The strangest thing about fear was how orderly it tried to look.
Campus 2 didn't fall into chaos after the rumors spread. There were no protests. No screaming matches in hallways. No dramatic announcements blaring from speakers.
Instead, there was silence.
Not the peaceful kind.
The kind that settled slowly, politely, like dust.
XH noticed it the moment he stepped into the main lobby that morning. The large notice board near the entrance was blank where an update should have been. Flyers from student clubs still clung to the corners, curling slightly, but the space reserved for official announcements remained untouched.
No clarification.No reassurance.No denial.
Students stood near it anyway, pretending to read nothing.
TR stopped beside XH, squinting at the board. "They really said nothing."
PL frowned. "That's worse, right?"
JP adjusted his glasses. "Silence is a strategy."
"A bad one," TR muttered.
XH scanned the lobby instinctively.
Kitty hadn't arrived yet.
He told himself it didn't mean anything. People were late sometimes. Schedules shifted. Lives happened.
Still, the absence felt louder than words.
In class, the seats filled gradually. Conversations were quieter now. Phones stayed face-down on desks, but XH could see the tension in the way fingers twitched, waiting for vibrations.
The lecturer entered and began without acknowledging the atmosphere. The lesson proceeded as if nothing was wrong. Diagrams. Terminology. Assigned reading.
Normal.
Too normal.
Kitty arrived halfway through the lecture, slipping into a seat near the back. She didn't look around this time. She didn't search for XH.
She simply sat.
XH felt a tightening in his chest.
TR leaned over. "She's pulling away more."
"I know," XH whispered.
"Then do something."
XH didn't answer.
During the break, students gathered in the hallway in loose clusters. Conversations dipped whenever someone approached, then resumed carefully, as if everyone was afraid of being overheard by the wrong person.
Kitty stood by the window, scrolling her phone slowly.
XH approached her, heart beating faster than it should have. "Hey."
She looked up. "Hey."
The warmth wasn't gone.
But it was restrained.
"Have you seen anything official?" XH asked.
Kitty shook her head. "No emails. No statements."
"What do you think that means?"
Kitty's lips pressed together briefly. "I think they're choosing not to panic us."
XH frowned. "Or they don't know what to say."
She met his eyes steadily. "Either way, they're saying something."
That sentence lingered between them.
Across the hallway, a group of students argued quietly.
"My parents called again.""They told me to start looking at transfer options.""You think that's even possible right now?"
Kitty watched them, expression unreadable.
"I've been thinking," she said suddenly.
XH straightened. "About what?"
"About contingency plans," Kitty replied calmly.
The word hit harder than any accusation.
"Contingency?" XH repeated.
"In case things get worse," she said. "I don't want to be caught unprepared."
XH tried to keep his voice steady. "You think it'll get that bad?"
Kitty shrugged lightly. "I think uncertainty forces people to decide faster than they want to."
XH swallowed.
He wanted to ask if he was part of that decision.
He didn't.
By lunchtime, the silence had spread.
The cafeteria buzzed with low voices, but laughter felt forced. People checked emails between bites, refreshing inboxes that refused to deliver clarity.
Kitty sat with HS instead of XH again. She listened more than she spoke, nodding thoughtfully, eyes distant.
XH sat across the table, watching her hands move slowly, methodically. She ate carefully, like she was conserving energy.
NS leaned toward XH. "You see it, right?"
"See what?"
NS nodded toward Kitty subtly. "She's leaving."
XH stiffened. "She's not."
NS didn't argue. "She's preparing to."
The words echoed in XH's chest long after NS turned back to his food.
TR attempted a rescue. "Alright, this is depressing. Anyone want to skip last class?"
PL looked up instantly. "Yes."
JP sighed. "No."
"Democracy says yes," TR declared.
They didn't skip class.
But the suggestion cracked something.
After classes ended, the campus seemed to exhale collectively. The sky was pale, clouds stretched thin like they were trying not to draw attention.
Kitty walked alone toward the library.
XH followed.
"Kitty," he called softly.
She stopped but didn't turn immediately.
"Yes?"
"I don't want you to feel like you're facing this alone," he said.
She turned then, really looking at him. "I'm not alone."
The certainty in her voice surprised him.
"I have myself," she continued gently. "And I trust that."
XH nodded, but something inside him recoiled.
"That doesn't mean I don't care," she added. "It just means I won't disappear waiting for answers that may never come."
XH felt the words settle deep.
"Are you… pulling away because of the rumors?" he asked.
Kitty hesitated. "They're part of it."
"And the rest?"
She smiled sadly. "You already know."
The honesty hurt worse than anger.
She turned and walked into the library, leaving XH standing alone in the corridor.
That evening, an email finally arrived.
Not an explanation.
Not a reassurance.
A generic message.
Dear Students,We are aware of circulating discussions regarding Campus 2.Please be assured that academic activities will continue as scheduled.
That was it.
No mention of accreditation.No denial.No timeline.
TR read it aloud dramatically in the common area. "Ah yes. Continue as scheduled. My favorite form of comfort."
PL groaned. "That's nothing."
JP frowned deeply. "That's intentional."
NS leaned back against the wall. "Silence confirmed."
Despite everything, TR refused to let the night sink completely.
"We're not spiraling today," he announced. "I declare a no-rumor zone."
"How?" PL asked.
"By being idiots," TR replied.
They played games. Watched something stupid. Argued about nothing important. Laughed when it felt almost wrong to.
Kitty joined briefly.
She laughed once. Genuinely.
XH clung to that moment longer than he should have.
But when the night ended, Kitty left early.
At the doorway, she paused.
"XH," she said.
"Yes?"
"I hope whatever happens," she said carefully, "you don't wait so long that circumstances choose for you."
He nodded, unable to speak.
She left.
Later, alone in his room, XH sat at his desk staring at the blank screen of his laptop.
Outside, Campus 2 stood quietly under the night sky. Lights glowed in windows. Students studied. Lived. Worried.
The calm was convincing.
Too convincing.
XH sensed it now.
This was the last stretch before everything changed.
Before new faces arrived.Before old bonds fractured further.Before choices became unavoidable.
And somewhere beyond the station, on a different train line, someone was already on her way.
Unaware.
Unintroduced.
About to step into a story that had been quietly breaking itself open.