the photo
907 Words
Silent Cinderella
Chapter Two
The Photograph That Set the Campus on Fire
Buzz...
Buzz...
Buzz...
It wasn't the bell announcing the next class.
It was the sound of notifications.
Within less than a minute, phones began vibrating all over the university campus.
A new message.
A new photograph.
One headline spread through every student group chat.
"Who is this girl... and why is William Consels standing in front of her?"
The photograph spread across the campus like wildfire.
It wasn't perfectly clear, but it had captured an unforgettable moment.
Selene, wearing her coffee-stained blue dress, stood looking down at the floor while William Consels faced her, holding one of the papers she had dropped.
Less than ten minutes later, the comments flooded in.
"Does he know her?"
"Impossible..."
"Maybe she's his cousin."
"Or maybe she's after his money."
"Could she be his new girlfriend?"
The most-liked comment read:
"Looks like Cinderella finally made it to college... but she forgot her glass slipper."
Selene had no idea any of this was happening.
After cleaning the coffee stains from her dress with paper towels, she entered the administration office.
She sat across from a middle-aged administrator who was quickly reviewing student files.
"Your name?"
"Selene Anderson."
The woman typed the name into the computer before looking up.
"From Alaska?"
Selene nodded.
"Yes."
The administrator offered a gentle smile.
"You're a long way from home."
Selene lowered her eyes.
"I don't have a home there anymore."
A brief silence filled the room.
The woman seemed to understand that those words carried a painful story she wasn't ready to tell.
She handed Selene her class schedule and student ID.
"Welcome to the College of Law."
For the first time since arriving in Florida...
Selene smiled.
It was only a small smile.
But it was genuine.
On the other side of the campus...
William walked into his lecture hall.
Before he could take his seat, his best friend Ethan approached, holding up his phone with a grin.
"Congratulations."
"You're famous again."
William glanced at the screen.
His expression immediately hardened.
It was the photograph.
The same photograph.
Him...
And Selene.
"Who took it?" he asked coldly.
Ethan laughed.
"That's not the important question."
"The important question is..."
"Who is she?"
William handed the phone back.
"I don't know."
"But everyone says you do."
"Then everyone is wrong."
He sat down, but he couldn't erase the image from his mind.
Why had her eyes remained in his thoughts?
She wasn't just beautiful.
There was something else hidden behind them.
Something that looked like pain.
During the lunch break...
Selene walked through the campus carrying a small campus map.
She was still trying to find the library.
She stopped beside one of the information boards and sighed.
"I guess I'm lost."
Suddenly...
Someone deliberately bumped into her.
The map slipped from her hands and fell onto the ground.
A fashionable blonde girl smiled mockingly.
"Oh, I'm sorry..."
Then she looked at her friends and added,
"I didn't even notice you."
"Your clothes blend in with the old walls."
The girls burst into laughter.
Selene bent down to pick up the map.
Before she could reach it...
The blonde girl stepped on it with her expensive high heel.
"Oh..."
"I guess your map is just as outdated as your wardrobe."
Another wave of laughter echoed around them.
Slowly...
Selene raised her head.
She could have shouted.
She could have pushed the girl away.
She could have cried.
Instead, she calmly said,
"If you're finished..."
"I need my map."
The smile disappeared from the blonde girl's face.
She hadn't expected that response.
After a moment of hesitation, she stepped back.
Selene picked up the map, brushed the dust from it, and continued walking as though nothing had happened.
What she didn't know...
Was that someone had witnessed everything.
William.
He had been standing on the second-floor balcony, watching the entire incident.
Ethan leaned against the railing beside him.
"That girl is strange."
William remained silent for several seconds.
Then he quietly replied,
"No..."
"She's strong."
That evening...
Selene returned to the small apartment she shared with her mother near the factory.
The aroma of a simple homemade dinner filled the tiny home.
Her mother stood beside the stove, hiding another exhausting day behind a warm smile.
"How was your first day?"
Selene hesitated.
Then forced herself to smile.
"It was..."
"A long day."
Her mother walked over and gently placed a hand on her shoulder.
"You'll get used to it."
Selene simply nodded.
She couldn't tell her the truth.
She refused to add more worries to a woman who was sacrificing everything just to keep her dream alive.
After dinner...
Selene entered her small bedroom.
She carefully removed a photograph of her father from her bag and placed it on the desk.
Then she whispered,
"I promise you, Dad..."
"I won't run away."
"No matter what happens."
Across the city...
William stood before the floor-to-ceiling window of his luxurious bedroom inside the Consels family mansion.
He opened the viral photograph once again.
He stared at it for a long time.
Finally, he murmured to himself,
"Who are you, Selene?"
At that exact moment...
A luxurious black car slowly came to a stop outside Selene's modest apartment building.
A man in his fifties stepped out, carrying an old brown file.
He looked at the apartment number.
Then quietly whispered,
"I've finally found her..."
End of Chapter Two
- Writer
