Jiya inspected her fingernails to keep her eyes away from Alex and the girl. The jerk had a girlfriend and he never told her! And there she was... She pinched the bridge of her nose while adjusting her glasses. Just then, she felt a tap on her shoulder.
A girl appeared beside her. She had a shock of red hair and was wearing the same uniform as hers. Another boy was standing by her side, wearing the same uniform as Alex. They appeared to be twins. Jiya opened her mouth to say something, but the girl cut her off.
"Jealous or bored?" she asked with a roguish grin.
Jiya flushed at her word. She was slack-jawed.
"Whatever it is", she gave Alex a dismissive look, "I am Stephanie. Stephanie Wood."
Jiya relaxed her shoulders, "I am Jiya. Jiya Dey."
The girl named Stephanie gave her a wolfish grin before she looked back at the boy beside her, "And this is my brother Stephan."
"Hi", Jiya gave him a mirthless smile.
The boy flushed and avoided eye contact as he rubbed the nape of his neck.
"Stop acting so shy, Steph", Stephanie yanked him closer, that he was standing right in front of her.
"Hi", he gave her a dreamy look.
Jiya sniffed. A sweet smell was emanating from the guy. Please, no. She thought. Let it be the cologne he uses! But she knew it was something else, making her cringe.
"So I see that you have made friends already", Alex appeared beside her. Jiya stepped away from him.
"And leave her here to kiss your girl?" Stephanie shot a sardonic look at the girl who had her arms linked with Alex. She was shorter in the group, as Jiya saw.
"Cut it, Nie", Stephan nudged her.
Alex ignored them and turned to Jiya who was looking straight ahead.
"This is my girlfriend, Miriam", he said with a beatific smile.
Jiya gave him a deadpan face before looking at the girl. The girl had a petite face, dark blue eyes and a smile that could make anyone feel protective towards her.
"Miriam Siraj", the girl extended her right hand. Jiya looked at her extended hand and then at her face. Then, she placed her hand into hers, shaking it, "Jiya."
"Are you not done with the formalities?" Stephanie checked her red nails, as she jeered at Miriam.
Miriam returned her a derisive look. Jiya cleared her throat.
"You must be The Rare", Stephan smiled at her warmly and whispered. She gave him a languid smile.
"I think she needs to visit the Professor before the orientation starts", Alex nodded at Jiya.
"Stephanie can take me to him", She looked at Alex before nodded at Stephanie, "Can't you?"
"Always", she jeered at Alex before leading Jiya away from him. Stephan followed by Jiya's side.
"So? You can smell secrets?" Stephan asked with the most pleasant smile that a guy can have.
Her Smitchwatch just looked like a black piece of opaque glass with leather straps. It neither had a minute or hour hands nor any numbers. It did not have a key either. But now, in the centre of the black glass, a red dot had appeared. Two green dots had appeared in a green orbit around the red dot. The red dot represented Jiya while the two green dots belonged to Stephan and Stephanie. Stephan's dot blinked indicating that he was cooking a secret in his head and a sweet smell emanated from him. But, to Jiya's bad luck, she could not hear his thoughts. Jiya crinkled her nose and twisted her lips. She knew what that meant.
"Yeah", she said tilting her head to aside and raising her eyebrows while looking at Stephan, "But not if the secret has something to do with me. I can smell them but can't hear them."
"Oh…" Stephan gave a bleak look.
"You know…" Stephanie bit her lower lips to contain her smile, "He is a great fan of yours."
Jiya raised her eyebrows and looked at Stephan. He turned red and rubbed the nape of his neck awkwardly. It made Stephanie giggle. So, he glared at his sister. Stephanie mouthed 'sorry', in a sardonic manner. Just then, Jiya saw something move in her peripheral vision.
"What the hell!" she crinkled her nose and furrowed her brows. The twins followed her gaze.
"You mean those?" Stephanie pointed at two distant buildings whose floors were rotating, giving the variable shapes.
"Those are our hostels", Stephan chuckled.
Jiya twisted her face, "How do you live in those weird structures? I mean, how do you even climb up there?"
"There is a stationary column in the centre. It has the stairs", Stephanie said with a smug smile.
"The floors rotate around the stationary column", Stephan added.
Jiya raised her brows and parted her lips while listening. Then, she nodded, "I see."
Just then, a boy taller than Stephan and of muscular build swapped Stephanie off her feet. He had a head full of black shocks. He was wearing the same uniform. She gasped and chuckled before the boy planted his lips on hers. Jiya averted her eyes from their saucy make-out session. Stephan cleared his throat and tugged his right earlobe. The guy put her down when they were both out of breath.
"This is Ralph Abadi, my boyfriend", Stephanie said with a cheeky smile as she linked her arms with him, "And this is Jiya The Rare."
Jiya rolled her eyes at her honorific name.
"Hi", Ralph extended his hand, then winked before saying, "The Rare."
Jiya sighed with exasperation before shaking his hand, "Call me Jiya."
"Jiya", he repeated with a cheeky grin and a wink.
"Where were you headed to?" Ralph titled his head at Stephanie.
"Tipsy Meet", Stephanie jerked her head in the direction of Jiya with a wink.
"I see", he flashed a cocky grin.
Jiya crossed her arms and tapped her foot on the ground, "You guys didn't tell me about your abilities yet."
"I can smell nature, dumb nature", said Stephanie with her chin up.
"And you?" Jiya looked at Stephan.
"Me?" He gulped, "Danger."
"I smell feelings", Ralph added with his cocky grin.
Jiya twisted her lips, "So I see. Time to meet the Professor."