The Academy's Terminally Ill Side Character
Chapter 143: Nora Hayes [1]

The next day…

After homeroom ended, we were given time to check out the clubs we might want to join.

Now, let me make one thing clear—I had zero intention of joining anything. My plan was to quietly slip away and enjoy a peaceful afternoon. Maybe nap under a tree or pretend to read something meaningful. You know—normal people stuff.

But instead?

I got dragged into this mess against my will.

By whom, you ask? Who else but Ryen and Leona. And of course, trailing right behind them were Nora and Kiera.

Honestly, I was this close to pointing out how weird it was that Kiera was still here—considering, in the original novel, her friendship with Ryen was supposed to fall apart before she got killed by Ethan.

But since I've altered the plot, their friendship never broke. They're still joined at the hip.

So, yeah. I kept my mouth shut.

Anyway, back to the main point.

We had barely stepped out of the classroom when Ryen clapped his hands like he was about to rally a battalion.

"Alright, spill it! Which club did you end up joining, Rin?"

That question again?

I sighed. Why was everyone suddenly obsessed with this? It was like club recruitment season had turned into a full-blown inquisition.

Honestly, I was still pissed about what Aria Collins pulled yesterday. Blackmailing me into joining her club—even if only as a ghost member—was not how I pictured my school life going.

Sure, I didn't have to do anything as a ghost member. No meetings. No events. Just a name on the roster. From a distance, it looked like a win. But the principle of it? Still left a bad taste in my mouth.

Anyway, there was no way I was telling them about that. Aria and her creepy little Observation Club would stay far, far away from this conversation.

So, I did what any rational person would do: I told them about the clubs I actually planned to join.

"Swordsmanship and Travel. And I'll also sign up for the Hunting Club Leo's putting together."

All three were tied to important events. And more importantly, I chose them myself.

Leona gave an approving nod. "Oh, nice! Swordsmanship Club's a solid pick."

Before I could say anything else, a voice piped up beside me.

"Wait, huh? What about the Cooking Club?"

Miss Buttcheeks—yes, her nickname still stuck—looked at me with this crestfallen, almost betrayed expression, like I'd just run over her pet.

It took me a second to even remember what she was talking about.

Right… she had asked me to join the Cooking Club. Completely slipped my mind, to be honest. I'd always intended to sign up for the other three.

Could she even cook, though? I didn't remember anything about that from the original story. Her talent was… questionable at best.

"I'll make you lots of delicious food!" she said brightly, puffing out her cheeks and trying to play cute. "C'mon, let's join together~!"

I blinked. "That's bribery."

"Call it culinary persuasion."

Before I could respond, another voice cut in.

"Rin, join the Gaming Club instead!" Ryen chimed. "It's way more fun than the Travel Club!"

You are also in Travel club, you know that right?

"Yeah! Imagine it—Cooking and Gaming. Living the dream!"

They were coming at me from all sides now. I half expected someone to pitch a Knitting Club next.

I raised a hand to shut them up before this turned into a full-on recruitment brawl.

"Okay, first of all—no. Second of all—no. I'm not joining ten different clubs just because you all think it'd be 'fun.' I already picked the ones I want."

Miss Buttcheeks pouted, arms crossed, her lower lip jutting out like I'd just kicked her puppy.

"You're really not joining the Cooking Club…?"

I blinked.

Of course not. I barely had enough time to breathe, let alone waste it learning how to julienne carrots.

Before I could respond, someone else—someone who had stayed completely silent through the whole exchange—finally spoke.

"Why don't you join?"

I turned, eyebrows raised.

"…Huh?"

She stared back at me, face unreadable. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

'Because you barely talk to anyone. Ever. Except Ryen.'

To be honest, hearing her speak up—especially in defense of Miss Buttcheeks—was more shocking than the question itself. The pink-haired yandere had always kept to herself like her social battery was a fragile antique.

But then she dropped the real bomb.

"I'm joining too."

I blinked. "What?"

"The Cooking Club," she said, deadpan. "I'm joining."

And sure enough, Ryen, sitting beside her like a perfectly sculpted statue, nodded with a calm smile—as if this was totally normal and not some narrative detour from reality.

I stared at them both.

You didn't join the Cooking Club in the original story.

You were supposed to stick to the combat elective, get jealous halfway through the arc, and maybe burn a kitchen down by accident.

Yet here we were. Deviating again.

The protagonist was definitely up to something.

The silence stretched just a beat too long.

Ryen kept smiling.

Nora, the human embodiment of a butcher's knife wrapped in pink ribbon, looked completely serious.

And Miss Buttcheeks had that glint in her eye—the one that said she thought she'd just won some kind of emotional war.

I opened my mouth.

Then closed it.

Then opened it again.

"Okay. Wait. Back up."

I pointed at Nora. "You. Why?"

She shrugged, casually adjusting her sleeves like this wasn't the equivalent of a dragon announcing it wanted to try veganism.

"Cooking seemed… calming."

Calming.

That was the word she went with. Not "fun." Not "interesting."

Calming.

This was a girl who once chased a guy halfway across the campus because he bumped into her and didn't apologize.

She shattered a training dummy's ribs in combat class. Wooden ribs.

What part of cooking did she think would be calming?

Watching things boil?

"I want to learn how to make sweet things," she added, tone perfectly flat. "Cakes. Pies. That sort of thing."

Ryen nodded sagely, like this was the most natural evolution of character ever.

"She's got a sweet tooth," he offered with a grin.

Oh, great. That explained everything.

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