[Path to Classrooms - Ella's Perspective]
I never liked mornings. Especially Apexia's perpetually serious, gray mornings. But this had changed over the past few days. Now mornings meant the possibility of seeing him, even if just for a moment—around a corner in the hallway, perhaps at a classroom desk, or in the cafeteria crowd. Octavian. For me, he was a light I couldn't name. The nickname I'd given him was just like him: a spotlight. A light that illuminated and made visible even someone invisible like me.
Walking toward class with coffee from the canteen, lost in these thoughts, I was more distracted than usual. I hoped to see him. Maybe just to smile and say "good morning" for a moment. But before I saw him, I heard his name. Just as I was about to turn the corner, I heard two of the institute's popular girls whispering and laughing.
"...really? With Octavian?" "I saw it with my own eyes. They got off the bus arm in arm. Luna knows what she's doing."
At that moment, the cardboard cup in my hand felt like it was being crushed in my palm. Luna. Lunaria. I didn't know her, at least not personally. But it was impossible not to know of her existence. She seemed to have measured movements, calculated smiles, radiating a kind of predatory aura around her. I felt she could manipulate people like pawns. There was something about her that frightened me; those all-knowing, confident mannerisms were too much for someone like me who lived in her own shell.
Octavian and Luna. I tried to bring this pair together in my mind but couldn't. Still... if Octavian wanted her, if he would be happy with her, all I could do was wish for his happiness. As I tried to force this thought into my mind, I felt a thin ache settle in the center of my heart. To avoid focusing on this pain, I quickened my steps. I shouldn't think about it.
That's when it happened.
My mind was so full that I wasn't looking ahead. My foot caught on something, my body lurched forward uncontrollably. The coffee in my hand flew forward as if it had its own will. I closed my eyes in panic. I was going to hit someone, spill hot coffee on them, embarrass myself in front of everyone.
But the collision I expected didn't happen.
First, a breeze passed by me, then I felt someone whose shoulder had been touched pull back slightly. When I opened my eyes, a pair of hands were gripping my arms firmly but gently. I wasn't falling. He was holding me.
Octavian.
My eyes, widened with surprise, locked onto his eyes looking at me with concern. There was almost no distance between us. The thick coffee aroma mixing in the air and that momentary shock on his face... The whole world fell silent for a moment. I heard his friends' mocking voices, the thanks of the girl he saved, but none of it reached my mind. Only he was there.
I began speaking in panic. "I'm so sorry, I was distracted... Are you okay? Did I cause you trouble, are you burned?" My voice was trembling.
He gently straightened me up. With an authoritative voice, he told his friends, "You go ahead." At that moment, even in the midst of that chaos, the fact that he was only concerned with me made my heart beat even faster. He checked me over, made sure none of me was burned. He didn't even care about the few drops that had spilled on him. His calmness in response to my panic was like a harbor to shelter in during a stormy sea.
"Don't act like this," he said. "Of course I'm going to protect you. Aren't you my friend?"
My friend... This word, simple as it was, warmed me inside when it came from his mouth. I could only nod because I knew my voice would crack if I spoke. Then his eyes caught on my shoes and he said he'd found the problem.
When he knelt in front of me, I held my breath. One of the world's smartest, most quick-witted people was bending down in the middle of the corridor at that moment to tie my untied shoelace. What I felt at that moment was far beyond gratitude. This was a display of pure compassion so deep I couldn't put it into words. When he straightened up, with a reflex brought on by the moment, he reached out and patted my head. That brief second when his fingers touched my hair felt like eternity. The warmth spreading through my skin made my cheeks burn like fire. Then, as if realizing his mistake, he quickly pulled his hand back and apologized. His embarrassment at that moment was so genuine that...
We both startled at Professor Livia's voice. I wanted to disappear into the ground from embarrassment. As we walked toward the classroom behind Livia, my heart was pounding against my chest.
When we entered the classroom, we saw that our usual seats were taken. Octavian hesitated for a moment, that familiar, slightly lost expression settling on his face. He didn't know where to sit. All the voices in my mind fell silent. At that moment, an uncontrollable wave of courage took hold of me, pushing aside my usual shyness. I reached out and grabbed his arm. I felt the firmness of his arm under the fabric.
"Over here," I whispered and pulled him toward the empty seats in the very back.
When we sat side by side, I could barely breathe properly from excitement. This was my first conscious touch of him. I was afraid he might even hear the noise of my heartbeat.
