The Art of Extinct Lovers

1: freshman year

It was nearly midnight when she had finally arrived at her new apartment. It was weird, she thought. Rosalia was only 14 and going to be living independently from here on out. But different problems call for different circumstances.

It was a simple place. Fortunately, everything she needed to live comfortably was provided. For food and amenities, Rosalia had a hefty allowance, honestly way more than she needed, to spend monthly. The rent was taken care of, along with groceries. She was thankful, indeed, that this allowance was going to be spent on her own accord. It's definitely the least her parents could do, after all they put her through.

Rosalia set her luggage down, it was only one due to the rest of her baggage being shipped. She easily found her room and decided to start getting ready for bed once she discover an adjoined bathroom. The girl needed all the sleep she could get after the flights and for the long day planned tomorrow.

....

After having a quick breakfast that consisted of cereal and fruit, as well as a shower and outfit change, Rosalia was out the door. She had to check in with her new school. A school for special types of people.

This education facility had students with all sorts of secondary genders. Wolves, tigers, bears, and even dragons. It's very diverse. Rosalia, herself, is classified as a deer. She was a late bloomer though, she had yet to shift into her counterpart.

Rosalia arrived and conversed with the middle aged lady perched up on the front desk. "Welcome to Crestworth Academic Institute how may I help you hun?" She greeted with a warm smile.

"I'm Rosalia Sasaki, I'll be attending school here starting tomorrow and I was just wondering if I could get my schedule earlier and if I needed to pass additional documents?". She was proud that she hadn't stutter one bit.

"Sorry hun I cant find your name in here, what did you register as?" The lady, who was now identify as Mrs. Clayton, from her nametag, replied with a slight frown.

Rosalia sighs as she feels her heart tighten. "Koharu" she pauses "Koharu Sasaki". Of course her parents just had to use that name.

Fortunately, all her documents had been passed and she was able to attain her class schedule. It had normal classes the only difference is you'd be surrounded with people more similar as you are. The only thing she was really worried about is the snobby attitude of the students. Crestworth was, after all, the most prestigous school for those with a secondary gender. Also, it's crazy expensive.

Since the visit to school was quick, Rosalia decided to stop by a bookstore to purchase necessary materials for school. Once acquiring everything she needed, Rosalia headed back home. The girl prepared mentally and physically for the next day.

Before she would go to bed though, Rosalia decided to do some research on ballet schools that were nearby. It had been her escape from reality ever since she could remember. At the very least it resisted her urge of causing self inflicted wounds.

Luckily, Rosalia had found a place only a 10 minute walk away from her current location. With no second thoughts she enrolled herself for classes on the weekdays from 4-7pm, just after her academy hours.

...

All of the nerves caused her to not catch a wink of sleep.  The whole night was spent on dark and anxiety ridden thoughts. She tried counting sheep, drinking milk, yet nothing was able to get her drowsy enough to sleep. 

So she stands in front of the school gates without any nights rest. Rosalia praise to the gods above to help her push through this day. She needs everything to go well. As the girl is about to walk through the doors, she fixes her blazer and pats down her skirt.

Rosalia already knew where her classes were thanks to the lady who had helped her the previous day by providing a schedule and campus map, a god sent, if you will.

With the little confidence she had left in her, she navigated through the building, class after class. Everything surprisingly went well. There were no problems with other students due to it being freshmen year and having a bunch of transferees. Rosalia's fear of being the odd one out was thrown away.

Maybe it was the stress of being enveloped in unfamiliar surroundings and people because Rosalia felt a common feeling creeping up her body. A cold tremor that sent shivers down her spine. Although there was reassurance that she wasn't the only new kid, Rosalia still felt as though she was unwanted. Her breathing started picking up and she was doing all that she could to prolong the effects of an inevitable panic attack. The girl tried thinking of something, anything to change her train of thought.

Though the girl had no friends at the moment, she was at peace with that. It's better to be lonely than have someone close to you betray your trust. Rosalia was satisfied living her high school life this way.

Whilst she was silently agreeing to her thoughts, she couldn't help but notice a commotion going on in the hallway. This was the distraction she needed, her breathing started to calm down. A portion of the hallway was being crowded, seemingly a circle was being formed around a person, or rather, people.

As she's only human (even half), Rosalia grew curious. She maintained her wallflower persona and avoided any attention being attracted to herself as she neared the crowd. Then Rosalia saw who the two people in the midst of the crowd were. Them.

Suddenly, her breath was once again taken away.