The next morning came quietly. The sound of the birds chirping gently mellowed as Arisa finally woke up.

  "…What time is it?" Arisa groaned, rubbing her face.

  Nao woke moments after Arisa, grabbed her phone, and blinked. It took her a second to process the clock before she jolted up. "Oh no, oh no, OH NO! We overslept!"

  "I thought Reina set the alarm!" Arisa cried out, jumping out of her very, very tired state.

  "I did!" Reina said, voice muffled from inside her blanket cocoon. "It must've, wait… What?!"

  Suddenly, chaos erupted in the room.

  Blankets flew.

  Pillows were tossed like grenades.

  Yuki sat up last, as if she'd known this would happen but just didn't care. She adjusted her sleep shirt and stood up silently, brushing past the others. Meanwhile, as Nao flailed in panic, she kicked her duvet upward.

  And something fluttered through the air.

  A cream-colored square of cardstock. It landed gently on the floor between all four futons.

  "Wait, what was that?" Reina asked, stopping mid-shirt pull.

  The room fell quiet.

  Nao crouched down and picked it up with two fingers, eyes squinting. "There's writing," she muttered. "It looks like… a note."

  Arisa leaned over her shoulder. "From who?"

  No one answered.

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  Nao's voice quivered as she read:

  "You were perfect up there."

  "Every time I see you, I fall a little more."

  "But he's in the way."

  "I left this on you, so you know who I'm talking about… You're the one I want. So please give me a chance and leave him."

  The room went deathly still.

  "…Okay," Arisa said after a moment. "Creepy."

  "Is this a prank?" Reina asked, nervously pulling her blanket tighter around herself.

  "I don't think so," Nao whispered. "It was under the covers. One of ours…"

  Yuki moved herself to the edge of the bed, letting her legs dangle, before she narrowed her eyes. "I locked that door last night," she said coldly. "There's only one way in."

  "…Someone came in while we were asleep," Arisa finished, her voice trailing off.

  The girls wasted no time in getting ready and heading to the teacher's room. She'd opened the door, tired and groggy… but the moment she heard why the girls were there, her mood switched.

  After getting changed, she took the note and stared in complete silence. "I don't like this," she said finally, her voice low and tense. "If this is a prank, it's a sick one. If it's not…"

  "We're not sure who it was meant for," Reina said, hugging her arms.

  "I understand. I'll take it seriously," she said. "We'll quietly check the security cameras for anything. But until then, keep your doors locked, stay in groups, and if you see anyone suspicious, report it immediately."

  Yuki's voice was sharp. "What about Souta?"

  "Make sure he knows about this."

  *

  I dried my hair with a towel after waking up early, so I decided to get myself washed before going into a full-blown breakdown as I still tried to shake off the strange feeling in my chest. It wasn't nerves from the play.

  Not anymore. Something else was gnawing at the back of my mind, the note, the play, who's going to be my lead actor. But just then, Shinji strolled up, spinning his lanyard as if he were in an anime opening.

  "You're looking pale, Maid-chan," he said, flashing that smug grin.

  I grunted. "A weird way of saying good morning."

  "That's what happens when you get fake-kissed by the ice queen in front of the whole school. You awaken some curse."

  I snorted. "Yeah, sure. That's it."

  He squinted at me, picking up on something in my tone. "Wait. It's not that?"

  I hesitated, my hands still working the towel through my damp hair, my gaze drifting to the ground as if it might hold the answers I sought.

  "…Just got a weird feeling," I muttered. "Like something's off."

  "Off how?" he asked, a curious tilt in his voice. "Creepy-off or 'you-just-remembered-you-failed-your-math-test' off?"

  I didn't answer; his words went in one ear and out the other. My thoughts were tangled in yesterday's events, the crowd, that guy, the intensity of his stare, and the note I had found on my chair after the performance: Don't take her from me. It had been haunting me all night. Shinji must have sensed my silence because he draped an arm over my shoulder, his usual casual bravado shining through.

  "Don't worry, dude. You've got a whole harem watching your back. What's the worst that could happen?"

  I didn't voice my thoughts.

  Because honestly?

  (Well, first, I'd probably end up on the wrong end of jealousy from the guy next to me.)

  But beyond that, I had a nagging feeling that the worst part hadn't even happened yet.

  Not even close…