A Moth to a Flame - An Epic Seven Fanfic

A Moth to a Flame

Hazel collapsed into her chair and began her books onto the desk. The student council was being run ragged dealing with the aftermath of the visitors from another world, as if they did not have enough work already. To put it simply: Hazel was exhausted. Being a member of the student council meant she had permission to skip a considerable amount of classes without getting into trouble, but it was largely symbolic because how can she pass any exams without actually learning anything?

The next hour passed in a blur as she tried to go over what needed to be done that evening whilst also taking in as much as she could about magic-assisted aerospace engineering. She was not sure how successful her efforts were, but she had several pages of detailed notes before her, so she must have been unconsciously absorbing it somewhere in her brain.

As the bell rang, she let out a deep sigh and pulled herself up to get to her next class. Although her subconscious had been working hard despite her exhaustion to allow her to take notes, it evidently had not been sparing much processing power for her surroundings as she immediately crashed into a classmate, who fell heavily against the desk beside her.

"Huh? Oh, I'm sorry," apologised Hazel, less-than-convincingly. She was too tired to really care, and besides, the girl did not appear to be hurt.

"It's fine, don't worry. I should have been more careful where I was going too," she replied with a smile as she pulled herself up from the desk. "I think we both need to be a little more aware of our surroundings," she giggled whilst brushing something off Hazel's arm and straightening the collar of her blazer. "Anyway, I should rush off to my next class... I'll make sure to be more alert next time I'm in a room with you," she added with a soft wink.

Hazel watched the girl leave the classroom, caught off-guard by her forwardness and reaching up to fiddle with the collar she had just helped straighten. "I should hope so..." she replied, to nobody but herself.

There was nothing particularly outstanding about her. She wore the same basic uniform as any other student, she was pretty, but not enough to stand out in a crowd, and even her bright pink hair was tied into such a plain ponytail as to make it unremarkable.

And yet Hazel could not shake the idea she knew her.

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The next day they shared a class again, and it was all Hazel could do not to keep stealing glances at the girl every few minutes. Fortunately, it was the final class of the day, so Hazel resolved to try to catch a couple moments with her before she had to make her way to the Student Council Offices.

As the bell rang, Hazel sprang up—careful this time not to crash into anyone—and rushed to catch up with her before she was lost in rush of students. Reaching her just as they reached the hallway, Hazel reached out for her shoulder to grab her attention. The girl turned with a puzzled look, which quickly formed into a sweet smile upon realising it was Hazel.

"Uh, hi," greeted Hazel, bluntly. She had not planned this far ahead, which was not like her at all.

"Hi," replied the girl, still smiling. "Have you come to drag me into helping with student council duties as punishment for yesterday?"

"No, of course not," said Hazel, defensively, her tone a little more reprimanding than she intended. "It's just... You seem familiar. Should I know you?"

The girl giggled again. Hazel hoped that was not a habit. "I wondered how long it might take you. I joined a couple of months ago after earning a scholarship. Only the third person from my little town in northern Ezera to receive such an honour."

"What's the supposed to mean?" Her vague way of speaking was beginning to grate on Hazel.

The girl rolled her eyes, putting enough flair into it to make clear it was only playful. "It's me, Lucia. We grew up together, remember? We were never especially close, but we were in the same class."