This chapter is in Maezono Atsuko’s pov

What is this chart...?

I walked up to the chart on the wall of the hall.

Top 21 academic ranking... Number one... Reena Lee... Above perfect... What is wrong with her? Is studying all she does? How do you even get above perfect scores?

I went all around the middle school just to find her, asking both the upper and under class men where she might be. But no one seemed to know. They didn't even recognize her name or knew how she looked like, though she was on that list.

The next day, when the new list was up, she was still at the top. She was no match to the others, who were in good competition with each other.

Who is this person? I must find out.

I searched again and again, day after day, wanting to see her in person and find out what kind of person she is. I even asked teachers. They knew her of course, but not where or what kind of person she was. She never spoke in any of her classes and lacked presence.

The last place I came to, was the school library. I never thought that she'd be here since I thought that she leaves right after the last school bell rang.

I remember, it was evening at that time, around 5 pm. I took a step into the library. I looked around for a little bit. Then, I finally saw a girl reading a thick book as she was sitting at a table by the windows in which, orange light was shining through.

I walked up to her as she flipped the last page to the thick book she was reading. There was a stack of other books next to her.

"Um, excuse me?" I asked nervously. It didn't seem like she heard me so I spoke louder. "Excuse me? Are you Reina?"

Then she looked up and closed the book she finished reading. "Are you talking to me?"

"Yes. Are you Reina Lee?"

"Oh, no." I saw the ends of stretched a bit. "It's Reena. It's pronounced like Sabrina but without the 'Sab' at the beginning."

"Oh, I apologize!"

"No, don't worry about it. I'm used to it. I've received worse before. What's going on? What's on your mind? Would you like to sit?"

"Ah, yes." I took a sit on a seat across the table. "Um... How old are you?"

"Twelve. But I'm in eighth grade. Why do you ask?" She answered so calmly with both of her hands in front of her, without any hesitation.

I wonder how she's not nervous or anything. This is our first time actually meeting and talking to each other... I wonder what goes on in her mind...

"What's wrong? It looks like you've got questions. Ask me anything. I'll answer to the best of my abilities." Those words brought me back to why I was looking for her.

"Why are you so calm?" I asked without a second thought.

"Me? Calm? No way. I'm actually really nervous right now. I haven't socialized in such a long time. You're the first person I've talked to this school year."

"Wait, really!? Don't you have any friends?"

"I've never had any friends. Many people who came up to me just took advantage of me. Don't you want to ask why I'm here alone at this time?"

"How did you know?"

"I've been expecting you this whole week. Well, let me explain. My grades are quite high but my life isn't as great as you may think it is. I started studying day and night just not so long ago because of what happened to my family. Don't ask what, haha." She had a cute smile. "That doesn't matter so much. I want to become successful in the future. I want to be the one to bring joy and happiness to others through what I do even though I don't like socializing."

"Don't people at home worry about you?" I questioned.

"I don't really have a place where I can call 'home'. I feel that this is the only place where I can really be honest with myself and forget about everything. But because of that, I've read everything in this library. I know it sounds crazy, but it's true. And who comes to the school library these days to study!? Until this time of day!?" Her face shined bright. "Well, it seems that I have to go now. Bye."

I still had more questions to ask her, but before I could ask any of them, she was nowhere to be seen and even reached out to. She left with amazing speed.

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Since then, I went to the library everyday, hoping to be able to meet her again. Though she was still at the top of the ranking, I couldn't find her anywhere in the building, even asking the principal and her teachers questions to learn more about her. But nothing. I felt hopeless.

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I went home and tossed my bags on the floor and fell on my bed. I was out of ideas. Nothing, until this one male teacher stopped by my house in the sudden hurricane. He told me to come visit the science room the next day if the school was open.

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"Um, you are Mr. Lee?" I asked a fairly tall Korean man who taught at the school.

He stopped erasing the whiteboard and turned around to answer. "Yes, that would be me. You're a second year aren't you? What do you need?"

“Aren't you Reena Lee's Advanced Placement Chemistry teacher? What kind of person is she? Do you happen to know where she may be right now?”

He chuckled. "I've never told her, but I'm actually her uncle. I'm telling you, you do not want to get close to her. Something's wrong with her. She's not normal. She's not human. She has some weird power. She's always quiet and nobody knows what she's thinking. Advanced Placement Chemistry is actually a course for those in junior year of high school. I'm actually here just for her. She left the classroom just a minute ago. She comes in and goes in the speed of light. She thanks me then just leaves, without asking a single question. And yet, she has a perfect score in this course.”

There's still hope. If I just run quicker, then I can catch her...

"Oh, but she doesn't have a set schedule. Her schedule changes everyday so it'll be difficult to catch her. I usually teach her period 4 or 7 once a week on either Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday. You should come by then."

It seemed that she was still attending school just that nobody knew where she was...

"Thank you. I'll try to get her before she leaves at those times then."

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"I finally got you!" I caught her sleeve.

She turned around surprised, then her eyes turned down and looked extremely sad, very different from when we first met. "Oh... It's you..."

"Reena!" I started talking as I was panting. "Sorry for running up to you but I just wanted to tell you that... You're so amazing! I just wanted you to know that. And I admire you. It’s the truth! Your uncle... I mean! Mr. Lee! He told me some things about you, how dedicated you are with whatever you do. I want to become someone like you.”

She pulled her arm away and rubbed her wrist. "I've known for my whole life that he's my uncle. And I know what he told you. I was there when this happened. I don't know exactly why you're chasing me around looking for me, but please leave me alone. I really don't like being around people. This is the real me. There's a reason why I don't talk about my family."

She continued to walk as she was reading a book about psychology and the significance of it, a subject that wasn't being taught at the middle school...

The dark clouds started rolling in...

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My freshman year of high school, she was already a senior. No matter how hard I tried, I was no match to her. I couldn't catch up. I couldn't reach her level. But I still continued to follow her path anyways, taking the exact same courses she took through the years, though of course, my counselor wasn't so supportive of it. I had to go and catch up.

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At her graduation, though she was at the top, she wasn’t at the front giving the speech. I don't think she wasn't even at the graduation. Mr. Lee wasn't there either. I wondered what was up with her family. It’s been bothering me ever since the last time we talked. I thought it was normal to come to graduation, especially with a small amount of people graduating. Or was it just that I missed her because the crowd was so loud and the speaker didn't use the mic?

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Next day, someone comes walking up to me. He was the one who gave the speech at the graduation.

"Hey, I don't know who you are, but this girl told me to give this paper to you. Good luck with your studies." He gave me a paper folded in quarters and left.

I nervously unfolded the paper and started reading.

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Hello. How are you? This letter is from Reena. Look, I don't know who you are at all, but I know there will be a time where we'll meet again in the future. I'm trying to write as neatly so that you can read it, and clearly and comprehensively for you as possible. Haha.

Well, I know I graduated like what? Three years early? But that doesn't mean that you have the right to do so as well just because you try or study hard. You do you. Live your life without any regrets. Live your own life. This is the only chance you're getting as a high school student.

Study what you want. Dream what you want. In the end, it's ultimately your responsibility to choose what you want and get in life.

Good luck in your endeavors.

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I bit my bottom lip and clenched my fists. I never understood how she knew, how she saw past me. I hated it. I hated how I was being left behind even though I was trying my best to be like her. I wanted to catch up to her, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t. It was so frustrating. But I knew I had to keep going. I had to move forward. That's the only way time moved.

Author's note: I'll be updating the story once in a while. Thanks ^^