The hall way did not look normal at all, the moment they stepped into the hallway Mishell slowed down.
Then stopped.
"Why does it look like this?" She asked, her voice flat and unimpressed.
Lydia was right behind her. "Why did you suddenly....." She looked up then froze.
"What in heaven's name is this?."
Corelia blinked once, taking in the scene quietly she couldn't hide the slight pause in her expression.
Everywhere Mishell looked, It had the same color of hair. Girls walked past in clusters, laughing, flipping their hair like they'd just stepped out of the same photoshoot. Some had it perfectly styled, others clearly rushed, a few very questionable attempts.
One girl's hair was slightly green.
Another's was too bright.
Someone's looked like it was still wet from dye.
The light from the windows caught it all at once, waves of identical shades moving together, glowing unnaturally. It was almost hypnotic and more like standing in the middle of a field where everything had been painted the same shade of green.
"What am I looking at?" Mishell asked slowly.
"It looks like a vegetation field," Lydia whispered, grabbed her arm. "You're looking at Influence" She whispered dramatically.
Mishell didn't move, her eyes tracked one group as they passed by, ladies with different faces but same hair, some attempted to make it shine like the original but no one could get It. Some colors were brighter, some duller while some aggressively wrong. One girl's hair had a green tint that caught the light in a way that made Mishell physically uncomfortable. Another had patches that clearly didn't take the dye properly. While another girl walked past confidently, and the back of her hair was still her original color.
Mishell blinked then exhaled slowly.
"This is upsetting not influence, this is identity theft."
Corelia's lips twitched slightly.
A group of girls passed by, giggling.
"Do you think Jax will notice?" one of them whispered.
"Of course he will, it's the hair!"
Mishell froze, then turned her head very slowly toward Lydia and Corelia.
"It's the hair?"
Lydia nodded, trying not to laugh.
"It's the hair."
Mishell closed her eyes briefly, took a breath. Then opened them again.
"This is annoying."
"That's all you have to say?" Lydia asked. "Your entire aesthetic just got duplicated by half the female population and you'..."
"Yes," Mishell cut in. "Because clearly no one here understands the work behind this." She gestured vaguely at her head. "Do they think this just… happens?"
Corelia tilted her head slightly. "You did say it takes effort."
"Effort?" Mishell scoffed. "This is not effort. This is commitment."
Lydia folded her arms, fully invested now. "Go on."
Mishell pointed at a passing student whose hair looked slightly uneven.
"That? That is box dye and poor decision-making."
Corelia looked like she was trying not to laugh.
Mishell continued, now fully irritated.
"Do they know how long it takes to get this shade right? The balance? The tone?" She ran a hand through her hair.
"And the glow? Don't even get me started on the shine, only royalty inherits that."
Lydia nodded seriously. "Educate your minions."
"I uses sea snails gels to makr" Mishell said.
There was a pause.
"…Sea snail gels?" Lydia repeated.
"Yes."
Corelia blinked once.
"Multiple," Mishell added.
"Of course," Lydia said.
"Do you know how hard it is to extract that properly?" Mishell went on, clearly not stopping now. "You can't rush it. You mess up the process once and suddenly your hair looks like—" she gestured again at someone nearby "that."
The girl they both glanced at immediately turned away.
Lydia leaned closer. "You're judging them out loud now."
"I don't care."
"You're attacking civilians."
"They attacked me first."
Corelia let out a quiet laugh. "It's nkt that bad if you ask me".
Mishell crossed her arms.
"Main reason I didn't, humans are weird" she muttered. "Always trying to be like others, never satisfied with their own lives".
Lydia tapped her chin. "To be fair… that is how trends work."
Mishell gave her a look.
"You are not helping either".
Lydia grinned. "I mean think about the bright side, your hair is famous."
"I don't want it to be famous."
"Too late."
Corelia glanced around again.
"It does make it harder to identify you."
Mishell sighed.
"Yes. Because now I look like everyone."
Lydia shook her head. "No, no. Everyone looks like you. Big difference.
Mishell didn't look convinced. Another group of girls walked past, same hair again. One of them glanced at Mishell, then leaned toward her friend and whispered loudly....
"Wait… hers looks better."
Mishell no longer reacted, it was already fustrating enough but Lydia did.
She gasped dramatically. "AS IT SHOULD."
Mishell exhaled again slowly. "I'm surrounded by copies."
Corelia patted her shoulder.
"Imitation is the highest form of flattery."
Mishell looked at her.
"Then I'm very flattered and extremely annoyed."
Corelia nodded and replied. "That sounds accurate."
They started walking again. Carefully weaving through what now looked like a hallway full of reflections. They hadn't even made it halfway down the hall before the noise shifted, the kind of noise that came with attention.
Corelia noticed it first the way a small group ahead slowed down, then turned.
Lydia followed their gaze.
"…Uh oh," she whispered. "We have company."
