Evanna bumped on the floor too hard. Her frantic hands gathered locks of hair that slid down his arm. She was too mortified to look at his face as she pushed her now restrained mane onto one shoulder.

"I'm sorry," she said breathlessly and made a show of adjusting her skirt, looking at anything but him.

"No worries," he said, his voice coming out husky.

She sucked in a lungful of air, infused with his distinctive woodsy scent, and willed her heartbeat to return to normal. Breathe, Ev. Let's not think about it now. Don't look at him. Don't let him unnerve you. Regain your composure. You can do—

"Your hair's beautiful."

Her breath escaped her in an embarrassingly audible puff. She couldn't help musing on the ease with which it was stated. Forgetting her advice to herself, she swiveled her head to stare at him.

She was taken aback by how close he was. His dark, penetrating gaze paralyzed her for a prolonged moment. Then her wide eyes fluttered away from his and inadvertently traced the contours of his face—the chiseled jawline and the shape of his lips, now turned up in one corner.

Regaining her senses, she emitted a weak "thanks" and averted her stare. In her peripheral vision, she spied him turn away as well and prop his arm up against the window, making a motion that was a cross between stifling a laugh and a facepalm—she wasn't sure which.

A minute of awkwardness passed by, and her ears tuned into the soundscape of distant footsteps and scuffing chairs. Her cheeks smoldered hotter than ever. Please devour me now, Earth.

"It's kind of hot today," she murmured, fanning herself with one hand.

Great, Ev. The bloody weather? Seriously? She couldn't help noticing that he had taken off his blazer. His shirt sleeves were pushed up to his elbows, and a pale sliver of a scar was just visible on one forearm.

"Mm, the sun people must be having a party," he said, humor coating his words.

"Huh?"

"The stellar civilizations."

She threw a sidelong glance at him. The memory of an old biology class floated up—when she doodled fiery beings who lived inside stars. Annoyance overlapped her embarrassment, inching her lips into a pout. Why does everything that comes out of your mouth annoy me. Maybe not that hair bit, but...

"Are you making fun of me?" she asked with narrowed eyes, her voice laced with wariness.

"No, no," he murmured. "It's possible. Why not..."

"Yeah?"

"Life doesn't have a definition." He leaned his head against the wall, the subtle smile lingering on his lips. "Something like cells and self-replication might just happen under those pressures and temperatures."

She shot him a look. When he angled his head to lock eyes with her, she turned away with a mollified sniff.

"Evanna?"

Why does he have to say my name that way? She tried to adopt an air of indifference. "What?"

"Do you want to talk to me about," he said, his words taking on a serious note, "how you did it?"

"I dunno what you mean!"

"Calm down—you're gonna summon Mrs. Poth."

"Sorry," she muttered, drawing up her knees. Wait, he's been pondering it all this time then. What happened outside Olympus.

When no words of explanation were forthcoming, Shane sighed and closed his eyes. "I'll just imagine you're a witch for now."

A giggle escaped her, and the atmosphere lightened. Drawn to his scent, she breathed in and sensed a whiff of citrus over heart notes of cypress and mossy woods. A vivid image of sunlit forest sprang up, with fern fronds swaying in the breeze.

"You like to read self-help books?" Evanna asked, her curious eyes roving over the spines of books to her side. What does it matter to you what he reads, Ev?

"Nope."

"Huh? Why are you here then?"

"This is my secret hideout," he said in a conspiratorial whisper.

Transfixed by the rise and fall of his Adam's apple, she murmured, "Oh..."

In the silence that followed, Evanna noticed the book on his lap and strained to catch a glimpse of the cover. Is it something super boring? He closed the book and tilted it for her benefit. She started, eyes darting up. He watched her with a ghost of a smile on his lips again.

She recovered and cleared her throat. "Robin Cook? You like thrillers?"

"You read his books?"

"I've only read one—Toxin. There was some stuff I found pretty interesting."

"Hm, like what?"

She shook her head. "It's not important. Anyways, what I came to ask you..."

He focused his full attention on her, sunlight flecking his twin pools of infinite darkness—which she avoided, lest she went careening into their unknown depths.

"I heard you've lived in Cape Valinia." She started tracing lines on her skirt. "I kinda need to go there, and I checked online, but, um, it's just confusing. There's barely any information on train or bus schedules. And I actually need to go to this Mardane area. I was hoping you could tell me the best way to get there, once I get to the city—"

"You're going alone?"

