Beyond the Stars

Chapter 6: The Other Side

It had been a month since I first set foot in Therondia, yet I still had no answers to the questions that haunted me. Who was I, really? Why could I wield all four powers when everyone else in Cassiopeia had only one? Why did the queen watch me so closely, as though she saw something in me that even I could not?

The only thing I did find was routine. By day, I studied Telekinesis, the major I had been sorted into. By night, I practiced my other powers in secret, hidden away in the dormitory. Only Blessica knew the truth, and though she never betrayed me, I could see the worry in her eyes every time I shifted into a rabbit or summoned a gust of wind when no one else was watching.

At this very moment, I was seated in my telekinesis classroom, parchment open, quill scratching as I studied for our upcoming quiz in defense. The room buzzed with quiet concentration. Students hunched over their notes, lips moving as they memorized formulas for channeling energy. At the front, our teacher floated a pile of scrolls with a single flick of her hand, her eyes scanning the room with calm authority.

But even amid the stillness, I could feel it: Amelia's glare.

It was like a blade pressed against the back of my neck. I didn't have to look up to know her eyes were on me, sharp and unrelenting. For a month, I had grown used to it, yet it never failed to make my stomach twist.

My friends weren't here to distract me. Blessica was in Animal Shifting, Alon in General Bending, Danilo in Teleportation. Telekinesis was my path alone, and Amelia thrived on reminding me of it.

The quiz began, and I focused on the questions. Essays on defensive strategies. Diagrams of mental focus. Practical applications of lifting and shielding. My quill moved quickly, steady and sure. Around me, students hesitated, erased, frowned in frustration. I kept going, shutting out Amelia's eyes burning into my skin.

When the quiz ended, our teacher stepped forward. She gathered our papers into a neat stack and held them to her chest. Her irises glowed faintly, scanning the parchment with magic. Unlike back in Manila, where teachers needed weeks to mark papers, here the answers revealed themselves in seconds.

"The highest mark," she announced, her voice carrying across the room, "belongs to... Angeline."

The room broke into applause. I flushed, bowing my head slightly. My classmates smiled, some clapping more enthusiastically than others.

Everyone except Amelia.

Her face twisted, sour and rigid, as if the words had been poison.

I left the classroom as quickly as I could, clutching my bag to my chest. I thought if I hurried, I could avoid her.

I was wrong.

"You don't know when to stop, do you?"

Amelia stood blocking my path in the corridor, her arms folded, her voice laced with venom.

I tried to keep my voice calm. "What do you mean?"

"You're such an attention seeker," she spat. "Grabbing the spotlight every chance you get, stealing my position, my recognition. You don't even belong here! You never attended middle school, so why bother showing your face in high school?!"

Her words dug deep, sharper because I had no friends here to stand beside me. I clenched my fists, holding back the urge to snap back harder. Fighting would only make things worse. Instead, I forced a smile.

"I'll stop attending high school if you say: you are my lodicakes."

The confusion on her face was priceless. "What?"

"Exactly." I almost laughed.

But before the tension could boil over, a voice sliced through the air.

"Amelia!"