BY THE time we are assigned to our rooms and IDs, it's way past lunch time. Like they promised, all our luggage is already placed in the rooms we are supposed to live in for the next three years. The rooms are spacious enough for two students. In fact, I'm pretty sure you can fit four students in here without any problems but well, it's Redville. It's extra. It would've been better if they'd just give us solo rooms.

I'm in the middle of unpacking all my stuff when the door opens. I look up, finding a red haired girl standing there, still holding the door handle. She doesn't look confused. She just looks astonished.

"No fuckin' way in hell I'm paired with Harley fucking Kingsley." She's wearing a brown top with sunflowers all over and wide legged jeans. She's got those hoop earrings on as well and a yellow hairband that doesn't do the job of holding her hair back at all. "You are her, aren't you? Harley Kingsley? The first ranker? Or am I confusing you with someone else?"

"I'm her," I confirm.

She flashes a smile my way, closing the door behind her and leaning against her. I bet she's an artist.

"I'm Jade. Jade Garcia. I'm not as smart as you."

That's a good introduction. "You're probably better at whatever program you are in than I am."

"Let's see, can you draw?"

I knew she was an artist.

"Yes, I can draw. I'm pretty good at it. Last year on Christmas I gave my mom a drawing of her and she said that it was the best stickman she'd ever seen," I deadpan.

She tilts her head, amused. "I thought you'd have that typical dull and nerdy personality but you seem cool. I like you. I need to give you a nickname. Harley Kingsley. Lee. How does that sound?"

I shrug. "Sounds perfect, Jude."

"It's Jade. Not Jude."

"I know."

She scoffs. "I really like you now."

I smile before getting back to my work. If I keep talking to her, I'll never be done unpacking. Jude gets to work as well but in fifteen minutes I realise that she's got an attention span of a golden retriever. She begins to scroll through her reels, calls people, accidentally throws her paintbrushes to my side of the room and apologises, fetching them and attempting to start a conversation about my tshirts before she gets a call again.

She's a social butterfly. That's for sure.

By the time I'm done unpacking, it's five in the evening. Jude's still at it, though. I decide to step out of the room to get something to eat from the common room. On the ground floor of each building, there's a lounge where you can hang out anytime you want. I go down the stairs and see that it's crowded with overexcited people, dressing up for the party and chattering. I don't spot many seniors, though. I don't know if I even want to see them but for everything to work, I'll have to face them at some point.

The sooner, the better.

"Hey," a girl's voice reaches my ears. She's standing behind the kitchen counter, leaning on her palms as they rest on it. Her brown hair is tied loosely in a pony. She looks like she just woke up. She might actually just have woken up. I wouldn't know.

"Hi," I say to her.

She smiles. "You looking for something?"

"I'm... I just wanted to grab a snack. I skipped lunch."

"Most of the first years did." She turns towards the fridge, opening it and fetching out a packed sandwich. "It's chicken. Will that do?"

"Yep. Thank you." I tear the plastic off and take a bite. It's very good for a packed sandwich.

"I'm Cammy," she says. "Second year."

"Harley."

"I know who you are." She lets out a laugh. "Literally everyone does. You're the top scorer. You know you're gonna get shit for that, right?"

I hum in response. I know that I'm gonna get shit for that even though it's not really my fault. There'll be people wondering if I paid my way in the school and if yes, they'll wonder just how much money I've given to break the records. That's not possible but people speculate things like these. It's Redville. That's how things work here.

"But it'll get better," she quickly adds. "I've heard Diego only dealt with that shit for like a week. Maybe a little bit longer but who cares? You should be tough if you're smart. Or else you're not gonna last here, you know."

Diego Matias. He broke the records too, but I've still scored more than he did. It's gonna be different. I know it is. I'm not gonna get shit just by the people in my year. I'm gonna get in from the entire student body. At realisations like these, I sometimes wonder if it was a bad decision to be here but I always come to the same conclusion—it's going to be worth it in the end.

"You going to be at the party?" I ask Cammy. The two of us look at the crowd of students. Some of them are looking at me but I guess I'll be used to it by tomorrow.

