Ivy zipped up her last bag and stood in the doorway of her room. The house felt oddly quiet for how abnormal the morning was.
"Text us when you get there," her father said from the kitchen, tapping his mug against the counter.
"And don't forget to eat actual food," her mother added, walking over to give her a quick hug. "Not just convenience store junk."
"I won't," Ivy said. She adjusted her bag, gave a small wave, and stepped out.
It wasn't nerves. Just a kind of stillness. She'd never lived in a dorm before. She didn't know if it would be worse or better than home. She just knew it would be different.
The school courtyard buzzed louder than usual when she arrived. Ivy stepped through the gate and noticed a small crowd forming just outside the building entrance. Voices overlapped, questions fired off like sparks.
At the center were two students Ivy didn't recognize. One was tall and confident, already answering questions with a casual grin. The other looked less amused, arms crossed, clearly uncomfortable.
The transfers, Ivy thought. Two of them, anyway.
She skirted the crowd, slipping into the building without a word.
"Morning, socially responsible citizen," Garry said, catching up with her near the lockers. He held a plastic cup filled with some horrifying red drink. "Guess the new guys survived their first gauntlet."
"They seem fine," Ivy said.
"No black eye, no fireballs," he said with mock disappointment. "Kinda ruins the reputation, huh?"
Ivy didn't answer. She glanced back at the lingering group still buzzing in the hallway. "There's only two."
"One skipped already? Bold move."
Class settled in slower than usual. The teacher stood at the front and introduced the two new students. One gave a short, smug wave. The other just nodded and found a seat near the back.
"You may notice one student is not present," the teacher added. "They've been officially transferred but haven't arrived yet."
That was it. No name, no explanation. Just a vague absence.
The lesson dragged. Ivy only half listened, her thoughts drifting. A third transfer. No one seemed to know who. She wondered if it was the same boy she'd seen yesterday, but pushed it aside.
"Think he skipped?" Elias whispered from behind her.
Chloe leaned over. "Someone said they saw a guy at the gate this morning. Looked lost. Then gone."
By the end of the day, the friend group had gathered again. Mostly. Elias had vanished before the final bell.
"Dorm pairings are cursed," Chloe declared as they headed for the dorms. "Two-person rooms, and no one left for Elias. Poor guy might end up bunking with a ghost."
Garry slung his bag over his shoulder. "Or a stray rat. Name it Mercury."
"I still think we should ask to switch," Riley said, checking her phone. "He hates being alone."
Chloe turned to Ivy as they reached the dorm entrance. "You ready to let me paint the walls?"
"No."
Their room was small but functional. Two beds, two desks, and just enough space not to feel trapped. Chloe was already unpacking her art supplies.
"What do you think? Warm pastels or cursed neon?"
Ivy sat on her bed. "I don't think they let you paint."
"That's what makes it fun."
A knock hit the door.
"You get it," Chloe said, holding two paint swatches in front of her. "This is a critical moment."
Ivy stood with a sigh and opened the door.
Garry stood there, wide-eyed, holding a cat.
"I need help."
Ivy blinked. "Is that a cat?"
"There was another one, hurt. It ran. I couldn't catch it. I can't hold both. Please take this one."
Before Ivy could argue, he shoved the cat gently into her arms and bolted down the hall.
"Garry!"
"Find me outside!"
Ivy turned, holding the startled animal as Chloe stared.
"...Okay, we're keeping it!"
"No, we don't!"
Ten minutes later, Ivy and Garry were outside, phones in hand, light beams cutting through the early evening shadows. They searched between bushes, under benches, behind dumpsters.
"I should have grabbed it faster," Garry muttered. "It looked bad."
"We'll find it."
A faint meow broke the silence. Then a soft voice.
They followed the sound to a quiet corner behind the dorms.
Elias sat next to an open box, holding a pouch of cat food. Beside him, a boy in school uniform held the injured cat, wrapped in a scarf.
Ivy stopped.
It was the same boy from the other day. The one who bowed instead of speaking.
Elias looked up. "Hey. We found it. It wouldn't eat, but he calmed it down."
The cat was shivering, but quiet now.
Ivy knelt beside them and helped Garry check the injury. They used some bandages from Elias's kit, doing what they could.
When they finished, the cat didn't move from the boy's chest. It just curled tighter.
"We can't take it to a vet now," Ivy said. "They're closed."
"I can keep it," Elias said, then gestured. "Or, uh. My roommate can."
Garry blinked. "Roommate?"
"Yeah," Elias said. "He showed up right after class. Didn't talk, but he helped. I think the cat picked him."
He nudged the boy. "Zhihao, say hi."
The boy stood, still cradling the cat, and gave a small bow.
Ivy raised an eyebrow.
"You really don't have to do that every time," Elias muttered.
Zhihao didn't respond. But the cat purred louder.