No way I can drag Mari-chan on a wild goose chase again. And it's so far away. Her idle gaze rested on the patches of light on the floor, and she nodded with as much conviction as she could muster.

It was as if the room itself was intent on deadening all sound to heighten the awkwardness between them. Evanna glanced at him to see a frown etched on his face.

"What?" She fidgeted self-consciously under his scrutiny.

"I can drive you."

The words stole into her ears in a low rumble. She snapped up her head and met his magnetic eyes that gave away none of his thoughts. Without meaning to, she zeroed in on his irises—taupe rings of brindled ridges, specked with sun. They were narrower than usual, dominated by the gaping blackness at the center, which exerted a gravitational pull on her. Her heart somersaulted in her chest. No freaking way. Did he just offer to drive me?

"Why would you do that for me?" she blurted out.

He shrugged. "No reason."

Evanna narrowed her eyes. "Really?"

"Plus, I owe you."

She just blinked and imagined the scenario with alarm. She wondered how many days she would need just to mentally prepare herself for it. Insane circumstances call for insane measures. Just stare out the window along the way and ask him to chill at a mall till you get your answers from Adam Rind. And leash your bloody heart—what the heck's wrong with it!

"Evanna?"

She started and tried to project total nonchalance while her heart pattered against her ribcage like a crazed woodpecker. "I—I would really appreciate it if you'd do that for me."

He smirked. "So, you're desperate?"

"Huh?"

Shane cocked an eyebrow. "Do you normally go on long road trips with guys you barely know?"

She opened her mouth and closed it on second thought. Not like you can explain anything, Ev.

"Not to mention the risks," he added.

"What?"

His face displayed a tug of war between incredulity and amusement. "You might get into trouble at home? School?"

"Oh." Her eyes widened as realization dawned. Oh, yeah, wandering around with a boy is a big no-no. "But it's even worse for you, 'cause fans might see you!"

"What's life without a little risk?" he whispered—and winked.

Her heart stopped. Feeling rather light-headed, she took an interest in the books to her side.

"When do you want to go?" Shane asked.

"I dunno...soon," she muttered.

He chuckled. "Tuesday's a public holiday."

"Okay, Tuesday then." Evanna sucked in a breath and collected her thoughts. "Your family might kill you if they hear about this, and I don't want your blood on my hands—"

"Not gonna happen."

"I sort of have an idea..."

"Stowing yourself away in the trunk?"

"No!" Her face morphed into a scowl. "You'll see."

"Okay." His fingers made a drumming motion on the book on his lap. "Aren't you wishing it's Junho or Max or Ash you're discussing this with and not me?"

Evanna flung a sharp glance his way. He appeared as impassive as ever. What am I supposed to say to that? And why doesn't your face let on what goes on in your head? Or am I bloody dense when it comes to reading you...

"Um, I should get going." She made to get up and realized she had no way of contacting him. "I need your number."

She extracted her phone from her skirt pocket, unlocked it and handed it to him. His lips twitched. What's so funny? Annoyance prickled in her again.

He entered his number and tapped the call button. Wait, why's his phone not ringing?

"Oh, right. It's silent," she said to herself, and in response to his glance, added, "I mean, your phone."

"No, not silent." He handed her phone back to her.

"What do you mean?" She frowned. "Wait, your phone's not with you?"

"I don't bring my phone to school."

"Why? It's allowed, isn't it?"

"I can't be bothered to clean it all the time."

"Huh? What do you mean clean it?" she asked, pocketing her phone.

His eyes peered into her very soul—or so it seemed. "Evanna, where have you come from?"

It was as if the world halted to a standstill and, yet again, her heart broke into an elaborate dance.

"Thanks for helping me out," she squeaked.

Without waiting for a response, she got to her feet and trotted off, pulling her hair into a knot along the way.

"Continuing our lesson on the action potential," Bernard Oakfort's baritone voice announced with its usual cheerfulness. "We need to understand what is meant by the propagation of a state."

It was biology right after the free period—the last class for the day. Evanna could barely concentrate as she sat tugging at her hair, now bound with a spare hairband Marilda had in her possession. Her mind replayed the scene at the library in a never-ending loop, which made her dissect each sentence that was uttered and obsess over the finer details.

