It felt like a dream. One that I didn't know how to feel about it.
Was I to be happy? Sad? Neutral?
But all I was certain about was that my soul felt ready for whatever was coming. I would survive. I wasn't meant to be broken by some strangers.
I would study hard and make the most of my stay in Moscow. And when the contract was over, I'd go back home to pick up my old life...or not.
The car drove through the heavily guarded gates after a thorough search by the guards and I now had a better view of the so-called academy. It felt and looked like a normal school, with greenery, buildings, students casually strolling about, and even pets in sight.
Nobody could have guessed that this very school trained and nurtured mafiosos and even had them graduate. Absurd.
I had asked Ilay to instruct his family members who were currently studying here not to expose my identity. It'd be uninteresting if they figured me out from the start.
To them, I was supposed to be an exchange student from overseas. An entire fake profile had been created to fit me, and Ilay hadn't stopped grinning after learning about my little lie. He hadn't objected to it.
Of course, he was in for the kind of drama that would unfold around me. His anticipation had bled from his eyes like blood.
My first class was history.
Not the usual world history taught in normal schools, no. This would be about the mafia organizations. Had gathered that much from the books I had been gifted by Ilay for the lecture.
Every day, I'd have two classes, history lectures in the morning, and combat training in the afternoon. To graduate, I had to study for about one and a half years. But I wouldn't be here that long and wouldn't be taking anything seriously. I was doing everything out of curiosity.
I chose a random seat that wouldn't draw any attention to myself and sat there scrolling through my phone. One after the other, my to-be classmates began filling the room.
They were either a year younger or older than me, but carried themselves with such sophistication in their finery from various well-known brands. They noticed me almost at first glance and asked the obvious question, 'Who is she?'
Some spoke in Russian, constantly glancing at me as they gossiped. And the ones who did use English didn't even bother saying hi to me.
I simply ignored all of them and pretended to watch some stupid TikTok videos on my phone.
"...a new professor?"
"Or so I heard. Honestly, I just hope he at least he's attractive. These old hags are such an eyesore."
"But where did you hear this? There hasn't been any formal announcement," the first voice spoke.
Her partner chuckled smugly. "I have my connections. If this unknown girl showed up, the professor would as well. I don't know why there is no information on any of them. All I know about her is that she's from America."
At times like this, I wished I had carried my AirPods with me. How had I forgotten such an important matter? Now I had to sit there and listen to the two girls seated right behind me chat about me and the 'nee professor' whom I was dead sure would be Ilay.
According to my guide, who was also a professor in the academy, I had joined semester two directly, skipping the first. This had to be Ilay's doing so that the chaos could be accelerated.
If they noticed that I knew nothing, not even the basics, then they would start questioning me and why I had been offered such a privilege.
I had tried to have a transfer to semester one and start from scratch but was told that Deen had personally arranged this. And disobedience would attract a severe punishment.
As the girls continued gossiping, the classroom was about to fill up.
*Knock*
A hand knocked on the desk I occupied, drawing my attention up to their face... A girl and a boy. They looked so alike, leaving no doubt about their sibling bond. Even the displeased expressions on their faces were so similar.
I raised my eyebrows questioning them and the girl leaned down frowning.
"Get off my seat."
"Huh?!"
She rolled her eyes straightening. "Did they not teach you about territory? This is our territory. Now get up!"
It was my turn to roll my eyes. What
bulshit was she talking about? Territory? It was just a seat.
"If you wish to find somewhere to sit, you better go stand in a corner and wait for an unclaimed position."
I looked away, pissed by her tone. She was obviously looking down on me. But had I not expected this and much more? After all, I was not one of them.
"Get up!" Her partner roared smacking the desk, startling me to a gasp.
"What the fuck?!" I yelled glaring at him.
"Get the hell out of 'our' territory. Or do you want to challenge us?"
"Challenge you?" I asked taking a mental step back. That sounded serious from the gasps his words had received from the other students. "What does-"
The door suddenly opened, and immediately, the entire class settled in a few seconds. The girl jumped on the empty seat next to mine while the boy rushed away somewhere.
It felt like it was the devil walking in from the stillness that had arrested the room. All the murmurs had died out in a heartbeat, and everyone was settled in place.
The sound of heavy footsteps announced the arrival of a man. One who obviously held an important position to have these students act so obedient from just his mere presence.
Over five foot five talk, pale skin, a thin straight scar on his left cheek, biceps peeling from the short arms of the blue t-shirt he wore...he looked fiercely ripped. And the sharp look in his eyes, as he scanned the entire class sent shivers all over my insides.
I quickly turned the screen of my phone off and sat up straight.
While I didn't care about my relationship with the students, I certainly didn't want to act cocky in front of the professors. I was indeed curious about what they'd teach. It'd benefit me being your on their good books.
I pushed my hair back and plastered a friendly smile on my face. But it soon dropped when I caught a familiar face waking in behind him.
The second Ilay showed his devilishly good looks, they lost their composure and a wave of murmurs washed over the air.
"Silence!" Boomed the male leading Ilay into the room. His forehead had creased up from the harsh frown while scowling at us like a bunch of annoying kids.
But even his order couldn't kill off all the whispers floating around or flirty looks being tossed their way.
Ilay's eyes met mine and I whipped my gaze to the whiteboard behind them, a ball of tension rolled up in my throat.
Was he doing this on purpose?
There were other classes he could he could have taught.
"Curse this damned psychopath!" I hissed diverting my eyes completely from the front to rest them on the person sitting in front of me.
Someone started speaking but I blocked almost everything they were saying.