Present day

"Welcome, students to St. Aphrodite's Academy of Prestige," the headmistress' voice boomed through the Assembly Hall.

Amita clapped along with the multitudinous array of students seated poshly around the gargantuan-sized hall, clad in the school's maroon blazer. A tingly sensation whirled in her stomach - she could not contain her excitement. It was the first day of the new academic year, being it only customary that it started with an assembly.

"We are proud to welcome all our brilliant new students as well as thank the students who have stayed with us," Principal Matthews said. She then proceeded with her speech then reached the point in which she introduced the teachers. Amita was taking note of her subject teachers until-

"I will annihilate you."

"I'd be delighted to see you try."

She could not hear Principal Matthews properly over the two students who seemed to be bickering in front of her.

"Don't mind them," a timid voice whispered next to her. Amita had not noticed the girl seated next to her all this time. She had long, straight black hair that went down to her back. "That's just Laena and Jayce."

"Laena and Jayce?" she whispered back. Amita was a good student. Maybe a little too perfect. She was worried about getting caught for not paying attention to the principal, moreover on her first day - but the teachers were seated up at the very far front and considering the sheer size of this place, it was highly unlikely she would get caught. Anyhow, she would be meeting her subject teachers later during classes.

"You're new here?" the girl asked. Amita nodded in response.

She reached out her hand, "My name's Athena. Athena Lin. Nice to meet you."

Amita shook her hand with a smile, "Amita Chandran. Call me Amita."

"So about Jayce and Laena," she began, voice still hushed,"to put it simply, the pair have had an ongoing rivalry since Year 7."

She looked towards them again. The girl had dark skin that was complemented by her dark, wavy hair. The boy with dark brown hair with dyed accents of blonde sat beside her, a smirk planted on his face. They looked at each other like they really could kill at any given moment.

They have been rivals for four whole years? "For what reason?" she questioned.

Athena winced, "It's complicated. Let's just say that they are... sort of each others...-"

"Punching bags," the boy on her left finished. He wore silver mismatched-earrings that somehow worked well with each other, one long and elegant, the other more grunge. They twinkled in the dark. He had noticed Amita eyeing his earrings. "You like them?"

"Forgive me for staring," she said in a way of greeting him. "It's just that you have an amazing fashion sense."

He reached over to tap Athena's shoulder then mouthed 'See?' She rolled her eyes while smiling. "Anything else to say about my lavish looks?" he smirked. Amita laughed as Athena hissed at him.

"Your eyeliner," Amita commented. And it was true - his eyeliner made his already stunning eyes look even more distinctive.

"He has a design for every day of the year," Athena said as if complaining. "It's like he never runs out of those."

"Jealous, love?" She slapped his knee in response.

The boy turned towards Amita. "Since you were the only person this year who has finally complimented my fashionista superpowers, I will award you with the privilege of knowing my name," gesturing to himself bombastically. Amita laughed.

"His name's Neo," Athena rushed, earning an angry glare from Neo. "Sorry to kill it Neo, but you're not that important," she said in a joking manner.

Although it was quick, Amita swore she saw something flicker in Neo's eyes - hurt. But a blink later, he was his usual self. "Athena killed it but yes, my name is Neo. Neo Chronicle."

The name sounds familiar... "Nice to meet you," she turned to face Neo and crossed her legs. "What year are you in?"

"Ten. Just to let you know, everyone sitting in this section of the hall is in Year 10," he teased.

Amita flushed,"Oh, yes I suppose that makes more sense-"

"Don't scare her away, Neo," Athena warned. Neo only raised his eyebrows back at her.

A thought hit Amita "Wait, so that means Jayce and Laena-"

"Oh yeah," Neo slurred. "Welcome to the shitshow."

Amita did not know whether to laugh or not, as she eyed the boy and the girl a few seats away from them. "What are they even-"

"And for the Year 10s this year, you will have a new teacher who will also be your assigned form tutor," she heard Principal Matthews say from the front.

"A new teacher?" Neo whispered, eyes glued onto the stage. "We haven't had one in years."

"Why not?" she asked him back, eyes also fixed.