"The cytoplasm, which is enclosed by the cell membrane, has a conductivity that is ten million times less than copper."

Ev! He had to compliment your hair, 'cause you practically drowned him in it and forced him to comment on it! She stared harder at the animated graphics on the smart board in her attempt to focus.

"So, the electrical signaling of neurons is different to transmitting signals down telephone poles. It's not molecules that are moved down axons—instead, it's the state of depolarization."

What did he mean by clean his phone? Is he a clean freak? Rind's magazine clippings slid over her inner eye. Oh, please, no! Now, don't get carried away, Ev. It could be normal pics of some girl. Her mind dutifully replaced the magazine clippings with Alcina's face, which made her heart sink further down. It still made no sense, since prefects didn't check phones—the morning inspections were long enough without phone-checking.

Oakfort had now paused the lesson to talk about extra classes that he wanted to schedule. She gave her head a vigorous shake and tried to concentrate.

"—seminar will be held tomorrow afternoon, so those who attend it will miss the referencing experiment we'd be conducting. Who's going to the seminar? Hands up."

Hands rose into the air, including Evanna's.

"Quite a few bright minds." He beamed, standing with arms akimbo, which made his pot belly stick out. "Well, on Friday, we'll have a class during the first library period. After that, we'll redo the experiment for those who are going to miss it. The rest of you can go on your merry way!"

He guffawed cheerfully, eliciting a smattering of laughter from his students, which was more at his exuberance than anything else.

After school, Evanna decided on a stroll to clear her head. She emerged onto Serin Drive to witness Manel and her friends cycling down the narrow bike path.

"Unnie!" Manel called as she whizzed by, her voice rising an octave in a Doppler effect.

Evanna grinned and waved. Then she headed to the footpath that would lead her into the woods.

Trees lined the road, their outspread boughs veiling the place in shade. Monochrome houses brooded with their blockish faces, which belied the prying propensities of most occupants. As she walked on, rustling leaves lulled her into an introspective reverie—until the caw of a bird interrupted her.

Something black caught her eye, and her gaze landed on a glossy raven feather that rested on a patch of grass. She picked up the feather and peered up, though there were no ravens in sight.

Soon afterwards, Evanna wandered down the winding footpath, and the forest welcomed her into its tranquil embrace. The whirlpool of emotions she experienced at the impending trip slowed to a sluggish pace. She pulled out her phone and opened up the call log.

His number was on it—with no name assigned.

Hm, what should I name him—baboon, troll, oompa loompa? Her eyebrows pinched together in a frown. Ogre! She wasn't sure why the word "ogre" seemed suitable when he was far from a clumsy, green monster—her picture of what an ogre actually looked like. Yet, the name sounded rude enough. She let out a giggle when she imagined his fangirls' reaction if they knew she had his number.

Back in her room, she ended up doing homework till dinnertime. Yawning, she traipsed downstairs just when an unmistakable aroma hit her nose.

Foot poised mid-step, she perked up like a puppy at the prospect of a treat. Her brain painted the image of a loaded pizza with rich homemade sauce and toppings of BBQ mushrooms, fresh veggies, stewed pineapple and last but not least, a gooey coating of plant-based cheese.

Evanna trotted into the kitchen to find the sisters seated at the kitchen table. "Mom, did you make pizza?"

"Why, good evening," Mary said. "No, we ordered it. Why would I make it when we can get it delivered?"

"I felt like some fast food." Janet opened one of the pizza boxes atop the table. "Well, let's dig in."

Hesitation made her pause, but she padded up to them, her reflection shining on the windows that appeared pitch black in the night.

Mary pushed a box in her direction. "That's yours. I gave them specific instructions, so it should be fine."

"Um, thanks." She reached for it, though her enthusiasm dwindled like air escaping from a balloon.

The two women picked up slices from the larger box. Evanna opened hers and froze.

A pale, dry disc with a sparse scattering of vegetables met her stare.

Janet stared at it. "Mary, why haven't they put any sauce on it?"

"Hm, not sure," Mary murmured with a frown.

A silence pervaded the kitchen like smog. Evanna closed the box.

A scraping noise rent the air as Mary drew back her chair and locked eyes with her. "Eva, you do this to yourself voluntarily. You're free to come join us. This pizza's good."

