Forget Me If You Can (忘れられるなら)
The bell rings, a dull sound that echoes through the thick walls of the school. Aoi Yukishiro remains still in her seat, the pen still in her hand as chairs scrape and voices rise around her.
"Aoi!" Reika calls out from across the room, waving her hand as she finishes packing her bag. "Are you coming? The bell already rang."
But Aoi doesn't answer. Her gaze is fixed out the window. She doesn't care about the chatter in the classroom, or the students rushing to their next classes. Her mind is elsewhere. She saw something today. Something that shook her to the core. A girl. A girl standing on the roof, looking down at the ground.
Aoi couldn't see her face clearly, but she remembered the posture. The way the girl had been perfectly still, her arms by her sides, her head tilted slightly upwards, as if she was waiting for something. Aoi had told herself it was just her imagination. But when she looked back—The girl was gone.
Aoi shakes her head, trying to dismiss the thought. She gathers her books quickly, stuffing them into her bag. But the thought lingers. The next day, the announcement comes.
"A student has jumped from the roof."
Her heart skips a beat. It's the girl. It has to be. Aoi runs to the roof during lunch, her breath coming in short bursts as she pushes the door open. She needs to see for herself. Maybe it was a mistake. Maybe she's wrong.
But the roof is empty. No one is there. No traces, no signs of the event that was announced. Confused, Aoi turns to leave when she hears a voice from behind her. "Looking for something?"
She spins around, heart racing. Standing there is a girl with dark hair, wearing the same uniform as Aoi. Her eyes are piercing, almost too familiar.
"Aoi, right?" the girl asks, a faint smile on her lips. "I'm Mizuki Hoshino."
Aoi stares at her, her breath caught in her throat.
The girl smiles again, and Aoi can't shake the feeling that this is the same girl she saw on the roof.
"Are you new here?" Aoi asks, her voice trembling slightly.
Mizuki's smile widens, though there's something unsettling about it. "I guess you could say that."
Aoi feels the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. There's something about Mizuki that makes her heart race, something both beautiful and dangerous.
But she shakes it off. She doesn't know this girl, and she doesn't want to. Not after what happened.
"I should go," Aoi mutters, turning quickly.
But as she walks away, she feels Mizuki's gaze on her, like an invisible hand gripping her chest.
Let me know what you think of the start! Should I keep going in this direction?