William glanced at her briefly but walked straight through the gate without responding.

Daniella’s smile faded instantly.

“Maybe it’s just too early… maybe he’s not in the mood yet,” she whispered to herself, forcing a smile again as she headed inside the school.

When she got to the classroom, she quickly took her seat. Only a few students were there—William among them—and Bree hadn’t arrived yet. Since it was still early, Daniella rested her head on her arms while secretly watching William, who was busy reading a book.

It was as if William sensed her stare. He turned and caught her looking—but instead of looking away, Daniella smiled at him.

“Do you need something?” William asked lazily.

Daniella shook her head, still smiling.

William was about to go back to reading when he suddenly spoke again. “By the way, our tutoring starts during break later. We’ll do it in the garden—there are tables and benches there.”

Daniella nodded in agreement, her smile never fading.

---

Moments later, the bell rang. Students began pouring into the classroom. When their teacher entered, Daniella’s eyes widened in alarm.

“Second day of school and it’s already Sir Salvador?” she muttered, quickly grabbing a book and pretending to read, covering her face.

“Good morning, class!” the teacher greeted, scanning the room. He paused when he saw a student hiding behind a book.

“Excuse me! Can you put that book down? I haven’t even instructed you to use it yet,” he said sternly.

Daniella closed her eyes and sighed. She had no choice—she slowly lowered the book. The teacher squinted, recognizing her.

“So it’s you, Ms. Daniella Sanchez. I didn’t expect to be teaching you again in your final year.”

Daniella forced an awkward smile. She glanced at William, who was also looking at her.

“Nice seeing you again, sir,” she greeted with a strained smile.

“I thought you’d forgotten about me. There’ll be a quiz next week. I want to see if you still remember last year’s formulas. For now, pass your index cards with your name and section.”

He took his seat while the class murmured among themselves. Daniella frowned as she wrote on her card, sneaking a glance at William.

---

The class with Sir Salvador ended after introductions.

“Alright class, wait here for your next teacher. And Daniella, don’t forget about that quiz next week,” he reminded, looking directly at her before leaving the room.

Bree immediately rushed to Daniella’s side.

“Looks like you’ll be grilled by Sir Salvador again, Dan! You couldn’t escape him—he followed you all the way to senior year.”

“Exactly! And there’s already a quiz next week. And of all subjects, it had to be Math—the one I suck at. How am I supposed to pass?” Daniella groaned, clutching her head.

Bree leaned in and whispered, “Girl, are you serious? You have a tutor now—William! You should be thankful he drew your name. If he didn’t, graduation might be the last time you’d see him.”

Daniella smiled. “You’re right… Thank goodness. I forgot.”

Bree shook her head. “Dan, that was just yesterday! How could you forget so quickly? I seriously can’t deal with you.”

“Is it my fault I thought it was just a dream?” Daniella muttered.

---

When break time came, William headed to the garden first. Daniella followed quietly and sat across from him. She didn’t say anything as William was still focused on his book.

Suddenly, William shut his book loudly, making Daniella flinch.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, startled.

“What were your grades in Sir Salvador’s class?”

Daniella bit her lip and forced a laugh. “Why do you even need to know?”

“Because I’m your tutor. And based on what Sir said earlier, you barely passed his class.”

Daniella scowled.

“Excuse me? And you? What did you get in Math?”

Arms crossed, William stared at her seriously. “Ninety-nine.”

“What?!” Daniella almost yelled. “That’s insanely high—just one point shy of perfect!”

“You?”

Daniella fell silent. She fidgeted with her fingers before whispering,

“Seventy-five…”

“Can’t hear you.”

“I said seventy-five!” Daniella snapped in frustration.

William shook his head. “Good thing we have a tutoring program. Otherwise, you might not even graduate.”

“You really don’t hold back, do you?” she mumbled to herself.

“Did you say something?” William asked.

“Nope!” she answered with a forced smile.

Of all subjects, Math was the one Daniella feared the most. She did fine in others—not great, but passing.

William started organizing his materials. “Since Math is your weakness, we’ll focus on that first. Tomorrow, I’ll give you some sample problems from last year’s lessons. Try to understand them. I’ll prepare a short quiz afterward.”

Daniella’s eyes widened.

“A quiz? Are you serious? Maybe you should rethink that. Don’t rush into things.”

William shook his head, clearly disappointed.

“If you want to pass, you need to take this seriously. This isn’t for me—it’s for you. If I’d known you were like this, I wouldn’t have agreed to be your tutor.”

He stood and walked away, leaving Daniella speechless.

His words hit her hard. She just sat there, silently watching him walk off.

---

The next scene was just about to unfold when Lexie, Alexa’s best friend, suddenly appeared.

“Hey, Alexa! Are you even planning to eat today? You’re always locked up in your room, writing non-stop. You’re always late for meals!” Lexie scolded her, hands firmly planted on her hips.

Alexa set down her pen and stretched. “Sorry! The scene I’m writing is just too exciting—I couldn’t stop myself,” she replied with a smile, noticing Lexie’s gaze now fixed on the book she had been writing in.

