze turned to Avira, waiting for her response.
It was an incredibly humiliating condition.
Of course, the boy wasn’t seriously planning to play. He just wanted to watch her beg for mercy.
Who didn’t know Eastwest’s basketball team was pathetic? If they had any talent, they would have challenged Sandfield long ago. Their school was a joke full of artsy types.
Seeing she hadn’t answered, the boy felt more confident and sneered. “Of course, if you admit defeat and beg us, then maybe…”
“But what if you lose?”
Avira’s eyes glinted with a misty sheen, making it impossible to read her true feelings.
The area fell silent.
“What?”
The leading boy was stunned, looking at her with an odd expression.
He hadn’t even considered losing. He was so much taller than this short kid who looked like a stiff breeze could knock him over. Winning was a given, right?
Yet, this seemingly frail boy had the audacity to ask what if *he* lost?
He had never heard a joke funnier than that!
“Well, if I lose, then—”
Before he could finish, Avira’s soft laugh interrupted him. “Strip naked, so I can check whether you’re actually men.”
For a moment, the boy was paralyzed, the hairs on his neck prickling at the sight of her lazy yet dangerous smile, like a beautiful white snake ready to strike.
Even though he had been the one to suggest the wager, it now felt as though the situation had been flipped, and the authority rested with her.
Those dark eyes—he didn’t even dare meet them…
Her confidence seemed almost tangible, the kind only someone certain of victory could possess.
No matter how nonchalant her voice was, every word dripped with a hidden threat.
The boy gritted his teeth, regretting ever provoking this kid.
But retreating now would only disgrace him further.
“Fine, let’s see if you Eastwest brats can make me back down!”
The challenge was set, and there was no turning back.
At the court, he snarled, “Kid, if you kneel and beg for mercy now, I might still let you off!”
“No need.”
Avira smirked, “Even if all three of you come at me together, I’ll be fine.”
Her words, spoken so casually, infuriated the boys.
“So arrogant! I’ll beat you senseless!”
The ball was tossed into the air, signaling the start of the game.
The boy leapt up, securing the ball as Avira stood there, seemingly in a daze.
“Hmph, just a loudmouth. I’ll crush you today!”
He dribbled furiously, cutting towards the hoop.
“Crush me…? Only if you can.”
Avira’s lazy voice echoed, and the next thing he knew, his hands were empty.
The ball had vanished, intercepted in the blink of an eye!
“I told you, you should have all come at once, kittens,” Avira Nassy teased, her voice low and mocking.
The boy shivered, feeling a chill run down his spine as her mocking gaze made him feel utterly insignificant.
