The_Moon_5
When Avantika-Ava, as she prefers-was thrown out (respectfully, "removed") from her 11th grade school for failing every subject beyond repair, her parents scrambled to find another school that would accept her.
But fate was not on her side.
Rejections came like exam results-quick, cruel, and final.
Her father, ever the hopeful one, the "Papa who moves mountains," discovered a school listed deep in the corners of the internet.
Not the usual school portal or education board site-this one was found on a forum hidden so far in the digital depths, it may as well have been the dark web.
A school with rock-bottom tuition, free hostel, and unlimited meals.
A school that promised:
"Enter a failure. Exit a perfect being."
Being. Not person.
But Papa, in his excitement, didn't scroll to the fine print.
The terms and conditions-written in something suspiciously like blood-read:
"Mortals stay far away."
He laughed and signed her up anyway.
And now, after crossing forests, rivers, deserts, and one very questionable toll booth operated by a one-eyed parrot, Avantika "Ava" Sharma stood in front of a place that didn't look like a school.
It looked like... something out of a dream.
Or a nightmare.
Three palaces, not buildings.
In front of her stood a gothic fortress, shrouded in thunder and clouds-despite the clear, sunny sky.
To her right: a crystal castle, sharp and gleaming, the sunlight bouncing off the walls so brightly Ava had to shield her eyes.
And to her left... a dense jungle, breathing like it was alive. A place that whispered,
"Once you step in... you don't step out."
Ava turned slowly to her father.
Brows furrowed.
Voice flat.
Expression: the classic-are you serious right now.
"Papa... are you sure this is a school?"