____________________________________
"The book of nature is written in the language of Mathematics."
—Galileo Galilei
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"There was a side of him I believed only I knew, but then we are often blinded by what we want to see. Torn in half, I held onto hope, struggling not to plummet into the chasm of my own irreconcilability."
—Jacqueline Simon Gunn
____________________________________
Afreen's Monologue
Growing up, I thought I was lucky.
Lucky to be born into a prestigious family.
Lucky to have access to everything I ever asked for.
And it was true—my parents gave me everything.
Everything… except themselves.
They were always busy. Always working. Meetings, trips, responsibilities that never seemed to end. Being an only child sounds glamorous until the silence starts to echo back at you. Until you realize there's no one to hear you when you speak.
Still, I wasn't ungrateful.
When they were around, they taught me valuable things.
My father taught me logic—how to break problems apart, how to think in systems, how to find the most efficient solution.
My mother taught me people—how to read expressions, how to argue without raising your voice, how to stay three steps ahead in any conversation.
They trained me to win.
But there was one thing they never taught me.
How to handle rejection.
How to sit with disappointment.
How to survive being told no.
Maybe because they never said it to me themselves.
I think this is the only place they failed me.
So I turned to the one thing that never failed me.
Mathematics.
Numbers were honest.
Equations were loyal.
If you followed the rules, you always got the right answer.
There was comfort in that certainty. Power in it.
By age 11, I told my parents I wanted to be an engineer. They smiled—proud, impressed, relieved. I fit perfectly into the future they had already imagined for me. I thought life was simple. Logical. Predictable.
I thought I had it easy.
Maybe I did.
Until 3 and 1/2 years ago.
Until someone looked at me and saw the cracks beneath my perfect logic.
Until someone realized that behind all my intelligence… I had never learned how to lose.
Someone who didn't challenge my intellect—
but exploited my weakness.
Her name was MiMie.
_________________
Back then, when we were about 12 years old, in Aliyu Mustapha Academy, (A.M.A),
I was the star student—the girl who kept winning competitions, collecting trophies, stacking medals my parents proudly displayed and bragged about. On paper, I was everything they wanted.
Yet somehow, I still felt like an outsider.
My friends never cared about the things I loved. Numbers bored them. Competitions annoyed them. And winning—especially when it was always me—slowly pushed me to the edges of their circles. Applause fades quickly when it isn't shared.
I was often alone.
And then there was him.
Tahir.
A boy who felt like an equation I couldn't solve.
Mysterious. Quiet. Strange in a way that didn't repel—it pulled.
And maybe that was the problem. I liked solving things. Especially things that intrigues me.
______________
The Rooftop
First Encounter
It happened on the rooftop of our old school. A.M.A
My friends had abandoned me mid-game—as usual, because I kept winning—so I happened to stroll around the school, lonely and sad. However while passing by I saw the restricted door to the rooftop happened to be cracked open that day. I slipped through, expecting nothing more than an empty, forbidden space.
At first, it was empty.
The rooftop was boxed in by tall metal bars and a massive net fence meant to keep students from falling or doing something dangerous. I walked toward the edge and watched students far below running across the compound, their laughter drifting up faintly. The loneliness hit harder than it should have. I sighed—and accidentally knocked my head against one of the metal pipes.
That's when I heard him.
"If you want to make loud noises, at least go to the other side where I can't hear you."
I spun around.
He was lying on a raised cement slab, one leg dangling off the edge, staring up at the sky like it held answers no one else could see. A bitter tree leaf—the Nimp leaf—rested casually in his mouth.
Who even does that?
"What are you doing here?" I muttered.
He didn't look at me.
"This is my spot. I come here to look at the clouds."
Still no eye contact.
"What about you?"
Spring clouds drifted lazily above us—soft, white, unreal. Without meaning to, I found myself staring up too.
"I was just passing by," I said. "Saw the door open, so I came up. I'm guessing no one knows you're here?"
He smirked slightly.
"Not unless you're about to go tattletale on me."
"No," I said quickly. "I just… wanted to know your name. And why you're up here alone. Don't you have friends?"
He exhaled slowly.
"Friends, huh? I guess I have two. But I wonder what that word even means."
I blinked.
Is he serious?
But something in his tone—flat, distant, almost tired—made me stay.
"What are you even talking about?"
"Sorry," he said softly. "I tend to blab to myself. Something I read… in my dad's library."
Then, finally, he turned his head and looked at me.
