The morning sunlight poured into Aira's dorm room, slipping past the half-drawn curtains and casting pale golden stripes across the pristine white walls. She sat at the edge of her bed, back straight, posture still as stone. Her hair was slightly tangled from a restless night, but her face… untouched. Emotionless. Calm, like a lake that hides storms far beneath its glassy surface.
She tied her hair into a high ponytail with measured precision. Wrapped her black coat tightly around her frame. Adjusted the strap of her bag, every movement controlled, deliberate.
Her eyes, dark and unyielding, caught the sunlight for only a second. The glint there was not warmth, but steel. Untouchable.
"Another day to survive," she thought, her expression unreadable.Nothing more.
The Grand Hall
The university buzzed with unusual excitement. "Collaboration Day" banners hung like colorful ribbons across the corridors, students rushing through with chatter and laughter. Groups were already forming, voices rising with anticipation.
But Aira walked through them like a ghost. Laughter, footsteps, and warmth slipped past her unnoticed. The chaos did not reach her. She remained the eye of a storm only she could feel.
When she entered the Grand Hall, whispers began immediately. The room was alive with hundreds of students, each seated with their departments. The stage gleamed, draped with white and gold, faculty lined up in their finest attire.
"She's like winter walking," someone whispered as Aira passed, their voice hushed with awe.
She didn't hear. Or perhaps, she simply didn't care.
At the front, seven familiar faces—Zane, Kai, Rei, Damian, Valentina, Bianca, and Ivy—sat together. They didn't speak, but unconsciously, all seven pairs of eyes tracked her as she moved, like moths drawn to the coldest flame.
Then, sharp footsteps broke the buzz.
Mrs. Harper entered. Her heels clicked against the marble floor, her smile radiant but sharp, as though carved from ice. She moved to the microphone, gaze sweeping across the hall.
"Welcome, students," she began, her voice silken but heavy with judgment. "Today we test your creativity, teamwork, and attitude. Some of you will shine. Others…" Her lips curved in a cruel smirk. "…will reveal their true incompetence."
Her sharp eyes immediately landed on Aira. That silent, unbending girl who didn't laugh, didn't bow, didn't blink in the face of authority.
Oh, how Mrs. Harper hated people she could not control.
The Confrontation
After several team assignments, Mrs. Harper's voice rang again.
"Brown, Aira. Come forward."
The Grand Hall hushed in unison.
Aira rose slowly, her black boots striking the marble floor with steady echoes. The weight of every step pressed against the silence. Heads turned. Whispers rushed like wildfire through the crowd.
She stopped in front of the judge's table, her face utterly blank, eyes lifeless but unyielding.
Mrs. Harper leaned forward, her smile mocking. "Miss Brown. I wonder… do you even know what collaboration means? You walk around here like a statue. Cold. Emotionless. Tell me—do you believe you can work with others, or is that beyond you?"
The crowd broke into laughter and snickers.
Whispers drifted like poison:"She's too cold to have friends.""She probably thinks she's better than us."
On the sidelines, Kai frowned. Bianca crossed her arms with irritation. Rei's eyes narrowed. Ivy leaned forward, intrigued. Damian smirked as though anticipating chaos. Valentina muttered under her breath.
But Zane—Zane only watched. Silent, calculating.
Aira lifted her head slightly, her gaze locking on Mrs. Harper. Her black eyes cut through the air like blades.
"Collaboration requires trust," she said at last. Her voice was cold, precise, slicing through the hall like winter rain. "Trust is earned, not demanded. If you judge ability by smiles and pleasantries, then perhaps you should reconsider your definition of competence."
The silence was deafening.
Even the students who had mocked her moments ago shifted uncomfortably. Professors exchanged looks—some surprised, some impressed.
Mrs. Harper's smile cracked.
From the sidelines:
"Damn," Valentina whispered. "She's brutal."Bianca's eyes widened. "She didn't even raise her voice."Ivy grinned. "I like her even more now."Rei murmured, "She's dangerous when cornered."Damian laughed under his breath. "And smart enough to skin people alive with words."Zane smirked faintly. "Fire can't burn what's already ashes."
Aira turned without waiting for dismissal. Every step back to her seat was steady, her presence unshaken, unbothered, untouchable.
The hall remained silent long after she sat down.
The Fountain
Later that evening, the seven gathered by the fountain in the courtyard. The soft trickle of water filled the silence between them before Kai broke it with a grin.
"So… who wants to bet she's secretly a mafia princess?"
Bianca rolled her eyes. "Or maybe an ex-assassin?"
Valentina flipped her hair. "She walks like she's been betrayed a hundred times already."
Damian leaned forward, voice serious. "No. It's deeper. She's someone who doesn't expect kindness anymore."
Ivy's voice softened. "Someone used to fighting alone."
Rei's tone was grave. "Did you see her hands? The scars? Faded, but real. She's been through hell."
They all turned unconsciously toward Zane. He hadn't spoken, his gaze fixed on the rippling water. Finally, his lips curved into something almost like a smile.
"She's not broken," he murmured. "She's weaponized."
The words sent a strange chill through the group.
None of them noticed the flicker in Zane's eyes—the rare, dangerous way interest burned there.
Zane Blackthorn, the boy who never cared, was already being pulled into Aira's fire.
That Night – Aira's Dorm
Aira sat curled by the window, her knees drawn loosely to her chest. The moonlight spilled across her pale skin, painting her in silver. The world outside moved on—laughter, voices, friendships forming—but inside her room, silence reigned.
Her chest ached, the same ache that never left.
Why now? Why friendship? Why do they look at me like I'm someone worth knowing?
Her mind whispered cruel truths:
They will betray you.You don't deserve friendship.You are alone for a reason.
Her eyelids fluttered, exhaustion finally dragging her into sleep.
The nightmare came swiftly.
She stood in an endless corridor lined with shadows. Faces emerged one by one—her family, her old classmates, her abusers. They laughed. Whispered. Pointed.
Sana's cruel smile. Her father's raised hand. Liam's back, cold and unfeeling, walking away.
Her heart screamed inside her chest, but no sound escaped her lips.
Suddenly, shadowy hands stretched from the walls, seizing her wrists, clawing at her throat, dragging her down into suffocating darkness.
She gasped, jerking awake, heart hammering against her ribs. Sweat chilled her skin.
Her face, however, remained blank. Cold. Untouched.
She rose, washed her face in the dim light, and stared at her reflection in the mirror.
Her lips parted, the words a lie she'd trained herself to believe.
"I'm fine."
The mirror reflected her lifeless eyes back at her, a stranger staring in silence.