“We are getting out. Do you want us to wait for you?”
Inside the locker room of the girls, the last group was about to get out.
“No, I will stay here for a little while.”
However, one girl didn’t follow her friends but just stood there in front of her locker.
“Okay. Call me when you are free.”
“Bye.”
As her friends left, the girl was left alone inside the room.
“How dare he?”
And as they left, the emotions she had suppressed started coming out one by one.
She was fuming to herself as she touched the small cuts on her ankles and her rear delt. The marks of the wounds had already been healed to the point it was hard to discern them.
TAK!
Her fist hit the locker, creating a small crater on it, and the hand that punched the metal didn’t seem bothered by it.
“Why?”
She sat down on the stool and lowered her head. The room, which would normally be filled with students, was now empty, reminding her of that time.
SHIVER!
Her body shivered as she remembered the disgusting touch of that old man. The memories started crashing down once again.
“Haaaah…Haaaaaah…..”
Her heart fastened as her breath started getting ragged. Even though her toned body had fought countless times to train, there was one thing that she was still weak at.
The scene of that hideous-looking thing approaching her, the creepy smile on his face, the hand that was locking hers from above, the disparity between strength and the muffled screams that never came out.
“Burghk!”
The nausea started coming up, and she couldn’t hold it in, so she rushed to the toilet.
“Burghk!”
After emptying everything she had consumed recently, she finally started feeling a little better, but even then, her rapidly beating heart was still there.
CLENCH!
“Calm down.”
She clenched her fists as she tried to calm herself down.
“You need to get over it.”
Her hand started losing its color, as her incredibly tightened fists showed her knuckles’ shape.
“This time, they were just lucky.”
‘It was because of luck. You are no longer that weak girl anymore; you can defend yourself against them.’
She repeated the same thing over and over again, trying to calm herself down. And it was proving to be effective.
Clarity returned to her head as her ferocious-looking yellow eyes slowly opened. There was a clear hatred amongst them.
“Astron Natusalune.”
She mumbled the name of the person she had just seen before coming here.
“Next time, I will show you.”
She mumbled, imagining herself sitting on top of that bastard, claiming herself as the victor.
“Yes, this is how it should be? How it needs to be?”
In the locker room where no people resided, the girl repeated the same words and imagined the same scene over and over again, though inwardly, she knew all of this was to overcome that one feeling.
Without even knowing the fate that was awaiting her.
*******
SCRUB! SILENCE!
Inside the library, the normally bustling Arcadia Hunter Academy, students had already filled the tables.
Everyone had a pile of books on their tables as they studied for the upcoming exams.
“Hey, Sylvie. Should we take a break?”
And, at one of the tables, two girls were whispering to each other.
“Break? I don’t know, Jasmine.”
“Come on. If this goes on, I will fall asleep soon after. I need to have a fresh breath. It has already been two hours since we sat here.”
“Sigh….Okay.”
As the two girls whispered to each other, they silently stood up while being careful not to make others uncomfortable.
“We need to make it quick.”
“Yeah. The library is already filled with students.”
Since it was the mid-term period, almost every student was cramming for the lessons until it was midnight.
Sylvie and Jasmine exited the library, finding a little relief from the stifling atmosphere inside.
The library’s courtyard, bathed in the soft glow of the mana-engineered lights, offered a welcome change of scenery and a slightly exotic environment.
The two friends stretched and took deep breaths. “Ah, that’s better,” Jasmine sighed.
Sylvie nodded in agreement. “You’re right; it’s stuffy in there.”
They walked towards the entrance, away from the intense concentration of the studying crowd. A gentle breeze rustled the leaves of the trees nearby, carrying with it the distant chatter of students enjoying their own break.
As they stood there, Sylvie glanced at Jasmine and said, “Mid-terms are always so stressful. It feels like the exams are right around the corner.”
Jasmine nodded. “I know. But we’ll get through it, just like always.”
“But where is Danielle?” Sylvie asked, looking at her friend. “She needs to study too. I know her grades are not top-notch.”
As Sylvie said, Danielle was rather on the lazy side of the students. Most of the time, she went to parties and gatherings at night, and she had quite a bit of a name amongst the freshmen.
