UNIVERSITY ARC
As I walked into the entrance hall, a group of girls clustered nearby started whispering, their eyes flickering toward me. I could already sense what they were saying—something about my clothes or perhaps my presence here. Their voices carried a cruel amusement, and although their words stung, I had grown accustomed to such remarks. It wasn't the first time, after all. I ignored them, keeping my head high, though a part of me wished their taunts would cease. I stepped inside, hoping the atmosphere would shift, and it did—though not in the way I expected.
With a straightened posture, I continued my walk deeper into the restaurant, but something was off. The room, which had buzzed with conversation, suddenly grew unnervingly quiet.
I glanced around, feeling a shift in the atmosphere. The cluster of girls, who had just moments ago been so eager to mock, had now turned their attention elsewhere. Their faces, once filled with a cruel amusement, had softened into something else—curiosity, perhaps, or surprise.
A sudden silence fell over the room, as though someone had flipped a switch. Curious, I followed their gazes and saw her—a lone girl sitting alone at a table in the far corner, with tense eyes. Her discomfort was visible, though she tried to mask it behind a facade of calm. She sat upright, fingers lightly touching the edge of the table, her body poised as if she were bracing herself for something inevitable.
She looked young, maybe my junior, but her expression was tight, almost strained. Her fingers rested on the table, tracing the edge ever so slightly, a subtle indication that she was trying to maintain control. Her eyes, however, told a different story. They were brimming with tension, the kind of tension that was deeply buried but hard to completely conceal. She wasn't scared, but there was a quiet determination about her, like someone who had already fought many battles and wasn't about to let one more faze her.
The group of girls that had been taunting me shifted their focus entirely toward this lone figure. One of them, the leader of the pack—a tall, self-assured girl with impeccably styled hair—strode up to the table, her lips curling into a smirk. There was something predatory in her eyes, as though she was about to pounce on easy prey.
Her voice was sharp and mocking.
|"Hey! What are you doing here? People like you, who depend on scholarships, really think they belong in a place like this?"|
Her words echoed in the quiet room, each syllable heavy with contempt. The rest of her clique snickered behind her, feeding off the tension she was creating, their laughter ringing out like the cruel laughter of hyenas. They were waiting for the girl to crumble, to react, to give them the satisfaction they craved. I felt my body tense with anger, a fierce protectiveness rising up in me, though I didn't know this girl. There was something unjust, something fundamentally wrong about this scene, and it made my skin prickle with rage.
Their behaviour was disgusting, and I wanted to shout at them to stop. But before I could react, something unexpected happened. This mysterious, quiet girl—did not flinch. She didn't cower or snap back. Instead, she raised her hand with a calmness that startled even me, signaling for the waiter. Her movement was so graceful, so steady, it seemed to disarm her aggressors. The waiter appeared almost immediately, as though sensing the gravity of the moment.
Her voice is soft but incredibly clear. There was a certain elegance in the way she spoke, as though she had rehearsed this moment in her mind a thousand times.
|"Excuse me, I'd like to order Bluefin tuna, Beluga fish caviar, and Lobster, please. And could you pack it to go?"|
The waiter, not missing a beat, nodded professionally and walked off to prepare the order. For a split second, the entire restaurant seemed frozen, caught off guard by her audacity. The girls, expecting a stammering, tear-filled response, were visibly thrown. They blinked in confusion, exchanging bewildered glances, unable to comprehend the calmness with which she had brushed off their insults and I couldn't help but smirk internally.
They had clearly not expected that. The leader of the group, recovering from her surprise, narrowed her eyes, stepping closer, clearly annoyed that her prey had not reacted as anticipated. She let out a harsh laugh, stepping closer to the girl. Her confidence, though shaken, had not yet crumbled.
|"Are you serious? Why would you order such expensive food? Are you planning to waste your entire scholarship on one meal?"|
Again, the girl said nothing. Her face remained an impassive mask, betraying no hint of emotion. This silence, this refusal to engage, only served to irritate the group even further. It was as though their cruelty was bouncing off an impenetrable wall, and they didn't know how to deal with it. The leader, visibly growing more frustrated, turned to the other students in the restaurant, seeking validation from the crowd.
|"Look, everyone! This girl, who takes the bus every day like a commoner, is trying to act like she belongs here. She's on scholarship, and now she thinks she can waste it by ordering luxury meals like the rest of us?"|
Murmurs of agreement rippled through the crowd, spreading through the room like wildfire. Some students shot glances of disdain, others shook their heads in judgement.
The restaurant, 'The Imperial Oak,' wasn't just a restaurant—it was a place where the rich gathered to flaunt their status. In their perspective, for someone of lesser means to dine here was almost seen as an insult, a disruption of the social order and only the wealthiest students should dine here, using it as a way to flaunt their affluence.