"The acceptance rate for students is already very competitive at St. Aphrodite's. Imagine teachers," Athena whispered in response.

A man stood up on stage - he looked young. In fact, younger than the entire teaching faculty. He had dark brown hair and fierce dark eyes to match. "Hello, everyone. My name is Mr. Ryden, History teacher and form tutor for Year 10 this year." He had a charming manner about him but also sent a message to not mess with him. He then passed the microphone back to Principal Matthews.

Neo began, "How is he so young?"

"He looks around his early thirties," commented Athena.

"How qualified do you think he is at this age?"

"Qualified enough to be a teacher at St. Aphrodite's" answered Amita

"Well," Neo raised his hands, quitting whatever paradox this teacher formed in his mind, "just another day at St. Aphrodite's."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Amita asked him as they were dismissed from the assembly, the sound of students chattering beginning to fill the large space.

"A piece of advice, Amita," he bent to whisper in her ear. "Nothing is ever normal at St. Aphrodite's." And he disappeared into the crowd, merely winking as a way of goodbye.

* * *

Her first day had progressed amazingly well. Entering the Education City stunned her for the millionth time upon entering the school; it really was a city. Each subject or subject department had its own place, each ten times bigger than average. The complex was so vast that some students used electric scooters to commute - that had also been the new feature for this year: a scooter path. As Amita was walking to Geography earlier in the day, she nearly bumped into a student on roller skates and almost been trampled by a foldable bicycle.

After the Assembly, Athena and Amita went for Registration at their form rooms. Mr. Ryden, was a very firm, strict and closed off teacher but bless the bell as form time only lasted 20 minutes. Bidding goodbye to Athena, she ventured to her classes, getting lost until she discovered maps were provided in the office.

Being in Year 10, she now had to select her electives but - oh, the subjects! The subject options were so vast here that reading the subject booklet was like reading the best parts of her favourite novel. After much consideration and after speaking to her assigned career adviser, she managed to wrap her head around the selections.

After a satisfactory day, she returned to her dorm room, showered, then met with Athena in the enormous, brightly lit Dining Hall, where her excitement could no longer be contained.

"This is how you've been going to school everyday?" she exclaimed to Athena as they sat down.

"What do you mean?" Athena asked, sipping on her citrus drink.

"I - an observatory! The Opera House? The Fashion House, the labs full of equipment I've never come across in my life, the Planetarium - the, the student's kitchen for goodness sake." Amita's exuberant rant earned chuckles from her friend opposite her.

"Athena, the School Supply Alley is literally my favourite place here. It has everything a student could ever wish for. Oh, no-," she paused for effect, "the libraries. Oh my goodness the libraries. I could live, sleep, eat and drown within those books for days."

She took a sip of the tomato soup in front of her and groaned, making Athena chuckling even more. "They even have multiple cuisines to choose from! I am- this place is a palace, Athena. And speaking of palaces, the interior of this school is much like the-"

"Palace of Versailles?" Athena finished.

"Yes! Precisely," Amita let out and both girls laughed even harder.

It was then that she acknowledged - she felt comfortable with Athena.

Athena sipped her drink then continued, "You can come over to the Sanctuary if you like. I usually spend my break times there. Actually, I spend most of the day there."

Amita rummaged through the list of venues she encountered today but could not recall any 'sanctuary.'

"It's the greenhouse. Me and Ms. Ruth, the Traditional Medicine teacher, renamed it last year. When you walk in, it really is a sanctuary." With the warmth in which Athena spoke of it, she could tell it was really important to her.

"You do traditional medicine?"

"Yeah, it's actually what I plan on pursuing once I'm older."

Before Amita could ask further questions, Athena's phone rang. Her eyes widened at the caller, "Sorry, Amita. I really need to take this. I'll be back," then she dashed out of the Dining Hall.

Sitting alone at her table, Amita decided to whip out her current read and continue with her meal-

That was when the chattering stopped. The students were silent. Waiting. And all at once, the only thing they could do was feel. Notice. React.

The ground was shaking.

