AFTER 1 MONTH
No One POV:
"Robert… I won't let your sacrifice go to waste," a person whispered, touching his forehead.
"Did you find anything in his room?" he asked, dressed in a black coat, sitting calmly on a chair.
"No sir, we didn't find anything."
"Adrian, did you hear anything about my close friend?"
"No sir. The whole Blake family has shifted somewhere, there is no news of them."
"I guess it's time for me to find everything myself," he muttered, smoking a cigarette as he got up from the table.
Eira POV:
"I'm telling you, if that annoying Robert scolds me again because of you, I will kill you!" Tessy yelled while dragging me toward the class.
"Tessy, what can I do?" I groaned. "Why do they open college so early in the morning…" I muttered in frustration.
The moment we stepped inside and saw no teacher there, I took a deep breath of relief. We rushed to grab our seats quickly.
Before I could say anything, the principal walked in with all the teachers behind him. Their faces looked tense and worried.
"Class, good morning everyone," the principal began. "We would like to inform you… that our teacher, Mr. Robert, is no more with us."
The room filled instantly with whispers and gasps. My heart sank. I couldn't believe something like this happened so suddenly.
"He has died in an animal attack," the principal continued grimly, "so from now on no student is allowed to roam inside the college premises after 5 p.m. All trips have been cancelled as well."
With that, he left the classroom, all the teachers trailing behind him.
"Can we go to the canteen now? I'm hungry," Tessy said, looking at me with puppy eyes.
"Our teacher just died and you're saying this?" I asked, stunned.
"Eira, you want me to starve to death for him?" she replied, narrowing her eyes sternly.
I sighed, knowing I couldn't win. "Let's go…" I said, giving in.
I was about to leave with her when the peon uncle came toward me and said, "Eira, your parcel has come to the college. Kindly collect it from the guard room."
Tessy was already running toward the canteen. "Sorry, I can't wait for you!" she shouted, waving her hand.
I shook my head as she disappeared and turned toward the college gate, walking to the guard room like the peon uncle said.
"Oh God… Mom! She has sent such a big parcel," I muttered to myself while carrying it with great difficulty. My front view was completely blocked as I struggled to hold it in my arms.
"I can't do this anymore," I muttered, setting the parcel down and taking a deep breath. Just as I turned, my eyes widened. A car was coming at an uncontrolled speed—not toward me, but straight toward someone else.
The man was busy on his phone, completely unaware of what was about to happen.
"Move!" I shouted, but he didn't listen. Without thinking twice, I ran toward him and pushed him aside.
He fell to the side and was saved, but the impact threw me down hard. My hand scraped against the rough ground, leaving it bruised and stinging.
No One POV:
I was on the phone, my voice sharp with anger."I don't care how, I want to know where Adrian is—at any cost!"
The next second, a force shoved me hard, knocking me to the ground. A car sped past with a roar, but I hardly noticed.
It was her.
The girl who had pushed me.
She stood there with her eyes closed, her face pale, her body trembling from the impact. Her hand was bruised, her breathing uneven, yet she had thrown herself forward just to save me.
My chest tightened as I looked at her. Something about her… that desperate courage, those closed eyes… it pulled at memories buried deep inside me.
For a moment, there was only her.
I walked toward her slowly, my eyes fixed on her. "Are you okay?" I asked softly.
She opened her eyes and whispered, "Yes… I'm fine," and tried to leave quickly.
Her voice was so sweet, her eyes filled with innocence. I couldn't stop myself. "Wait, you're hurt. Let me take you to the doctor."
"No, it's nothing," she said quickly, trying to hide her bruised hand.
"You're also a student here, right?" I asked.
"Yes," she replied.
"I am new here. Just joined," I told her with a smile.
"This late? In the middle of the semester?" she asked, surprised.
"Family business kept me somewhere else," I said simply, then guided her gently toward the medical room.
The nurse applied medicine to her hand. She closed her eyes tightly at the sting of pain, and I couldn't stop myself from staring. Something about her… it was different.
Suddenly, footsteps rushed toward us. A girl came running, hugging her tightly. "Eira! What happened to you?" she cried, scolding and holding her at the same time.
I froze. Eira. So that was her name. The sound of it echoed in my mind.
The girl turned to me. "What happened?"
"She saved me," I explained quickly. "A car was coming, and she pushed me out of the way."
"Eira, why do you always have to do this to everyone?" she scolded again. Then she looked back at me with a smile. "Hi, I'm Tessy. And you are?"
"I'm Lucifer William. Just joined today."
Her eyes narrowed a little, but before she could ask more, her phone rang. She frowned. "Mom's calling." She grabbed Eira's hand. "Come, let's go."
I stood silently as they left, her name still repeating in my head—Eira. The way she looked, the way her hand was pulled away, the way she disappeared from my sight. I kept memorizing everything.
Later, I went to the principal's office. Knocking softly, I said, "Sir, may I come in?"
He looked up with a smile. "Welcome, Mr. Lucifer. You must be the son of Mr. William. Such a good man—he has helped so much with the college funds. We are very grateful."
I inclined my head. "It's our pleasure, sir."
"So, you will be joining classes from tomorrow?" the principal asked.
"Yes, sir," I replied. Then, before leaving, I asked, "Sir… may I request to be placed in Miss Eira's class? She is my friend, and she can help me with the syllabus."
The principal nodded. "Of course."
I thanked him and left.
Later, sitting in my car, I leaned my head back and closed my eyes. But all I could see again and again was her face—Eira. Her innocence, her voice, her eyes.
For the first time in years, something inside me felt different.