I turned back from the teacher's desk and walked straight towards her, seated in the front row, holding out the slightly sweat-dampened slip in my hand.
"Looks like… we're partners, Komori-san."
My voice was softer than I intended. I tried not to let my excitement and nervousness show in my tone, but I couldn't help feeling like a hundred butterflies were fluttering in my stomach.
She glanced at the slip for a moment, then looked up at me. Those dark brown eyes were still impassive, but not as cold as I had imagined.
"Mm..." she replied softly, her voice flat, devoid of any clear joy or disappointment.
Just then, the wind from the slightly ajar window blew a little stronger. A cool gust swept into the room, causing some loose papers on her desk to flutter up slightly. She bent down to quickly gather them, but her neatly tied, dark blue school necktie loosened a bit, its end fluttering with the breeze—revealing a fleeting glimpse of the fair skin of her décolletage for a split second.
I, who had just been turning to grab a chair from another desk to sit beside her, froze mid-motion. My damn eyes happened to catch that brief image. My heart suddenly pounded, and my face flushed hot. I quickly averted my gaze, but it seemed too late. She had noticed.
She quickly adjusted her necktie back in place as if nothing had happened. But when she looked up at me again, her dark brown eyes clearly showed displeasure. Her thin lips pursed slightly.
"Is something wrong… Tsukino-kun?"
Her voice was a little colder than before, making my flushed self feel a chill down to my spine. Guilt and embarrassment rushed into my mind simultaneously. I quickly looked away towards the pile of books on her desk, shaking my head slightly.
"...No, nothing."
My voice was so faint it was barely audible. A thousand thoughts raced through my head. I felt like a terrible person for looking where I shouldn't have, even though it was purely an accident.
She didn't say anything further but quickly readjusted her necktie. Her face remained stoic, but I could feel the atmosphere between us had become slightly more awkward.
I, too, quickly turned to drag a chair from the empty desk nearby (Riku's former seat) and placed it beside hers, trying to maintain a reasonable distance so as not to make her feel even more uncomfortable, before awkwardly slumping into it. My heart was still pounding a bit—I didn't know if it was due to shock, embarrassment, or her seemingly reproachful gaze just now…
"It seems everyone has found their partners," Mr. Satoru's voice boomed, interrupting my awkward silence. "Now, everyone move to sit with your partners and start planning your science projects. This year's theme is 'Quantum Theory and Parallel Worlds.' I want everyone to use their creativity and imagination to the fullest, but it must be supported by scientific principles. Don't forget, this is Class 2-A. My expectations are higher than for other classes. The submission and presentation deadline is at the end of this semester. I'm giving you plenty of time to research and understand it thoroughly," the teacher emphasized.
Students began to move their seats more earnestly. The sound of chairs scraping and chatter rose again, but it seemed a bit softer than before. The pressure from Mr. Satoru's words permeated the room.
I saw Ken walk over to sit beside Mikase with an expression like he was about to be interrogated. Mikase started opening a thick textbook and said something that made Ken scratch his head. As for Zeno, he dragged his chair to sit next to Takumi with utmost enthusiasm.
"Takumi! I have an amazing idea for our project! We'll build a detector for butterflies from other dimensions! Or maybe a portable rainbow generator!" Zeno spouted ideas rapidly.
Takumi, who was sketching something in his notebook, spoke in a flat tone without looking up, "I think we should start with something that won't blow up the science lab, Zeno. Or at least something that doesn't violate basic laws of physics too much… Unless those dimensional butterflies can produce nuclear energy on their own. That would be interesting."
Over on Iris's side, she was facing Sakurai Ren, the otaku boy, who seemed to be trying to explain the concept of "Isekai" or other-dimensional worlds from his favorite anime to her, giving examples of characters who could travel across dimensions. Iris frowned slightly, trying to understand what he was saying, but she still seemed unable to grasp it. "And… how does this relate to the quantum theory we have to do, Sakurai-san?" she asked patiently.
I gathered my courage and turned to Lumine again.
"Uh… um…" I began awkwardly, trying to think of the right words. "About earlier… I… I'm sorry. I didn't mean to…"
"It's fine," she cut me off immediately, her voice flat, but not as cold as before. "We should start thinking about the project."