When class began, Professor Livia was energetic as always. When the topic came to complex probability distributions, she posed a question to the class. One of those questions whose answer no one knew. A deep silence fell over the classroom. While I was turning formulas over in my mind, that calm voice next to me rose.
Octavian not only answered the question but also presented an alternative solution approach with a different method. An admiring smile appeared on Livia's face. The other students in the class also turned to him in amazement. I was just looking at him. This man who had knelt in front of me just minutes ago, unconcerned about spilled coffee on the ground to tie my shoe, now seemed to be lecturing one of the institute's brightest minds. My admiration for his intelligence merged with the gratitude in my heart at that moment and transformed into that warm feeling I couldn't name but that enveloped my entire being. He wasn't just a spotlight; he was someone who shone light with both his mind and his heart. And I had been caught in the orbit of that light.
[Same moment - Classroom - Gaius's Perspective]
Life was simpler in Confluxia. People were what they were; merchants bargained, artists dreamed, lovers kissed by the riverside. No one obsessed so much over what others were thinking. Apexia was a completely different planet. Everyone here, especially these types at Minerva, seemed to be playing chess 24/7. Everyone was calculating their next move, the counter-move, the response to that move. It was exhausting. But at the same time... it was incredibly entertaining. Especially watching a player like Octavian.
When Professor Livia's class began, my mind had already traveled from Confluxia to the last message my girlfriend Elara had sent from her dorm room. While Cassius was taking notes with his usual serious expression beside me, I was drawing one of Apexia's pointed towers on the edge of my notebook. This city was too sharp.
They had entered together. Octavian and that quiet girl, Ella. But there was something odd. Normally in such situations, Octavian would freeze for a moment, scan the area, set up equations in his mind to find the safest place. This time it didn't happen. Ella had grabbed our guy's arm and was pulling him toward the empty seats in the very back without a moment's hesitation. I leaned toward Cassius and whispered, "Do you see? Our rookie has become a playmaker." Cassius just smiled. He was always like that, spoke little, understood much.
I looked at Octavian. There was no trace of that tense kid from the first week. His shoulders were straighter, and although his gaze still scanned the area, it was analysis now, not panic. Even his simple, dark shirt and jeans seemed different somehow. His posture had changed. The institute's atmosphere had apparently done him good. Or maybe he had figured out the rules of this atmosphere.
In the middle of the lesson, Livia dropped one of her famous questions that no one could answer. A graveyard silence fell over the classroom. I had already given up and was adding a flag to the top of the tower I was drawing when Octavian's voice was heard from the back row. He not only gave the answer but practically taught Livia a lesson. An alternative path, a more practical formula... The woman's eyes were sparkling. At that moment I understood that Octavian's "expert" image wasn't just an image. The guy was really smart. Frighteningly so.
I glanced at Marcus for a moment. As usual, he was at the edge of his seat, hunched over, scribbling something in his notebook. His face was sour. Thinking about this morning's scene, you couldn't help but feel for him. Luna and Octavian... You'd have to be blind not to see how Marcus looked at that girl. I knew Octavian hadn't done this to hurt Marcus, I had understood that much. But in the end, what happened had happened. Our quiet friend's heart had been badly broken. Maybe that's why he was so withdrawn. These Heroica types were too fragile.
When class ended, I saw Livia smile and say something to Octavian. Our guy just nodded with that slightly confused expression again. This man was a complete enigma; he could be a genius one moment, a novice child the next.
When we gathered as a group, I couldn't resist. I put my arm around Octavian's shoulder and said, "Tell us, hero. First Luna's arms in the morning, then Ella's life... What's next? Are you going to save the world or something?"
Octavian rolled his eyes but there was a slight smile on his face. "Don't exaggerate, Gaius."
I was setting the pace as we walked toward the cafeteria. "Exaggerate? Dude, you've plunged right into the middle of this school's social arena. On one side, one of the most popular predators, on the other, the quietest and most mysterious girl... And both seem interested in you. Marcus, don't you think it's interesting?"
Marcus startled when he heard his name. "I don't know," he mumbled.
Cassius intervened. "Gaius, leave the kid alone. As you can see, he's just doing what needs to be done."
