Nocte Yin

Chapter Twelve

Despite how sobering her holidays had been, returning to Evil Academy was equally disorienting. At least, Nocte conceded, nothing had changed. (Something in her life had to remain constant.)

The towers were still tall and foreboding, the buildings were still large and portentous, and the campus still had that… smell.

Wrinkling her nose, Nocte drew aside the curtains when their carriage came to a stop, and sighed at the sight. There were students all over the place, grouped together in their little cliques as the servants struggled to pull the luggage from the carriages and through the crowd. At the sidelines, the professors tried to lead the students back to their dorms and free up the congestion around Chaos, but it was to no avail.

Telling rich and snobby evil teenagers to follow orders was just simply futile.

Straightening, Nocte searched for Savvy avidly. She, too, wanted to share news with her friend, but there were too many people about. One group, in particular, was too close for Nocte’s comfort.

Nocte pulled back from the window before Witley or her clique could spot her. She didn’t want to face them, not when she had successfully avoided the auburn for two whole months.

“Are you going to open the door?” Occult questioned testily.

Nocte didn’t want to brave the masses, but knew that her sister’s patience was growing thin. Grinning, just to get a rise from Occult, Nocte opened the door and jumped out. Stepping forward, she-

“Oh, sorry!” Nocte apologized hastily, nearly bowling over a little girl. She had been too eager in her search for Savvy.

The girl’s face was expressionless, her eyes empty and poise structured. She wore a lacy white dress and a lacy white ribbon, and had both hands clasped together at the front. She resembled, quite disturbingly, a china doll, but what made Nocte’s heart jump were the girl’s red eyes and white hair.

“Good afternoon, Miss Nocte.” The albino bowed, her voice monotone.

“Aira,” Occult introduced as she descended from the carriage.

“Oh, hello Aira,” Nocte greeted, composing herself at once.

“Good afternoon, Miss Occult.” Aira bowed again.

“I do believe,” Occult said, “Aira is your roommate’s sister.”

“Savvy’s?”

“Yes, Miss Nocte,” Aira confirmed.

“Wow, what a coincidence!” Nocte said, surprised. “How’s your grandmother?”

“She is well. I thank you for asking,” Aira said with a slight bow of her head.

“Oh, you’re welcome.” Nocte wondered if Savvy had ever mentioned having a sister.

“I will see you after the exams,” Occult said suddenly.

Nocte lifted a brow, unperturbed by the sudden dismissal. “I’m sure we’ll see each other between now and exams, Occult.”

“Evil’s exams are hectic. It is not like Athena’s inferior system where you can just… ‘wing it,’ as you say,” Occult chided, already strolling away. “Try to keep up, dear sister.”

Nocte crossed her arms and watched her go with a pout. She didn’t appreciate Occult’s insult, not when she was as capable as any other Yin.

“N-Nocte?” Savvy called quietly.

Grinning, Nocte faced her roommate and felt relieved to have somebody in the crowd. “Hey! You found me! I just saw your sister. Seems like you’ve had a good Christmas.”