She dropped her bag by the bed and sat down slowly. For a moment, she just breathed. Her body ached from the endless standing, walking, and waiting she had endured throughout the day. The fan in her small apartment whirred weakly, barely stirring the humid air. A damp stickiness clung to her skin, but she didn't have the energy to get up and shower.

The excitement she had once felt about university now seemed distant, buried under exhaustion and the weight of reality. Could she really do this? Could she handle all of it—being alone in a new city, taking a course, she wasn't sure she loved, surviving in a world where she barely belonged?

The thought scared her more than she wanted to admit. But she pushed it down, reached for her phone, and called home.

It rang twice before her mother picked up.

"Leila?" Celia's voice was tired but warm. "How was it?"

Leila forced a smile, even though her mother couldn't see her. "Good. Just a lot of lines."

"Did you eat?"

Leila hesitated. A cup of instant noodles didn't count, right? "Yeah."

There was a slight pause. Celia wasn't convinced, but she let it go. "And your apartment? Is everything okay there?"

"It's fine, Mom. Amara and I are settled."

A rustling sound came through the line, then another voice chimed in—Sofia.

"Leila! Amara sent your ID photo! You look so bad."

Leila's brows furrowed. "She did not."

"She did."

Amara's laughter rang out in the background. "It's tragic."

Leila sat up. "Wait—how did you even get that?"

"Oh, you left your folder on the table, and I saw it sticking out," Amara said casually. "Couldn't resist. I mean, Leila, it's art. A masterpiece of suffering."

Sofia snickered. "You look like someone dragged you through enrollment and left you for dead."

"Because that's exactly what happened," Leila muttered, rubbing her forehead. "You try running around a university all day and then posing for an ID picture."

Celia sighed. "Sofia, stop teasing your sister."

"I'm just saying, at least she's officially a college student now! Even if her ID makes her look like she fought for her life."

Leila groaned but couldn't help the small laugh that escaped her. Even in exhaustion, they still managed to make her feel lighter.

She yawned, her body finally giving in to the weight of the day. "Okay, I need sleep. I have class early tomorrow."

"Good night, hon," Celia said. "Get some rest."

"Night," Leila murmured.

She hung up, tossed her phone onto the nightstand, and slid under the thin blanket. The mattress wasn't the softest, and the heat still lingered, but none of it mattered. Her eyelids were already growing heavy.

As she drifted off, the last thing she remembered was Sofia's voice teasing in the background, Amara's laughter ringing through the speaker, and the comforting realization that no matter how tough things got, she still had them.

Sleep claimed her before she could think of anything else.

"Leila, wake up, you're going to be late."

A muffled groan came from beneath the covers. "Five more minutes."

"That's what I said yesterday," Amara called from across the room. "And the day before that. Now move. Your first day of school awaits, young scholar."

Leila forced her eyes open, blinking against the morning light that seeped through the thin curtains. Her body protested as she sat up, still sore from yesterday's chaos. The nerves from last night hadn't faded, only settled into a tight coil in her stomach. This was it—the real start of university.

"Here," Amara tossed a piece of bread toward her. "Eat something before you pass out in the middle of class. I need to maintain our family's good reputation."

Leila caught the bread and rolled her eyes. "Right. Because you're such a role model."

Amara smirked. "Damn right I am."

After quickly getting dressed and stuffing her things into her bag, Leila took a deep breath. Time to survive another day.

The campus was already alive with movement when she arrived. Students filled the walkways, some hurriedly checking schedules on their phones, others chatting in small groups. The mix of excitement and nerves buzzed in the air, making her own unease feel slightly less isolating.

Leila followed the signs toward the engineering building, clutching her class schedule like a lifeline. She had always been good at making friends, but as she entered her first Civil Engineering class, the atmosphere hit her like a wall.

The moment she stepped in, several heads turned.

It wasn't just the usual glance students gave newcomers—it was a moment of brief surprise, a flicker of curiosity. It didn't take long to understand why. She was one of the very few girls in the program.

Her stomach tightened. Twenty guys. Four girls, including her.

She exhaled slowly and made her way toward an empty seat near the middle. The tension wasn't necessarily hostile, but it was noticeable. Some of the guys exchanged glances; a few continued talking like nothing had happened, but she caught snippets of murmured comments.

"Damn, we actually have girls in this class?" someone muttered.

Leila ignored it, keeping her expression neutral. She was here for herself, not for them.

Before she could fully settle in, a girl with glasses and a friendly smile plopped down beside her. "Hi! I'm Tessa," she said, her voice bright. "Thank God you're here. I thought I'd be alone."

Leila let out a small laugh, relieved to find an ally. "Leila. Nice to meet you."

A few others introduced themselves—mostly polite, a couple of awkward but well-meaning guys who seemed unsure how to talk to the few girls in the room. Some were more welcoming than others, but overall, the tension gradually eased into something more neutral.

Then, as more guys arrived, the dynamic shifted again.

A group of them took over the back row, their conversation immediately louder than the rest of the room.

"I swear, if I fail this class, I'm blaming the professor," one joked, leaning back in his chair.

"Nah, man, just get close to the smart ones. That's what they're here for," another laughed.

Laughter erupted. Tessa tensed beside her.

Leila kept her head down, organizing her notebook and pens, choosing to focus on getting everything ready rather than engaging. She wasn't here to prove anything with words—her work would speak for itself.

Tessa leaned in and whispered, "Wow. This is going to be... interesting."

Leila gave her a small smile but said nothing, just letting out a quiet breath. She already knew this semester was going to be an uphill battle.