Mishell didn't even look up. "I'm not in the mood."
"Too late," Lydia said. "She's in the mood for you."
Chloe.
Of course it was Chloe. Standing right in the middle of the hallway like she owned it, surrounded by her usual group, every single one of them sporting their natural hair color at least… they didn't try to copy the trend. They tried to look better than it.
Chloe flipped her hair as they approached, their presence alone annoyed her but she won't have said anything If they passed by quietly.
"Well, well," Chloe said, folding her arms. "Look who decided to show up."
Mishell kept walking.
"Keep moving," she muttered.
Lydia grabbed Corelia's arm. "No, wait, I want to hear this."
Corelia stayed silent, but she didn't stop either.
Chloe stepped forward, blocking their path. "There she is," she said, eyes scanning Mishell slowly. "The 'hero.'"
Mishell finally stopped and looked at her with blank expression clearly not interested. "Yes," she said. "You called?"
Chloe smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes.
"It's funny," she continued. "How someone like you suddenly ends up in the spotlight."
Lydia folded her arms. "Oh, here we go."
Corelia tilted her head slightly, watching.
Mishell said nothing.
That seemed to irritate Chloe more.
"I mean," Chloe went on, "don't you think it's a little too… convenient?"
Mishell raised a brow.
"Convenient?"
Chloe nodded, stepping closer.
"That the light just happened to fall" She said. "And you just happened to be there at the perfect moment."
Lydia blinked. "No way she is about to use that card" she whispered.
Chloe smiled wider. "Almost like you planned it."
Mishell paused for a while and few seconds she laughed, not loudly, not dramatically. Just a short, dry laugh like she'd just heard the dumbest thing of her life. Corelia looked down briefly, hiding her own smile.
Lydia's jaw dropped. "That's a stupid assumtions."
Mishell tilted her head.
"Let me get this straight," she said calmly. "You think I bribed an entire production crew…"
Chloe didn't interrupt.
"…to drop a stage light," Mishell continued, "…on a celebrity…"
Corelia added softly, "In front of cameras."
"…so I could push him," Mishell finished, "and become famous?."
Chloe lifted her chin. "It wouldn't be the craziest thing people have done for attention."
Mishell nodded slowly after listening to her respond. "You're right."
Chloe looked slightly surprised then Mishell stepped closer, close enough for her presence to intimidate others
"Next time," she said, voice calm and sharp, "I'll make sure it lands on you instead. Much better plan."
Lydia choked. Corelia turned away, shoulders shaking slightly.
Chloe's smile faltered.
"That's not funny," one of her friends muttered.
"No," Mishell agreed. "Neither was your theory."
Chloe straightened quickly, trying to recover.
"You really expect people to believe you just… happened to save him?
Mishell shrugged.
"I don't expect anything from people like you."
"Ouch," Lydia whispered.
Corelia nodded slightly. "That one hurt."
Chloe scoffed. "Please. You're not special."
Mishell glanced around at the hallway, lookung at all the identical hair. Then back at Chloe.
"You're absolutely right," she said simply.
Chloe blinked. "What?"
Mishell gestured lazily. "Clearly and obviously I'm not."
Lydia slapped a hand over her mouth to stop herself from laughing.
Chloe's expression tightened. "You think this is funny?"
Mishell looked at her, completely serious.
"Yes."
That did it Chloe stepped forward, visibly annoyed now.
"You know what? Believe whatever you want. But people are already talking."
Mishell sighed. "Of course they are."
"They're saying you staged it."
"Creative."
"You wanted attention..."
"Original."
"They're saying...."
"And you're repeating it," Mishell cut in. "So what does that make you?"
Chloe's face flushed slightly. "That's not...."
"No, go on," Mishell said, folding her arms. "Finish your thought. I'm curious how far this goes."
Chloe opened her mouth then closed it.
Because suddenly It didn't sound as good out loud.
Mishell tilted her head slightly. "That's what I thought."
Chloe looked around briefly, aware now that people were watching, listening and waiting. Her confidence slipped just a little.
"…Whatever," she muttered finally. "This isn't over."
Mishell gave a small nod. "I hope not," she said. "You've been very entertaining."
Lydia lost it, laughing.
"Have a wonderful day Chloe, see you next time we are bored". Corelia added.
Chloe shot them one last glare— Then turned sharply.
"Let's go."
Her friends followed quickly, a little less confident than before and more embarrassed.
The moment they were gone Lydia grabbed Mishell's arm.
"You destroyed her."
"I answered her," Mishell said.
"That was not answering, that was emotional damage."
Corelia nodded. "Accurate."
Mishell exhaled slowly, rolling her shoulders. "Can we go now?"
Lydia grinned. "Lead the way, main character."
Mishell didn't respond but as they walked off, the whispers started again. Different this time, less doubtful and more curious.
For the very first time Chloe wasn't the one people were looking at anymore.