The academy wasn't quiet.
By the time Xavier left the dean's office, whispers were already snaking through every hallway like static in the air. News spread faster than fire in a dry forest — and Xavier? He was the explosion that set the whole place ablaze.
Every screen, every feed, every student's device was flashing the same thing:
[#XAVIER_DESTROYED_LUCAS] — 12.8M shares
[The Man Who Shut Down the Blackwoods]
[New Icon of the global rise?]
[Money. Power. Looks. Xavier has it all?]
Every step he took back to class turned heads.
He wasn't just that "new guy" anymore.
He was the guy.
Some froze when they saw him, wide-eyed, whispering behind hands like schoolgirls watching a K-pop idol. Some pretended to look away but were obviously filming. Even the staff looked… tense.
He walked back into his classroom.
It was dead quiet.
And then came the lunch break.
