That was a rhetorical question. The answer was obviously yes.
Marc looked up from his eggs and grinned. "Yo, Jace. You find the place okay or did you get lost again?"
"App worked great," I said. I sat down across from Belle and next to Naomi. "No wrong turns. No maintenance closets. Minor miracle."
Belle snorted into her orange juice.
Naomi’s smile got a little wider. "Belle told us about yesterday. Six tis?"
"Six confird tis," I said. "There may have been more. I stopped counting after I ended up at the north entrance sohow."
Marc laughed. He was a good-looking guy, the kind of effortlessly friendly face that made people trust him imdiately. Dark skin, close-cropped hair, and wore glasses. Currently working through a plate of pancakes like he had sowhere important to be.
"Man, I don’t know how you survived that long without the app," Marc said. "I downloaded it the second I saw the email."
"I skipped the email," I admitted.
"Yeah, Belle ntioned." Marc took another bite of pancake. "What were you doing instead?"
"Panicking quietly."
That got another laugh from Marc and a small giggle from Naomi.
Belle just watched over the rim of her juice glass.
"How’d you sleep?" I asked the table generally.
"Terrible," Naomi said imdiately. Her voice was soft and apologetic like admitting she’d slept poorly was sohow a moral failing. "I kept thinking about the house eting. About Alexander. About what happens if I’m in the bottom rankings after the evaluation."
"You’ll be fine," Marc said. He said it with the kind of easy confidence that suggested he actually believed it. "Your ability’s solid. You just gotta show them you can use it."
Naomi didn’t look convinced but she nodded anyway.
Belle set down her juice. "I slept fine. Dorm’s quiet. Roommate hasn’t shown their face yet so I have the place to myself."
"Lucky," Marc said.
"What about you?" Belle asked, looking at .
"Roommate showed up around six-forty last night," I said. "Quiet. Keeps to themselves. We exchanged maybe ten words total."
"That’s ideal," Belle said.
"Yeah," I agreed.
I didn’t ntion that my roommate was a girl pretending to be a guy with an A-rank ability and enough trauma to fill a storage unit. That seed like information Belle didn’t need.
I ate so eggs. They were decent. Properly seasoned. Not cafeteria slop.
"You hitting the gym this morning?" Marc asked .
I nodded. "Yeah. Five AM. Trying to build a routine before classes destroy my schedule."
Marc’s eyebrows went up. "Five? Damn. That’s dedication."
"That’s desperation," I corrected. "This body needs work."
Belle’s eyes flicked down to my stomach where the blazer was pulling, then back up to my face. She didn’t say anything but the look said enough.
Naomi smiled. "I think you’re fine," she said quietly. "Everyone starts sowhere."
She ant it kindly.
I appreciated the sentint even if it didn’t change the reality.
"What about you?" I asked Marc. "You training?"
"Yeah, but not that early. I’m gonna hit the rec center after classes. Maybe around four or five. You wanna join?"
"Maybe," I said. "Depends on how much howork they bury us with on day one."
"It’s day one," Belle said flatly. "They’re not giving us howork yet. They’re giving us syllabi and rules and maybe a diagnostic test to see who’s completely fucked."
Marc grimaced. "You think they’ll actually test us today?"
"Hundred percent," Belle said. "They need baseline data. That’s how they build the rankings."
Naomi looked like she might throw up.
I sipped my coffee and checked my phone under the table. Pulled up the group chat Belle had started last night with the lottery kids. A few ssages had co through while I was in the gym.
Jordan: anyone else freaking out or just
Belle: just you
Jordan: cool cool cool. gonna go panic in the corner then
Naomi: I’m nervous too. It’s okay to be nervous.
Jordan: thanks naomi ur a saint
The conversation had died there around eleven PM.
I put my phone away.
"You guys ready for Hunter Theory?" I asked.
"No," Naomi said.
"Yes," Belle said.
"I an, it’s theory," Marc said. "How bad can it be?"
"Depends on the professor," I said.
Belle looked at . "You know who’s teaching it?"
"No idea."
"Then how do you know it depends on the professor?"
"Because everything depends on the professor."
I finished my eggs and started on the bacon. The dining hall was filling up now. More students. More noise. The morning energy was different from dinner. Less posturing. More exhaustion.
I spotted Hikaru entering through the main doors.
She moved through the space like she was walking through a crowd of ghosts. Eyes forward. Shoulders straight. Black uniform perfect. Hair tied back. She grabbed a tray, loaded it with plain oatal and black coffee, and sat alone at a table near the back corner.
Didn’t look at anyone.
Didn’t check her phone.
Just ate.
I looked away before she noticed staring.
Belle followed my line of sight, clocked Hikaru, then looked back at . "You know them?"
"Roommate," I said.
Belle’s eyes widened slightly. "That’s your roommate?"
"Yeah."
"They’re..."
"Hot?" I supplied.
"I was gonna say intense."
"Also true."
Marc leaned over to look. "Damn. Your roommate looks like they could kill soone with a stare."
"Probably," I said.
Naomi glanced over, then quickly looked away like she felt guilty for even looking. "They seem lonely."
"They seem like they want to be left alone," Belle corrected.
Also true.
I drank more coffee and checked the system tir.
Hunter Theory started in an hour and thirteen minutes.
I needed to figure out my next move with Belle. Sitting at breakfast together was good. Shared classes were better. But I needed to escalate the interaction without making it obvious I was escalating.
I needed a reason to spend ti with her that wasn’t just "hey let’s hang out."
Sothing practical.
Sothing she’d actually agree to.
I was still working on that when Javier walked past our table with his tray loaded with enough food to feed three people. He spotted Marc, waved enthusiastically, and kept walking toward an empty table by himself.
Marc waved back.
"You know that guy?" I asked.
"Kinda," Marc said. "We talked a bit yesterday during orientation. He’s lottery too. Seems cool. Really into hero stuff."
"Hero stuff?"
"Like, he’s got notebooks full of combat analysis. Watches famous hunters’ fight footage. Takes notes on techniques and shit. It’s kinda impressive actually."
Belle rolled her eyes. "It’s kinda nerdy."
Marc shrugged. "Let the man have his hobbies."
I finished my coffee and stood up. "I’m gonna grab a refill before class. Anyone need anything?"
"I’m good," Marc said.
Belle shook her head.
Naomi looked at her half-finished plate and didn’t answer.
I walked back to the coffee station and poured another cup.
When I turned around, I had a direct line of sight to three tables.
Hikaru, alone in the corner, eating oatal with chanical precision.
Javier, alone by the windows, scribbling in his notebook between bites.
Belle, Naomi, and Marc, together at their table, talking about sothing that made Naomi smile.
Three different futures.
Three different survival strategies.
I walked back to the table with the coffee and sat down.
Hunter Theory in one hour, ten minutes.
I had work to do.
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