Everything rattled as if part of an incessant orchestra playing their last movement, the crescendo rising obligated whole-heartedly towards destruction. All at once our world feels so fragile, as if the structures people believed indestructible were now making a mockery of those that built them. Protection seemed like a joke. Reassurance a circus trick.

Fissures and ruptures seize pillars and floors. Suddenly, there is a seismic crack.

Everywhere she went, danger lurked. She felt completely stripped bare to her core, without even a sliver of hope or a helping hand or-

The only thing that her mind zeroed in on was simple.

Run.

Vines of fear shot through her mind and strangled her as she ran through the long corridor. Never in her life had she experienced this. Panic obliterated her ability to think.

Crash. Crash, crash, CRASH. She did not turn to see what was shattering behind her. By instinct, her hands lifted up to shield her head as she made her way through the rubble. R-rubble? That was when she noticed that the statues and even parts of the building were breaking, rippling and falling on the ground. Falling on students.

Screaming. Was she screaming? It may have been her but her only focus were on her legs as she pushed and ran, hands protecting her neck and the fear, this fear-

Laena and Jayce.

Even running from a far distance as she closed in on them, she could still witness the scene taking place before her: Jayce was on the ground and looked like he was battling unconsciousness. Laena was on the opposite side of the corridor from Jayce in the same condition but - she got up. She got up and stalked towards Jayce. And anger - no, the anger on Laena's face was something more. Amita had never seen such passion put into anger before but looking at Laena's. This was a new, fierce, burning and different kind of anger. This was fire.

Amita may as well have been hallucinating - everything was in slow motion.

A ceiling-to-floor statue, bigger than any she had seen here so far, was tipping over. Tipping, tipping - falling, falling down towards the boy that lay beneath. But Laena only walked away, leaving him to his demise.

Or so she thought. With her mindless running, Amita was headed closer now that she could make out Jayce, retrieving something from his pocket, something small that glinted silver-

A knife. Next thing she knew, the knife was flying. Laena was walking away looking drained, also battling unconsciousness. The knife travelled stealthily and pierced straight through Laena's calf. Laena did not scream but being unable to walk, she fell. Somehow despite the chaos, her fall looked graceful. Though she landed in line of the falling statue.

Amita pushed her legs harder than she ever had, wanting to save them. She raced and pushed and pushed only to be-

Pulled. Pulled underneath one of the nearby tables.

"Amita, look at me." It was only then she noticed her rapid breathing.

"Take a deep breath, Amita. Eyes on me." She could hear her heart beating in her ears.

"Amita, breathe. Just breathe." And it was then that she noticed the boy in front of her. Dylan. Her eyes met his. This was when she really looked. Truth be told, he was the most beautiful boy she had ever seen.

"That's it. Just look at me and breathe." There was something firm yet soft about his features. Dylan had thick, wavy hair  and it looked so soft she nearly ran her hands through it. So soft that some strands fell down to his face as if they too, couldn't resist admiring this boy's beauty. His eyes - that was where she was really hooked. They matched his hair and they were big. Not too big, but - they definitely stood out. She stared and stared, wanting so bad to just sink in them but also wanted to shy away. For a gaze like his was intense. So deep. So...

"No, Amita, open your eyes - hey, look at me, okay? I'm right here. I'm here for you."

It was then that she noticed his hand was cupping her face, the other pushing her hair out of her face. Normally, she would have blushed, or flinched even. But with Dylan, it was so comfortable. She had not even realised that she'd leaned into his touch.

Comforting. His touch was comforting. He was comforting.

Words finally made their way up to her mouth, "Wh-what happened?"

He smiled - gosh that smile was going to be her end. It was a pure, boyish smile. Ravishing. And it was only Dylan's. His and his only. "Earthquake."

Only then did she register the past and current events. The shaking had stopped. An earthquake. Rubble, everywhere. Cracks in the walls. Shattered glass. School nurses running across the corridors. Her breathing picked up again.

"Hey," he gently turned her face back to him, "remember about the breathing?" So she did just that. One deep breath in, one out.

"Have you ever experienced an earthquake before?" he asked her calmly. She shook her head.

"I figured," he responded in understanding. "Next time, remember: stop, drop and cover. Can you do that for me?"

