Standing in the mirror, Dia secured the gray plaid tie underneath the collar of her school shirt. Today was the first day of school, and she was in the middle of putting on her uniform. A design of a silver crescent moon decorated the tie. The uniform consisted of a button-down, black collar shirt, and a pleated gray plaid short skirt.
Turning to the right, brown eyes stared at the school emblem located on the right upper arm of the shirt. The design of the school emblem was very intricate but what stood out to Dia were the four symbols.
"A skull, book, wolf's head, and a sword," Dia murmured, noticing how in the center was a balance scale with the school initials displayed above it. "Kinda weird for a school crest. I wonder what it all means?" She ran her hand over the emblem when a knock on her bedroom door drew her attention.
"Alice is downstairs waiting! You ready?" Lisa's voice sounded from the other side of the door.
"I'm coming!" Straightening her glasses on her face, Dia grabbed her school bag and opened the door. Yesterday, when Lisa and Dia first stepped inside their dorm, the taller of the two whistled.
"This is not a dorm, but a freaking apartment!" Lisa exclaimed.
Staring at the small kitchen area that existed inside the room combined with a living room. A short flight of stairs led to an upper floor consisting of two bedrooms and a single bathroom.
"These rooms are nothing compared to the upper floor rooms. Only the extremely wealthy are allowed to live on those floors," Alice had told them.
Lisa stood in her uniform, raven hair braided into a single long braid that rested over her shoulder. Exposing the beauty of her exotic features as the sunlight reflected off her gold hoop earrings. Standing beside Lisa was Alice. The formal attire highlighted Alice's modest temperament. A pair of ribbon bow earrings dangled from her ears. She was smiling as she waved at Dia.
"You ready to begin your first day at your new school?" she asked the pigtailed girl. Sheepishly scratching at her cheek, Dia answered honestly.
"Honestly, I'm a little scared."
"Come on, Dia! This is a new beginning for us!" Lisa connected their arms.
"You're right! Let's not dwell on negative thoughts." Dia tried to cover up her fears with a brave smile. Leaving the room, the three girls rode the elevator down. They talked amongst each other as they entered the school building that was filled with chatty students dressed in the same uniform as them.
"Luckily, you guys' schedules are the same except for one or two classes plus extracurriculars. Which brings me to ask, have you guys decided which extracurricular you'd like to take?" Alice asked them. The hallway was overflowing with students, laughing and talking amongst each other.
"Extracurricular?" repeated Dia.
"Arcane offers a long field of extracurriculars for students. I'll show you a list later!" Alice happily promised. Overhearing Dia and Alice talking to each other, Lisa folded her hands behind her head and subtly noticed some of the unsavory looks pointed in their direction.
'Wait. They're not looking at us, but...' Lisa's eyes landed on the short auburn-haired girl who took no heed to the dirty glares some students threw her way.
Dia and Lisa's first three classes with Alice went by smoothly. The only thing Dia hated was getting up in front of the class and introducing herself. Standing in front of her peers who murmur amongst each other, faintly hearing some of the boys voice their disappointment, saying how they wished she was hotter, cuter, and didn't fit their preference.
Lisa received the opposite treatment. Confidence oozed from her every pore. She ignored the wolf whistles and lewd comments made towards her appearance before they were scolded by the teacher. This came as no surprise to Dia.
From the moment puberty hit, anytime a group of boys would approach them, Lisa would be their target, unable to keep their eyes off her, and Dia couldn't blame them.
Lisa was tall and slim with curves in the right department and the face of a model. Her confidence and fierce attitude only made her beauty shine. Two traits that Dia both loved and envied about her best friend. Finished with their introductions, the girl took their seats and class began.
After their third-period class ended, the girls were outside walking along the white stone path. Dia had asked what extracurriculars Alice takes. Opening her mouth about to answer, ignoring the mayhem of squealing girls happening a couple of feet from them.
The girl continued walking when the short-haired girl crashed into a solid broad chest, losing her balance, face ready to plant against the ground if a strong arm didn't wrap around her waist.
Both Dia and Lisa worriedly called out to her, but the rich voice of the guy who caught her forced her eyes to widen in shock. Trailing her eyes from his broad chest and onto his handsome face, a brief flash of recognition passed through their eyes.
The boy holding Alice was stunning, Dia even dare say godly, with sun-kissed bronze skin. Running over his left shoulder blade and back was a veil of dark brown long hair with a gold streak in the front.
Despite the overbearing air of regal that surrounded him. A hint of worry could be detected in his eyes. He reminded Dia of a proud Egyptian prince. His sharp gold eyes were locked with Alice as he helped her stand on her feet. Towering over Alice with his height, Dia noticed how the boy's uniform was vastly different from theirs.
Peeking from underneath the form black suit jacket was a red collar shirt with a black tie that displayed a gold crescent moon and a skull design. A pair of black trousers were paired with it. On the right upper sleeve of the jacket was the school emblem. The entire uniform was adorned with a gold accent, giving off a strong aristocratic vibe.
"Malik, where did you go?" Jogging from behind, stood a boy whose entire image screamed pretty-boy from his soft feminine lips and lofty amethyst eyes. Wearing a similar uniform but with a few minor altercations.
Dismarking the jacket for just the vest, leaving the top two buttons of his shirt unfasten, revealing a little of his firm milky white chest with his tie nowhere in sight.
A halo of golden blonde hair extended down his nape with a portion pulled back into a ponytail. A black cross earring hung from his right ear as his amethyst eyes lit with recognition at the girl his friend was holding.
"Alice!" the boy happily called out the girl's name. At this point, a small crowd was starting to form around them. A majority of them were girls, glaring daggers at Alice, who finally snapped out of the trance she was in and tried to push herself out of the boy's hold, but he refused to release her.
"Malik, please let me go," Alice whispered to him, struggling to escape.
"I thought we were going to talk things out. I texted and called you, but you never answered. Why? Why won't you talk to me? What did I do wrong?" Desperation leaked from the boy's eyes that Alice refused to meet.
"Can we not talk about this here? Too many eyes are watching! Your actions are only fueling my torment!" Alice glared up at him, but her sorrow could be evidently spotted in her expression.
"I can pro-"
"I don't need your protection!" Alice raised her voice and finally wrenched herself out of his hold.
"Malik?" a charming child-like voice called out to the boy.