Aurora knocked three times and pushed open the classroom door—she was late. Dark circles shadowed her eyes; she had been overthinking all night and hadn't slept at all.
She expected a teacher to already be inside and had mentally prepared herself to be scolded. But to her surprise, she saw her friend Hyacinth standing at the front of the class, where the teacher usually stood.
On the blackboard, the word Festival was written in large letters.
Below it, someone had written a suggestion
Maid Café
Animal Café
Reverse role Café
Hyacinth was at the front, writing down additional details needed for the upcoming festival. Some classmates had their hands raised to suggest ideas, others were chatting happily in small groups, and a few students were quietly looking through their notebooks. Everyone was contributing in their own way.
After all, the school festival was just a few days away.
After such a hellish exam, who could be happier than the students themselves?
Hyacinth was wearing gold rimmed glasses. When she noticed Aurora entering the classroom, she smiled warmly at her before turning back to continue writing on the blackboard.
Meanwhile, Sora and Soren were chatting nearby. Soren had taken Aurora's seat, and her bag was placed beside Hyacinth. Aurora walked in with her backpack and lightly tapped Soren on the shoulder.
Sora laughed. "Aura's here!"
Soren looked up at Aurora and grinned. Then, without saying a word, she picked up her bag and placed it on her seat, making room for her. Aurora watched the two of them and shook her head.
Aurora sat down in Soren's seat, her eyes drifting toward the front of the classroom.
Suddenly, loud applause erupted around her. Startled, she looked at Hyacinth in confusion.
Squinting at the blackboard, she tried to read what was written.
"Stage?" While Aurora was confused, Hyacinth cleared her throat. "That's right, all classrooms would perform on stage."
Everyone quieted down when Hyacinth spoke, since her voice was appealing—everyone, for sure, listened to her voice.
Main character Aura
Aurora clicked her tongue in amazement.
If those students who were class presidents in her last life saw this, they would definitely be jealous—Hyacinth could command her classmates, and they listened to her instantly without question.
Someone raised their hand. "What kind of performance would we do?"
Hyacinth responded, "That's a good question." Then she shrugged, admitting she didn't know either.
The whole class booed in unison—the loudest one was Sora, who even threw a playful insult at Hyacinth.
Hyacinth shot her a side eye, and Sora immediately quieted down like a well behaved child.
Both Aurora and Soren laughed at their antics.
Hyacinth waited for the classroom to quiet down before continuing with what she was going to say.
"You can choose whatever performance you like. Our vice president will be the one overseeing our class performance. She used to be the leader in last year's performance, after all. She can dance and sing really well. I'm sure none of you have any objections to that, correct?"
The vice president had long red hair and sharp eyes. She looked fierce, but she was actually very kind.
She had been entering dance contests since she was a child—and everyone knew it. She always took home trophies while modeling on the side. She was talented and hardworking.
That's why she was chosen as the vice president in the first place.
The class agreed without hesitation.
Someone asked a question—it was a boy with brown hair and noticeably full lips, more prominent than the other guys. His appearance was slightly feminine.
"Pres, can one of us perform alone on stage?"
Hyacinth smiled, the kind of smile that could charm anyone.
"Of course. You can perform solo. That's why, if any of you want to do a performance alone, you should write your name on the list."
She pointed at the notepad on the table in front of her.
"And if you have any disabilities or personal concerns, you don't have to perform on stage at all. Just let us know. It won't affect your grade or points—as long as you attend the festival throughout the week."
After all, there's still an event where each class needs to set up a booth or decorate their classroom as a food stall—and that takes a lot of work and supplies. It will last for three days.
Hyacinth continued speaking while the classroom buzzed with energy as everyone discussed the festival. All the students were participating and cooperating with excitement.
When break time started, it felt like they still wanted to talk about it more—but Hyacinth shut them down with a firm smile.
The four of them went to get their breakfast in the canteen. Since the weather was pretty hot today, they decided they'd start going to the canteen every day from now on.
The food there was excellent—thanks to the kind auntie who always smiled at everyone and happened to be an amazing cook.
It was said that the school hired her because no one else was willing to give her a job. She had been desperately looking for work to support her granddaughter, whose parents had both died in a car accident.
The school took pity on her, especially since her daughter had once attended the school. They brought her in as the head chef in the canteen, with a generous salary. Thanks to that, the auntie was able to turn her life around.
What no one knew, however, was that it was actually Hyacinth who had arranged for her to be hired—but she didn't want anyone to know that.
But of course, the auntie knew. That's why she was always extra generous, giving their friend group larger portions and extra food.
The other three were more than happy about it—and very content.
As they were heading to their usual spot, someone suddenly stopped them—it was the brown haired boy from earlier in the classroom.
He stepped forward and greeted them, then shyly said, "...Hyacinth Chua, if I win on stage, would you... be willing to be my partner for prom?"
The three were shocked. They all turned to look at Hyacinth in unison.
"Damn... she's popular!" one of them muttered.
Hyacinth had been getting a lot of requests and invitations these past few days.
Knowing that the school ball was coming up soon, Aurora glanced at the young man with feminine features—an Omega.
Well, everyone already knew that Hyacinth was an Alpha. She had gone through her differentiation just a few months ago.
So, being asked by an Omega wasn't unusual—at least, not in this world.
Aurora looked at the boy standing in front of them and noticed he was nervously fidgeting with the hem of his sleeve. He might have looked confident on the outside, but he clearly struggled to hide his nervousness.
Aurora found it kind of cute.
But still, she leaned more toward women—despite the boy's feminine features. Just because men could be Omegas in this world didn't mean it changed her preferences. And they still have that stick.