"What's your name, Dimples?"
I froze.
Dimples? Seriously?
Still, I answered.
"Afreen. And you?"
"You can call me Tahir."
And just like that, the strangest conversation of my life began.
"What were you really doing up here?" I asked him.
He shrugged, eyes still on the sky.
"Running away from my friends."
"Why? Are they boring?"
"No," he said. "I think I'm the boring one."
He stood on the stone platform, stretched his arms wide like wings, inhaled the spring air, then hopped down effortlessly. Hands in his pockets, he walked toward the door.
Before leaving, he tilted his head, glancing back at me over his shoulder.
"Don't let the teachers catch you here," he said lazily. "They'll punish you real good. You should go back to your friends."
And then he disappeared through the half-open door.
Strange boy.
Very strange boy.
And yet—
the next day, I went back.
______________
The next day
The rooftop door was cracked open again.
This time, he wasn't on the slab. He sat on top of the doorway roof near the water tank, eyes closed, looking like he was meditating.
"Are you looking for me, Dimples?" he asked without opening his eyes.
I looked up. "So you really come up here often?"
"I guess."
"I'm just here to eat my breakfast."
"Cool," he said. "Do whatever you want."
I sat cross-legged on the slab he'd used the day before and opened my container.
"You want some?" I offered. "There's a lot."
"I'm not hungry," he murmured.
"So why don't you hang out with your friends?" I asked between bites.
"Shouldn't you be asking yourself the same thing?" he said.
A flash of yesterday replayed—my friends leaving the moment the bell rang, like I'd vanished.
"I couldn't find them," I whispered. "They just left. But anyway… why are you avoiding your friends? Really."
He shrugged again.
"Just wanted some freedom, I guess. So weird that I am avoiding my friends to get that."
"Huh. Coincidence that you're avoiding your friends, and mine are avoiding me," I said, half-joking.
"Coincidence?" He scoffed quietly. "You don't believe in coincidences, Afreen Omar."
I paused mid-chew.
"Did I tell you my surname?"
"No," he said casually. "You're the only junior in the advanced mathematics club. The club that keeps winning. I heard you run it now."
My head snapped toward him. "How did you know that?"
"I know someone from there."
"And how does that make me someone who doesn't believe in coincidences?"
He tilted his head, the faintest smile touching his lips.
"A mathematician doesn't believe in coincidence. You calculate probabilities, outcomes… certainties. I'm right, aren't I?"
I knew then.
Tahir was not ordinary.
Not even close.
"You're smart," I said softly. "Why haven't you joined the club then?"
Before he could answer, the door creaked loudly.
We stiffened.
Two students stepped out—one girl, one boy.
"Tahir! Tahir, where are you!?" the girl shouted.
MiMie
Oh.
So she existed even back then.
"Hmm… What do you want, MiMie?" Tahir said, climbing down from the water tank.
"Yo bro, we've been looking everywhere," the boy said. "Why are you hiding? And who's that girl?"
I smiled politely. "Hi. I'm Afreen."
They ignored me completely.
"Tahir, stop acting dumb," MiMie snapped. "You know what we're here for."
"I'm not in the mood to play with you guys," Tahir said. "I'm tired."
"It's not a physical game," MiMie hissed. "It's puzzles."
Then she looked at me.
"Is that your new girlfriend?"
"No!" I blurted instantly—far too loudly.
"See?" Tahir said lazily.
Malik rolled his eyes.
"Come on, man. For old times' sake."
Tahir sighed heavily, then leaned closer to MiMie.
"Why don't you ever get tired? Is it because you always win?"
He started walking past them—but Malik grabbed his shoulder.
"Don't ditch us again."
And in that moment, standing between equations and emotions, clouds and concrete, I realized something unsettling:
This boy wasn't just an unsolved problem.
He was a variable that could change everything.
______________________
The Puzzle Game
Tahir stared at the sky for a long moment, as if weighing something invisible. Then he spoke.
"Fine. We'll play. But on one condition."
"What?" they both asked at the same time.
"We ask Afreen to join us."
"What? Why—" MiMie started.
"No reason," Tahir said lightly. But the mischievous smirk tugging at his lips betrayed him completely.
Malik agreed instantly. MiMie hesitated—longer than she meant to—but eventually nodded.
Tahir hopped onto the slab beside me and crouched until we were eye level. His voice softened, almost casual.
"Afreen… want to join us?"
My face warmed. "Um… yeah. I like puzzles."
