Keifer's POV
The afternoon sun bled through the cracked windows of the Section E lounge—a corner of the old building that the faculty had long since abandoned to us. I was leaning against the wall, still feeling that strange, phantom heat on my thumb where Jay's chocolate had been.
The door kicked open with a familiar, violent rattle. Yuri stepped in, smelling like cigarettes and the cold air of a two-week suspension. He didn't say a word; he just walked to the center of the room and threw his bag onto a pile of broken chairs.
"I'm back," Yuri grunted, his eyes scanning the room like a predator looking for a missed meal. "And I already ran into a billboard model who thinks she owns the hallway."
I straightened up, my eyes narrowing. "Jane Mariano."
Yuri looked at me, a dark, mocking grin spreading across his face. "So you've met the 'Pretty Twin.' She's got a mouth on her. Screamed at me about 'manners' like we're in a finishing school."
"You haven't met the other one yet," I said, my voice low. "Jay. She's fire. She's the one you have to watch out for. They arrived yesterday, and it's been a circus ever since."
I spent the next ten minutes catching Yuri up. I told him about the black umbrella—how they walked through the 'rain of trash' like it was a light drizzle.
I told him about the lunch heist, and how Jay didn't even flinch when I took her food. I left out the part about how her eyes looked when I touched her lip, but Yuri was sharp. He noticed the way my jaw tightened.
They aren't just transfers. They're a disruption." I said .
"A girl in Section E is a liability, Keifer," Yuri said, his voice dropping the playful tone.
"Section E has its rules. We can't let a girl step into our territory after what happened with Ella. It starts with one, then the everything collapses. We need them out."
Keifer nodded, his jaw tight. "Agreed. Edrix!"
Edrix, who had been lurking in the shadows of the doorway, stepped forward.
" I need everything you can find on the Mariano twins. Previous schools, family background, why they transferred here mid-term. I want to know their pressure points."I said to him.
Edrix cracked his knuckles. "On it, Keifer. If they have a digital footprint, I'll find it."
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Jay's POV
I headed toward the music room. It was the only place in this crumbling wing that seemed to have any acoustic peace. I just wanted to eat my remaining crackers in silence and think about how I was going to survive the next week without actually punching Keifer in the throat.
As I turned the corner near the music hall, I slammed into something small.
"Whoa! Easy there!"
I looked down. Standing there was a boy who looked like he had just been caffeinated via IV drip. He looked young—maybe fifteen—with bright, wide eyes and a messy mop of hair.
"Which class are you in, kid? You're in the wrong wing," I said, my voice habitually guarded.
"Hi, Jean! I'm in your class actually! Section E!" He beamed, practically vibrating with excitement. "I'm Cin. I was there yesterday, just... in the back. You were so cool! The way you opened that umbrella? Total boss move. And when you talked back to Keifer? Man, I thought he was going to explode!"
I blinked. Usually, people in Section E looked at me with either malice or fear. This kid looked at me like I was a superhero.
"You're quite the talker, Cin," I said, though my voice softened.
"And your sister! Jane! She's so pretty, like a movie star," he continued, starting to hop from foot to foot. He began roaming around me, jumping over imaginary obstacles and circling me like a hyperactive puppy. "Are you guys secret agents? Is that why you're here? Are you going to take down the bad guys?"
I actually felt a corner of my mouth twitch. "Hardly. We're just trying to graduate, Cin. Please, stay still for five seconds."
"I can't! Being in Section E is usually so boring, just waiting for the next fight. But you guys make it interesting!" He did a little spin. "It was really pleasing meeting you, Jay!"
Seeing his genuine, childish energy, the 'static' in my head from Keifer and Yuri started to fade. For the first time since stepping into HVIS, I didn't feel irritated. I felt... amused.
"It was pleasing meeting you, Cin ",I whispered mostly to myself.
The lunch bell rang, a harsh, metallic clang that signaled the end of my peace.
"Race you back!" Cin shouted, already halfway down the hall.
I walked back at my own pace, meeting Jane at the classroom door. She looked refreshed, her hair perfectly in place.
