Chapter 4

Mira nonchalantly entered the cafeteria, instantly attracted quite a little attention. The hat she was usually wearing was absent today, and she didn't tie her hair. The jet-black hair cascaded down her shoulder in a perfect way, complimenting her fair skin and delicate appearance. The round, big eyes made her seem especially cute.

Mira's mood was rather good today. She had taken a day off yesterday due to the unbearable pain. Azarias was panicking non-stop that he didn't even let her go to the campus. He brought a lot of snacks to coax her. How could she not feel wonderful? Josh and Arlan had also visited her as soon as their classes were over.

Humming to herself, she took a look around and discovered two people she had been looking for. With a grin, she strutted to approach them.

"Buy your own food," Josh grumbled as he helplessly could only watch as Mira popped the stolen snack into her mouth.

Mira didn't say anything, she shifted her attention to Arlan, who had the rest of his food gone. He had stuffed them inside his mouth in a hurry. It looked bulging now as he tried to chew with some difficulty. The sight was funny, but it also stirred a trace of pity in Mira's heart.

"If you weren't so stingy earlier. How could this happen, huh?" She swiftly bought a bottle of water from the counter, nimbly moving around at such a fast speed.

She threw the bottle to Arlan, who caught it and immediately gobbled down in large gulps. Arlan looked at the amused Mira in embarrassment.

"Pfft." Mira let out a sweet laugh, making a few heads turned her way.

"Where is Azarias?" Josh asked. The two were almost practically a soul in two bodies. They did everything together and cared for each other deeply that even as a werewolf himself, he felt that they were more compatible as partners than those of werewolf bloodline.

"He said he was going to the cafeteria first." Mira shrugged. Her eyes also wandered around, shining in wonder. It didn't take long to spot Azaria's figure among the other students.

"You've got pretty keen eyes to notice him in such a crowded place." Arlan chimed in after he managed to recover his calm.

"Hmm, of course, I am such a great person," Mira stated proudly, traces of smiles appeared in her eyes.

Josh shook his head at her antics. She was such a bright and cheerful person that it was hard to hate her.

Mira noticed that Azarias had begun to walk over to their table. She waited obediently in her seat. However, the sight that caught her eyes next suddenly soured her mood. A frown marred her forehead, her mouth twitched in annoyance.

It was that Jason again, entering the cafeteria with a girl clinging to his arms. The girl was different from the one he had embraced on the stairs a week ago. Such a manwhore, no wonder he rejected her. He wouldn't be satisfied with just one woman alone.

Mira rolled her eyes and looked away. She hoped she could unsee the scene just now.

"Bella, are you unwell?" Azarias came to their table bringing two meals with him. Mira wasted no time to snatch her share, wary of Josh and Arlan. Most of the guys here eat a lot. Mira had picked up the same habit; that's just another reason they got along so well.

Mira was taken aback by Azarias's question. She blinked, pretending to be confused as an innocent expression decorated her face. "Why would I be unwell?"

Arlan raised his eyebrow while Josh just snorted and looked away.

"You seem to have been behaving suspiciously as of late."

Shit! Mira cursed inwardly. Did Azarias find out already?

She stole a glance at him, finding that he was gazing at her right back. The expression on her face turned into the usual nonchalant one. Mira grinned and only shook her head in response.

"You aren't accusing me of doing something illegal, are you?" Mira sipped on her drink, slapping Josh's hand away which tried to steal her sandwich. One of her thin eyebrows raised in question.

Sometimes, she really hated that Azarias's acute sense gave him the perfect ability to notice things quickly. How she had become such a good actress was also thanks to him. It couldn't have been better without so much practice.

However, the number of times she succeeded in fooling him also weren't many. Either that, or he found out things by himself.

She even remembered the times of their childhood. He had put on a permanent marker on a boy who had insulted her. It resulted in the boy having a hard time erasing it and crying for the whole week. He must've known by her sour mood by then.

