Casey snapped her head up and stared into the face of the teacher.

  "Miss Anthony, Mr. Hale, what do you think you're doing during a quiz?" the teacher asked with a stiff smile and arms crossed in front of his chest.

  She and Tanner shared a quick glance before they said, "Nothing."

  They quickly turned their attention back to the paper in front of them. Casey could still feel the teacher's stare burning holes into the back of her head and lowered her head even further. After several long, tense moments, she finally heard the teacher walk away and breathed a sigh of relief. She then threw a glare at Tanner, who resolutely kept his gaze away from her.

  Oh no, you don't. Don't think you'll get away with it that easily. Once this quiz is over, I'm going to make him regret it.

  The rest of the class continued as normal, though her classmates kept throwing her and her double looks. She couldn't blame them, as she had also snuck glances at Ellis, who always seemed to be looking at her. It was honestly creepy.

  As soon as class was over, Casey and her friends hurried out the door, but not before giving Ellis, who still had his gaze on Casey, another glance.

  Once outside, Tanner muttered, "What a creep. He was ogling you the entire time."

  "Yeah, it was really creepy. He should keep his eyes to himself," the girl said, clinging to Casey.

  "You're one to talk."

  "Excuse me. What is that supposed to mean?"

  "Look at yourself."

  As the two bickered, Ira scooted closer to Casey and asked, "Are you alright? You looked really bothered by the new kid."

  "Well, I didn't expect to see my twin today," Casey said.

  "I know you said you're not related, but what are the chances of some random person looking exactly like you?"

  He had a point. No matter how hard she insisted that they weren't twins, no one would believe her given how they looked identical. She even doubted it herself.

  "I'll have to talk to Mom and Dad. Maybe they're a distant relative I don't know about," she said.

  Ira didn't pursue the topic and instead changed the subject to their pop quiz. Casey was relieved they wouldn't talk about the new kid any longer and happily talked about the questions. Unfortunately, her relief was short-lived when she realized that Ellis seemed to be in every one of her classes. Having one or two classes together wouldn't be surprising, but he literally sat in the back of all her classes thus far. Not even her friends shared all her classes.

  What's going on here? How is he taking the same classes as me? Tanner had complained to me that my art class was completely full, so he couldn't take it, but this new kid somehow joined. It doesn't make sense.

  Casey would have understood if someone had dropped out of her art class, leaving a space for someone to join; however, not a single person has quit the class so far.

  Her brows furrowed as she stared down at her sketch of a bird before looking in Ellis's direction. Just like all the previous times she checked, he was staring directly at her like he couldn't bear to look away for even a second. She shuddered and directed her gaze back to her drawing, trying to ignore him. The moment class was over, she rushed out to find her friends for lunch.

  As soon as they saw her face, Tanner asked, "Hey, what's wrong? You looked like you'd seen something terrible."

  "The new kid is in my class," she said with a sigh.

  "What? How's that fair? I wanted to take that class. I'm going to complain to the teacher."

  "I have no idea."

  "Do you think they might have done it on purpose?" the other girl in the group asked.

  "What do you mean?"

  "Ruby has a point. Do you think they put you in the same class as you because they think you're related?" Ira asked.

  "Would they do that?"

  She had never heard of such a thing happening before. Plenty of siblings had different classes from each other. It seemed odd to do it specifically for this one case.

  "Enough about the new kid. Let's just find a place to sit and eat," Tanner said.

  The subject of Ellis was put on hold as they went to their usual spot. Fortunately, no one had occupied their benches—there were times when they were too slow and had to find somewhere else to eat—and they sat down. Just as they were about to start eating, a shadow loomed over Casey. Judging by the expressions on her friends' faces, she had a sinking feeling in her stomach and reluctantly looked behind her.

  This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

  Ellis stared unblinkingly at her as he asked, "Are you Casey Anthony?"

  Seriously? What's with this guy? Is he stalking me?

  Casey fidgeted uneasily in her seat as she slowly said, "Yes." The boy just stared. "Uh, is there something you need?"

  "I would like to sit here," he said.

  What?

  She shared a look with her friends, and Ira stood up, saying, "Sorry, but there's really no room for you here. I suggest trying another place to eat."

  Ellis didn't budge.

  "That means buzz off," Tanner snapped, waving a hand at him. "We don't want you here."

  He still didn't move, continuing to look at Casey creepily.

  "If you don't leave right now, I'm calling a teacher," Ruby declared as she glared at him.

  Finally, Ellis stepped back and slowly walked away. The group watched as he walked backwards out of sight.

  "What a weirdo," Tanner said. "Where did he even come from?"

  "Did you notice that he didn't even have lunch with him?" Ruby pointed out.

  That was something Casey had missed as she had been bothered by his intense staring. It only made his actions even more off-putting.

  "I think you should talk to the teachers about this," Ira said. "It's not normal."

  "He's right," Tanner said in between bites. "He might just follow you home if you don't tell the teachers."

