The bell had rung. Students rushed out, voices echoing down the hallway. Elena packed her things with her usual precision, sliding her pens into their holders, aligning her notebook edges.
Joel, however, was still sitting next to her, head tilted, watching her move with that lazy interest that annoyed her to no end.
"Does everything in your life line up that neatly?" he asked casually.
Elena didn't look up. "Yes. Chaos gives me a headache."
Joel snorted. "Then I must be your worst migraine."
She shot him a look. "I don't like disorder."
"I know," he said, tone softening. "But sometimes... it's where the music comes from."
She paused at that.
Joel rarely said anything that sounded serious. But that line? That felt… honest.
"You always talk in metaphors?" she asked, curious despite herself.
He shrugged. "Only when I want to avoid saying the real thing."
"And what's the real thing?"
Joel looked down, then tapped a finger on the desk. "You're not what I thought."
That caught her off guard.
She stared at him. "What did you think I was?"
He looked up, meeting her eyes. "Just another pretty face with a report card. But… I saw your sketch in the back of your notebook earlier. You draw like you're trying to escape something."
Elena's breath hitched. She hadn't even realized he'd seen that.
"I'm not trying to escape," she said quickly.
He tilted his head. "Then maybe you're hiding."
She didn't answer.
Instead, she stood up a little too fast, flustered, her foot catching the strap of her own bag on the floor. She stumbled—
—and the next second, she was falling straight onto Joel.
Right onto his lap.
Both of them froze.
Joel blinked. "Well. This is new."
Elena's face turned crimson. "Oh my—! I—I didn't mean—!"
She tried to scramble off him, but her elbow knocked his desk, sending a pen rolling dramatically to the floor.
Joel caught her wrist gently to steady her. "Relax, Elena. I'm not charging rent."
"Shut up," she hissed, finally managing to stand, brushing invisible dust off her skirt.
He was grinning now, absolutely loving this.
"You know," he added with a teasing sparkle in his eyes, "for someone who hates chaos, you sure make a lot of it."
Elena glared, snatched her bag, and marched out the door without looking back.
Joel leaned back in his chair, still smiling.
She's going to be fun.