On the boy's cue, Yuvien's friends picked him up and the crowd dispersed almost instantly.

I gulped and continued to stare at the boy. He looked like an angel. How could he be so cruel?

"You would make a girl go through something so horrifying?" I asked. My hand was itching to whack some sense into him.

"If you don't want to be the rosa, just collect all the marks by then. I have provided an alternative, you know," he gave me a teasing smile as if he had just won a round against me, which I must admit he had.

"And what gives you the right to punish me? Who are you?" I questioned.

He chuckled, "I want to ask you the same thing, human. How are you so daring when others can't even look me in the eyes?"

I immediately broke eye contact. Dad must have dropped me when I was a child and I must have lost some screws. What else could be the reason for my immense stupidity? I seemed to be doing everything in my power to be noticed.

"As to who I am, you'll know soon enough," he said. Then, he sauntered towards the stage and took a seat next to the other dignitaries. I swallowed my pride and sat down in the nearest chair. I was aware of the eyes that bore into me from all directions but chose to ignore them, focusing on the annoying but attractive boy instead.

In fact, I focused on him so much, that I completely zoned out of the speech that madame principal gave. She was one of the faculty who turned a blind eye to the bullying. I didn't care to listen to her anyway.

The boy kept smiling which he probably thought was charming. I found it irksome. Who the hell was he to give me a punishment? I began listening again when he walked up to the centre of the stage.

"Welcome to Adelmiro Circle, freshmen! I am Ryne Novak, a final year student from the magic echelon as well as the ti-eglor."

My eyes widened, my throat dried up and I clenched my jaw. This was just great! The one person I was told to stay away from and I had to pick a fight with him.

Years ago, when the dragons lost their power, the magic-kind, with the help of their patron goddess, Hecate, rose up to take their place. The Dragon Empire was broken down and a new political system called the Circle was established. 

The Circle had various levels or echelons based on species with the magic-kind being the highest. The emperor of the Circle was given the title, "eglor," which meant "champion of magic-kind, conqueror and protector". (I know. I wonder how that much was compressed into one word too.)

Since then, the warlocks of the same lineage had been ruling the Circle with the eglor as the head. This person, Ryne claimed to be the ti-eglor or the heir to the current eglor, which meant that he was probably the most powerful guy in the room.

"...like the newbie we just met, Meredith," Ryne called out and I shot out of my seat, having woken up from my reverie. I looked around confused.

"I like the respect you show me, but you don't need to stand up, Meredith. I was just telling everyone to read the guidelines like you."

Snickers followed. My face grew hot and I nodded before sitting back down. I grabbed my plaid skirt in both my fists not caring if it became wrinkled. He didn't have to mention my name. He was singling me out, that bastard!

"If you have any problems adjusting, you can contact your echelon head or any of the upperclassmen actually. We're all quite friendly and don't bite. Oh, except the sirens, vampires and werewolves."

That was such a lame joke but everyone actually laughed. I was bewildered, what was with this blind admiration?

"The seniors are all in here if you want to get to know us. The head of your echelons will call for a separate orientation later this week so that would be another opportunity," he said as he casually ran his fingers through his black hair. I swear I heard someone swoon.

"Let me reiterate what madame principal just said, most classes will be held in common for all freshmen. You'll all branch out into your echelon studies and further specializations based on your chosen career in your fourth and fifth years. Until then, make friends, make connections and have fun!"

I didn't bother clapping and left as soon as I could. Making connections was impossible for a human, so was having fun. The only reason they came here was because of that stupid pact made by all the echelons when they faced the wrath of goddess Earth for tipping the balance. It took only one species before they got back their senses and stopped the mindless massacre.

***

"You're screwed, you know?" a short, slightly plump blonde said as she began walking beside me. A golden tint in her blue eyes caused them to sparkle. Her glistening white teeth and crinkled eyes told me that she was harmless.

I smiled back at her, "Tell me something I don't know."

"The next blood moon is three days away," she said with a smile.

My eyes widened, "Woah! I did not know that. That's not enough time. Fuck, this whole thing is rigged!"

"Well, it is supposed to be a punishment," she snickered.

I frowned at her and huffed.

She let out another laugh and stopped walking. "I'm JJ Vilya," she said, "you can call me JJ or Vilya or just J-Vil. It sounds like devil, but I swear I'm nice."

I laughed and shook her hand, "I'll keep that in mind, J-Vil. Are you a freshman too?"

"I am in my third year, so I'm probably two years older than you," she said, continuing to smile. There was something odd about that. She didn't look evil, quite opposite of that, in fact. But the smile seemed to be plastered onto her face as if she couldn't remove it.

"Um, actually I'm eighteen," I said sheepishly.

"Oh! But, how are you a freshman?" she asked surprised.

"I had a governess and never went to a local school. And without formal certificates, they couldn't admit me to the third year," I said with a shrug.

Part of it was true. I did have a teacher after my mother died. In fact, I wouldn't ever have imagined walking these halls if my quest hadn't led me here. When all the prominent families got the letter from Adelmiro Circle, I was travelling the world with my teacher. 

I remember dad writing to me that he had rejected their offer. Then, a month ago, I found out that the god I had been in search of for six years was in the place I had least expected. Although only a sixteen-year-old would be allowed to enter as a freshman, I had enough connections for them to make an exception.

"Hmm... you didn't accept the offer at sixteen?" she asked, looking around distractedly. The hallway had a few students who were trying to find their classes. She turned to look at me when I didn't reply.

I just shook my head not willing to share any more details.

"Anyway, I'll be taking some of the classes with you as I skipped them before," she said and the smile was back on. We climbed up the stairs to a more deserted corridor.

"You can do that?"

"Yeah, you stay here for five years, and it's understandable if you want to take it easy sometimes. You cannot move ahead and take an advanced course but you can always go back to take one you missed."

"That's amazing!" I pulled out my schedule from my bag, "I took all the mandatory courses. Should I drop something?"

She nodded as she glanced around. I followed her sight but found nothing. All of a sudden, she grabbed my arm and dragged me into the nearest classroom.

"Hey, where-"

"Shush," she shut the door gently. "You need to get all the marks as soon as possible, right?" she asked, her previous smile was replaced by an extremely serious expression. Her brows were knit together, the nerve on her forehead popped and her ears were flaming red.