Chapter 5: The Phantom
924 Words
"Well... I've been homeschooled all my life," Sofia admitted, silently hoping Mirabel wouldn't think she was strange.
"Really?" Mirabel's eyes lit up with excitement. "That's super cool!"
Hearing that, Sofia couldn't help but let out a quiet sigh of relief.
"So, why did you decide to come to this school?" Mirabel asked curiously.
She couldn't understand why someone like Sofia would choose a school like this. Judging from her neatly pressed uniform, expensive-looking backpack, and even the soft scent of her perfume, everything about Sofia screamed wealth.
It wasn't that Mirabel looked down on their school. In fact, it was one of the top three schools in terms of academics and facilities. It was simply rare for someone like Sofia to enroll here.
"Well," Sofia replied with a smile, "this was the closest school to my house. Besides, the reviews I read about it were pretty good."
"Well, yeah... it's not ba—"
Mirabel was suddenly interrupted by loud screams and excited squeals echoing from the hallway.
The noise grew louder with every passing second.
Sofia looked up in surprise.
"What's happening?"
Seeing that Mirabel remained completely calm, she guessed this wasn't anything unusual.
"It's the Phantom."
"The Phantom?" Sofia repeated, tilting her head in confusion.
"Who are they?"
Mirabel smiled knowingly.
"They're the hottest guys in school... but they're also the most troublesome."
She lowered her voice.
"People also call them The Three Delinquents, and honestly, the nickname suits them perfectly."
Almost on cue, three boys walked into the cafeteria.
The entire room erupted into another wave of squeals.
Girls immediately began fixing their appearances. Some puffed out their chests, others adjusted their hair, while a few subtly pulled their already short skirts even higher.
Sofia blinked in disbelief.
Turning her head slightly, she noticed one of her classmates—the same girl who had been chewing gum so loudly earlier—hurriedly fixing her hair while checking her reflection in her phone screen.
Curious, Sofia shifted her gaze toward the three boys responsible for all the commotion.
Her eyes landed on the one walking in the middle.
Her breath caught.
It was him.
The same boy from the alley that morning.
The one with the cold grey eyes.
Her heartbeat skipped.
Without thinking, she quickly lowered her head and turned her face away, silently hoping he hadn't noticed her.
Mirabel continued introducing them, completely unaware of Sofia's reaction.
"The one on the left is James Carter."
She pointed discreetly.
"The one in the middle is Damien Williams."
"And the one on the right is Scott Gaglio."
She paused before looking seriously at Sofia.
"Please stay away from them."
"They're bad news."
Sofia forced a smile.
"Don't worry."
"I'll definitely stay out of their way."
At least...
That was the plan.
"So, what grade are they in?" Sofia asked.
"They're in Grade 12," Mirabel replied. "We're in Grade 11, so they're a year above us."
"Oh..."
Sofia nodded thoughtfully.
Mirabel leaned in a little closer.
"And Sofia..."
"Especially stay away from Damien."
"I heard he's the leader of a street gang. So not only does he have influence in school, he also has people outside school."
She hesitated before adding,
"He's powerful... and he comes from a very wealthy family."
Sofia silently absorbed everything Mirabel had told her.
Looks like I'll have to stop using that alley and take the longer route to school instead, she thought.
As they continued eating, Sofia's eyes wandered toward Damien's table.
A girl with heavy makeup and revealing clothes confidently walked over to him, carrying a neatly packed bento box.
"Damien," she said sweetly, placing it on the table.
"I made lunch for you."
Damien didn't even spare her a glance.
His attention remained fixed on the phone in his hand as though she didn't exist.
An awkward silence followed.
After nearly two minutes without receiving any response, the girl's cheeks flushed bright red with embarrassment.
"Dami..." she said, forcing a cute voice.
"Come on. I'm talking to you. Don't be petty."
Sofia couldn't stop herself from cringing at the way the girl spoke.
A moment later, one of Damien's friends placed another lunch box in front of him.
Only then did Damien look up.
Without saying a single word, he pushed the girl's bento aside and replaced it with the other lunch box.
He opened it and calmly began eating.
The cafeteria fell unusually quiet.
No one had expected him to reject her so coldly.
Sofia looked at Mirabel.
"Who's that girl?"
"That's Emily," Mirabel answered.
"She's the captain of the cheerleading squad."
She shrugged.
"And honestly... she's just as much of a bully as Damien."
"Oh..."
"But why did he ignore her like that?"
"They used to date," Mirabel explained.
"They broke up a few weeks ago, and ever since then Emily has been trying to get back together with him."
She glanced toward Emily, who still stood frozen beside the table.
"But it looks like Damien is completely done with her."
Mirabel lowered her voice once more.
"Besides... being with Damien comes with a lot of influence in this school."
"So I think she's more interested in getting that power back than fixing their relationship."
Sofia quietly processed everything she'd heard.
Between the bullying, the strange encounter in the alley, and everything she was learning about Damien...
Her first day of school was turning out to be far more complicated than she had ever imagined.
"First day... and things are already this messy," she thought as she took another bite of her lunch.
- Writer