He straightened and announced it like a proclamation.
"Four-way elimination battle. Each round, the slowest solver gets kicked out."
__________________
The Game Begins
The game began. Malik pulled out an entire kit from his backpack—cards, grids, coded sheets. Clearly, this wasn't his first time.
Round One:
Tahir lost.
I blinked.
He wasn't slow. Not even close. Something about it felt… intentional.
Without a word, he moved a few feet away, sat down, and stared back up at the sky, another Nimp leaf between his teeth—as if the game had already served its purpose.
Round Two:
A three-way tie—me, Malik, and MiMie.
Round Three:
Malik lost.
And suddenly, it was just MiMie and me.
The showdown Tahir had clearly been waiting for.
He turned towards us, watching, observing.
Round Four:
Tie.
Round Five:
Tie again.
Sweat dotted MiMie's forehead. Her eyes were locked onto me, sharp and unblinking, like lasers drilling through my thoughts. I could feel her frustration humming in the air.
I wasn't really looking at her.
I was just… solving.
Then—right as the fifth round tightened, tension coiling—
The bell rang.
Loud. Final.
Tahir stood up.
"In exactly 2 minutes and 43 seconds, give or take" Tahir said calmly, without looking at any of us, "a teacher will walk through that door. We should leave—unless we want to get caught."
Malik frowned. "How do you know that?"
"Experience."
MiMie groaned. "We're not done!"
"We tied," I said quietly. "I guess either of us could've won."
No one argued after that.
We packed up and left. Tahir lingered behind for a moment, eyes distant, calculating something I couldn't read—something far beyond puzzles.
As we walked away, a strange feeling settled in my chest.
I felt… seen.
Equal. Like I have found somewhere that I can belong.
MiMie was brilliant—maybe even better than me.
But Tahir?
Tahir had something else on his mind.
And I didn't know yet that what came next would change everything.
_______________
For the rest of that week, Tahir and I spent every break hour on the rooftop.
We talked about everything—clouds, books, puzzles, random nonsense that somehow felt important. He always dodged personal questions, always redirected with humor or silence. But he made me laugh without effort. And every time MiMie's name came up—even accidentally—something flickered in his eyes.
Like a storm locked behind steel doors.
I didn't understand it then.
I didn't understand any of it.
But I felt something forming. A connection. Maybe just a friendship—but the first real one I'd had in a long time.
And maybe that's why everything that happened afterward hurt so much.
_____________
Monday— When It All Fell Apart
I went to the rooftop like I always did, expecting to find only Tahir.
Instead, MiMie was there—arms crossed, posture rigid, eyes already sharp.
The moment she saw me, she walked straight toward me.
"What are you doing here?" she demanded, her voice cutting.
I swallowed. "Nothing. I came to see Tahir."
"Tahir is just leaving."
She said it with certainty. With ownership.
Like he belonged to her. Like the rooftop did too.
I didn't respond. I walked past her and toward the staircase, where Tahir was climbing down from the water tank.
"Oh hey," he said casually. "If it isn't Little Miss Dimples. How's it hanging?"
I smiled despite myself. "Good. How was your weekend? Did you finish the book you borrowed?"
"Yes," he said, reaching into his bag. "I brought it back."
He handed it to me with a wink.
My heart did a tiny, traitorous backflip.
"I gotta tell you though, I never thought the plot twist will be this surprising to me" Tahir Said
"Yeah well I never anticipated it too" Afreen said delightfully
"Hmm… after all his struggles, turns out that he never loved her" Tahir said while looking into Afreen's eyes, then continued "At least not the way she hoped he would"
"Yeah, you mean romantically right ?" Afreen asked while smiling.
"Yes, but if you re-read the first chapter, you can see clearly that he was hinting towards it, he clearly stated that he was cold and apathetic towards romance." Tahir said
"Wow, really. ?, I haven't thought of it that way, I just thought that he was trying to be unique and different, you know to impress her". I said
"Not really, he was just plain and simple, it was us, the reader and the fans, try to romanticize everything, which led us to believe something that was not there." Tahir said
"Wow, that's a unique perspective, but you might be right though, the moment I started reading the book, I started romanticizing every conversation and every moment" I said while thoughts few thoughts about it all the books I read came to mind.
"Anyways, thanks for the book, miss dimples" Tahir winked at her with a smile on his face.
That smile makes my heart warm.
Then he turned back toward MiMie
"Where are you going?" I asked. "I thought we were hanging out."