I nodded in response, feeling a bit relieved that she wasn't angrier, or at least wasn't showing it.
"Tsukino-kun… how much do you know about quantum theory?" she asked straightforwardly, her eyes scanning me assessingly.
"Well… I know a little," I answered hesitantly. "I've read bits and pieces about particles existing in multiple places at once, or Schrödinger's cat… but nothing too deep."
She nodded slightly before opening a black notebook. On its cover was a small nebula sticker. Inside, it was filled with neat handwriting and complex-looking diagrams.
"I'm particularly interested in Hugh Everett's Many-Worlds Interpretation," she said, a spark of interest in her voice. "It's the idea that every time a quantum measurement is made, the universe branches off into multiple parallel universes, where each possible outcome actually occurs in one of those universes."
I listened intently. Even though it felt like a distant and difficult concept, hearing it from her slightly excited voice made me curious too.
"That sounds… amazing," I said, based on my feeling. "Like something out of a sci-fi movie."
Lumine smiled faintly for the first time. "Yes, it's quite… beyond imagination. But many physicists actually believe in this theory." She looked out the window for a moment. "My father is a theoretical physicist. He used to tell me about these things often," she added softly, before turning back. "I was thinking we could present on this concept, starting with the basics of quantum mechanics, like the double-slit experiment, and then link it to the many-worlds theory. What do you think?"
"That's a great idea," I replied. "Even though I might not know as much about these things as you do, I can help with research, summarizing content, or designing presentation slides. I can draw a bit and do some graphics."
"Excellent," Lumine nodded, seemingly pleased with my answer. "Then let's try to outline the main topics first, what we want to present, and then we can divide the research work."
We started brainstorming together. Lumine was the main one proposing topics related to various theories, while I tried to think about how to present them in a way that our classmates (who might not be as into physics as Lumine) could understand. The atmosphere gradually relaxed, and the initial awkwardness slowly faded away.
"You know," she said after we had been talking for a while, "someone once said that our dreams might be windows through which we get a glimpse into the lives of ourselves in parallel universes."
"Really?" I asked with interest. That idea was so captivating.
"It's not a scientific theory, of course," she smiled faintly, a smile that looked more open and natural than any I had seen from her before. "But it's a romantic idea, isn't it?"
"It is," I chuckled softly. "If that's true, then myself in another world must be having quite an adventure."
Lumine's smile widened a bit more, a smile that instantly brightened her face, so much so that I found myself staring for a moment.
"Who knows? Maybe our other selves in many other worlds are doing things we wouldn't dare to do in this one."
Before we could talk further, the bell rang, signaling the end of the class period.
Mr. Satoru stood up. "Alright, students. Don't forget you have until the end of this semester for the project. I expect quality work from Class A."
Students began to pack their things. I, too, put my notebooks and books into my bag, but I didn't quite want to leave yet.
"Thanks, Komori-san. Today was a lot of fun," I said softly.
Lumine looked at me with a softer gaze. "Me too, Tsukino-kun. Not many people want to talk about these things with me."
"If you're interested, I have some books on this topic that are fairly easy to understand. I can bring them for you to borrow tomorrow," she offered.
"Thank you so much! I'd really like to read them!" I replied immediately.
"Well then… see you tomorrow," she said, standing up.
"Yeah, see you tomorrow."
Lumine walked over to join Iris and Himari, who were waiting at the door. I saw Himari turn and give me a wide smile for a moment before the three of them disappeared.
I walked over to Ken, Takumi, and Zeno, who were animatedly discussing something.
"How did it go, Leo?" Ken asked.
"Pretty good," I replied, smiling faintly. "Komori-san knows a lot about physics."
Takumi raised an eyebrow. "Be careful not to get lost in her quantum equations," he said deadpan.
Zeno quickly added, "Yeah, yeah! Or you might get sucked into a parallel world she created!"
We laughed and walked out of the classroom together. I couldn't help but think about my conversation with Lumine, and her smile... Maybe this project wouldn't be as boring as I thought.