Chapter 2:Marked by the academy
1007 Words
The hallway did not feel like a hallway.
Aria Vale realized that the moment she stepped forward and heard her own footsteps fail to echo properly.
It wasn't silence.
It was something carefully placed over sound.
Like the building was deciding what she was allowed to hear.
The corridor stretched longer than it should have. Windows lined the walls, but none of them showed the outside courtyard she had just stood in. Instead, they reflected the inside of the school, except slightly delayed, like the glass was remembering a moment after it happened.
Aria slowed down.
Her suitcase rolled beside her, but even that sound felt… softened. Damped. As though the air was swallowing it whole.
At the end of the corridor stood a notice board.
She hadn't seen anyone pin anything there.
Yet there was fresh paper clipped to it.
Her name was written on it.
ARIA VALE, FIRST YEAR — ROOM 9
Her fingers tightened slightly.
"I didn't register," she whispered.
The words barely existed before they were taken by the air.
A soft voice answered anyway. "You don't need to."
Aria turned sharply. A girl stood by her.
She hadn't heard her arrive.
The girl wore the same uniform as everyone else, dark navy trimmed with silver, but something about her felt… unfinished. Like her presence had been drawn slightly out of alignment with the world.
"You're early," the girl said.
"I just got here," Aria replied.
A pause, not too long. The girl tilted her head.
"That's not what I meant."
Before Aria could ask, the bell rang.
Once, deep and perfect.
The sound didn't come from above.
It came from inside the walls.
The corridor seemed to react.
Not moving, but listening.
The girl's expression changed immediately, like a switch had been flipped behind her eyes.
"Don't follow it," she said quickly.
Aria frowned. "Follow what?"
But the girl was already stepping backward.
"That was the first bell you heard at the gate, yes?" she asked.
Aria nodded slowly.
A flicker of something crossed the girl's face, fear, or recognition.
"Then you've been noticed."
The second bell rang.
This time, the air shifted.
As if it had stepped forward into the hallway with them.
The windows went dark for half a second.
When they cleared, the reflections were gone.
No delay, no echoes.
Just empty glass.
The girl grabbed Aria's wrist.
Her grip was cold.
"Room 9 is not where you sleep," she said.
Aria's heart tightened. "Then what is it?"
The girl looked at her for a long moment.
And whispered:
"It's where the school decides what you become."
The bell rang a third time. By then Aria was sure that the bell was meant for her.
Chapter 4: Marked By the Academy (ii)
A group of students appeared, walking in pairs and small clusters like they had done this route a thousand times. Their uniforms were the same as hers, but their behavior wasn't.
They weren't talking loudly.
They were talking carefully.
Like every word had permission.
One group passed them, and Aria caught fragments of their conversation.
"Second bell schedule changed again," "new arrivals always trigger it."
"Hope she doesn't end up in Room Index."
Aria's eyes narrowed slightly. "Room Index?"
The girl beside her immediately stepped closer to block her view of them. "Forget you heard that."
But it was too late.
One of the students in the passing group slowed down.
She had braided hair tied neatly with a silver ribbon and a calm face that didn't match the tension in her eyes. She looked directly at Aria.
Not curious, but interested.
"You're the new one," she said.
Aria hesitated. "I guess so."
The girl stepped away from her group and approached.
The girl beside Aria muttered, "Don't."
But the new girl ignored her.
"I'm Mira," she said simply. "You're standing in the wrong section of the corridor."
Aria blinked. "There are sections?"
Mira gave a small, almost tired smile. "At Elarion, everything has sections."
The group she left behind continued walking, but one of them called softly, "Mira, you'll miss briefing."
"I already know it," she replied without turning.
That alone made the first girl beside Aria stiffen.
Mira looked at Aria more closely now.
"You heard the first bell at the gate," she said.
Aria didn't answer this time.
Mira nodded anyway, like she already knew.
"That means the school marked you early."
The air around them felt heavier.
Aria crossed her arms slightly. "Marked for what?"
Mira didn't answer immediately.
Instead, she said, "Come with me."
The other girl grabbed Aria's sleeve again. "Mira, she shouldn't."
"I know the rules," Mira cut in calmly. "But I also know what happens when someone is left alone after the second bell."
That sentence changed the air.
Even the corridor seemed to pause.
Aria looked between them. "What happens?"
Mira finally met her eyes fully.
And said quietly:
"They disappear into the school… and the school pretends they never existed."
A distant bell rang again.
This time it felt like a reminder.
Mira turned slightly. "Decide fast."
Aria exhaled slowly, then nodded once.
"Alright."
Mira gave a small nod back. "Good. Then stay close."
As they started walking, Aria glanced back at the first girl.
"What's your name?" Aria asked.
A pause.
Then the girl answered reluctantly.
"…Claudin."
Aria gave a small nod. "Thanks."
Claudin didn't respond.
But her eyes followed them longer than necessary.
As they walked with Mira, Aria noticed something new.
Students weren't just grouped randomly.
They were grouped by attention.
Some looked alert, like Mira.
Some looked empty, like they were waiting for instructions they couldn't hear.
And some.
Some didn't look at anything at all.
Mira noticed Aria staring.
"Don't trust the ones who don't react to the bells," she said quietly.
Aria frowned. "Why?"
Mira stopped walking for half a second.
"Because they've already heard too many."
And somewhere deep inside the academy…
The second bell rang again.
But this time, no one else seemed to hear it.
Only Aria did.
- Writer