He paused. "Oh—I forgot. I was going to help Malik and MiMie with something. You're welcome to join us."
"Absolutely not," MiMie snapped instantly.
"It's fine, MiMie," Tahir said with a smirk. "Afreen is cool. She's fun to hang out with."
Fun.
Cool.
He said it lightly, like it meant nothing—but it landed deep. I wasn't used to compliments. Not from someone I… admired.
MiMie's eyes darkened.
"Tahir, you and I both know that's not going to work," she said.
Something in Tahir's expression shifted—flattened. Dangerous.
"I like her," he said evenly. "And she's coming with. If she doesn't, I'm not going either."
MiMie's jaw tightened.
"Fine," she hissed. "Suit yourself. I'm done."
She turned and slammed the door behind her.
Tahir muttered, almost to himself, "Finally… some peace."
Before I could stop myself, the question slipped out.
"What do you mean you 'like me'?"
He froze—then turned and really looked at me.
"I like you because you're interesting," he said. "And fun."
Heat rushed to my face. "Really?"
"But," he added quietly, "you shouldn't hang out with me. My friends won't tolerate you. They're… obsessive. They'll cause problems. Especially MiMie. She's unpredictable."
I lifted my chin. "I'm not afraid of her. Or both of them."
He studied me for a long moment, like he was deciding something irreversible.
Then he stepped closer—close enough for me to see the greyish-blue in his eyes.
"You should be afraid," he whispered. "MiMie is dangerous. She may retaliate, and when she does, you won't see her coming."
"Sounds like you're speaking from experience," I said.
He exhaled. "…Yes."
But I was stubborn.
I was proud.
And I was stupid.
"I… like you too," I admitted softly. "You're confusing and frustrating, but you're the first person I've related to in a long time. I'm not backing down because of your friends."
Something flickered in his eyes.
Fear? Relief? Guilt?
I couldn't tell.
____________________
The Dominoes Start Falling
The next morning, I arrived twenty-five minutes early. A teacher pulled me aside and apologized.
The mathematics club was officially shut down.
No members. No continuation.
I walked to class in silence, fury tightening my chest.
On my desk sat a home economics club flyer.
They took the club.
They replaced it instantly.
I tore the flyer apart, shoved my bag over my shoulder, and walked out without knowing—or caring—where I was going.
"Dimples!"
I turned. Tahir was walking toward me.
"Don't go to the rooftop," he warned. "Someone reported it. It's locked. Declared out of bounds."
My stomach dropped. "Who?"
"I have a feeling," he said quietly. "Someone familiar."
"…MiMie?"
"Most likely."
My hands curled into fists.
Not just the club.
Not just the rooftop.
Everything.
"I'll deal with her," I muttered.
"No," Tahir said quickly. "Stay away from MiMie. This is just the beginning."
I didn't listen.
_______________
Lunch Break — Malik Steps In
When lunch came, Malik was waiting for me outside class.
"Did MiMie send you?" I asked bitterly.
"No," he said quickly. "I came on my own. I need to warn you."
"Warn me?"
He glanced around, then leaned in.
"Tahir and MiMie—they're not normal. They've been fighting nonstop because of you. You need to stay away. For your own good."
"How is it my fault that thy are fighting huh?" I snapped.
"You don't get it," he whispered harshly. "They're the craziest most toxic people I know. I've been with them since I was 8 or 9 years old. I'm terrified of both of them. You have no idea what they're capable of."
Cold crept into my blood.
Should I be afraid of MiMie?
…Should I be afraid of Tahir too?
Malik left me alone with questions I didn't want to ask.
______________
The Cafeteria — Where My Heart Broke
I sat with my tray, forcing myself to breathe.
Tahir appeared, leaning against my table.
"If it isn't Dimples," he teased. "You gonna eat all that alone?"
I smiled despite everything. "At least I got half of what's on your plate. You're the audacious one here."
We laughed.
For a moment, everything felt normal.
Then his face emptied.
"Afreen," he said flatly, "I am afraid this is where we say goodbye to our friendship."
I froze. "What?"
"I was hanging out with you to make MiMie jealous."
The world stopped.
"What?" I whispered.
"I used you," he said calmly. "That day when you came to the rooftop, You were lonely. Easy. I got close to you just to get MiMie jealous, I got what I needed. You're no longer useful."
