This Makes No Sense

'I still don't understand anything about this world…'

It tends to be quite shocking and burdensome, but Tanya was the only one who shared the truth about the harsh reality of Mellgrah with Maya. As someone on a vague path meant to save the world, learning that after graduating from the academy she would be far more restricted in the use of magic was a major setback.

'Do I have to save the world before I graduate?'

Sitting alone at lunch, she let her mind wander. It was quite lonely, but too crowded to allow herself to chat with Leo.

'All I have is some vague advice from Anastasia about developing my magical power. Would that be enough to train myself?'

Maya was still too young to grasp what such a heavy burden entails and could only look at her task through the eyes of a reader — expecting trials and tribulations to show themselves to her one by one while she, like a hero in a book, gallantly deals with them in swift succession.

She expected the fall to come as some sort of an outside force that suddenly and overwhelmingly takes over the world like a natural disaster. And herself as a prophesized hero to conveniently gain some mystical power that coincidentally appears as the perfect solution to their problems at the right moment.

It had never occurred to Maya that this world could have been festering for a long time already. Drown in hypocrisy and shackles of an unclear kind. To save it, she may have to fight it.

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Anastasia observed Maya from afar — just enough so her presence was undetected. Burdened by the shackles of the past she had to fight every waking moment, she was adamant in her decision to give Maya some space to breathe since the recent tribulations.

'If she can't sense me, she's still far too green.'

Split between the desire to allow her precious successor some sense of normalcy and the urgency of her erosion and moving pieces of the world, Anastasia cursed her fate.

Then she sensed tendrils spreading through the air, slowly reaching out, feeling out the invisible side of the world as if finding her way in darkness. They were growing like roots from Maya, nearly reaching Anastasia. 

She smiled, pleased that her protégé was diligent at practicing the simple exercises Anastasia had provided to heighten Maya's magical sensitivity.

'Will she be prepared? I will have to put her to a test.'

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"Where did you wander off to?" Andrea's voice penetrated Maya's deep thoughts as the squad joined her at the table.

Maya snapped back to reality. "Nowhere. Why so late guys?"

"Prof. Crumpet held us back. He was talking about Elador and how revolutionary its shape was in the medieval times… again," Isaac complained.

"Where's Sarah?" Maya asked.

"She prefers to hang out with these two girls from the Psi group, now. Probably because they worship her," Andrea said.

"Probably because Maya became the main drive for our popularity and not her," Isaac was harsh.

"What are you talking about?" confusion was evident on Maya's face.

"Maya, you're the most popular person in the entire school!" Andrea exclaimed. "But you know how she gets, always comparing herself to others. But she'll come around after she realizes how pea-brained those are." 

Maya thought through Sarah's recent behaviour, noting the growing distance between them. It seemed that Sarah was merely tagging along with Andrea during lunch outings, leaving Maya feeling unsure if they had even spoken since the incident with Elena tricking her into going outside the wall to test if Maya had Fire magic.

Sarah had always seemed a little too haughty to hang around, but Maya thought she just needed a while to warm up. It's been only a little over a month since the school started and some friendships needed time. As Sarah's demeanour remained aloof, Maya couldn't help but feel a pang of disappointment.

Her gaze shifted toward the table Andrea suggested, seeing Sarah sitting with a different group of girls, laughing expressively. Sarah had refreshed her look, trying out some bright pink highlights in her blond hair. But that wasn't what pulled Maya's attention.

The aforementioned Psi group girls, Sarah's new underlings, were none other than Pricilla and Hailey!

'Ah!'

Despite never having been too close with Sarah, Maya couldn't help but feel a sense of betrayal.

'Even if she doesn't know what they put me through, this is too much.'

Her lips pressed into a thin line as she garnered a strange sense of loss.

"Wait…" Maya's mind was a bit slow today, and it only now hit her what her friends had boldly proclaimed. "What do you mean I'm the most popular one?"

Her friends laughed, unable to hold on to their suspension of disbelief at Maya's cluelessness.

"You're the quadripartite, silly. No one can top that," Linda said.

"Prepare yourself for the sea of clout-chasers," Isaac was joking. "You can never know who to trust, now."

Maya looked around the dining area again. Looking at Sarah at one table desperately trying to have fun, then at Elena and Keith's table with his sophomore squad. She felt like she'd just joined the competition.

On one hand, there was Elena, well-known for not-so-commendable deeds, being unbothered, and as a menace to society. But also for dating the most popular, golden boy of the academy. There was also her unique and rapid development of magic skills, paired with her cold demeanour, earning her the nickname of Ice Queen.

On the other hand, there was her hot-headed counterpart. A girl equally beautiful, tremendously talented in Fire Magic, and a priestess candidate. Despite her haughty mannerisms, she did care what others thought of her and held a prominent position of influence. Sarah Collins, dubbed Fire Queen.

Sparked by last summer's incident, those two were stuck in a cycle of constantly being compared to one another. Consequently feeding each other's popularity status, they were the two perfect rivals.

Then there was Maya, an interloper known for being a freak of nature, barging in to disrupt the balance.

"This school makes no sense. Why are the most popular students freshmen?" Maya complained.

"If you think about it, the freshmen students are a majority. Seniors have already passed through multiple culling for the slums," Isaac pointed out.

They all looked at each other, swallowing, in silent acknowledgement neither of them was completely safe yet. They survived the first hurdle, but at the end of the academic year, more students may not satisfy the requirements. Merit points were a positive motivator while the slums were a warning to those who wanted to slack off.

Andrea, Isaac and Maya all secretly glanced Linda's way, reminded of her close call. Well, Linda did prove to be quite powerful, but her unconventional power, just like Elena's, was hard to measure.

The tense atmosphere brought by Isaac's words was interrupted by Adam's arrival.

"Sorry for being late, guys. Did I miss anything?"

"Nothing much," Isaac said.

"We were just discussing Sarah leaving us for Cinderella's evil stepsisters," Andrea skilfully switched the mood.

"Ah…" Adam glanced Sarah's way and quickly grasped the situation. "It makes sense the main players can't all sit at the same table."

'Main players?'

It only now dawned on Maya that Adam had already been looking at her as one of the protagonists in this silent competition of new academy Queens. In no one's company has she been as aware of gossip about those two as with him. Although it was interesting hearing stories about them, Maya was unsure of how to feel about the newfound spotlight shifting to her.

'Do people already have a nickname for me? A Quadripartite Queen? No, that didn't have quite the ring to it.'

While the rest of the squad engaged in their usual banter, Adam sat closer to Maya, speaking more quietly.

"Since there will be a party at Rho Minor this Saturday, perhaps we should postpone our date."

Maya nodded. "I agree. It's best to let midterms pass."

"We'll see each other at the party, anyway," he smiled brightly.

"Um…"

"You're going, right?"

"I don't know anyone from that house. And no one had invited me," Maya was uncertain.

Adam blinked at her in disbelief. "You don't need to know anyone. You're Maya freaking Watergate."

"I don't feel like I can just show up and that would mean something."

Adam cleared his throat. "I would love it if you'd show up. You do deserve a little break."

"What are you two lovebirds whispering about?" 

They both blushed after Andrea interrupted them.

"I'm just trying to talk Maya into going to Rho House party," Adam said quickly.

"Oh, that's great. We are all going, there is no saying no," Andrea was bossy.