“Why are you writing in that thing? You usually write in a notebook or on bond paper. Where’d you get it? It looks... old,” Lexie remarked, studying the book, though she didn’t touch it.

“I found it outside the church. It looked like someone had dropped it, so I picked it up. It’s too good to just leave lying around—it’s perfect for writing.”

Lexie frowned slightly. Something about the book didn’t sit right with her. It gave off a strange energy—something magical she couldn’t explain.

“Really? What if the owner came back for it and just missed you?”

“I checked the area before I left. No one was there. I don’t think anyone came back for it,” Alexa replied.

Lexie simply nodded, casting one last look at the book. “Come on, let’s eat. You can go back to writing after.”

She walked out, and Alexa followed, already eager to return to her story once she was done eating.

---

Meanwhile, in old house, an older man was in distress—they still hadn’t found the magical book.

“We’re going to be punished for this, Lucas. Why didn’t you check what you were grabbing?” the older man scolded, voice tense.

“I’m sorry, Grandpa,” Lucas said, guilt heavy in his voice. “I was in a rush—I didn’t realize I grabbed the wrong book.”

The old man was about to say more when he felt a strange shift in the atmosphere. His eyes narrowed.

“It seems... today is the day, Lucas. He’s here.”

Lucas quickly ducked behind a bookshelf as a blinding figure appeared before the old man.

A figure shaped like a person emerged from radiant light. Its face was unseeable to ordinary humans—just pure, blinding brilliance. But not to the older man name Victor. As the guardian of the magical book, he could see the figure’s face and form clearly. The true owner of the book now stood before him.

“You’re facing a problem, Victor. Am I right?” the mysterious creature asked calmly.

Victor’s eyes gleamed with regret. “I’m sorry. I know you’re already aware of what’s happening.”

“Do you understand that some fates are about to be rewritten because of this mistake?” the mysterious creature continued in a soft but serious tone.

“I do. But I’m already doing everything I can to find the book.”

The mysterious creature turned its gaze around the room, eyes scanning the shelves. “I’m afraid it may take you a while. You should know—the person who found the book has already started using it.”

Victor’s worry deepened. No one was supposed to be able to write in the book—not unless they were chosen. Every word written inside manifests in real life.

“If that’s the case, then I need to find the book immediately. But… if you know where it is, can’t you tell me?”

The figure shook its head slowly. “I can’t, not now. The writer has already begun a story. You cannot take the book now—doing so would disrupt the destinies of the characters she’s created. Claiming the book now would put those people in danger.”

“But what about the people I wrote into the book? They’re supposed to meet. It’s already written.”

The mysterious creature turned to Victor and looked straight into his eyes.

“That’s your responsibility. The fated pair you’ve written about has already been delayed because of this. And now, the one who picked up the book is writing a story of her own—with characters who aren’t even certain if they’re meant to be together. So you must find her before she finishes her story. Make her understand how important the book truly is. If not, we could face serious consequences. She might bring together people who were never meant to cross paths—and that could destroy the relationships meant to form in the future.”

Victor sighed heavily, unsure where to even begin. “I’ll do everything I can to find the book... even if I don’t know where to start.”

The mysterious creature turned again. “You’re not going to like what I’m about to tell you. You wrote in the magical book—but you didn’t finish. And because you left the last page incomplete, the book may interpret those unfinished words incorrectly. The woman you wrote into your story—she’s in danger because of your negligence. And the one destined for her... he will be the very reason for her suffering.”

Victor’s eyes widened in fear at the being’s words.

“You must find the book before it’s too late,” the being warned. “If you don’t, both your story—and the one written by the new author—will spiral into disaster.” With that, the creature vanished.

Victor stood frozen, haunted by what he had just heard. He clasped his hands tightly and paced back and forth, his mind overwhelmed by everything that could go wrong.

Lucas peeked out from his hiding spot and saw the troubled expression on his grandfather’s face. He hadn’t heard the conversation, but he knew—it was about the book he lost. Guilt washed over him. He looked away and quietly returned to his room.

---

Meanwhile, Alexa had returned to her seat, ready to dive back into writing in the magical book. She paused for a few moments, trying to recall where she left off so she could continue seamlessly.

What Alexa didn’t know was that everything she wrote in the book vanished from the page as soon as she finished—and came true in real life. She never reread what she wrote. She simply reopened the book at the page where she last stopped and continued from there.

Today, she had stopped on a blank page—no writing, no markings. Taking a deep breath, she picked up her pen again, ready to write the next chapter of her story… unaware that every word was already becoming real.

---

The next day, Daniella went to school early again because she didn’t want William to say anything more to her. What she had already heard from him had slightly hurt her feelings, and she would rather stop there than let things escalate to the point where she couldn’t recover.

Their class went smoothly and there wasn’t much to do, since the first week was just introductions and none of their subject teachers had started lessons yet.

William and Daniella had agreed to meet again in the school garden, where William would give her a sample quiz and formulas from their Math lessons back in third year.

They were both already in the garden, seated at the same spot where they had spoken yesterday. William silently placed a rather thick stack of papers on the table, directly in front of Daniella.

