First year

"No way he actually confessed! Honestly, who would like a closed-off, nihilistic boy like him?" Mei-Ling scoffed, brushing off her skirt and adjusting her blazer. Her hands twisted the green ties around her neatly styled twin buns as she spoke. The sign above their classroom door read Kol-Nic Dialects – First-Year Section, and Mei-Ling barely gave it a glance as she turned toward Elara.

"Are you okay?" Mei-Ling asked, her voice softening for a moment. "You should've called me," she added, though her voice grew hoarse with emotion as she reached out to hold Elara's trembling hand.

Elara stayed quiet, her eyes fixed on the polished floor as they walked.

"Honestly," Anna interjected with a sigh, "I'd rather not talk about him right now. Don't we have that mandatory assembly in three hours? The one for all first-years?" Her tone was dismissive, but the exhaustion behind it was unmistakable.