A hoarse whisper escaped her mouth, "I want my mom."

"What did you say?"

Evanna clutched the pizza box. "Nothing."

"You're going to eat that?" Janet asked, lowering the half-eaten slice of pizza in her hand.

"Yeah, not like I can just dump it in the garbage," she muttered and stalked out of the kitchen.

She stumbled as she ran up the stairs to her room and shut the door behind her.

Thursday afternoon saw an influx of students in attire that stood out from the dark uniform of Komoreby High. As people congregated at the vast auditorium, splashes of brown, white and blue mingled in a sea of black.

Evanna entered through the grand double doors and almost collided with a bespectacled woman with short, brown hair. Apologizing, she hurried after Genelle, and they ambled up to the balcony that afforded a splendid view of the stage. 

Chaos reigned on the balcony, however, as people searched for their seats. Harried prefects struggled to maintain order while loud voices and shuffling feet merged into a discordant din. It was slow going, and Evanna found herself jostled around constantly. It didn't help that she was so short that her view was often obscured by others. It soon came to her notice that it wasn't just different uniforms that set apart students from other schools.

The girls had their hair parted in the middle and bound in tight pigtails that were rolled up at the ends. There were many boys with buzz cuts—in fact, not a single boy had hair more than a few centimeters in length. Evanna's eyes trailed to a head that was almost bald. Then she realized with a jolt that its owner was checking her out, a sheepish smile plastered on his face. She averted her eyes while warmth rose in her cheeks.

As she shuffled along an aisle that led to seats assigned to her homeroom, a boy got in the way. Genelle's tall form disappeared from view, and a group of students hemmed Evanna in, seemingly oblivious to her existence. A range of odors assailed her nose while someone stepped heavily on her foot. She scowled. Hello! Show some respect to us midgets!

When she was in danger of getting smothered, she backed up and bumped into someone.

"Hey," said a familiar voice.

She whipped around and found Ash towering over her. He stood out among the boys with his long hair that was, as usual, tied up into a knot.

"Oh, hey," she said, though the noise swallowed the words.

An easy smile appeared on his face. Then he brushed past her and walked ahead, clearing a path.

She hastened to follow him, trying not to think about the guy who was just behind her.

"Aren't you going to say hey to me?" said a low voice that was surprisingly close to her head, followed by a familiar scent of mossy woods.

"Hey." She ignored the butterflies that danced inside. "Fancy running into you two in this stampede."

"It's not a coincidence."

"Huh?"

"I saw you about to get obliterated, so..."

Evanna swiveled up her head to witness a smirk on his face. She rolled her eyes.

Without warning, Ash halted, and she ran into him. She was so flustered that she backed up and bumped into Shane, who involuntarily raised an arm to hold her.

Startled, she squeaked and moved forward lightning fast.

He dropped his hand. "Sorry if I—"

"I was just surprised!" Evanna exclaimed, her heart tumbling around in her ribcage.

"Okay." The amusement that tinged his voice wasn't lost on her.

To her relief, she was spared any further awkwardness. She was soon seated next to Genelle and a few girls from Raitory. Ash and Shane had found seats further away with the other boys.

"It was funny seeing you emerge like that," Genelle said with a laugh. "From an Obsidian sandwich!"

"Hmph." Evanna crossed her arms and fixed her gaze on the stage.

The guest speakers sat down on armchairs while the mics were being tested. Fifteen minutes later, Hiyori Inoue delivered her welcome address and introduced the guests from the University of Komoreby. Then the seminar commenced.

After the conclusion of the first lecture, Genelle whispered, "What are you gonna study at uni, by the way?"

"Physics," Evanna whispered back, hugging herself against the chilly air seeping through her blazer. "You?"

"Math or computer science—I haven't decided."

A balding man was now speaking, holding the mic too close, which amplified his wheezy breaths in-between words. "And that is how I won the prize two years back."

"That's indeed an astounding achievement," Inoue said, holding a file as she sat next to the man. "I read your recent paper on supersymmetry and hidden dimensions. Can you tell us about that?"

"Well..."

"Perhaps you can give us a brief overview." Inoue gestured towards the audience. "So that the young minds here can grasp it."