Thankfully, this time Azarias didn't pursue the matter further. Mira took her time to enjoy her lunch.

That was until she sensed an intense stare from a certain individual not too far away. She didn't turn her head to look at him, but she could still see things from her peripheral vision.

She noticed that he was alone. The girl clinging to his side earlier was nowhere in si--

Mira turned her head the moment she felt something wet splashed her hands. The water dripped down, causing her clothes to be wet.

The gaze in her eyes turned cold as she stared at the girl in front of her. She didn't get angry. She said nothing.

"Oops, sorry. I didn't you there." It was the girl who was clinging to that Jason earlier. She was wearing an expression that said she wasn't sorry at all.

She knew this girl. She was quite popular among the other students, usually the male ones. Violetta, a name that in Mira's opinion didn't suit this girl's temperament at all.

She was an upperclassman, one of those who thought themselves to be superior. Especially, she loved picking on the girls that she regards to be good-looking. Perhaps, she noticed Jason's frowning gaze at her earlier.

How bothersome, Mira mulled inwardly. 

She squeezed Azarias's hand, telling him not to take any action. Josh and Arlan were stupefied, yet at the same time horrified by what happened.

The ruckus had caused quite the noise, attracting everyone's attention. Jason was no exception. He merely frowned in displeasure and looked away.

Violetta waited for this girl to blow up and yell at her. That nonchalant attitude of Mira, coupled with Jason's seemingly unintentional gaze had irritated her. A few moments of heaviness in the air -- amidst the whispering-- what she received was a pair of eyes full of coldness instead, making Violetta falter slightly.

However, the next moment later, that coldness was gone and once again replaced by Mira's usual nonchalant attitude as she stood up from her seat. "Oh my, that's not a problem. Everyone isn't perfect and bound to make mistakes sometimes."

Violetta frowned at her words, she found herself taking a step back.

"However, bumping into someone when she is obviously right in front of you. Perhaps, there might be something wrong with your eyes." Mira took a step forward to close the gap between them. "A dirt seems to be stuck in your eyes. Let this girl help you cleaning those pretty eyes of yours."

Mira's hand was quick as she snatched the bottle of soda from the table. As swift as how that liquid now was poured over Violetta's head, drenching her whole body.

"My soda... " Josh muttered with a stifled heart.

She nonchalantly slid back to her seat, tilting her head at the red, seething Violetta. "It would be good to have a bath once a while and wash your face."

Mira stole a glance at Josh. She took her bottle of soda, tossing it to Josh, who received it with a grin. She turned her head to Azarias and gave him a reassuring smile, which in return she saw that his expression eased up slightly.

She or the four of them then proceed with their activities casually, completely ignoring Violetta's existence. Mira knew that she won't be seen as a good person by behaving this way in public, but she also didn't to be regarded as a pushover.

Josh and Arlan exchanged glances, wry smiles and pity plastered on their faces. It had been a while since someone came to provoke her. The two of them knew just how much trouble Mira was facing before she was accepted by the male basketball teams. The would guys often 'mistakenly' smashed the ball her way.

She was finally able to convince everyone of her abilities when she beat them up one by one using the ball. She always treated others the same way they treated her. She was much ruthless in her revenge. The guys might still hold back some force since she was a girl, but Mira didn't. From then, they knew that although she seemed delicate, when she was holding a ball, she could even make someone lose their teeth.

Most of the guys on the basketball team were werewolves, so their body endurance was unquestionable. Yet, they were beaten black and blue by Mira. The most horrifying of all was that she mostly aimed at their faces; the handsome face they were so proud of was swollen for a whole week.

"Let's go." Violetta's hand was roughly grabbed and she was dragged out of the cafeteria.

Without looking at the owner of the voice, Mira knew who it was. She could even feel those burning gazes contained within his glare.

She kept her nonchalant, languid expression on, not even the slightest bothered to take a look at them.