Amelia's head snapped toward Kim as the she walked past.
"You! How dare you ignore me!" she snapped.
Kim turned with her tray in hand and her expression cool and unbothered. "And who exactly are you?"
Gasps rippled across the cafeteria.
Amelia scoffed like she'd been slapped. "I am MIA's student council president. You don't ignore me and you most certainly show me some respect."
Her voice was loud enough to draw attention from every direction. Phones were already out. Cameras up. Some students whispered behind their drinks. Others just waited for the drama.
Kim didn't flinch. She tilted her head, one brow slightly raised as she took two steps forward towards Amelia.
"Well," she said calmly, "when the council president earns my respect, then I'll respect her."
"What?" Amelia sputtered. "I'm sorry—?"
"Apology accepted." Kim said it with the kind of sweetness that tasted like venom. She turned to walk away.
"You little—!"
"Amelia, stop it." Lorenzo's voice cut clean through as he appeared at Kim's side, stepping between the girls like a human wall. He looked Amelia squarely in the eyes. "It's too early to show off your bad attitude."
Amelia's jaw locked, her eyes flicking between Kim and Lorenzo like she'd just been betrayed by the entire academy.
Lorenzo rested a gentle hand on Kim's shoulder, steering her toward the far side of the cafeteria where Trudy and another guy were already waiting at a table.
"Just ignore her," the guy said, tossing a fry into his mouth. "She's a total piss-off."
Kim gave a small nod as she sat down, still gripping her tray.
"I'm Hardin, by the way," he added, flashing her a lazy smile.
"Kim."
Trudy leaned across the table with a smirk, digging into her meal. "Girl, it's your first day, and you're already on the hate list of two troublemakers."
"They started it," Kim muttered.
---
An Hour Later — MEDICINE LABORATORY
The sterile scent of alcohol and latex filled the air as students began filing into the spacious, white-walled lab, dressed in crisp lab coats, name tags clipped neatly, and thick textbooks clutched in hand.
The click-clack of shoes echoed against the tiles as chatter floated through the room, mostly grumbling about the joint class between the Medicine and Nursing departments. The Med students usually tolerated no distractions, and the Nursing students hated being looked down on.
Amelia strutted in like she owned the place as her eyes swept across the room until she spotted Castillo, lounging at the third-row table, hunched over his phone.
Without asking, she slid into the seat beside him. He looked up lazily, gaze flickering from his phone to her with a slight brow lift.
"Sup," he muttered, giving her a casual nudge with his elbow.
Amelia huffed, slamming her notebook on the table. "That newbie! I'm gonna crush her. I swear, Cas, the nerve she has—"
Castillo glanced up fully this time, disinterest giving way to curiosity. "Wait…" He tilted his head, jaw tensing. "Is it who I think it is?"
Before Amelia could answer, the lab doors creaked open again.
"Speak of the witch," Amelia growled under her breath, glaring toward the entrance.
Kim walked in talking quietly with Trudy as the two walked beside a the female professor with glasses perched on the edge of her nose.
Castillo's eyes darkened the second he saw her. His jaw ticked. She was still here?
Kim didn't notice them, or maybe she did and simply didn't care as she followed the professor to the front of the lab. The professor cleared her throat.
The crisp, commanding voice echoed through the lab like a bell. Professor Dana Hartford, the students' primary guide for all major lab work, adjusted her glasses and stepped forward.
The room fell quiet, students turning toward the front. She scanned the crowd sharply, then softened her expression just slightly.
"Are all nursing students present?" she asked, flipping through a tablet on her desk.
A few hands shot up from the back row where the nursing students sat including Amelia, with crossed legs and hand raised too.
"Good," Professor Hartford continued.
"Before we begin today's practical, I'd like to welcome a new family member to the department. As you all know, I don't refer to you as just students. You're future colleagues, future caregivers and here, we're a family."
A few scattered nods. One person clapped awkwardly.
Professor Hartford turned slightly, gesturing at Kim. "Miss Kimberly Romero Virelli is joining us from Seoul. She's one of the top students in her year, and I expect you'll treat her with the respect we extend to any skilled new addition to this program."