"You are just joking, because you know well that I came to that rooftop purely on coincidence, so please stop this, it's not funny Tahir." I said, while wishing deeply that this is just a nightmare and I will wake up anytime soon.
He shook his head. "Coincidence, huh? But you don't believe in coincidences. Remember?"
My hands slammed the table.
"Tahir—are you joking? Did MiMie put you up to this—"
Something cracked.
Tears blurred my vision.
"Tahir," I whispered, "is your heart made of ice?"
He stood, took his tray, and said over his shoulder, "You tell me."
Then he left.
Tears started forming in my eyes and I couldn't hold it back.
I ran to the restroom, shaking.
What is this pain?
It is kind of new to me
It feels like my heart is being ripped out from my chest,
I feel like am drowning and I can't get enough air.
Is this heartbreak?
_________________
The Truth I Wasn't Meant to Hear
20 minutes later, I stepped out—aimlessly walking, having no idea where I will go, as I was passing through the science lab lobby, I heard shouting coming from inside of the science lab.
The voice sounded like Tahir
Or am I just wishing it was him.
I decided to take look
Tahir.?
MiMie?
I edged closer.
"You lied to me!" MiMie shouted. "You lied!"
"I didn't," Tahir snapped. "I just didn't tell you everything."
"That's the same thing!"
"You have no idea why I am going through right now?" MiMie screamed. "Why do you think I did what I did, do you think it's easy for me?"
My breath caught.
"Must you make me hurt Afreen in the process ?" Tahir said, with sadness on his face. "She was nothing but sweet and innocent, why ? Why must it be that way"
"Because that's the only way to ensure that no one else is dragged into this mess that we are currently facing" Mimi snapped "I did her a huge favor, she should be thanking me"
"Are you kidding me, she will hate both of us " Tahir said
"Well, if that's the price of keeping her away from the fangs of the two families, I don't mind being hated by her"
"When the two Grandfathers finally accepted the proposed betrothal of Me to your brother AyMan and You to my sister Amreen, Last week after our parents spent almost 3 years convincing them, as an effort to unite the empires," she continued, "you said, we will find a way, you said our pinky promise will never be broken, Tahir, it was always meant to be Me and You against everyone, remember ?"
Betrothal?
Grandfathers ?
"I promised that to you, MiMie, but… I am starting to believe that…" Tahir said quietly. "Hmm… We may have to give up, just try to accept it."
"Oh, so now you want us to give up?" MiMie cried.
"Not really, I don't want to… the thought of it makes me sick." Tahir snapped "I don't want to give up. But there is no escape from our families names, you know that "
"I refuse to accept this, I will fight it till that day comes" she spat. "I don't care if I lose everything, as long as I don't lose you, Tahir" MiMie vowed
"You won't lose me, so please stop taking out all this on Afreen" Tahir asked nicely
"You don't understand Tahir, I can't afford to lose you too, knowing that my fate was already sealed." MiMie said furiously "I will do whatever necessary to keep the one constant in my life" she inhaled deeply "that's you Tahir"
"And I can't afford to lose you too, to infinity and beyond, remember"
Silence.
Heavy. Crushing.
I stepped back—but the door creaked.
They stopped.
I ran.
___________
Confrontation
I didn't know where I was going.
Anger pulled me forward. Confusion chased it. Pain followed close behind—betrayal so sharp it felt like my lungs were folding in on themselves.
I finally stopped behind the school block, breath ragged, hands trembling.
Then—
Footsteps.
"Afreen—!"
MiMie.
She'd followed me.
"Afreen, wait—stop!"
I turned slowly. My chest burned, like something was clawing its way out.
"What do you want?" I asked. My voice shook despite my effort to steady it.
MiMie's eyes were red, swollen. Her ponytail had come loose, strands of hair clinging to her damp cheeks. She looked smaller than I remembered—fragile in a way that surprised me.
"Listen," she said quietly. "You weren't supposed to hear that."
"Then what was I supposed to hear?" My voice cracked. "The lies you fed the teachers to shut down my club? Or the way you made the teachers away of the rooftop spot saying some student hang out every day? Or how you kept dragging Tahir around like you owned him—"
"Stop," MiMie whispered.
"No!" I shouted. "You destroyed everything I cared about. You ruined my club. You pushed everyone away from me. And for what? Because you're jealous?"
Her eyes widened. Guilt flickered across her face, raw and unguarded.
"I didn't mean to—" she choked.
"You didn't mean to what?" I shot back. "Ruin my life?"
