Ray was heading to the assembly hall when Caitlin caught up to him, one hand fixing her ponytail while the other kept her bag from slipping down her shoulder.
"Wait," she said, handing him her bag. "If this thing falls off in front of the first-years, I'm dropping out."
"Of school."
"Of dignity."
"That already happened last year."
Caitlin made a face at him, but stayed beside him anyway, matching his pace like she had no intention of letting him walk in alone.
Opening day always had its own kind of noise. First-years moved in clusters, pretending they knew where they were going. Teachers still had that early-semester patience on their faces, the kind that never lasted past lunch. The older students already looked settled, like the break had barely done anything to them.
Everyone was heading the same way, the crowd tightening toward the assembly hall as voices overlapped and footsteps slowed near the entrance.
Caitlin glanced toward the side door near the stage stairs and let out a disappointed sigh. "Mia's not sitting with us."
Ray followed her gaze before he could stop himself.
Of course, she wasn't.
With the new school year starting and a new student council in place, Mia was probably already backstage, standing too straight and trying not to look like she wanted the curtains to swallow her whole.
As vice president.
He still had no clear idea how he was supposed to act around her now.
Caitlin checked the time on her phone and groaned. "Actually, I need to leave right after this starts."
Ray looked at her.
"Basketball club," she said, lifting the bright stack of flyers under her arm. "We're supposed to hand these out to first-years and recruit innocent victims."
"Victims?"
"Victims, gym cleaners, water buyers, you know how it is."
He let that go. He knew how school clubs work.
They reached the hall doors. Caitlin pointed two fingers at him. "Save me a seat."
"You won't be there."
"You know what I mean."
Then she slipped toward the side aisle, already scanning the crowd for club members.
Ray paused at the entrance for a second, then went in alone.
The hall was almost full. Chairs scraped the floor. Students quieted whenever a teacher looked their way, then started talking again the moment the teacher moved on. Ray took a seat near the back, hoping to stay out of the first-day chaos, and sat down just as the lights shifted.
The program began.
The principal gave the usual speech about excellence, discipline, tradition, responsibility, and the bright future of St. Aurelius. Ray listened only as much as he had to. His attention kept drifting back to the stage.
When he looked up, his eyes found Mia immediately.
She was standing beside Julian.
It made sense. She was vice president now. Of course, she would be there.
He still did not like seeing how little space there was between them.
Julian leaned in before taking the podium and said something under his breath. Mia gave a short nod without looking at him. Her posture stayed straight, hands at her sides. Most people would have thought she looked calm.
Ray knew better.
There was tension in her jaw. One of her hands flexed once, then stilled. Small things, easy to miss unless you knew her.
From the aisle, Caitlin reappeared with a thinner stack of flyers under one arm. She spotted him, followed his line of sight to the stage, and grinned.
That grin meant trouble.
She leaned close enough to murmur, "Your daughter's really going up in the world."
Ray looked at her.
Caitlin only looked more entertained.
It was a stupid joke. He knew that. Caitlin liked making those jokes because Ray always acted like a doting father to Mia since they met her in first year.
Still, something about it landed wrong.
Going up in the world.
As if Mia was already stepping into a life that had less and less room for him in it.
He shoved the thought aside before it could settle.
The sound of broken plates. His father shouting that he is leaving while his mother is crying. The sound of the latch after he left.
Julian stepped up to the podium.
The hall reacted the way it always did when he was involved. People straightened. Whispers ran through the room. A few girls near the middle sat up like they had just remembered how to breathe. Julian carried himself like he already knew the crowd would make space for him.
Ahead of Ray, one girl whispered, "The Aurelius sophomore prince before really became the school king."
Her friend answered, louder than she probably meant to, "Look at Rowan beside him."
Ray looked away for a second, then back again, as if that would help.
It did not.
Julian started his speech.
He was annoyingly good at this. His voice was warm. His timing was clean. He spoke like every student council promise had a real chance of meaning something. Ray could feel his jaw tighten anyway.
Then Julian began introducing the rest of the council.
First came the secretary.
"A third-year transfer student, Kazuto Kizuchi."
That got people's attention fast.
Kazuto stepped forward, quiet but steady, and somehow the room settled around him without anyone meaning for it to. His hair was neat, his expression unreadable. When he spoke, his voice stayed low and even, with none of the extra weight people usually put on stage. He finished, gave a small bow, and handed the microphone back like this kind of thing had never once bothered him.
