Chapter 3

• Someone like me? Those words hammered in my head for the rest of the week. What did he mean by that? The worst part was that I still didn't know I had messed with one of the most popular group of boys in school. How popular was the band for people to suddenly start paying attention to me? And in a negative way...
• During class, paper balls flew in my direction every now and then over the following days. I even had to miss my first archery club meeting after noticing some of the band’s fans gathered at the entrance.
• The next week, things got better. At least they switched from childish pranks to more elaborate ones. A few steps from the classroom, I caught the distinct smell of paint in the air thanks to Lisa’s keen senses.
• "As if childish pranks like this would have any effect on you!" said my wolf, laughing inside.
• I smiled faintly when I noticed the bucket of paint balanced above the half-open door. I glanced toward a group standing in the hallway, whispering suspiciously as though they had nothing to do with it. I could already imagine an even bigger group waiting inside the classroom, probably laughing and recording the whole scene.
• I waited a few moments outside the room, leaning against the wall and listening to music. If their goal was to get revenge because of the band, then I would make the band itself stop them. I noticed the impatient look on one of the girls standing nearby, but I ignored her completely.
• As soon as I saw Annie approaching, I stepped forward for a frank conversation. I needed to end this bullying as soon as possible!
• "Good morning!" I greeted her in a gentle tone.
• "Good morning!" she replied, surprised and slightly shy.
• "I've been thinking it over and decided to collaborate with the band. I think it'll be fun!"
• "Really?" she replied, flashing a cute smile.
• "Of course! Let's go inside to talk more about it. What do you think?" I pointed ahead. She took the lead with a radiant look.
• Just as she was about to open the door, the girl who had been staring at me before tried desperately to pull her back. No wonder, after all, what would happen to their image in front of the band if the prank affected the leader's girlfriend instead?
• "Gotcha!" I intercepted the girl's arm, pulled Annie away from the door, and threw the culprit over my shoulder against the door. She crashed backwards onto the floor, covered in paint, while several girls inside burst into laughter and continued recording the scene.
• "Oops, we got the wrong person!" exclaimed a thin, medium-height girl with long, straight blonde hair and light brown eyes.
• "Looks like the spell backfired," I said as I stepped over the girl on the floor and pulled Annie along with me.
• "What was that?" Annie grumbled as the girl on the floor got up and ran away crying. "Was that meant for me?"
• "What a naive question." Ignoring the annoyed looks around me, I guided Annie into a seat and turned to face her. "As if anyone would dare mess with you."
• Under normal circumstances, her personality would have made her an easy bullying target. But considering who claimed to be her predestined partner, she would probably remain untouchable until graduation.
• "I had to put you in front as a shield because I knew Liam's crazy fans wouldn't dare mess with you, but I didn't mean to let the paint fall on you. It would be my death sentence."
• "I think you're exaggerating," she murmured, sounding genuinely confused.
• "Me? Exaggerating?" I nearly asked whether she was blind, but stopped myself after noticing the flicker of sadness in her eyes.
• "So the story about helping the band..."
• "I can do that, as long as you guarantee that those crazy girls will stop harassing me," I said sincerely.
• "Great!" she exclaimed excitedly.
• "Shhhh..." I motioned for silence as soon as I noticed the teacher entering the room. After slipping slightly on the spilled paint, he immediately started grumbling and complaining to the class. No one dared mention what had happened. "We'll talk more about this at break time."
• She nodded at me with a smile and, to my despair, started walking close to me again. It was clear that she wanted to be my friend, and this time, I did not push her away.
• "Guys, Eliza decided to join us!" Annie announced happily, pulling me over to the table where the band members were setting.
• "Correction! I decided to help you so your crazy fans will stop stalking me," I said seriously. Annie sat down, and I reluctantly took the seat beside her while waiting for their response.
• "And you think you can handle the job?" Liam asked with a serious expression.
• "The right question is whether she needs protection," Maxsuel joked, looking like he was trying to hold back his laughter. "I heard you blew Morgan up today."
• "That snobby girl deserved it," Jonathan commented usually.
• "As long as you don't put Annie in danger again, I'll let it slide," Liam warned. Now, it was clear why he had been in such a bad mood. "Especially since my Annie seems to like you a lot."
• "First of all," I replied firmly, "she was never in danger. I wouldn't let anything happen to her. Second, as long as the task only involves writing sheet music, I can handle it."
• "Okay." Liam handed me a list containing about half a dozen songs. "I understand it may take a while, but the sooner you finish, the better."
• Even if unintentionally, I frowned as I read the names of the songs. All of them belonged to the same singer. I felt my wolf laughing inside, which made me completely uncomfortable.
• "You don't look like you can handle it. Don't you know the songs?" Maxsuel teased me.
• "Do you guys really intend to play and sing this?" I asked them.
• "Why?" This time it was Nicolas who spoke up. His tone sounded rude and impatient. "We're not talking about just any singer. This is Lisa, and in case you didn't know, her career has exploded within two years since her debut. She's currently one of the most listened to singers among young people. Everyone at school loves her songs. If we're asking this of someone like you, it's because Lisa's songs are very recent and hard to find on search engines. We don't have many options right now.
• Someone like me? Again with that nonsense? I shot Nicolas a furious look, which was softened by Annie's gentle words.
• "I'm sorry I'm not very good at this, guys. Eliza, please, I'm sure you can do it! I'm sure you can do it." I looked into Annie's pleading eyes, sighed deeply, and finally nodded.
• "Okay! Annie, lend me your music notebook." It wasn't a question, but an order.
• I reached out my hand to Annie, she took a pink notebook full of flower drawings out of her backpack and handed it to me. I took a pen from my pocket and immediately started writing the notes.
• "Leave that for later, it'll take a while..." Jonathan interrupted what he was saying when he noticed the dexterity and speed with which I was writing the melodies. I replayed each song in my head while finishing the arrangement. Everyone in the group remained silent until the last note was written, just as the bell rang. As I handed back the notebook, I noticed their stunned and disbelieving expression, but I didn't care. I just wanted to finish this task as quickly as possible. As I got up, I left them with one final message.
• "If you don't need anything else, my task is complete." I turned specifically to Nicolas before giving my final word. "Be grateful that someone like me can do something that someone like you can't. If you were really good, you wouldn't need sheet music to play."
• I gestured to my ear, the powerful weapon of a gifted musician, and silently proceeded to the next class. This time, he didn't dare respond.