"I didn't want to hurt you," MiMie said softly, tears spilling over now. "I just… I wanted Tahir to stay with me. We're supposed to protect each other. Our families are going through a crisis right now—"
"This is about your family?" I snapped. "Or is it just you? Are you so obsessed with him that you can't stand him talking to anyone else?"
She flinched like I'd struck her.
"I'm not obsessed," she said weakly. "I just—he's all I have."
Her voice shattered completely.
She wiped her eyes with her sleeve, breath hitching.
"But… it wasn't supposed to go down like this," she whispered. "He was supposed to let you down gently."
I stared at her—really stared.
And for the first time, I saw it.
Loneliness.
The same loneliness I had carried for years—only hers was twisted, poisoned, desperate.
"MiMie" I said quietly, "you didn't have to destroy me to keep him."
She shook her head violently. "I didn't destroy you! I just wanted him to keep choosing me."
"By punishing me?"
"I know it's messed up!" she cried. "I know! I can't fix it, but—please—I'm sorry for my part…"
Her apology collapsed into sobs.
"I was scared of losing him," she admitted. "That's why I went after you. I thought if you disappeared, he'd refocus on me… on the family problem."
I closed my eyes.
It hurt.
It hurt so much.
But beneath the pain, something became painfully clear:
I wasn't the one she was fighting.
She was fighting her fear.
Fear of abandonment.
Fear of being irrelevant.
Fear that Tahir no longer needed her.
But understanding didn't erase the damage.
"I can't say I forgive you," I whispered.
Her head snapped up.
"But I understand," I continued. "However—I won't forget this."
She opened her mouth to speak, but I raised my hand.
"Stay away from me. Stay away from my life. I don't ever want to be dragged into your problems again."
She nodded slowly. I couldn't tell if the tears were genuine or performative.
For now, I didn't care.
And for the first time, MiMie looked truly defeated.
_____________________
Aftermath — Five Days of Darkness
I went home early that day.
I didn't tell my parents anything.
They barely noticed anyway.
For five days, I didn't go to school.
I didn't open my textbooks.
I didn't touch a single math puzzle.
I didn't allow myself to think about Tahir.
I didn't allow myself to think about MiMie.
But every night, the pain came back.
The cafeteria.
His empty, unreadable eyes.
The words—cold, careless, devastating.
"I used you."
"I just needed you to make MiMie jealous."
"You're no longer useful."
I cried more in those five days than I had in five years.
And somewhere between the tears, something inside me shifted.
Hardened.
A vow formed quietly in my chest.
Not loud.
Not dramatic.
But unbreakable.
I will never be used again.
____
Aftermath
When I finally returned to school, Tahir avoided me.
Mimi couldn't meet my eyes.
Malik apologized—again and again—until I told him to stop.
But the girl who had left wasn't the one who returned.
Not even close.
I buried myself in my studies.
Entered competitions.
Won every single one.
Year after year, victory after victory, the fire inside me burned hotter.
Each achievement pushed me further away from them—
and closer to who I was becoming.
3 and a 1/2 years later, I stood at the gates of A.R.C— late transfer because I traveled to outside the country with my parents.
While in A.R.C
the academy where only the strongest students competed.
My badge was new.
My ambition wasn't.
On my first day in the assembly hall, whispers followed me like shadows.
Rumors.
The girl who left her old school.
The one who betrayed her friends.
The prodigy who transferred to the rival academy.
"She was A.R.C's pride," they said.
"And she still walked away."
"Her name is MiMie A. Jiddah."
When I heard it—
My heart jumped.
Old wounds tore open.
My fingers curled into fists.
Revenge ignited quietly in my chest.
They thought she was the betrayer.
They had no idea I'd been planning mine for years.
I stood with ARC's team.
Older.
Colder.
Sharper.
The people who broke me.
The people I swore never to forget.
The people I vowed to repay tenfold.
This war between C.A.A and ARC didn't start with trophies or tournaments.
It started on a rooftop.
With a bitter leaf between his teeth.
And the words—
"What's your name, Dimples?"
And now…
It was time to pay back—
Here I was.
Standing in front of both of you.
MiMie.
Tahir.
Right here.
Right now.
In C.A.A, of all places.
From this moment onward…
You will learn something called karma.
________________________
Present day :
Afreen turned away and walked out of the café with the rest of the ARC students, their footsteps sharp and deliberate as they echoed toward the Great Hall.
The past had caught up.
And it wasn't done collecting its debt.