The whispers started immediately.
"Transfer student?"
"He's Japanese."
"He became secretary already?"
Julian moved on without missing a beat.
Next was Grant Harper, the new auditor.
Grant stepped forward, the lights catching on his glasses before he pushed them up and leaned slightly toward the mic. Ray only knew him through Mia's stories. The awkward pauses. The hovering. The way he always seemed to leave a little too early at the review centre. None of that showed now. Onstage, Grant sounded steady and clear in a way that did not ask for attention, which somehow made people listen more.
Caitlin flicked her eyes toward Ray like she was saying, This is the awkward one?
Ray shrugged.
The rest of the introductions went the way they were supposed to. Officers stepped up one by one. There were short speeches, polite applause, the usual assembly rhythm.
Then it was Mia's turn.
Julian turned toward her, and when he spoke again, his voice carried easily through the hall.
"And finally, our new vice president. A two-time Academic Excellence Awardee, and someone I genuinely like, Mia Rowan of class 3-A."
The hall erupted.
Students shouted. Some laughed. One section near the middle started clapping before Mia had even moved. A few girls practically folded into each other from the force of their reaction.
Ray's attention snapped fully to her.
Mia had gone completely still.
Her blonde hair was pinned up neatly, the black bow in place at the back. From a distance, she looked graceful enough to feed every rumor in the room for the next month. But Ray knew what was actually happening.
Julian had said that into a microphone.
In front of everyone.
Mia stepped forward, took the mic, opened her mouth, and stalled.
A blush started climbing up her face. She looked at Julian for half a second, like she could not believe he had actually done that, then lightly tapped the side of his shoe with hers.
It was barely a kick. More instinct than decision.
The entire hall caught it anyway. So is Ray.
Laughter broke loose across the room. A few people cheered louder. Someone near the front yelled, "She's embarrassed," which only made everything worse.
And because this was St. Aurelius, the whole assembly immediately decided the moment was adorable.
Julian, to his credit or maybe to his own benefit, looked amused and perfectly calm.
Mia tried again.
"G-good morning."
Her voice shook. She closed her eyes for a second, took a breath, and tried once more, steadier this time.
"I'm Mia Rowan of class 3-A. I'll do my best as vice president this year. Please look after us."
Her voice evened out by the end. It should have recovered the moment.
It did not.
The cheering came back just as hard.
Ray tightened his grip on his knees as the noise rose again.
"She kicked him."
"Did you hear what he said?"
"They look good together."
Mia stepped back into place beside Julian, and that was the part he hated most.
Not because she had done anything wrong.
Because from far away, she looked like she fit there.
Julian stood at the center of it all like he had always belonged on that stage. Mia was beside him, composed again, settling back into place faster than Ray could keep up with. He knew that was not the whole truth, but it still got under his skin.
The rest of the assembly continued, but the mood never fully settled after that. Too many people kept whispering. Too many heads kept turning. By the time dismissal finally came, the hall broke apart into noisy clusters almost at once.
Ray got to class before Mia did.
Caitlin slipped in a minute later, down to the last of her flyers and looking far too entertained with life.
"You saw that?"
"I was there."
"She did the Mia kick on the new council president."
"She lightly objected with her shoe."
Caitlin gave him a look. "You're already translating for her."
Ray pulled his notebook out of his bag. "Just recalling what I saw."
"That is not a denial."
He did not answer.
The classroom carried that first-day kind of noise, a little too loud, like everyone was trying to fill the space before anything real had started. A couple of boys at the back were already arguing over seats, dragging chairs around like it was a matter of principle. Near the windows, someone was retelling the assembly to a small group that kept interrupting.
Across the room, three guys kept talking over each other without even pretending to take turns. One of them laughed too loudly. Another kept throwing in dry comments that somehow only made the first one louder. The third could not sit still, heel bouncing against the floor, chair scraping every few seconds like he was reenacting a movie scene.
Ray noticed them, then stopped.
His mind was still on the stage.
Caitlin leaned back in a chair beside him. "The whole hall basically crowned them."
He said nothing.
"I mean it," she said. "The Aurelius prince became king, and because Mia was right there beside him, everyone immediately acted as she got promoted with him."
"That sounds stupid."
"It is stupid," Caitlin said. "It'll still spread."
Before he could answer, the classroom door opened.
