The airship descended with a soft hum, and I took a deep breath. Alright, Aezel, stay calm. Stay cool. You're a mysterious, composed figure in control of everything around you. Cold. Unreachable. Untouchable.
I stepped off the airship with my hands casually tucked into my blazer pockets, moving with the kind of swagger you'd expect from someone with their life together. And then I tripped.
I'm talking full-on, two feet in the air, almost kissing the ground kind of trip. The world seemed to slow down as I flailed like a windmill caught in a storm. Miraculously, I caught myself before I made a full-on faceplant into the floor, but only just.
I recovered. Sort of.
I pretended like nothing happened and straightened up, trying to walk it off, but every part of my body screamed nope. A little heat rose in my face, but I couldn't let anyone see me sweat. No. I was too cool for that. Just had to... regroup.
I made my way down the steps, fully aware that every student in sight was probably judging me for having no control over my legs. But hey, at least I had my cool blazer on. That made it fine, right?
The academy was everything I imagined: towering glass buildings, like a castle, students who looked like they were born with a silver spoon, and everything smelled faintly of arrogance and expensive cologne. I could practically hear their thoughts: "Look at me, I'm flawless. I don't trip, I glide."
Oh, great. I'm going to fit in perfectly here.
But before I could fully wallow in my misery, I heard a voice that immediately yanked me out of my self-pity.
"Hey! You okay?"
I froze mid-step. A friendly voice? No. This was it. The test. Time to flex my cool, calm, and collected persona.
I turned around, preparing my best "I'm fine, just a little accident, but I don't let it faze me" face_and then I saw him.
Ren Seijian.
Ren was… too much. His dark brown hair was just the right amount of messy, and his green eyes practically glowed with that confident kindness that makes people want to immediately trust him. You know the type. The guy who walks into a room and somehow gets everyone to like him, even if he does nothing.
I'm talking about the guy who's so effortlessly charming that he could convince you that tripping over your own feet was part of a strategic plan.
And right now, that guy was staring at me like I was the most interesting thing since sliced bread.
I opened my mouth to say something cool, something casual, but all that came out was a croaky, "Yeah, I'm fine."
I froze.
Great job, Aezel. Really nailed it.
Ren smiled, not even fazed by my obvious internal crisis. "You sure? That was a pretty intense... walk."
I cleared my throat. "I always walk with intensity."
Ren raised an eyebrow, a grin pulling at the corner of his lips. "Nice. I like the confidence."
This was going better than I expected! My internal monologue was starting to relax when_of course_fate had other plans.
That's when I saw her.
Reina Elistiyana.
She moved through the crowd like she was a queen in the middle of a chessboard, her dark black hair flowing behind her like a living cape. Her violet eyes? Piercing. Intense. And her posture screamed, "I'm too perfect for this world, but I'll still grace you with my presence."
Ren, of course, immediately turned his attention to her. "Reina! Long time no see."
And then came the magical moment when Reina finally spoke.
"Seijian."
Oh, my God. That was it. Just Seijian. No warmth. No smile. Just... "Seijian."
I mean, wow. It was like watching an iceberg melt in real-time. So much emotion.
Ren seemed unaffected, though. He just laughed like it was normal.
Reina's eyes then shifted to me. Her violet gaze didn't just look at me. It sized me up. She examined me like a specimen in a science lab.
Oh no. I don't like this.
I stared back at her, trying to pull off my best "I'm cold, distant, and mysterious" look. I nailed the glare. Absolutely nailed it.
Except... what came out of my mouth was:
"You blinked first. I win."
Silence.
Ren immediately choked on whatever he was going to say. His face was a mix of amusement and absolute horror. Meanwhile, Reina just blinked at me...slowly. Like she was trying to process what had just happened.
"Excuse me?" she said, her voice smooth and razor-sharp.
Abort mission. Abort mission. Hard stop.
I straightened my back, my brain working overtime to recover, but all I could muster was: "Just an observation. A tactical assessment."
I winced. Oh, this is bad. This is so, so bad.
Reina's eyes narrowed as she looked me over, her voice dripping with cool disdain. "Are you trying to provoke me?"
I opened my mouth to give my best "I'm untouchable and this is just a game to me" answer, but for some bizarre reason, I blurted out:
"Would it work?"
The entire world seemed to freeze for a split second. Reina didn't respond immediately. She just stared at me like I was some... weirdly unpolished piece of artwork in a gallery no one asked to visit.
Finally, she just turned on her heel and walked away. No dramatic words, no burning retort. She just left.
"Uhhh, okay," Ren said, blinking in surprise.
I turned to him, my cool demeanor almost slipping. "Was that... good?"
Ren burst out laughing. "Impressive, in a very unique way."
I flipped my hair dramatically, trying to salvage some dignity. "I always leave an impression."
Ren's grin widened. "That, I believe."
Before I could celebrate my questionable victory, the temperature around us suddenly dropped. The air grew heavy, tense.
I didn't even have to look up to know who it was.
Aeron Akihesta.
He walked by us like he was walking through a dark storm cloud, his dark brown hair swept back in a way that made him look like he was perpetually five seconds away from a deep, philosophical monologue. His golden eyes flicked to me for half a second, like he could see right through me, right into my soul.
I stared right back at him, convinced this was some kind of chess match, a battle of the minds.
This is it. You won't break. Don't break eye contact, Aezel.
And then, like a cruel twist of fate, my foot caught on the edge of a step.
I went down. Hard.
Not a subtle stumble. Oh, no. This was a full-on disaster. Arms flailing. Feet going in every direction. I even let out an audible groan as I hit the ground.
Silence.
Ren was clutching his stomach, shaking with laughter. Reina had turned around at the noise and was just staring at me, blinking, as if she couldn't decide whether I was a complete fool or an artistic performance piece.
And Aeron? He glanced at me with zero emotion, then said, in his typical cold tone:
"You're clumsy."
And then he walked away.
I laid there for a second, staring up at the sky, contemplating my life choices.
Ren, still trying to hold back tears of laughter, gave me a thumbs-up. "Hey, you still made an impression."
I groaned. "Tactical distraction."
Ren snickered. "Sure, let's go with that."
I stood up slowly, dusting myself off as I straightened my blazer. My mysterious, cold persona was probably in the trash by now, replaced with the clumsy, slightly-awkward-but-still-awesome version of me.
I sighed, glancing at Ren. "Fine. I may have failed at being mysterious. But I'll win this game. Just wait."
Ren, grinning widely, slapped me on the back. "That's the spirit."
And with that, I realized: I might be a walking disaster, but I was going to own it. And I was still going to win.