The immortal's queen

Chapter 3: New friend

I was standing in the middle of the hallway, clutching my schedule like it was a lifeline, when a voice shattered my thoughts.

"You're the new student, right?"

I spun around. A girl bounced toward me with a grin that could have powered a city. She was short, maybe five-foot-four, with dark curly hair that seemed to have its own gravitational field. Big brown eyes sparkled with mischief. A sprinkling of freckles dotted her nose. And she had more energy than a puppy on caffeine.

"Um... yes?" I said cautiously.

She stuck out her hand, shaking mine vigorously before I could even respond. "I'm Noemi! You must be Celine! I'm your roommate! I've been waiting for you all morning—I even saved you the bottom bunk because I figured you'd want it—oh! What's your power? Please tell me it's something cool. I'm wind control. I can make gusts, tornadoes, and I once accidentally blew a professor's toupee off. It was legendary. He was so mad! But honestly, it was an improvement. That toupee was tragic."

She paused to breathe. I stared at her, my brain struggling to keep up.

A roommate that talk this much. I'm finished. How is she this energetic? Is she powered by caffeine? By chaos? By sheer force of will?

"Uh," I said. "Mind-reading."

Noemi's eyes went wide. "Wait. Like... you can hear what I'm thinking right now?"

I smirked. "You're wondering if I'm lying. And also thinking about how cute a guy named Darian's butt looked in his training pants this morning."

Noemi's jaw dropped. Then she screamed with delight. "OH MY GOD! You're my new best friend! We're inseparable now! I'm adopting you!"

I've been here five minutes and I've already been adopted by a tornado in human form. This is fine. This is totally fine.

Noemi grabbed my arm and dragged me down the hallway. "Come on, let me show you around before you get eaten alive!"

---

The campus tour was chaos, but it was entertaining chaos.

"This is the main hall," Noemi said, gesturing at a massive cathedral-like building. "Assemblies happen here. Bronze students sit in the back. Silver in the middle. Gold and Platinum in the front. We're Bronze, so we're basically invisible."

I frowned. "Ranks?"

"Oh yeah." Noemi lowered her voice. "Everyone starts as Bronze. Work your way up. Silver, Gold, Platinum. The elites get better dorms, more privileges, and everyone bows to them. It's annoying."

And who's at the top? I thought.

"That's the training grounds," Noemi continued, pointing at a massive open field filled with obstacle courses, combat rings, and students being flung through the air. "They teach you how to control your powers. Some are better than others."

A student crashed into a wall with a loud thud. He slid down, groaning.

*"I think I broke my nose..." *

I winced. "Shouldn't we help them?"

"Nope. Personal growth. That's what they call it."

Then she showed me the cafeteria—loud, chaotic, filled with students fighting for tables. The smell of food drifted through the air, making my stomach growl. I hadn't eaten since yesterday.

"We don't have assigned seating," Noemi explained. "Sit wherever you can find space. Except that table." She pointed at a large table near the windows, draped in gold and silver cloth. A group of students sat there, laughing and chatting. At the center of the group was a stunningly beautiful girl with platinum blonde hair and cold, calculating eyes. She moved like she owned the place.

"That's Chloe's table," Noemi whispered. "Don't sit there. Unless you want to die."

Chloe. The "queen" of the school. Of course.

"The library," Noemi said, pointing at a massive stone building covered in ivy. "Ancient, dusty, probably haunted. Also restricted after dark. So don't get caught sneaking in." She winked at me.

Why would I sneak in? I thought

"Classrooms are here, here, and here." She waved vaguely at a cluster of buildings. "You'll figure it out."

"And the sports arena," she added, pointing at a massive stadium in the distance. "Tournaments. Games. School pride. It's a big deal."

I absorbed it all, my head spinning. The school was huge. Overwhelming. And everyone had powers.

"Also," Noemi said, her voice dropping to a whisper. "The most important thing."

"What?"

She pointed at a massive mansion on the east side of campus. It was beautiful—elegant, intimidating, surrounded by gardens so perfect they looked like a painting. The architecture was old and powerful, like it was judging everyone who looked at it. Even from a distance, the building radiated authority.

"That's the King's Suite," Noemi whispered. "Theo's place."

I stared at it. The building seemed to hum with energy. Cold, ancient, untouchable. "Theo," I repeated. "The head of the school? The immortal guy?"

"The one and only." Noemi's voice dropped even lower. "No one goes inside without his permission. It's forbidden. Students who try to sneak in are expelled. Or worse."

*"They never come back..." *

*"I heard someone tried once and disappeared..." *

*"The Beast's Den..." *

I swallowed. "The Beast's Den?"

"Don't say that to his face," Noemi warned. "Unless you have a death wish."

"What is he?" I asked. "Like, really. What's his deal?"

Noemi shrugged. "No one knows. He just... appeared one day, like you. He's been here ever since. Some say he's a god. Others say he's a monster. The only thing everyone agrees on is that you don't mess with him."

"He's not human..."

"I heard he can kill you with a glance..."

"Don't look at him. Don't. Look. At. Him."

"Right," I said slowly. "So avoid the scary mansion and the scary immortal guy. Got it."

"Exactly!" Noemi beamed. "Now come on—let's get you to your dorm. The beds are surprisingly comfortable for a place that's probably haunted."

---

The dorm was small but cozy. Noemi had already claimed the top bunk, and she'd saved me the bottom one—just like she'd promised. I dumped my bag on the mattress and sat down heavily, letting out a long breath.

"Okay," I said, exhaling. "I'm officially exhausted."

"Get used to it," Noemi said cheerfully, climbing up to her bunk. She poked her head over the edge, grinning down at me. "Welcome to Alpha Royals."

I looked around the room. It was plain but clean. A window looked out over the gardens. The walls were bare, waiting for me to make it my own.

"So," Noemi said. "First day jitters?"

"More like first day existential crisis," I muttered.

"Same thing." She laughed. "Don't worry. You'll survive. Probably."

Probably. Great.

I lay back on my bed and stared at the ceiling. The energy of the school hummed through the walls. The voices of students drifted in from outside. And somewhere, deep inside me, a tiny spark of excitement flickered.

Alpha Royals Academy. A school for people like me.

I wasn't sure if I was ready for this. But I had a feeling I didn't have a choice.