At the high school, Mirabe was picked as the senior ss representative. Before she could even get nervous, her teacher, Ms. Ate, was showering her with pep talks and encouragement. It was sweet, but honestly, it made Mirabe want to roll her eyes a bit.


    Ms. Ate walked her to the backstage of the auditorium, offering a few more words of support before stepping away.


    As soon as Ms. Ate and Mirabe entered, Matthew Taylor and Meg looked up from their seats. They both caught the end of Ms. Ate''s pep talk, which made Meg smirk slightly.


    "Everyone''s always talking about fresh talent," Meg thought to herself, "but sometimes, I really wonder." To her, the idea that a student rep needed so much hand-holding and pep talks from a teacher seemed a bit embarrassing.


    Shaking her head, Meg returned to her speech, trying to focus.


    Once Ms. Ate was out of sight, Matthew got up, strolled over to Mirabe, and said, "Your teacher really has your back, huh?"


    Mirabe nodded seriously. "Yeah, Ms. Ate is pretty awesome."


    Matthew chuckled and led her forward a bit, pointing out Taylor and Meg. "You''ve already met Meg in the cafeteria, but this guy here is Taylor, valedictorian of the ''05 ss and a real brainiac. You can just call him Taylor."


    Taylor stood up as he was introduced. Mirabe gave him a calm, polite nod. "Taylor," she acknowledged.


    Taylor took in Mirabe''s appearance. She was strikingly beautiful, with a natural, aloof charisma. Her nonchnt response to him was surprising, as few people reacted to him with such indifference.


    "Nice to meet you," Taylor said, extending his hand. His fingers were long and slender, almost like they belonged to an artist.


    Meg, watching this interaction, was a bit taken aback. Taylor was known for his pride and selective attention, and it wasn''t often he went out of his way to meet someone new. Mirabe''s beauty must have caught his interest.


    Mirabe, however, didn''t pay much attention to Meg''s reaction. To her, Taylor was decent-looking, but nothing extraordinary. Growing up in a family where good looks were the norm, she wasn''t easily impressed. Unless someone was as handsome as the boy next door, James, they didn''t register much on her radar.


    She barely nced at Taylor''s outstretched hand, maintaining her polite demeanor but chose not to shake his hand, staying put instead.


    Taylor, not missing a beat, simply smiled and withdrew his hand gracefully. Matthew, trying to break the awkward pause, coughed lightly and noticed Mirabe wasn''t holding anything. "Where''s your speech?" he asked.


    Usually, for such formal events that were even recorded, students meticulously prepared their speeches in advance and brought them along to avoid any


    mishaps. Of course, there were exceptions who could speak off the cuff, but given Ms. Ate''s constant encouragement, Matthew had assumed Mirabe wasn''t one of them.