"Pe next," Jane said, checking her phone. "Time to change. Let's see if Section E handles sports as badly as they handle literature."
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Jane's POV
The gym was massive, a cathedral of polished wood and the smell of floor wax. Aries and his friends were already there, huddled near the coach's office. When we walked out in our PE gear—navy leggings and white athletic shirts—the atmosphere changed instantly.
The boys of Section E were spread out, lazily doing stretches or kicking basketballs around. They looked at us like we were lost tourists.
"Look at them," I heard Denzel whisper to Rory. "They probably don't even know how to run without tripping over their own feet. Just weak girls."
I ignored them, focused on my leg stretches.
I was finishing my warm-up stretches when Jay phone buzzed in her waistband.She pulled it out, her face darkening.
Message from Percy: Call me when you are free.
Jay's thumbs flew across the screen. Soon. Busy with school.
"Miss Mariano!"
The PE teacher, a woman who looked like she chewed nails for breakfast, marched over to Jay. "Phones are for the locker room. Since you seem so 'free' and uninterested in my instructions, why don't you give us 50 pushups? Right now."
A ripple of laughter went through the boys.
"50? She'll collapse at five!" Drew laughed.
"Come on, Miss, don't be so hard on her. She's a girl," Blaster mocked.
"She's a girl, she'll collapse by ten," Mayo jeered, leaning back against the wall.
Michael snorted, crossing his arms. "Just a weak girl playing dress-up. Good luck with five, sweetheart."
I didn't say a word. I just stepped back and folded my arms, a proud, knowing smile playing on my lips. They had no idea.
Jay didn't argue. She didn't roll her eyes. She handed me her phone, walked to the center of the polished floor, and dropped into a perfect plank position.
One. Two. Three.
She moved with mechanical, explosive precision. As she lowered her body, the sleeves of her shirt shifted, revealing the defined, corded muscle of her biceps and shoulders. There wasn't a gram of wasted movement.
The gym went dead silent.The snorting stopped. The whispering stopped. They all were shocked except Me and Aries.
Ten. Twenty. Thirty.
She wasn't even breathing hard. By forty, everyone mouths literally hanging open. Jay looked lethal—focused, strong, and, in a way that made my heart swell for my sister, absolutely captivating. She wasn't just doing a punishment; she was reclaiming the room.
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Keifer's POV
I had entered the gym just as the teacher issued the punishment. I stood in the back, leaning against the doorframe, waiting to see her fail. She was a girl—delicate, thin, built for sundresses, not manual labor. No matter how much "attitude" she had, biology didn't lie.
Or so I thought.
I underestimated her. I thought she'd do ten, pout, and get a pass because of her face.
I was wrong.
As soon as Jay hit the floor, my breath hitched. She didn't do "girl push-ups." She moved with a mechanical, terrifying precision. But it wasn't just the strength—it was the sight of her.
Watching her move was like watching a well-oiled machine. Every time she pushed up, I could see the flex in her arms, the strength in her back. She wasn't "weak." She was a warrior in a school uniform.
The way the light hit the sweat beginning to beads on her neck... the way her ponytail swayed with the rhythm... it did something to my chest that felt like a physical blow. I was lost. I was completely, utterly captivated.
As her body lowered and rose, the light caught the ripple of her biceps. They weren't bulky, but they were cut—lean, hard muscle that spoke of years of discipline. I found myself moving closer, unable to tear my eyes away. She looked... captivating. Dangerous.
There was a raw, rugged beauty in her power that I wasn't prepared for. My heart hammered against my ribs, and it wasn't from the heat of the gym.
I had spent my life underestimating people, but as she stood up, looking like a goddess of war in a simple grey heather tee, I realized I hadn't just met a rival.
I had met my match. And God help me, I couldn't look away.
"Forty-nine. Fifty," Jay muttered, her voice steady.
She popped back up to her feet in one fluid motion, not even pausing to wipe the floor dust off her hands. She looked the teacher in the eye, then turned her gaze to the rest of us—specifically to me.
I watched her walk back to her sister, her biceps still pumped from the effort, I realized I didn't want to put the fire out.
I wanted to see how much of the world she could burn down.