Kelvin's voice rumbled through the room, his words laced with a hint of teasing.
"That's fixed everything, because I was going to think you were some crybaby, you cried over everything."
Wren's eyes flashed with annoyance, her voice tinged with irritation as she shot back, "I don't cry over everything, sometimes I do but not over minor things."
Just then, Kai strode into the room, his eyes scanned the space, and his gaze landed on Kelvin standing near Wren's bed.
A flash of annoyance crossed his face, his eyes narrowing slightly as he took in the scene.
His jaw clenched, and his shoulders tensed, as if he was suppressing a sudden surge of irritation. The annoyance was fleeting, but it was palpable, and it seemed to be directed at Kelvin's proximity to Wren.
For a moment, Kai's eyes lingered on Kelvin, his gaze piercing and intense, as if daring him to make a move or say something that would provoke Kai's wrath.
The air around them seemed to vibrate with tension, and Wren sensed the animosity between Kai and Kelvin, like a spark waiting to ignite.
Kai's reaction was instinctual, a gut response to the perceived threat of Kelvin's presence near Wren.
It was as if Kai felt a proprietary interest in Wren, and Kelvin's proximity was an encroachment on his territory.
The annoyance flashed in Kai's eyes, and then it was gone, replaced by his usual brooding expression.
Despite the brief flash of annoyance, Kai's demeanor remained aloof, and he flopped down on his bed, his eyes fixed on some point in front of him.
However, Wren sensed that Kai was not as detached as he seemed, and that he was acutely aware of Kelvin's presence, and perhaps even Wren's presence, too.
A moment after the awkward glaring later, Kinrara and Ashley walked in, their faces dark and troubled, like storm clouds gathering on the horizon.
Wren's instincts kicked in, and she sensed that something was wrong. Ashley turned her face away, burying her head in the pillow with a soft rustle of fabric, her shoulders shaking slightly.
Kelvin's expression remained blank, his eyes holding an air of detachment as he walked back to his bed. Wren, on the other hand, slammed her body onto her bed, the mattress creaking softly beneath her, like a sigh of relief.
The room was silent for a moment, and then suddenly, it burst open, and a woman emerged, her presence commanding attention like a general on a battlefield.
"You out," she said, her voice cold and detached, pointing at Kinrara like a dagger. A girl with fiery red hair walked from behind, her eyes like empty pools, her expression blank and unreadable.
She carried a small bag, its contents unknown, but it seemed to hold her entire world. As Kinrara walked out, her gaze lingered on Wren and Ashley, her eyes filled with a mixture of sadness and longing, like a farewell glance.
The new girl fell onto her bed, motionless, her body sinking into the hardened mattress with a soft thud.
The room fell silent, the only sound the soft hum of the air conditioner and the distant rustling of clothes as Kinrara packed her suitcase, reminding them that life went on, even in the face of uncertainty. The tension in the room was palpable, like a living, breathing entity.
That night, Wren couldn't get a wink of sleep. Firstly, she was not used to sleeping at new places apart from her home, and secondly, she was thinking about what happened that led to Kinrara leaving their dorm.
When she woke up the next day, she had bags under her eyes, her eyes red from exhaustion. She was jolted out of wake by the loud alarm blasting in her ears. It was the academy's way of waking their students up.
The sun hadn't risen yet, when Wren and Ashley walked to the bathhouse. While walking, Wren asked curiously.
"What happened yesterday?" Her words had Ashley stop in her steps, before Ashley continued walking with no words said. This annoyed Wren a little bit, she was even more curious.
"It's okay if you don't say but what of Kinrara, why did she leave." Only after Wren ended her sentence, did Ashley turn to look at her. Tears welled up in her eyes.
"It's all my fault." Then her tears fell from her eyes. "It's my fault Kinrara got into trouble with the authority, my inability to..."
Wren stared at Ashley, completely confused by the words slipping out of her mouth. She didn't understand what Ashley was talking about, or what she meant by "my inability to..."
Wren's curiosity was piqued, and she wanted to know more about what had happened.
"What's going on, Ashley?" Wren asked, her voice soft and concerned.
"What did you do, and what trouble did Kinrara get into?" Wren's questions were met with more tears from Ashley, who seemed to be struggling to hold back her emotions.
Ashley's tears and words had Wren feeling a sense of unease and worry. She didn't know what had happened, but she knew that it couldn't be good.
She wanted to comfort Ashley and get to the bottom of what was going on. Ashley was about to slip into a state of distress when her gaze landed on the fiery red-haired girl approaching them.
The girl had a blank expression as she walked towards them, a smirk of mischief plastered on her face.
"You would pay for separating me from my group," she said, her voice low and menacing.
Then she walked off, after making sure her words had goosebumps forming on Ashley's skin.
Out of earshot, Wren asked, "Is it all because of her?" Ashley remained unmoved, her expression unreadable.
"All is done, let's just go or we would get punished," she stated, her voice flat.