"Yeah. Parties aren't my thing but Reece is forcing me to go out there and socialise—" she puts the last word in air quotes, rolling her eyes. "Says it'll be good for me but let's see. I just woke up half hour ago to all the, you know..." She gestures to our surroundings, an expression of mock horror on her face. "But anyways. I guess I'll go now. I might not like parties but if I'm going to one, I might as well look good."

She winks and turns away, walking up the stairs.

I look around me for a minute or so before dumping the plastic in the dustbin and going back to my room as well. I've a party to get ready for.

+++

THERE'S AN entirely empty building in the dorm complex. It's really just for the students of different school who come over for tournaments and performances but otherwise, it's just used as a common building for everyone. Today, the welcome party's being organised in the ground floor of that building. It's a big area from what I've heard.

I'm wearing a beige halter neck top with black skinny jeans and white sneakers. My hair is sprawled over my shoulders. Jude looks at me and sends an approving look my way—not that I needed her approval but it still feels pretty cool.

Jude is wearing a yellow tank top and matching skirt. She still has her hoop earrings on which somehow seem to match with almost every outfit she's tried on before settling for this. Her half of the room is still rather messy but not as bad as I thought it'd be. She's doing her makeup when I grab the nude lipstick and apply it. That's all I'm going to do for this two hour party.

"You want eyeliner?" Jude asks from her side, looking at me through her mirror.

My hands would shiver while applying eyeliner. "Nope, I'm good."

"If you don't know how to apply an eyeliner, you know I can help. You don't need to be shy. We're gonna be roommates for like three years, you know."

"Yeah" is all I say. She gets back to what she is doing and I grab my phone, checking the time. It's 5:56. "Can you wait for me before you go?"

I just sit down on the bed, opening my Instagram.

I made my account public this morning. I've only got one post up—the one in my black bodycon dress I wore on my birthday. I've done dark makeup in that and looking at myself, the thoughts about how many things have changed since I've turned sixteen return to me and the anxiety begins to creep up on me. I exit the post and click on my notifications.

I've got a lot more followers. Most of them are the first years whom I follow back as I go through them. Cammy's my latest follower. I click on her profile and there's no post. There's just a highlight where all the stories are a blur.

I let out a sigh.

"Let's go, Lee," Jude calls out. "I'm ready."

I get up from my bed, adjusting my top. "You look cute," I say to her.

"You look sexy as fuck. Your top is just so damn hot, you know?"

I smile. The two of us leave the room and go downstairs. A lot of the first years are outside while some of the seniors hang around in the lounge, talking to each other and laughing. Outside, it's just as lively. There are students all across the courtyard. Soft wind blows, disturbing my hair a little. The familiar feeling of being alone begins to overcome me but disappears the moment we enter the venue.

Rock music is being played on the speakers. The lights are dimmed and flickering. Students are all around, dancing and talking to each other. Everyone's swaying around, laughing and the vibe's perfect. It's almost like one of those parties back in town but it has its limits. I have no idea about the alcohol and drugs here in parties like these. I know there are people who smuggle all that on campus but having them around in the open on the first day—that's a bit risky.

Somebody comes along and hands Jude and I a drink. We exchange looks and shrug, taking a sip at the same time.

"It's just orange juice," Jude says, making a face. "I hate this."

"It's not that bad."

Right then, the glass of juice almost flies out of my hand when someone claps on my back. It hurt for a passing second and I turn around to face a smiling Rhea. "Hey, overachiever," she yells over the music, "settling in alright?"

I just nod.

She looks at Jude and sends a playful wink her way. "I'm Rhea," she introduces herself.

"Jade," my roommate replies. She's yelling too now. It's too loud here but well, it's a party. I can't say I expected anything different. I leave the two to talk, making my way around pointlessly. People start small talks with me and eventually, my phone vibrates against my thighs.

It's my mom.

Call me right now.

My mom never texts me. I guess she's asking me to call her because I left without saying anything to her. She might as well want to show some love and then get back to trying to bring me back home. She doesn't know me enough to make me want to come back to her.

Nevertheless, she's one of the only people I can't ignore all the time.

I walk to the door leading to a corridor. Stepping in there, I let the door close behind me, my thumb hovering over the call button. I walk a little away from the place and press it. She picks up after the first ring.