I felt my blood boil. My fists clenched so tightly that my nails dug into my palms, leaving crescent-shaped marks on my skin. How dare they?
But to my surprise, the girl continued to ignore them. She sat still, her gaze far away, as if their taunts were nothing more than the wind passing by. The more I watched her, the more intrigued I became. There was something about her that caught my attention in a way I hadn't expected. She seemed strangely familiar—not in the sense that I'd seen her before, but as if I were looking at a reflection of myself in some distant, unspoken way. I couldn't explain it, but for the first time in a long while, I found myself truly curious about someone else.
But I had no time to explore these thoughts further. My dinner was over, and I had other places to be. As I stood up to leave, I glanced back one more time. She was still there, waiting quietly for her order, her expression serene despite everything that had happened. So I made my move towards the exit.
Not long after, her attention now turned back to the waiter as he returned with her neatly packed food parcels. She smiled softly at the packages, as though they represented something much deeper than just food. After paying her bill, she headed towards the exit.
The night air greeted me as I stepped outside, cool and fragrant with the scent of blooming flowers. The sky above was a rich tapestry of stars, with the full moon shining brightly, casting a silver glow over the university grounds. As I walked, I found myself pausing, drawn by the beauty of the night—the soft rustle of leaves in the wind, the delicate fragrance of the nearby flowers.
I took a moment to breathe it all in, letting the peacefulness of the evening soothe the tension that had built up inside me. The world outside the restaurant felt like a different place altogether—quiet, calm, and full of possibility.
My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of footsteps, faint but unmistakable. There she was again, the same girl from the restaurant. She was walking down a narrow, dimly lit path, her figure almost ghost-like in the pale moonlight. She still carried her food parcels, holding them carefully as if they were precious treasures as she moved deeper into the shadows.
There was something about the way she walked—slowly, deliberately—that sent a shiver down my spine. Why was she heading towards such an isolated part of the campus, especially at this late hour?
I hesitated for a moment, but my curiosity got the better of me. I began to follow her, careful to stay far enough behind so she wouldn't notice me. The path led to a secluded area behind the university, where a small lake shimmered under the moon's glow. The place was beautiful, almost magical—the grassy banks framed the lake like a painting, and the stillness of the water reflected the stars above.
She walked to the edge of the lake and sat down on the grass, placing her parcels beside her with great care. For a long moment, she just stared at the water, her expression unreadable. Then, slowly, she opened one of the packages and began to eat, but not with the joy one might expect. As she ate, tears began to fall down her face.
They began to fall, slowly at first, but soon they were streaming down her face in a steady flow. She wasn't sobbing or making any noise, but the silent pain in her expression was unmistakable. It was clear that this wasn't just about the food. There was something deeper, something raw and aching inside her, and it was pouring out in those quiet, unspoken tears. She had seemed so composed in the restaurant, so controlled, but now, in the privacy of this secluded place, her walls had come down.
The more I watched her, the more I realized that this girl wasn't just some random stranger. She was someone who had suffered, someone who had endured more than I could possibly imagine.
After a while, she stopped eating and stood up, her eyes fixed on the moon. She walked slowly towards the lake, and as she did, I felt a cold dread creep up my spine. There was something about her movements. My mind raced, realizing what she was about to do. And then, without warning, she jumped.
"No…" I whispered to myself, panic rising in my chest.
Time seemed to slow down as I watched her body disappear beneath the surface of the lake. My heart leapt into my throat, panic surging through me with a force so strong it nearly knocked the breath out of my lungs. Without thinking, without pausing for even a second, I sprinted toward the water, my legs moving on pure instinct.
I dove in, the cold shock of the water engulfing me instantly, but I didn't care. All I could think about was reaching her, pulling her back to safety. I swam as fast as I could, my arms cutting through the water in desperate strokes. She was flailing, struggling to keep her head above water, but it was clear she didn't know how to swim.
I reached her, my arms wrapping around her waist as I tried to pull her back toward the shore. But she fought against me, her voice shaking as she begged me to let her go.
|"Please… just leave me."|
she gasped, tears mingling with the lake water. Her words broke my heart. But I refused. I wasn't going to let her slip away. By tightening my grip, using all the strength I had left to drag her back to safety. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, we reached the shore. We collapsed onto the grass, both of us gasping for breath, soaked to the bone.
She had swallowed too much water. I rolled her onto her back, pressing down on her stomach, trying to force it out.
desperate to help her expel the water from her lungs.
|"Breathe"|
I urged her, my own voice trembling.
|"Please, just breathe."|