The shrill ringtone yanked Terra out of a half-finished dream, where she had been flying on a fluffy cloud made of French fries. She shot up, her hair a bird’s nest, eyes half-closed, still sticky with sleep. The phone on her desk vibrated furiously, as if it was about to jump off.

The caller ID lit up. Terra nearly screamed.

“Mr. Tallo calling…”

Her heart pounded like a festival drum. Her mind spun with terrifying possibilities: What if he found out I cursed him? What if he’s calling to get revenge? Or worse… what if he’s inviting me to a barbecue?!

The ringtone blared louder, mocking her hesitation. Terra swallowed hard, hesitated a few seconds, then snapped:

“Nope! Not answering!”

Click! She hung up instantly.

“No way! If he’s really immune, then the curse didn’t work anyway. Better cross him off the list.”

She pulled out her notebook, flipped to the page labeled “Curse Experiments List”, and scribbled a fat, red X across the name:

“Mr. Tallo – nosy neighbor, smells like barbecue.”

“There. One less headache in my life.”

Relieved (though still jittery inside), Terra dragged herself to get ready for school… completely unaware the day was about to be anything but normal.

The moment she arrived, Terra froze, face pale.

“Oh no… I forgot to copy my math homework!”

Her words cracked like thunder in clear skies.

Layla, happily chewing gum as she skipped along beside her, turned and burst into laughter.

“Again?! Terra Sentalos – the queen of forgotten homework! I swear, your brain is nothing but popcorn and French fries.”

Terra blushed furiously. “Come on… I do try to study sometimes!”

Layla whistled mockingly. “Yeah, try to figure out the laziest way to survive another day.”

They bickered and giggled their way into class. But before they could settle down, chaos arrived.

Click! — The classroom door swung open.

A boy strolled in, hair slicked to perfection, crisp white shirt without a wrinkle, shoes gleaming like they’d been polished with holy water.

He walked as if the classroom floor was his personal runway.

“Greetings,” he drawled arrogantly. “My name is Luca, only son of the Luca Holdings empire. I trust you… commoners here will treat me accordingly.”

The classroom fell dead silent.

Everyone exchanged looks, the exact same thought running through their heads:

This guy… I want to punch him.

Even the homeroom teacher forced a stiff smile, but inside cursed the heavens: What did I do in my past life to deserve this so early in the morning?

While the class sat frozen, Layla – fearless as always – leaned on her desk, resting her chin on her palm, and said loudly:

“Sorry, but could you shut up for a minute? Your voice is giving me a headache.”

BAM! The entire class gaped. Time itself seemed to pause.

Luca blinked. One second. Two. Then—his heart began to race.

What… what is this? No one’s ever dared talk to me like that. Everyone only flatters me, kisses up to me… but her… strong, blunt, fearless… Oh no… am I falling in love?!

He tried to look cool, forcing a smirk. “You’re fascinating. I like people who aren’t afraid of power.”

But Layla only scoffed, stood up, and pointed directly at Terra.

“Sorry, but the person I like isn’t you. It’s Terra.”

The whole class: “???”

Layla continued firmly:
“Yeah, she’s clumsy, dumb as a pig, lazier than a sloth, but I still love her. That’s that.”

Terra’s face flared tomato-red. She buried her head in her desk. “Laaaaylaaa! Don’t say stuff like that in front of everyone!!”

Luca, meanwhile, was in utter shock. His face twitched with jealousy and disdain.

“Oh… so this is my rival? Interesting. But…” Luca glanced at Terra and sneered. “What is this creature anyway? Some stray pet?”

SNAP!

Inside Terra’s mind, the last thread of patience broke clean.

She shot up, eyes blazing, and roared:

“I curse you, Luca!”

The classroom shook. Students stiffened. A chilling aura filled the air.

Terra jabbed a finger at him, her words like hammers:

“From now on, you won’t be able to use a single dime of your parents’ money! Every bank card, credit card, account, mansion, luxury car—gone! Anything tied to your parents will slip right through your fingers!”

The air swirled violently. Desks rattled. Dark mist curled around Luca.

He scoffed. “Hah! Trying to scare me? I don’t need my parents—”

RINGGG!

Luca’s phone rang. He picked it up, still smirking. But within three seconds, his face drained of all color.

“W-what?! Mom, Dad… kicked me out? Locked all my accounts? I have to live on my own… immediately?!”

THUD! His phone slipped from his hand, clattering to the floor.

Luca collapsed into his chair, face twisted as if he’d been forced to swallow an entire roll of toilet paper.

“N-no way…”

Terra folded her arms, smirking. “Oh, there’s a way. Welcome to the real world, rich kid.”

Layla slammed the desk, doubled over in laughter. “HAHAHA! His face looks like he just ate… you-know-what! Oh my god, I can’t breathe!”

Tobas muttered from the back row: “Is this a sitcom? Or did I just stumble into some divine punishment skit…?”

During break, the class buzzed with gossip while Luca sulked in a corner, hugging his knees like a drenched kitten.

“No chauffeur… no cards… no butlers…” he mumbled. “How… how will I survive…?”

A classmate shrugged. “Easy. Like us. Ride the bus, eat at the cafeteria, live on instant noodles.”

“NOOOOOOO!!!” Luca wailed, tears streaming down his cheeks.

Layla patted Terra’s shoulder, still laughing. “You’re seriously the curse queen. One snap and the rich kid crashes straight into poverty.”

Terra covered her face, mumbling. “I… I just lost my temper… I didn’t think it’d actually…”

But deep inside, she knew: the curse had worked perfectly. Luca was not immune.

She opened her notebook and drew a massive red X over the new entry:

“Luca – delusional rich kid.”

That entire day, nobody in class could focus.

Layla openly clung to Terra like superglue, loudly declaring her love. Terra turned red as a chili pepper, torn between wanting to disappear and secretly feeling… a tiny bit warm inside.

Luca sat in the corner, eyes hollow, mumbling: “Instant noodles… bus rides… cheap apartments… I’m doomed…”

And thus, another ridiculous day in Terra’s cursed life ended, full of chaos, humiliation, and awkward confessions.

But as she marked another big X in her notebook, Terra couldn’t stop wondering:

“If everyone keeps falling to my curse… then where is the one who’s truly immune?”