The Class Reject: A Damsel in Disguise (Featured Story)

Chapter 19

Silence. 

It was something Miren had too much trust in. As she walked toward the front of Rinzen's black gates, she showed the guard her new photo ID. He smiled, before motioning for her to move forward.

"Have a nice night," he said, resuming to his guardly duties. Miren nodded as she proceeded toward the dark campus. There were restrictions at Rinzen; students were allowed to leave campus at will until ten thirty during the weekend if they were traveling within the town. If they wanted to visit home or go to an event, they needed permission from the headmaster.

The campus was mostly empty, unlike her mind. The cool air and light wind were refreshing and unsettling, disrupting the soundless space. Now that the thrill of shopping with the enemies by association had lost its spark, the words Chara had said were beginning to burn on her mind.

"They're on to you!"

It seemed like everyone was. It was weird how the world was suddenly paying attention to her. She had no idea that Jemma could be so nice, or that Klondike could be so indifferent about an act that could have labeled her as a weirdo. Too late, she thought, no wonder everyone thinks I'm interesting.

Her whole situation was interesting. But it seemed more interesting that in a span of a week, the same people who wouldn't bat an eye in her direction were inviting her to things. Well not her, exactly, but still! She was more confused than ever! Part of her, larger than she cared to admit, was glad that everyone seemed to be receiving Miles so well. She rolled her eyes at that over-generalization.

Everyone except Jeno.

Her gaze hardened against the dark, empty outdoor space as she maintained her pace. How was it possible for twins to be such polar opposites? It was almost as if Jemma sucked up all of the charisma when they were in the womb. Jemma was privileged, yet she didn't truly act superior to anyone else. Instead, she had an "I'm rich, and I'm not complaining" type of temperament. And Miren had no problem with that.

But Jeno had a problem with her. What do his classmates see in him? He lacked personality, and even Levi found him to be dry and cold. But somehow he managed to commanded respect, probably through his academic and extracurricular achievements.

Bottom line, Miren was sick of petty people. With Penelope, it boiled down to the fact that the auburn-haired girl had a superiority complex that Jemma lacked. And Miren knew that the success of their former friendship came from Penelope feeling she was better than her. And she was—in more ways than one. So why she felt the need to constantly bully her, Miren would never know. It had to be more than a trivial blame game years ago. She'd be disappointed if it wasn't.

But she wasn't going to think about that right now. Lost in her thoughts, she had wandered to the front of her dorm a little bit too quickly. She looked around campus, surprised that she was the only one in sight. The underclassman dorm adjacent to it had lights on, but they were the only two buildings that did.

Bringing forth her access card, she entered the Woodley Dormitory. She shuffled pass the resident director's office. The RD was also a graduate student whose face was too deep in his sociology book to actually care about the resident hall happenings. She didn't even know if they had a curfew.

The main lobby was beaming with life—there was a college football game on, and apparently some of the boys were making a bit of a party of it. She noticed Chester and Henry among the crowd. But this wasn't her type of crowd. She hated sports—or at least never had the chance to like them. So she carried on.