  "I will, but after lunch," she said before taking a bite out of her own lunch.

  As soon as the group finished their lunch, they walked to the first teacher they could find to talk about their problem.

  Unfortunately, the teacher wasn't much help. Instead of doing something about the new kid, she simply said they should be nicer to him since he's new and wants to get along with them.

  Out of the corner of her eyes, Casey saw Tanner roll his eyes and make circle motions next to his head where the teacher couldn't see. Ruby looked one second from exploding, given the dark look she was shooting at the teacher, who didn't seem to notice as she continued to lecture them. After listening to the teacher nag at them for a couple of minutes about being more friendly to the new kid, they were finally allowed to leave unhappily.

  "Well, that sucked," Tanner said dryly. "She didn't listen to a word we said."

  "We just need to find someone else who will take us seriously," Ira said.

  "Like who?"

  "We have, like, five minutes before lunch is over," Ruby chimed in.

  Casey sighed. "I'll just tell the teacher in my class. I'm pretty sure he's going to be there too."

  Her friends gave her pitying looks, and Tanner patted her shoulder, saying, "Sucks to be you."

  In retaliation, she shoved him away and threw him a dirty look. Soon the bell rang, and they went their separate ways. As she approached the classroom, she steeled herself for what was about to happen next. As soon as she opened the door, she spotted Ellis sitting in the back of the classroom, staring intently in her direction.

  Ugh. He's so creepy.

  She walked to the teacher, ignoring Ellis's intense stare, and whispered, "Teacher, I need to talk to you about something."

  The teacher immediately turned his attention to Casey and asked, "What did you need?" Once she explained everything to the teacher, he sighed, rubbing his forehead. "I understand. I'll have a talk with him. If he's still bothering you, please let me know."

  Relieved, she took her seat as the teacher approached Ellis to talk privately outside. The few classmates that had arrived before class started were instantly curious and looked between Casey, Ellis, and the teacher. She pretended not to notice and watched the duo disappear outside. The door closed behind them, preventing them from hearing the conversation.

  That didn't stop everyone from guessing what they were talking about.

  The door opened several times, but each time it was just another student eager to make it in time before the bell rang. Then the teacher and Ellis returned, making everyone tense in anticipation. Unfortunately for everyone except Casey, neither of them was interested in discussing what they talked about as the teacher headed back to his desk while Ellis returned to his seat. She took a moment to glance at Ellis before turning her attention back to the front.

  Luckily, it seemed that Ellis took the teacher's words to heart.

  When she occasionally looked in his direction, he didn't seem to be perpetually staring at her and was looking towards the teacher like a normal student, which was a huge weight off her shoulders.

  Of course she did catch him staring sometimes, but it wasn't constantly or as creepy as before. Seeing that her method worked, she vowed to implement it in all her classes. However, she only had one more class before the school day was over, so she would have to do it tomorrow unless she was willing to stick around and could catch her teachers before they left for the day.

  The moment her last class was over, she was instantly out the door and hurried to the bus where Ira and Tanner were waiting. They waved at her.

  Once she was close enough, Ira asked, "So how did it go? Did your teacher deal with him?"

  "Yeah, they did. He stopped staring at me as much and left me alone," Casey said.

  Tanner puffed out his chest as he said, "Good. If he tries anything, show him how scary you can get."

  "Yeah, yeah."

  Suddenly, Ira and Tanner's expressions shifted. It took her a moment to realize that they were looking behind her, prompting her to do the same. Casey stumbled back at the sight of Ellis standing behind her. She placed a hand over her racing heart as she stared at him with wide eyes.

  When had he gotten there?

  Casey hadn't heard him approaching. It was like he appeared out of thin air.

  "How about you back up there? Haven't you heard of personal space?" Tanner snapped.

  Ellis remained silent as Ira asked, "Are you also taking the bus?"

  Her stomach lurched.

  She really hoped that wasn't the case. It was bad enough she had endured his staring in all her classes, though it had gotten better in the last two. Having to endure a bus ride with him would be unbearable.

  He continued to remain silent, which only irritated Tanner. "Hey, we're talking to you. Can't you answer the question?"

  Suddenly, the bus driver called out, "Kids, are you getting on or what?"

  "Coming," Casey said, pushing her friends towards the bus.

  Looking back, she saw Ellis standing unmoved. Once the trio found a seat, they looked out the window to stare at Ellis, who hadn't moved an inch. The bus driver called out to him, but he didn't show any signs of listening. Eventually, one of the teachers on duty retrieved him, allowing the driver to leave without worry. The trio stared at Ellis as he was guided away until they could no longer see him.

  "Well, he's a certified weirdo," Tanner said.

  "He is strange. I wonder if he's one of those special needs kids," Ira commented.

  "Who cares? I, for one, am glad we don't have to deal with him now."

  Of course Casey thought the same thing, though she didn't say it out loud. She was really not looking forward to the rest of the year with him in the same classes as her.