"Today, we welcome a new transfer student..."

I felt my face pressed against a hard surface. Before I could even react, I heard a chorus of whispers and the sound of polite clapping from my right.

I never knew that I could experience such vivid sensations after I die. I read somewhere that after one died, one's body would slowly rot away, but one's spirit would live on.

As soon as I opened my eyes, I was greeted by the blinding light of a crystal chandelier, which was suspended high up in the ceiling. I marvelled at the dangling teardrop crystals that glimmered under the morning sun.

My eyes darted around the room, in awe by how fancy it looked. Rows and rows of desks were lined up uniformly, without a single speck of dust to be seen. The rows of wooden cabinets on either side of the room were shockingly well-maintained. Each individual cabinet was meticulously labelled with a different color, most likely for the sake of differentiation. A huge globe sat in the front of the room, displaying a multitude of places marked by a variety of colors. There was even a huge resting area in the back of the room, which consisted of a bunch of plush sofas, pillows, and cabinets filled with snacks and books.

Was this all a dream? Maybe I only dreamed of my own death.

I immediately scratched the thought. This couldn't possibly be my classroom. My classroom was filthy, dingy and dilapidated. The once freshly coated paint had started to peel off, exposing a bare wall crawling with critters. The originally shiny desks had rotted away with time, leaving them barely resilient to even the smallest breeze. The previously sleek floor was coated with a thick layer of dust, possibly due to the school not bothering to hire competent cleaning staff.

"Hello, my name is Jessica..." A soft, dainty voice travelled to my ears.

I rubbed my eyes, my mind still muddled in confusion by the stark contrast between the scene in front of me and the reality I had always known.

"Rayne Willows! Are you sleeping during the new student's introduction?" A voice boomed from the far end of the room.

I jolted in shock at the fierceness of the voice. It felt so real that I was compelled to believe that I wasn't dreaming.

Wait, did the teacher say "Willows"? That's not my last name...

What shocked me the most, however, was how the voice was baritone, unlike the shrill tone of my teacher.

I directed my attention to the front of the room to discover a middle aged woman staring at me.

That's...not my teacher.

I felt all the eyes in the room focus on me. I broke out in cold sweat, feeling the soft cotton material of my shirt stick to my back. As I felt my anxiety trickle in, I grabbed the edge of my seat to steady my breathing.

It was then I noticed the transfer student was also staring at me. Her brown eyes shone in interest as she shot me an amiable grin. For some reason, I found her awfully familiar, as I have met her before.

It was as if...

Suddenly, a description from One More Time popped up in my mind.

"She had silky, brown hair carefully styled into two plaits, perfectly framing her heart-shaped face. Her brown eyes looked slightly silver under the bright chandelier light, exuding a rarely seen pureness and fascination with life. As soon as she heard her name called, she gave a grin that immediately drew everyone into her innocent charm."

Impossible. This can't be happening.

I glanced to the right to see another familiar figure.

"But no one was as entranced as Elliott, who stared at her with his mouth agape. The moment he saw her, it was as if there was only him and her in the world. Everything else had faded in the background. It was then that he had resolved to pursue her."

I couldn't believe my eyes - what I am seeing looks exactly like how the novel described Elliott's first reaction when he saw Jessica. He had been staring at her with his mouth wide for at least five minutes.

"Ms. Willows, go stand outside and reflect on yourself!" The teacher exclaimed, pointing towards the door.

I didn't waste any time escaping the suffocating atmosphere of the classroom, heaving a sigh of relief when I entered the empty hallway.

Breathe in, hold breath, breathe out, hold breath, repeat.

With my mind clearer, I could finally assess my current situation. I thought I had died when the blonde-haired girl pushed me off the roof. Miraculously, not only was I alive, but I had been transported into the novel I was reading, One More Time.

My current identity seems to be Rayne Willows. I chuckled. It was rather coincidental that the previous owner of this body had the same name as me, only a different surname.

I frowned. I never saw a character named Rayne Willows mentioned in the story. After much thought, I concluded the only explanation was that she was a side character with a one-time appearance. There was a chance she played a more significant role in the story, only that I skipped all the parts with her name mentioned.

Even after laying all the information on the table, I still couldn't wrap my head around my situation.

Why was I reincarnated? Why this book out of millions of other books?

My mind wandered back to the conversation I had with the blonde-haired girl. She said she would grant one of my wishes as compensation. I still didn't know why she was sorry. For one, I had never met a girl with such a peculiar taste in fashion.

But my wish was to be happy with Asher, not to be transported into this novel.

No...the realization suddenly dawned on me. I was transported into the novel precisely because I wanted to be happy with Asher.

I was practically jumping with excitement at my newfound knowledge. I could finally meet Asher in person!

I thanked the blonde-haired girl in my mind for this chance.

I peeked in the classroom, trying to find a person that would fit Asher's description.

"The gloomy-looking boy next to Elliott was Asher. He had fluffy, white hair interspersed with silver streaks, a pale complexion, light pink lips, and a lanky physique. His dull green eyes seemed to flicker with an abnormal degree of liveliness as he looked at his surroundings in disinterest. There was something devilishly beautiful about his eyes that left one simultaneously fascinated and terrified. It was as if his eyes peered directly into the soul, looking past all pretenses and lies, leaving one completely vulnerable to the ugliness that resided in one's depths."

There was no one, as far as I could tell, that matched the description.

I let out a sigh of frustration. Should I try to stalk him?

Suddenly, I heard a series of squeaks. I flinched, noticing the sound was getting closer. I turned my head to see a boy with shiny silver hair leaning back on his wheelchair as he rolled towards me.

There was no mistaking it. The boy is Asher.

I froze in shock, not knowing how to react until he rolled past me. One of his keys fell from his wheelchair, landing on the floor with a light clink.

I bent down to pick it up, "You forgot this..."

I trailed off as soon as my eyes had met his. He only stared at me with his eyes widened while I was completely lost in the forest green hue of his eyes.

Wow...his eyes....they are...

"So pretty."