The lunch hour filtered across the quad in sunlit patches and the buzz of midday chatter. Students sprawled across benches and bnkets, the scent of cafeteria food mixing with the soft rustle of leaves overhead.

  Stel sat with a few friends under a wide oak, a sandwich in her hand, smiling faintly as she nodded along to some half-serious debate about st night's show.

  Hazel lingered nearby, perched gracefully on the low stone edge of a pnter, one leg crossed over the other. Her bck blouse caught the light like ink on silk, and her expression—quiet but watchful—never strayed far from Stel.

  She didn’t interrupt, didn’t call attention to herself. But anyone who passed by couldn’t help but gnce her way. Again. And again.

  They always did.

  A trio of girls walking across the grass slowed mid-step, whispering behind raised hands. One hesitantly peeled off and approached, clearly egged on by the others.

  “Hi,” she said, blinking up at Hazel. “You’re Hazel, right?”

  Hazel offered a polite smile, eyes luminous. “That’s me.”

  “You, um, just transferred into Professor Lane’s css, right? Your voice was really… I mean, your whole vibe is kind of amazing.”

  “Thank you,” Hazel said smoothly, warmth in her tone, though she made no move to stand. “I try.”

  The girl smiled, blushing, then quickly excused herself, scurrying back to her group with a mix of awe and nerves.

  Hazel’s gaze drifted back to Stel, who was ughing at something one of her friends said. It wasn’t forced. That mattered. But the moment didn’t st long.

  A figure approached, more hesitant than the others, and not with the breathless energy of a stranger. Hazel gnced up—taller than average, lean, short tousled hair. Recognition sparked in her eyes even before his voice found the courage to speak.

  “H-Hazel?”

  She blinked. “Eli?”

  He nodded. His posture was uncomfortable, shoulders drawn slightly inward, as if unsure how to stand in front of her.

  “I wasn’t sure it was you,” he said. “It’s been a while…”

  Hazel smiled, but this one didn’t reach her eyes the same way. “It has. You look well.”

  He scratched the back of his neck, eyes skimming her form with a complicated look—part surprise, part guilt, and part something else entirely. “You… you changed a lot.”

  “So I’ve been told,” Hazel replied, voice smooth but with an undertone of ice.

  “I mean, everyone’s saying things. And I guess I just—wanted to see for myself. You really are... different.”

  Hazel tilted her head slightly. “I am. Is that a problem?”

  “No!” Eli said quickly. “No, not at all. It’s just... weird, I guess? Not bad-weird. Just... new.”

  Her expression softened marginally. “New things can be hard to process.”

  He nodded. “Right.”

  There was an awkward pause. He shoved his hands in his pockets. “Anyway... I’m gd you’re okay. And it’s... it’s good to see you again.”

  “You too, Eli,” Hazel said. “Truly.”

  He nodded again, then backed off, slipping away without another word.

  Hazel returned her attention to Stel, whose eyes met hers across the distance. Stel smiled softly, mouthing something Hazel didn’t quite catch—but she didn’t need to. She already knew.

  And just like that, the quiet resumed, though the whispers never really stopped.

  Hazel had just resumed her stillness when another presence approached—different this time. Not tentative, not hurried. Measured. Intentional.

  She turned her head slightly and found a girl standing a few steps away. Short-haired, poised in a pale bzer over a tucked blouse, arms crossed loosely but not defensively. She wasn’t nervous. If anything, she studied Hazel the way one might study a fme—knowing it could burn, but still drawn to it.

  “You don’t mind if I talk to you for a minute, do you?” the girl asked, voice clear, even.

  Hazel tilted her head, intrigued. “Of course not.”

  The girl stepped closer and extended a hand, her movements fluid and practiced. “Alyssa. Literature major.”

  Hazel took her hand, her fingers cool against Alyssa’s warmth. “Hazel. Currently undecided.”

  “Not what I expected,” Alyssa said as she sat down beside Hazel, uninvited but not unwelcome. “I’ve heard a lot already. Most of it too dramatic to believe.”

  Hazel arched a brow. “And yet you came over.”

  “I like to see things for myself.” Alyssa’s gaze held steady. “And what I see is… someone who knows exactly what she’s doing.”

  Hazel smiled slightly, but didn’t refute it. “I try to stay aware.”

  “That’s rare around here,” Alyssa said. “People cling to the familiar. You’re... a disruption.”

  “Disruption,” Hazel repeated, tasting the word. “Is that what I am?”

  Alyssa shrugged, though her eyes glinted. “Not in a bad way. Just... different. Powerful. Everyone’s talking, but they don’t even know what they’re reacting to. You walk like you know the ending of a story before it begins.”

  There was a brief silence between them, not quite comfortable, not quite hostile. Hazel studied her new companion quietly.

  “You’re not afraid of me,” she observed.

  “No,” Alyssa replied, not arrogantly, but with certainty. “I’m curious.”

  Hazel leaned back slightly. “That can be more dangerous than fear.”

  “Maybe,” Alyssa said. “But I think curiosity is what keeps people from becoming dull.”

  Hazel ughed softly, eyes narrowing with amusement. “You’ve got conviction. I respect that.”

  Alyssa stood up then, brushing imaginary dust from her scks. “I’ll see you around, Hazel.”

  Hazel nodded once. “I’m sure you will.”

  As Alyssa walked away, Hazel watched her go with a faint, unreadable expression—until Stel waved her over from beneath the oak tree, her tray of half-eaten food still beside her.