“Ah, Danielle,” Jasmine said, looking at the sky. “She said she was going to meet with someone.”
“Someone….Who is she?” Sylvie asked, her curiosity picked.
“It is a boy.”
Sylvie’s eyes widened at this revelation, and a light blush crept up on her cheeks. She knew the implications of meeting a guy at this time of the day. “A guy? Who? Do you know him?”
‘I can use this to get back at her.’
Sylvie thought. She had been feeling a little resentful after her friend’s countless teasing, and now she thought a way to get back at her.
Jasmine chuckled at Sylvie’s reaction. “I’m not sure. She didn’t say much about him, just that she was going to meet him for a bit.”
However, all those plans crumbled as she heard.
“I see…..” Sylvie tried to appear nonchalant, but the blush on her cheeks persisted. “Well, I hope she has a nice time.”
Jasmine grinned at her friend. “Nice time? I wonder what ‘nice’ you are talking about?” She approached the yellow-haired girl. “And, who are you imagining in your head?”
Hearing this, Sylvie’s blush deepened, and she stammered, “N-No, it’s not like that. I’m just… curious, that’s all.”
Jasmine laughed heartily. “Curious, huh? Sure, Sylvie, whatever you say.”
SILENCE!
But, just at that second, suddenly, the people surrounding them went silent for a second.
“Hmm?” feeling something was amiss, Jasmine was the first one to notice that. As she turned her head back, she saw another student that she remembered—the certain boy who was sometimes the subject of their talk.
He was walking in the corridors of the library with quite a lot of books in his arms. Some of the students recognized him and threw him a bunch of glances. Of course, no one caused a scene, but even then, the silence and the pressure from the gazes were enough to make people uncomfortable.
“Astron?”
Sylvie also noticed him as he walked.
“I guess even he doesn’t want to get expelled from the academy,” Jasmine said as she watched him enter. Her impression of him wasn’t good as both the rumors surrounding him and the attitude he had shown so far played a part in it.
“You are right,” Sylvie replied, her curiosity temporarily diverted.
Jasmine stretched her arms and yawned. “Well, break time is over. We should head back to the library. I want to make the most out of this study session.”
Sylvie nodded, the topic of Danielle and her mystery meeting with a guy now temporarily forgotten. “You’re right. Let’s get back to studying.” They turned and walked back to the library, ready to tackle their mid-term preparations with renewed focus.
When Sylvie and Jasmine returned to the library and reached their vacant seats, they were ready to resume their study session. However, as they reached their chosen table, they realized that the seats at the table beside them were no longer occupied by the same seniors as before.
Instead, someone different is sitting there. The very person who had just entered the library.
Astron was sitting there, a stack of books and notes spread out in front of him.
[Study of Mana, 3rd edition, by. Alena Frostborne]
[Dungeon Theory, 1st edition, by. Brian Jake]
[Biology for Hunters 1, by. Magic Tower of Arcadia Dominion]
.
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He seemed deeply engrossed in his studies, and the aura around him made it clear that he had no intention of being disturbed, just as usual when he was in the classroom.
Jasmine glanced at Sylvie, raising an eyebrow. “Well, it looks like we have some ‘company’ here.”
Sylvie, who had been momentarily distracted by Astron’s presence, nodded slightly and whispered, “It seems like it.”
Though Jasmine’s impression of him wasn’t good because Sylvie didn’t say bad things about him, she also didn’t want to be an asshole and randomly make an enemy out of him.
Also, seeing the books in front of him and all of them being the study materials of their curriculum, she understood that he was serious, so she just let him be.
“Let’s sit down. It doesn’t matter who sits beside us, right?” Sylvie whispered, sitting down at their own table. Though, knowing her, Jasmine understood she was trying to distract herself from him.
“You are right.” Jasmine agreed as she also sat down and started studying.
Just like that, Sylvie and Jasmine decided to focus on their studies despite Astron’s presence.
They opened their textbooks and notes, diving into the world of academia they ‘liked’ so much.
The library’s atmosphere was filled with the rustling of pages, the quiet tapping of fingers on keyboards, and the occasional whispers of students seeking clarification on their studies.
With such an atmosphere, two girls and many other students started working towards their goals….