In Daniella’s mind, “I thought it was just a short quiz. Why does it feel like every single test we took back then is in this super thick pile of papers?”

“I know what you're thinking, how you're staring at that thick stack. That’s not even the quiz yet. These are just formulas and solutions. You need to read and memorize everything written on those pages,” William said.

As Daniella reached for the papers, her hands moved slowly, almost reluctantly, because the moment she touched them, she already felt like nothing would sink into her head—even if she hadn’t read anything yet.

While reading, her eyes scanned through the pages, but everything seemed to blur together. She couldn’t even remember how to solve a single problem anymore. Nervously, she decided to ask William for a favor.

“Hmmp! Can I ask you a favor?” He looked at her without answering, so she continued anyway. “If it’s okay, can you teach me this first so I can at least answer something on your short quiz?”

William stood up and sat next to Daniella, surprising her with how close he was.

“Which part don’t you understand?” he asked.

Daniella froze, staring at his face so close to hers. “Everything! Even my feelings for you,” she blurted out without thinking.

William frowned at her response. “Focus on the paper, Daniella. Not on my face,” he said bluntly.

She snapped back to reality and turned her gaze to the paper filled with numbers and letters. At first, she understood a few things, but as William began explaining multiple formula solutions at once, everything went over her head, and it only made her head ache.

William must’ve noticed, because Daniella fell silent, and so he stopped talking.

“Did you follow what I said?” he asked.

Daniella only nodded, which puzzled William. She was unusually quiet. He could see it in her face—this wasn’t the Daniella he knew. Over the years in school, he had grown used to her being lively, especially when it came to how she felt about him.

“Are you okay?” he finally asked.

Since her head was already aching from William’s explanations, Daniella just nodded again. She kept her eyes on the paper and avoided looking at William.

William frowned again and crossed his arms, watching her. “Look at me,” he said.

Curious, Daniella looked at him, still silent.

“Let’s do this instead. I’ll only tutor you on weekends, not during break time. We’ll meet at a park near our school. Is that okay with you?”

“I’m fine with that,” Daniella answered softly.

“Class is about to start again. You should put that reviewer in your bag.” Daniella took the papers and quietly put them back in her bag.

She stood up but paused in front of William, who was still sitting.

“I was going to say something.”

“What is it?”

“Did you know you’re like a Math problem?”

William looked up at her. “A Math problem? Why?”

“You’re hard to understand and difficult to solve, but if someone puts enough effort and focus, they’ll eventually say, ‘It’s not really that hard—I just wasn’t focusing enough to find the right solution and the correct answer.’”

“I don’t get it.”

Daniella’s mouth dropped open. “You’re smart—how can you not get what I’m saying!”

“Wait, there was a deeper meaning to that?”

Her eyes widened. “Of course there was! You always have a book in your hand, you’ve forgotten how to throw a good pick-up line!”

“Is that really necessary?” William asked innocently.

Daniella could only scratch her head in frustration. “In short, even if you’re like that, I’ll still find a way to make you notice me—no matter how long it takes!” she said loudly. “Ugh, I give up! You’re so hard to talk to.” She walked back to the classroom, leaving William sitting there.

“I’m the one who’s hard to talk to? She’s the one whose mood changes so fast—just a while ago she was all sad, and now she’s walking out on me.” William just shook his head and followed her, not wanting to be late for class.

That afternoon, it was time to go home, but Daniella wasn’t heading straight to their house. She seemed to be walking toward a park—possibly the one William mentioned earlier. She wandered around, looking at the people nearby. She sat on a bench and watched a dog wagging its body energetically in front of its owner, seemingly asking for food. The woman was holding some fries, which amused Daniella as she observed them. When the pair finally left, she stood up and quietly made her way home.

---

It was Saturday, and Daniella was in a small hut, staring at the paper in her hands. It was the thick stack William had given her, and now she was trying to understand all the formulas—but it looked like her eyes were about to bleed from all the numbers and letters she was seeing.

Daniella dropped the paper and stared into space.

“There’s really no hope for me to memorize what’s written here. It’s just too hard!” she exclaimed, messing up her hair in frustration.

While she was in that state, her mother arrived carrying snacks and was surprised by her daughter’s appearance.

“What kind of look is that, Daniella? You’re studying, not acting in a horror house.”

Daniella’s hair was messy, and her eyes had dark circles underneath from the lack of sleep the night before.

“Mom, maybe I should just stop studying.”

Maria frowned. “What do you mean stop studying? It’s only been a week since school started and you’re already giving up? Don’t be ridiculous, Daniella!”

Daniella picked up the paper full of formulas and solutions and showed it to her mother.

“This is why, Mom. I don’t understand any of it!”

Maria took it and read it. “What’s hard about this? It’s just Math,” she said calmly.

Daniella’s eyes widened at her mother’s response. “Come on, Mom. That’s hard—for me! It’s Math! Try solving a few of the questions if you think it’s easy!”

Maria gave her a sharp look.

“Why should I be the one answering this? I’m not the student here, you are. Stop making excuses just so you don’t have to do your work!”