  The peace wouldn’t st forever, Hazel knew. But for now, the sun still filtered gently through the leaves, and Stel was smiling.

  Hazel approached slowly, her dark blouse catching the light as the breeze curled through the trees. Every step she took was smooth, deliberate—like she floated just above the ground.

  Conversations faded in a small radius around her, heads turning with poorly hidden interest or open curiosity.

  Stel looked up from her pce on the grass, her smile brightening. “There you are,” she said, patting the empty spot beside her. “Come sit. I want you to meet everyone.”

  Hazel settled beside her, folding her legs with elegant ease. Stel turned to the small group—two girls and a boy—all of whom were staring.

  “This is my sister, Hazel,” Stel said with a small touch of pride, like revealing a secret she'd been saving.

  The trio blinked, almost in unison. One of the girls, a petite redhead named Erin, gave a tight smile. “Um… hi.”

  “Hello,” Hazel said, voice velvet-smooth. Her golden eyes passed over each of them, never lingering long enough to discomfort, but sharp all the same. “I hope I’m not intruding.”

  “You’re not,” the other girl, Jordan, said too quickly. Her gaze flicked between Hazel and Stel. “We’ve just, um… heard a lot.”

  “Of course,” Hazel replied, unbothered. “I imagine I’ve become something of a hallway myth.”

  The boy, Marcos, cleared his throat. “They said you used to go here. Before.”

  Hazel nodded, a small smile forming. “That’s true. I left for a time, but I’m back now. Stel’s been helping me readjust.”

  The ease with which she spoke—unhurried, warm, confident—eased the tension. Erin shifted, letting her shoulders rex. Jordan looked at Stel, then back at Hazel with something closer to admiration than apprehension.

  “You don’t look… sick,” Erin blurted before she could stop herself, then winced. “I mean—sorry, that came out wrong—”

  Hazel waved her off gently, lips curved in amusement. “Don’t worry. I’m quite used to curiosity by now.”

  She tilted her head, watching them a moment longer, then added with a soft lilt, “You’re Stel’s friends. That makes you mine too—if you’ll have me.”

  Jordan let out a quiet ugh, shaking her head. “Okay, now you’re just unfair.”

  “Unfair?” Hazel echoed, feigning innocence.

  “Like, you’re stunning, and you talk like that?” Jordan said. “You’re going to have the entire campus writing bad poetry about you.”

  Hazel ughed—a light, ringing sound that seemed to brighten the moment. Even Marcos smiled.

  Stel leaned in slightly. “See? She’s not that scary.”

  “You sure she’s not hypnotizing us?” Marcos asked jokingly, then turned red when Hazel quirked a brow at him in perfect, teasing silence.

  “She’s not,” Stel said. “I’d know.”

  Hazel gnced at her, something tender flickering behind the gold in her eyes.

  With the tension dissolved, conversation gradually shifted toward more normal topics—csses, the weather, a strange pigeon that had divebombed someone’s sandwich earlier that morning.

  Hazel remained mostly quiet, only speaking when addressed, but when she did, everyone listened.

  She didn’t need to dominate the space to hold it. Her presence was enough.

  Lunch continued under the swaying branches, with soft ughter rising now and then from the group. With Hazel beside them, there was an unexpected calm—not silence, but a graceful stillness between words that made conversation feel... deliberate.

  “So,” Erin said, poking the remains of her sad, “do you have any csses this afternoon, Hazel?”

  Hazel shook her head lightly, strands of hair shifting over her shoulder. “Just mornings, for now. I’m easing into the schedule.”

  “Smart,” Marcos muttered. “I overloaded my first semester and almost died.”

  “Don’t say ‘died,’” Jordan whispered sharply, then gnced at Hazel, cheeks flushing. “Sorry. I just meant—”

  Hazel chuckled, saving her. “No offense taken.”

  Stel leaned back, arms behind her for support as she looked over the little group. “We’ve got css in fifteen, right?”

  “Yeah,” Erin said, pulling out her phone. “Bio in that cold auditorium.”

  Jordan groaned. “I’m already half asleep.”

  “I suppose that’s my cue,” Hazel murmured, rising with one smooth motion. The group stood a little slower, brushing off crumbs and slinging bags over their shoulders.

  “It was really nice to meet you,” Jordan said. Her voice was more rexed now—still shy, but no longer guarded.

  “You too,” Hazel replied, nodding to each of them.

  Marcos hesitated, then offered his hand. “You’re, uh… you’re cool. In case no one’s said it yet.”

  Hazel smiled, shaking it gently. “Thank you, Marcos. That’s sweet of you.”

  As Stel joined Hazel, she gave her friends a short wave. “See you in css!”

  They dispersed into the chattering tide of students heading back toward the main buildings. The noise rose around them again—footsteps, ughter, calls from across the wn—but in the middle of it, Hazel and Stel moved quietly.

  Hazel walked at a measured pace, her bag slung over one shoulder, eyes gently scanning their surroundings. Stel gnced up at her.

  “You handled that well,” she said.

  Hazel turned to her with a faintly amused smile. “Was I being tested?”

  Stel grinned. “A little. But you passed.”

  They shared a quiet moment as the crowd thickened. Hazel’s gaze lingered ahead, where a few girls were whispering and stealing gnces toward her.

  And farther back, someone else stood frozen, half-obscured behind a pilr near the edge of the courtyard.

  A familiar figure.

  Hazel’s eyes narrowed a fraction, though her expression didn’t waver.

  “Ready?” Stel asked, nudging her lightly.

  Hazel nodded once. “Always.”