Mia stepped in.
Half the room noticed immediately.
Nobody cheered this time, but the attention was obvious. A few boys sat up straighter. A few girls traded looks, the kind people wore when they thought they had fresh material to work with. Someone near the windows whispered, "There she is."
Mia's expression barely changed, which only made it more obvious how done she already was.
She crossed the room, set her bag down, and for one brief second looked like she wanted to put her face on the desk and stay there.
Caitlin waved her over. "Come here."
Mia sat in the chair in front of them and exhaled. "I hate this school."
Caitlin laughed into her hand. "You do not."
"I do right now."
Ray looked at her properly then. She still had that too-composed look, like part of her had not fully made it off the stage yet.
Mia turned to him slowly. "What's with that look?"
"Nothing, Miss Vice President."
"I want to strangle you."
"You are too tired."
That got the faintest pull at the corner of her mouth before she dropped her forehead into one hand.
The rest of the day passed in the strange, half-real way that first days always did. Teachers introduced themselves. Syllabi were mentioned like warnings. Homeroom reminders got repeated in different tones by different people. New notebooks came out. Seating charts shifted. The room grew louder or quieter depending on who was standing at the front.
At one point, the same three boys from earlier got told to keep it down. The loud one raised both hands like he was being accused unfairly. The restless one looked offended on principle. The dry one said something that made the other two start up again.
Ray glanced over once, decided they would probably become trouble in a regular way, and let the noise fade back out.
He had other things on his mind.
By dismissal, even the louder students looked worn down.
After school, the three of them ended up near the side gate path, where the shade was better and fewer people passed through.
Mia leaned back against the wall and let out a long breath. "At least council duties do not start properly until next week."
Caitlin looked at her. "That is what you're focused on?"
"Yes?"
"You do not want to unpack the fact that the whole school just watched Julian confess with extra steps."
Mia lifted her head. "He did not confess."
"He said you're someone he genuinely likes into a microphone."
"That is not the same thing."
Caitlin folded her arms. "Fine. Then let me ask it properly. What if he really does confess? What if he asks you to be his Aurelius queen and all the other ridiculous nonsense this school is going to invent?"
Mia stared at her. "Please never say that phrase again."
"So that is not a no."
Mia's ears had already started turning pink.
Ray said nothing.
Caitlin kept looking at her. "Well?"
Mia looked down at the pavement, fingers tightening around her bag strap. She always did that when she was trying to get her thoughts into order before speaking.
Finally she said, more carefully than usual, "Julian is not a bad guy."
Caitlin's expression softened. "Okay."
"He's different."
Ray looked at her then.
Mia kept her eyes down. "I do not think he's shallow."
Caitlin gave her a second. "And?"
Mia let out a breath through her nose. "I would think about it."
Caitlin blinked. "You would?"
Mia's ears went redder. "That is what I said."
Ray answered before Caitlin could press again.
"Be careful."
Mia looked at him. "Careful?"
"Julian probably has a lot of admirers."
The words came out flatter than he meant them to.
Mia studied him for a moment. "You say that like it's a warning."
"It is one."
Before that could turn into something harder to step around, Caitlin cut in.
"Honestly, I'm just glad you're thinking about something other than rankings and exams for once," she said. "We are in our third year. We are supposed to act like teenagers before fourth year tries to kill us with college exams."
Mia let out a tired laugh. "That is a terrible way to comfort someone."
"It worked a little."
"Maybe."
They started walking after that, heading toward the station road more by habit than anything else. Caitlin talked about basketball recruitment and how first-years always thought sports clubs looked more fun from a distance. Mia mentioned orientation dates, paperwork, briefing schedules, and the fact that Julian had already warned her the vice president's workload would get ugly during the first month.
Ray listened.
That was the strange part.
He could still walk beside them. He could still answer whenever either of them pulled him into the conversation. He could still keep pace, as if the shape of things had not changed.
But it had.
Mia was on the council now, and not in some quiet position where she could disappear into the background. Caitlin had basketball. Their names were already starting to belong to other places, other people, other schedules. Ray kept his hands in his pockets and looked ahead at the road.
The old memory pushed at the edge of his mind again.
A phone call he made. A goodbye from someone he once cared for deeply. The reason he became nonchalant around people.
He forced it down and kept walking while Mia and Caitlin kept talking beside him, as if that alone could prove nothing had changed yet.