the stranger in class
505 Words
The classroom buzzed louder than usual. Mira leaned in close to Selene and whispered, “New transfer. Everyone’s already obsessed.”
Selene barely looked up from her notes. After the vengeful soul, she still felt raw, drained. “So?”
“So?” Mira elbowed her. “Look.”
Selene glanced toward the door.
He stood there — tall, broad-shouldered, hair falling in dark waves that caught the light. His eyes, silver-gray, swept over the class with quiet confidence. The room seemed to hold its breath.
The teacher smiled awkwardly. “This is Kael. He’s recently transferred here. He’ll be joining us for the term.”
Kael.
Selene’s chest tightened. Something in his gaze snagged at her — sharp, ancient, familiar. She quickly looked away.
As he moved to an empty seat, whispers rippled through the class.
“Look at him—”
“Like a movie star—”
“Totally my type.”
Lisa, the school’s golden queen, flicked her perfect hair and smiled wide. She whispered loud enough for half the room to hear, “He’ll sit next to me.”
But Kael walked past her without a glance and took the seat behind Selene.
Her stomach twisted. She could feel his eyes on her back, calm but piercing, as though he were peeling away every layer of her secrets.
---
The lesson began. Another ancient rune was scrawled on the board. The teacher asked the class for its meaning. Silence.
Selene lowered her head, trying to ignore the heat crawling up her skin. She knew the answer, the same way she always did. But she couldn’t risk standing out again.
Then Kael’s voice cut through the room. Smooth. Deep. Certain.
“It means ‘shadow-bound oath.’ The bond that chains one soul to another.”
The class gasped. Even the teacher blinked in surprise.
Selene’s heart skipped. He was right. She had seen the same mark carved into the strip of leather the strange woman had given her.
How did he know?
---
At lunch, Lisa cornered Kael by the fountain, draping herself close. “So, Kael, I could show you around. Give you the best tour.”
Kael smiled faintly but said nothing. His eyes flicked past her, straight to Selene across the courtyard.
Lisa followed his gaze. Her smile sharpened.
“Well,” she hissed later to her followers, “if little Selene thinks she can steal attention, she’s in for a lesson.”
---
That afternoon, Selene felt the stares. Whispers trailed her like smoke. Mira rolled her eyes. “Great. Lisa’s got her claws out. And Kael’s the reason. Honestly, he’s trouble.”
Selene sighed, hugging her books. Trouble or not, she couldn’t shake the strange pull in her chest — like Kael wasn’t just watching her, but measuring her, as if he already knew who she was.
When their eyes met across the hallway, Selene’s breath caught.
His lips moved, almost too soft to hear.
“Soon.”
And then he was gone in the crowd
- Writer