All eyes shifted.
"Hey."Kim gave a small, effortless wave.
Low murmurs rolled through the room again.
"Romero?" she muttered. Amelia blinked, eyes narrowing sharply.
Castillo leaned back slightly in his seat beside her. "What a coincidence," he said coolly, "You both have the same surname. What are the odds?"
Amelia scoffed.
Professor Hartford, unfazed, continued speaking. "After today's lab, I'll be assigning mock practical pairings. These will last for the next three weeks, so be prepared to work closely with whoever you're assigned to. Now—"
She moved to a rolling tray filled with metal trays, syringes, slides, and sealed gloves.
But just as she began pulling equipment out for the demo, a loud gasp cut through the room.
"Are you guys seeing this?" a girl toward the back whispered, clutching her phone.
The ripple effect was instant.
Phones came out, nearly every student, Med and Nursing, suddenly scrolling and snickering. Amelia whipped her head to the side.
There it was. Blown up on the school's unofficial gossip site: Maxwell Cruise Feed.
🔥🔥 NEW STUDENT VS QUEEN BEE?!! 😱 #CafeteriaClash #MIAtea #WhoEvenIsShe #KimberlyRomeroVirelli #QueenBeeFalloff #RespectIsEarnedNotGiven #BoldGirlEnergy
Top Comments:
💬"Who is this girl and how is she dragging Amelia on her first day?? ICONIC."
💬 "She said 'apology accepted' before homegirl even finished her sentence. I'm crying."
💬 "I'd pay money to see Round 2."
💬"Imagine going viral on day one. Her power???"
💬 "Amelia has met her match. Where's the popcorn?"
Amelia's face turned a shade darker as she slammed her hand on the table. "God. Castillo, have someone delete that post!"
He didn't even look up from his phone. "Too late. It's been reposted twelve times in the last minute."
"They're all glaring at you," Trudy whispered from beside Kim, watching the way students kept glancing, pointing, whispering.
Kim didn't even blink.
"I don't give a fuck," she said plainly, her voice low and even. "They can glare all they want."
She turned back toward Professor Hartford, who was beginning her demonstration, fully unbothered by the chaos behind her.
Amelia? Boiling. Castillo? Watching Kim with something unreadable in his eyes.
Trudy? Whispering, "Girl, you're a menace and I kinda love it."
---
The sleek black car pulled up to the wide, glass-fronted building with bold silver lettering: ROMERO AUTOMOBILES. A company known for class, prestige, and perfection.
Georgia's brows drew together the moment she read the name on the signage.
"Why are we here?" she asked, arms folding defensively across her chest. "C'mon, hon, I don't want to be anywhere close to him."
Gael killed the ignition and turned slightly toward her. "Hon, we're here to purchase a car. This is the best car company in New York, five-star ratings across the board. It's nothing personal. Just business."
Georgia sighed, glancing out the window again. Gael stepped out of the car first, rounded it, and opened the passenger door for her like he always did. Once she stepped out, still visibly uneasy, he gently reached for her hand. His fingers locked with hers, firm and grounding.
Together, they walked into the main showroom, sleek floors, metallic finishes, soft jazz humming through the speakers. A receptionist stood as they entered and offered a professional smile.
"Welcome to Romero Automobiles. Do you have an appointment?"
"Yes," Gael said. "Under Mr. Virelli. We spoke on the phone yesterday."
"Of course. Right this way, sir."
She led them down a short hallway and then into a more private, executive-level office space. The plaque on the glass door read: Sales Director.
The door opened, and Georgia stopped in her tracks.
Behind the desk stood Alice, talking to a man who's seemingly the Sales director. Her smile dropped when she saw them.
"Good day, Mrs. Romero," Gael greeted first, extending a courteous hand.
"Mr. Virelli," she repli
ed smoothly, shaking it. Her tone was formal, her smile sharp.
Then her eyes drifted to Georgia.
"Well, well. Long time no see, Georgia. What are you doing here?"