Cherry blossoms floated across Seishin High’s courtyard. Reina owned the scene with every step, her platinum blonde curls bouncing as her heels clicked against the pavement. Her clique—Aya, Miu, and Ruri—trailed behind, perfectly in sync. A pastel-pink water bottle swung lazily from her manicured fingers, the perfect accessory to her flawless gyaru look. Yet beneath that burned colder truths: her parents’ expectations, a silent pressure beneath her skin. Still, she leaned against a bench, soaking in her clique’s praise like sunlight.“Reina-chan, you’re so gonna slay as the maid café’s main hostess,”Aya gushed.“Totally! Everyone’s gonna lose it,”Miu chimed in, snapping a selfie.“You were born for this,”Ruri added. Reina smirked, purring,“Obviously. And you girls better keep up.”

Then, in an instant, everything shattered. A clumsy blur crashed into her, knocking the bottle from her hand. It burst open mid-air, and icy water splashed across her chest, soaking through her blouse and clinging to her tanned skin. Her daringly short skirt drooped, drenched and dripping onto her socks. The courtyard froze. Gasps cut the air. Phones flashed from every angle, hungry for drama. Reina’s pride warring with the shock. Not now. Not here. Not in front of them. She could already feel the crack in her image deepening—an open wound she couldn’t allow to bleed.

She turned sharply, eyes blazing, and spotted Nao Tanaka on her knees, fumbling for the bottle. Her hair was a mess, her eyes wide with panic.“G-Gomen nasai, Fujimoto-san!”she stammered. Reina’s blood boiled. This art club nobody? Making me look like a joke? Her pulse thundered in her ears as her girls stepped in, forming a semicircle around Nao, phones still rolling. Reina tossed her soaked curls, voice laced with venom,“You? Are you serious, Tanaka?”

Nao flinched, her damp blouse hugging her figure as she shrank beneath Reina’s glare.“I-I didn’t mean it...”she whispered. Reina’s comeback was ready to slice, but something else caught her attention. Riko Sato—Nao’s pink-haired friend—tried to shove past the wall of girls, fists clenched and eyes burning. But Reina’s clique held firm, blocking her effortlessly. Reina barely spared her a glance. Riko’s defiance was background noise, weak and irrelevant. Her gaze snapped back to Nao, who trembled like a leaf about to be torn.“You’re gonna regret this, Art Girl.”

The courtyard held its breath. Reina’s eyes slid past the crowd, landing on the edge—on the new transfer student watching the scene unfold.