My year with The Devil

Chapter 5

EVIE'S POV

Morning came far too quickly. Sunlight spilled through the dorm room window, painting golden lines across the ceiling.

I let out a long breath.

I rolled over and glanced at the digital alarm clock sitting across the room.

07:15.

I froze.

The numbers were perfectly clear.

That wasn’t possible. Without my glasses, I wasn’t supposed to see anything except blurry shapes.

I sat up so quickly that my blanket slid onto the floor.

My glasses were still resting on the nightstand exactly where I’d left them.

Slowly, I picked them up and put them on.

Nothing changed. The room looked exactly the same.

My pulse quickened.

“What…”

I pulled the glasses back off.

Still clear.

“That’s not possible.”

There had to be a logical explanation. Maybe I’d been wearing the wrong prescription.

Maybe…

No.

That wasn’t how eyesight worked.

Trying to ignore the growing knot in my stomach, I climbed out of bed and walked into the bathroom. The girl staring back at me looked the same.

And yet… different.

She was still me. The same brown hair. The same soft curves I’d spent years trying to hide.

But…

The dark circles beneath my eyes had almost disappeared. My skin looked smoother. Even the stubborn little blemish on my chin was gone.

I leaned closer to the mirror.

My fingertips brushed my cheek.

It felt real.

A knock on the bathroom door made me jump.

“Evie?” Lena called through the door. “You’ve been in there forever.”

“I’m coming.”

I took one last look at my reflection. Maybe I was imagining things.

I opened the bathroom door.

Lena looked up from tying her boots. For a second, she simply stared at me.

“What?”

“I don’t know…” She frowned.

Her eyes narrowed as she studied my face.

“You look… different.”

“Different how?” A nervous laugh escaped me.

“I can’t explain it.” She tilted her head. “You just look… brighter.”

“Maybe I actually got some sleep for once.” I forced a smile.

“Maybe.” She didn’t look convinced. “Anyway, let’s get going or we’ll be late for class.”

...

The rest of the morning passed in a blur. I barely tasted my coffee. Every few minutes, I’d catch myself reading signs across campus without my glasses.

Every single word was perfectly clear.

By the time I reached my first lecture, I’d almost convinced myself not to think about it anymore.

I slipped into my usual seat near the back of the lecture hall and pulled my notebook from my backpack.

Professor Morgan hadn’t arrived yet.

Students chatted around me while I absentmindedly uncapped my pen.

I flipped open to a page in my notebook that was supposed to be blank.

My breath caught.

It wasn’t.

Three words stared back at me in neat black handwriting.

*TASK ONE, EVIE.*

I froze.

Slowly, I looked around the lecture hall. No one was looking at me.

When I lowered my gaze again, another line appeared beneath the title.

Letter by letter. As if an invisible hand were writing directly onto the page.

*Take Professor Morgan’s silver fountain pen before noon. Do not let him notice. Return it to the third bench outside the library.*

The writing stopped, and at the bottom of the page…

A crimson lipstick mark appeared.

My stomach dropped.

I blinked hard.

The words remained exactly where they were.

“No…” I slammed the notebook shut.

A few students glanced in my direction before immediately returning to their conversations.

I took a slow breath.

This wasn’t happening.

When I opened the notebook again, the page was blank. Relief washed over me.

“You’re losing it, Evie.” I laughed quietly to myself.

The words felt ridiculous the moment they left my mouth. I’d barely managed to convince myself I’d imagined all of this when Professor Morgan walked into the lecture hall.

“Good morning, everyone.”

The room slowly fell silent, and I forced myself to focus on the lecture.

Anything except last night.

Ten minutes passed.

Then twenty.

Maybe that was it. Maybe stress really could make people imagine things.

I reached for my pen and flipped the notebook open to take notes.

The writing was back. Exactly where it had been before.

Only now…

There was one more line.

*43 minutes remaining.*

The blood drained from my face.

No, no, no.

I tore the page from the notebook. The sound echoed far louder than it should have.

Ignoring the curious look from the student beside me, I crumpled the paper into a ball and shoved it into my backpack.

My hands were shaking.

I opened the notebook to the next page.

Blank.

I exhaled. Problem solved.

Then ink began to spread across the paper.

*TASK ONE, EVIE.*

My stomach twisted.

I glanced at the clock mounted above the whiteboard.

11:17.

Forty-three minutes.

My gaze drifted to Professor Morgan. The silver fountain pen lay beside his laptop.

I wasn’t doing this. My heart lurched.

Absolutely not.

I wasn’t stealing from my professor because of some stupid message in my notebook.

The lecture finally came to an end.

“Don’t forget your assignments for next Tuesday,” Professor Morgan called as students began gathering their things.

This was my chance to leave. I shoved my notebook into my backpack and stood.

There were thirty-five minutes remaining.

Professor Morgan turned toward the projector at the front of the room, distracted by a student asking him a question. The silver pen was still lying on the desk.

My pulse pounded in my ears.

Don’t do it. Just walk away.

Instead…

I found myself walking toward the front of the room. One student brushed past me on his way out. Another thanked Professor Morgan for the lecture.

My hand trembled as I reached the desk. I picked up the pen. It disappeared into the sleeve of my sweater before I could change my mind.

“Have a good day, Professor.”

My own voice sounded strangely calm.

“You too, Evie.” He smiled without even looking at the desk.

I didn’t breathe until I was outside the lecture hall. My fingers closed around the pen inside my sleeve.

I’d actually done it.

The silver fountain pen felt far heavier than it should have.

I kept glancing over my shoulder as I crossed campus. Every passing student made my stomach tighten.

The library came into view. Outside, exactly where the notebook had instructed, stood the third wooden bench.

My steps slowed. Someone was already sitting there.

My breath caught.

It was him.

For a second, I almost didn’t recognize him. The black horns from last night were gone. In the daylight, he looked… ordinary.

A fitted black shirt and dark trousers. He sat with one arm resting lazily across the back of the bench, as though he hadn’t been waiting for me at all.

Students passed by without sparing him a second glance. The entire campus carried on around him.

He looked completely out of place…

…and somehow like he belonged there more than anyone else.

As I got closer, he slowly lifted his gaze from the courtyard. His eyes found mine immediately.

The faintest smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

“I was beginning to think you’d changed your mind.”

My fingers instinctively tightened around the fountain pen hidden inside my sleeve.

“You’re actually here,” I said, my voice quieter than I’d intended.

“I said I’d see you today.” He sounded almost amused.

As though disappearing into thin air the night before had been the least remarkable thing in the world.

He stood.

“May I?” He held out his hand.

I knew what he was waiting for. Slowly, I pulled Professor Morgan’s fountain pen from my sleeve.

“Here…” I placed it in his hand.

His eyes dropped to the pen for only a second. Then they returned to mine.

“Thank you, Evie.”

“That’s… it?” I frowned.

“Did you expect a reward?” The corner of his mouth lifted almost imperceptibly.

“No, but… what now?”

I could feel my cheeks burning.

“Now…” He slipped the pen into his pocket. “…I go to work.”

He walked past me without another word.

I turned to watch him.

He never looked back.