She nodded.

"So when the aftershocks come, don't panic. Just..."

"Stop, drop and cover," she finished, her breathing finally down to a steady rate.

"Good," and he smiled. Again, with that deadly smile.

"I- I have people I know that I'm worried about. How do I-"

"Don't worry. We'll meet them at the evacuation point. Mr. Ryden will do a roll call and then you will know."

"We're classmates? How did I not notice you today?"

He smirked,"I'm good at staying hidden."

Words failed her again as memories and panic started to take control of her again,"Dylan, but - Laena and Jayce, th-they-"

A sharp intake of breath. "What about them?" he stiffened.

"I saw-"

A whistle blew. "Students, I repeat, if you are able and in shape, please proceed to the Pitch for a roll call immediately." The school' search and rescue, and the medical team immediately flooded the corridor they were in.

"Well, I guess that's our cue," Dylan bid.

* * *

Assembling at the evacuation point, lining up in alphabetical order as per the class register - which split her from Dylan - and ticking names of the register by Mr. Ryden was quick and efficient. Some students were sent back by their parents who called. Everyone else was sent back to the dormitories, which to her surprise, was still intact.

"I told you, Amma, I am fine. Please, just-"

"Mita, I am warning you," her mother yelled over the phone,"if this happens again you are coming back home immediately. Your safety comes first."

"Amma-" she continued but stopped herself when she heard her father's patient voice through the phone.

"Mita?" Her father's voice was what made the tears come rolling. The events of the day had finally hit home and the shock of the realisation did not help either.

"Mita, don't worry. Everything will be okay. God is here with us and with you. You worked hard to get into that school and no, Amma will not be taking you back, okay?"

"She says it as if it was my fault the earthquake happened," she sobbed through tears, a little bit of anger and frustration seeping in.

"It's just Amma. You know, the way she talks and all," and he mocked her mothers nagging. She could barely make out her mother's retort back to him as he kept teasing his wife. The sweetness between them made her smile.

"Thanks, Papa." To be honest, that had been her drive her whole life. To thank her mother and father. Everything she did was to make them proud because she knew that a mere 'thank you' would never be enough to express her gratitude for how much they had given and done for her.

"Get some sleep, Amita. Don't worry, okay?"

"Okay, Papa. Wait, how are Pravin and Darshan?" She missed her little brothers dearly - missed laughing with them and going cycling while spying on neighbours.

"Here they come now-"

"Akka, akka!" 'Akka' meant sister - and even the sound of her youngest brother, Darshan, made her miss hugging him before bed. The call then switched to a video call - something her brothers had been trying to teach her parents, though her folks preferred doing it the old-fashioned way. She quickly wiped away her tears and accepted the request.

Amita could see her brother, Pravin, through the frame. A rush of emotion passed through her as she saw her brother, now growing and looking much older and mature. She still remembered the days when he was so little and used to follow every little thing she did.

"Pravin, stop looking so broody all the time. And stop fiddling with your hair. It's fine," she said to him with a smirk. The video lagged a little and she was met with a frame of her father.

"You know, Pravin. He takes pride in being a broody teenager. And in his hair," her father teased.

Pravin merely rolled his eyes and walked off. Amita and her father virtually fist-bumped each other through the phone.

"Call tomorrow, okay?" he bid.

"Okay, Papa. Bye, love you," and she ended the call.

Within the solitude of her dorm, the silence started to evade her and fear began to sink deep down where it shouldn't belong. And that feeling... a variation of fear. A murkier, disgusting feeling. It was like swallowing soil and glass. Like being shoved into water so cold it froze your thinking. And only after everything happened, did one fully take in what had happened. The feeling when the hands, those hands reached for her even though she pleaded and pleaded-

Two knocks sounded through her door. Amita flinched. She closed her eyes, and shook her head. Forget it. Shove it down and forget, Amita.

Forcing her limbs to move, she made her way to the door and opened it.

"Who is it-"

Hands. Hands. They wrapped around her forcefully. She could not move.  Something covered her mouth and nose. She could not breathe. A sharp, stinging sensation shot up her nose and then... she felt... everything... go...

Black.