Whilst Kai was busy observing the mysterious boy in the kimono across the room, Maya's attention had wandered elsewhere. Her eyes had landed on the blonde noble boy, and being the airhead she could sometimes be, she didn't really pick up on the obvious fact that he was nobility. The expensive clothes, the perfect posture, the personal guard—all of it went completely over her head as her mind fixated on something else entirely.
As she looked at him, only one thought ran through her mind on an endless loop: 'That kid must be about our age, right? So why did that clerk lady give us such a hard time about registering? What about him?'
Her curiosity thoroughly peaked, Maya made a decision. Without consulting Kai or Rowan, without thinking through the potential consequences, she simply walked over toward the noble boy with characteristic impulsiveness. Kai remained busy examining the boy in the kimono across the room, completely unaware of the brewing disaster. Rowan had already started looking for a suitable seat for them, equally oblivious to what was about to unfold.
Maya made her way directly to the blonde boy and stopped, planting herself firmly just a couple of feet in front of him. She crossed her arms over her chest in a posture that radiated challenge and defiance, her stance wide and confident.
The noble boy's eyes shifted toward her, regarding her presence with the kind of look one might give to an annoying insect that had landed too close. The guard standing beside him reacted instantly—his entire body language changed as he ever so slightly tensed, his hand tightening its grip on the hilt of his blade. His eyes narrowed, assessing Maya for potential threat level.
Maya seemed completely oblivious to the tension she'd created. Instead, she declared loudly to the boy, her voice carrying across the lobby and drawing attention from several other waiting test-takers, "How old are you?"
The guard's eyes widened significantly at her casual, borderline disrespectful tone. The noble boy's face immediately scrunched up in visible disgust, his features twisting as though he'd just bitten into something rotten. He turned toward her slightly, his movement deliberate and disdainful.
"Excuse me?" he said, his voice absolutely leaking with venom, each word dripping with contempt and disbelief. The two words carried more hostility than some people managed in entire paragraphs.
Maya, either missing or deliberately ignoring his threatening tone, pressed forward with her question. "Hmf! I said, how old are you?" She was slightly annoyed now, her voice taking on an edge. "The clerk up there couldn't believe it when we said we were thirteen, acted like we were too young or something. So what's up with you? Why didn't she give you trouble?"
'What's with that look he's giving me?' she thought to herself as she stared down the noble boy, meeting his hostile gaze without flinching. 'It's really pissing me off. Who does this guy think he is?'
It was at precisely this point—with the noble boy standing up from his seat and the guard tensing considerably more in response—that Kai finally looked over and registered what was happening. His face immediately drained of color. Both he and Rowan reacted simultaneously, rushing toward the confrontation with panic written all over their faces.
Meanwhile, the noble boy had risen to his full height, standing up in barely controlled anger. Veins visibly popped out on his forehead as his face flushed red with rage. His hands clenched into trembling fists at his sides.
"Who do you think you are to speak to me so casually?!" he practically shouted, his voice echoing throughout the lobby. Every eye in the room was now fixed on the scene unfolding before them.
Maya was slightly taken aback by the intensity of his reaction, genuinely surprised by the level of anger she'd provoked with what she considered a simple question. But she quickly found her composure, squaring her shoulders and lifting her chin defiantly.
"My name is Maya!" she answered simply but firmly, her tone heavier and more challenging than before. She said it as though her name alone should mean something, as though it should command respect.
The noble boy looked absolutely dumbfounded by her words for a long moment, his mouth hanging open slightly as he processed what she'd just said. His expression suggested she'd said something so absurd, so incomprehensible, that his brain was struggling to make sense of it. Then, suddenly and without warning, he broke out into an almost manic laugh—high-pitched, cruel, and utterly devoid of genuine mirth. It was the kind of laugh that sent shivers down spines, the laugh of someone who genuinely believed themselves superior to everyone around them.
"Why would you think I would EVER want to know a disgusting girl like you's name? Huh?" he sneered between bouts of mocking laughter. "I can tell just by looking at you that you're a pathetic waste of commoner space! I mean, seriously, look at you!" He gestured at her with one hand, his movements dramatic and exaggerated. "You're covered in dirt and grime! Your clothes are old, worn out, and literally tearing at the seams! And you—" he leaned forward slightly, his nose wrinkling, "—you absolutely stink! When's the last time you bathed? A month ago?"
The words hit Maya like physical blows. Her face suddenly turned bright red—not just with anger this time, but with genuine embarrassment and hurt. The color spread from her cheeks all the way to the tips of her ears. Her fists began to clench so tightly that her knuckles turned white, her fingernails digging into her palms. Small sparks of flame began to subtly fly off her hands, crackling faintly in the air around her fingers as she boiled with absolute rage. The temperature in the immediate area seemed to rise several degrees.
"What did you sa—" Maya was right in the middle of what promised to be an explosive outburst when suddenly she felt two hands grab her firmly by the back of her head and forcefully push her forward and down into a deep bow.
Shocked and confused, she struggled against the force of the hands, trying to look left and right to identify who had grabbed her. Through her limited field of vision, she managed to make out that it was Kai on one side and Rowan on the other, both of them bowing deeply alongside her. Their faces were serious, apologetic, and more than a little desperate.