"Yes, sure." He cleared his throat. "At the quantum scale, particles fall under two classes. Fermions, such as electrons, make up stable matter. Bosons, to put it simply, are force-carrying particles. Supersymmetry is a prediction which requires every elementary particle to have a supersymmetry partner—though we haven't found partner particles so far."

"I see," Inoue said, smiling.

"As for hidden dimensions, we're referring to dimensions other than the three we're familiar with—it's actually four-dimensional spacetime according to general relativity, since space and time are unified."

Evanna leaned forward, eyes boring into the man.

"There could be six or seven extra dimensions—or more." He shifted the mic to his other hand. "It's hard for us to envision extra dimensions. For example, if we were 2D people living on a 2D plane, we would not understand a third spatial dimension. Even if we access the third dimension, we would have a hard time understanding what we experience."

Inoue nodded. "If a sphere were to crash through the 2D plane we're on, we would only observe a line expanding and then contracting, but we won't see the bigger picture."

"Exactly. These predictions are made by the superstring theory, which is one of our most promising candidates for the theory of everything."

"The holy grail of physics?"

"Yes, that's right. One theory to explain how the universe works—the unification of Einstein's general relativity with quantum mechanics. In other words, the workings of the larger universe with that of the small."

"The future scientists assembled here might just come closer to cracking it." Inoue smiled at the audience. "Then there's the strange phenomenon where the large meets the small. A black hole—or a wormhole."

A short-haired, bespectacled woman coughed—the woman Evanna almost collided with on the way in.

"Yes, the universe is a fascinating place. We're yet to figure out how exactly it works..."

Evanna double-crossed her legs while cogs whirred in her brain. The discussion then ventured into another topic.

When the seminar drew to an end, the prefects hastened to arrange everyone into neat lines in preparation for orderly departure. Students were soon ambling to the exits in centipede-like formations.

Outside, the afternoon sun blazed overhead, thawing the chilled bodies that spilled out of the auditorium. Evanna squinted against the brightness. It was almost time for chemistry, the last class for the day.

She headed towards Alpha with Genelle. The heat increased with each passing second until perspiration dotted her brow, which prompted her to shed her blazer.

The dichroic glass that crusted the walls of Alpha gleamed in gradients of gold and turquoise. They entered the building and rode an elevator to the second floor. When Evanna stepped out, she had the strange feeling that something was off—like the calm before a storm. Her eyes panned over the deserted corridor, which looked more like an art gallery than ever.

"Why's it so quiet?" she asked Genelle, who came to a stand beside her.

"Let's find out."

They entered 12-E to find students engaged in hushed conversations. The mood was as black as the wall on one side. Marilda sat in her usual seat, scribbling on a book. Wait, she should have some class at this time. Is it a free period?

Evanna dashed to her chair and whispered to Marilda, "What's going on?"

"I think it's happening. Today's the day." Marilda shook her head with a grave expression. "One can never guess."

"What are you talking about?" she asked, eyes flitting to Shane and Ash who just walked in. "What's happening?"

As if in answer, the door opened.

A senior prefect strode in, followed by Aidana Aliyev and three more prefects. Next to enter was Inoue, who strode over to the teacher's table. Bringing up the rear was the tall form of none other than the discipline incharge, Thelma Lycurgus.

Dead silence descended as if a divine power smote the very atmosphere into submission.

Lycurgus turned to survey the class, protuberant eyes sitting on a stern mask of a face. A drab ensemble hung over her thin frame, composed of a high-necked blouse and a skirt that fell well below the knees. Shoulders hunched and head jutting forward, she was vaguely reminiscent of a predatory animal. 

A long minute elapsed. The teacher just stood with her arms behind her back—as if waiting for the waves of intimidation to roll over the entire room. Even a prefect shot her a nervous glance.

"Everyone out," Lycurgus snapped in a gravelly voice.

No one breathed. Suddenly, a subdued commotion ensued as everyone got to their feet and headed towards the door.

Then the prefects started frisking them.

Each student was thoroughly examined before they were allowed to exit. When it was Evanna's turn, she barely had time to react before a female prefect ran her hands all over her and extracted her phone from the skirt pocket.

Evanna opened her mouth to protest, but the prefect had moved on to the next person. A second later, the flood of people flushed her out into the corridor.

As panic surged up, she whirled around to face her friend. "Mari-chan, what the heck is this?"

Marilda blinked, surprise flashing across her face. "Why, it's a raid, of course."