"Harley," I hear her cold voice with an ounce of relief. "Seb called me. Said you were good to go. How was the orientation? I'm sorry I couldn't be there. I hope you understand."

"Yes, mom. I understand," I mumble.

"So?" she urges. "How was the orientation?"

It's so obvious that she's trying not to sound concerned. "It went fine, mom. I'm good here. It's a nice place."

"No. It's not."

The conversation stops there. We're both on the call, silent. I don't know what to say to her. If it was anyone else, I'd cut the call but right now, I know that she'll hunt me down if I hang up on her. I do want to get distant from her but it has to be gradual. Anything sudden will ruin everything.

"Be careful, alright? And if you need me, just give me a call. I'll come get you." Her voice tells me that this isn't her giving me assurance—it's her needing assurance from me. "You hear me?"

"Yes, mom, I hear you."

"You call me everyday."

"I can text you everyday," I bargain. "Calls take time. You know how busy this place is."

"I don't care, Harley. I'm worried about you."

No, you're not, I want to say but don't. In the past year, I've learnt that saying unnecessary things to my family would only make them more angry than they already are. I know this because I'm the same.

I hear a door shut in a distance. A heavy, masculine voice. I let out a sigh.

"I'll text you later, mom. The signal's a bit weak."

I cut the call. I look at the other end of the hallway where the voice came from. I know for a fact that no one's allowed to be there. All the restrooms are on the side where I'm at. I debate whether to follow the noise or not but like every dumb horror movie protagonist ever, I take a step in that direction.

"Asher, I'll fucking kill you." It's a girl now. Her voice is high pitched and slurring at the same time.

"Shut up, Lily," the first voice says again. "I've given you enough."

"You promised!"

By now, I'm at the end of the hallway. I lean a little and glance at the place where two figures stand in the dark. I remind myself how bad of an idea this is. If I get caught here, chances are that all hell will break loose for me. I shut the thought out of my mind. I breath out. It's fine. It's going to be in my favour in the end.

The boy named Asher stands there with his hands in his pockets. He's wearing a white tshirt and dark coloured jeans—I'm guessing his shirt is white because it's too dark for me to see anything clearly here at all. The girl's wearing a dress, her hand in his arm.

"Asher," she squeals. "Please."

There's a pause.

"Fine. Our place. Come on."

"I love you, Ash."

"Be quick, Lily." His tone sounds annoyed. "I've got to meet someone."

"Aww." She ruffles his hair and he steps away from her, cussing as he adjusts them again. "Got to meet someone? Did Ash get a new girlfriend he didn't tell me about?"

"Shut the fuck up. I didn't get a new girlfriend. Are you gonna move, now? I'm not gonna give you anything if you don't move your ass"

I hear her whine. I have no idea how this guy here is handling her. I wouldn't even be listening to the conversation if the names weren't familiar to me. I know who they are. That's why I got the momentary fear of being caught by them. I'd be dead.

Just when I hear their footsteps fade a little, my phone falls from my pocket. I quickly pick it up and hold it tight in my hands, a sudden rush of panic seizing me. The footsteps stop. I mentally cuss myself. This was a bad idea.

"Did you hear something?" Asher says.

Lily huffs. I hear a pair of footsteps walking to my direction.

Fuck, why can't I fucking move?

The nerves are getting the best of me. No matter how smart I am, how many plans I've made and how successful they've been in the past, I've never done anything like this before. I don't want to get their attention as an eavesdropper. This is not how I want to be found. I don't—

Don't you see it, Harley? You're useless.

"I..." I whisper, unable to comprehend the words in my head. I take in a deep breath. I'm Harley Kingsley. I'll figure something out even if I get caught. The footsteps grow closer and the knot in my stomach tightens. I think about what I'll say as the wave of panic threatens to knock me over when a hand wraps around my wrist out of nowhere.

I'm about to shriek but the person pulls me close to them and puts their hand on my mouth, their grip on my arm tightening. My heart is beating faster than it ever has. The person leans in towards my ear—so close that I can feel their breath—as they whisper two words that send shivers down my spine.

"Don't move."