"What needs to be done?" I said with a laugh. "Cassius, you're something else too. Okay, okay, I'll shut up. But you're going to tell us everything at lunch, Octavian. Those heroic leaps, then immediately dismissing us... I'm curious about what went on between you. Don't leave out any details. In Confluxia, we don't miss moments like these, you know."
Octavian gave me a look that said, 'I'll deal with you later.' Marcus had buried himself in silence. Cassius was smiling and watching us as always. Yes, Apexia was exhausting. But this arena... this arena was definitely worth watching.
[Same moment - Cafeteria]
The cafeteria's commotion couldn't suppress the calculations in my mind. Gaius's cheerful provocations, Cassius's silent analyses, and Marcus's gloomy aura settling over the table... All were variables in the great equation I needed to solve. Without hardly touching the food I'd put on my tray, I replayed events in my mind over and over.
That question in Livia's class... It really wasn't that difficult. You just had to step outside the standard solution path and combine two different probability models. The professor's and others' surprise seemed strange to me. This was like understanding how a machine's gears worked, then arranging those gears in a different order to achieve a more efficient result; a simple logical sequence.
The moment of saving Ella, however... That was the unknown in the equation. There was no logic there. Just a reflex, an instinctual protective urge. Everything I did afterward—tying her shoe, patting her head—was completely unplanned. This loss of control still rang like a danger bell in a corner of my mind. But another part of me also felt the strange peace that the sincerity of that moment brought.
"If you're not going to save the world, save the food on your tray at least, it's ice cold."
I snapped out of my thoughts at Gaius's voice. Instead of answering him, I turned to Marcus. His face was still sour, his gaze lost in the peas on his tray.
"Cheer up a bit," I said, lightly tapping his arm. "Everything's under control."
Marcus looked at me meaninglessly. "What are you talking about?"
I smiled. "Just wait and see."
When the meal ended and we began dispersing for Professor Flavia's class, it was time to put my plan into action. In the corridor, I saw Luna laughing with her friend group. This was like returning to the arena.
I told Gaius and Cassius, "You go ahead, I'll be right there," and grabbed Marcus by the arm, pulling him toward Luna's group. I could feel Marcus panicking, but there was no turning back now.
"Luna," I called out. The whole group turned to us. That familiar, playful expression appeared on Luna's face. "Yes, Octa?"
"Marcus had a brilliant idea," I said, getting straight to the point. All eyes suddenly turned to Marcus. "He suggested meeting in the library before Flavia's class on Wednesday to work on old exam questions. I heard he has an archive from previous years."
Luna looked at me for a moment, then at Marcus, who didn't know what to say. "Wow, Marcus," she said with fake admiration in her voice. "You don't show it at all, but you're quite the treasure hunter apparently. Sure, works for me."
"Great," I said. "Then it's settled." I gave Luna and her group a nod and took Marcus away from there.
After taking a few steps, Marcus grabbed my arm and stopped me. There was a mixture of panic and reproach in his voice. "What did you do? Why did you say such a thing? I don't have any archive, what am I going to do now?"
I turned to him with a reassuring expression and smiled. "Calm down. I have a digital archive from a former student of this place. I just need to organize it a bit, that's all. I did you a favor. Now she owes you something. You've gotten into a position where you can help her."
The panic on Marcus's face slowly dissipated, replaced by bewildered acceptance. I patted his shoulder lightly. "See? I told you everything was under control."
As we walked down the corridor, my eye caught Ella. She was waiting alone by the classroom door. I quickly headed to the fruit basket at the cafeteria exit and grabbed the reddest, shiniest apple.
When I approached her, her head was bowed. "Hey," I said. When she lifted her head, I held out the apple to her. "You didn't come to lunch today. Eat this, at least." She hesitantly took the apple. "Thank you," she whispered.
We entered the classroom and sat in our seats in the very back. As everyone settled into their places, I reevaluated the situation in my mind. A starting point had been created for Marcus and Luna. My bond with Gaius and Cassius was solid. Ella being beside me... this was an unplanned development, but now she was also part of the equation. Ensuring she was safe had now become one of the primary goals of this plan. Yes, everything... was going as planned.
Just then, the door opened sharply. Professor Flavia entered with her usual military posture and sharp gaze. On her face was an expression reminiscent of the calm before a storm.
Flavia's eyes scanned the entire classroom and finally settled on me. For just a moment, just a moment, what seemed like a barely perceptible smile appeared at the corner of her lips.
And at that moment I understood that a psychological war was just beginning.