Arfa smiled, albeit a bit nervously.
Face bridled with faux bravado, she leaned back in her seat, arms behind her head as she shut her eyes like she was in control.
She could tell their hawk-like eyes gazed at her with scrutiny, though there was also something else in their eyes she couldn't pinpoint.
"Hmm..." Arfa opened her eyes. "If I tell you, wouldn't be there no mystery to look forward to?" She spoke up, almost sheepishly despite seeming confident.
Arun blinked at her.
Then at the same time as he laughed abruptly, muttering something about 'a kid after my own heart', Mahendra sighed.
He put away the folder, leaning back in his chair. "Even if you did tell us, we wouldn't have the proof to send you to a juvenile detention."
"Besides..." The older man glanced to the side, almost with an accepting look, "You're one of us now, whether you like it or not."
Arfa blinked at them both. 'Wait. What? Why are you accepting me so easily? It would've been better if they just sent me there. I would've lived on the low anyway...'
'Nah, that's a lie. I would definitely get myself in trouble, hah. But placing this much trust in me.... I think something's wrong with these people.' Arfa thought with an exasperated smirk.
Arun, who'd been carefully watching her, suddenly stood up and ruffled her hair. She could only squeak in indignation, grooming about her ruined hair.
"You absolute diva! I want to look good as well, you know?" She grumbled, standing up as well, and fixing her hair.
The two turned to Mahendra as he cleared his throat. And did the most unexpected thing imaginable.
He smiled.
Long dimples across his face giving him a more youthful yet mature look, he sighed in fondness.
"Arun. I swear, all you've been bringing me these days are problem children." He chuckled under his breath.
Arfa and Arun stood in shock before looking at each other.
Did he actually smile? You've known him for so long, did you think he could actually do that?
No way! In all my years here, which were a lot by the way, I've never seen this old man do that!
Arfa straightened up, laughing herself and shoving her hands in her old coat pockets. Arun saw the sorry state of the damn cloth and winced.
Arfa spoke up, "Well, well. It seems since Headmaster is treating me so generously, how about letting me shamelessly exploit all your living resources?"
"We were going to let you do that."
She blinked, twirling out the door. "Right~!! Always the best for me!!"
"This kid..." Mahendra muttered, still smiling and going back to work. He still needed to check all her paperwork that Arun pushed onto him in a disorganised fashion.
Said freeloader just laughed and followed behind her.
The two were outside in the hallways now, Arfa foxtrotting with the air all the way to where Arun was leading her.
"Aren't you a bit too dramatic?" He laughs at her absurdity.
She tries so hard to keep up the mask. Kind of reminds me of myself.
Ew.
"Look who's talking, you chammak challo!" She shot back, finally returning beside him.
"Chammak— what?" His jaw dropped slightly. "For starters, you can see that I'm just perfectly easy on the eyes."
"Mhm, sure..." She grinned in a lazy way, tilting her head and listening to the voices scattered around the campus.
'Two or three voices from inside the classroom next to the stairs, around six different voices and energy signatures from around the campus... somewhere.'
She face-palmed internally. 'I need to work on sensing Drive better, especially now that I'm involved in this world..'
Arun sighed theatrically beside her, before his tone dropped low. "You're overusing Drive currently, Arfa."
He rested a hand on her head, the sensation warm and grounding. He smiled at her then. "Maybe wait until I've actually assigned you a sparring partner~?"
"Right." She sighed, looking away as he removed his hand from her head and continued walking forward.
Her eyes scanned the man from behind, still feeling the same intensity of his Drive echoing all throughout.
'What kind of Drive does he have, I wonder? He hasn't even said anything to me about himself beside his name and occupation.'
'Actually, I don't think he said anything besides his name.'
'I could faintly sense Mr. Mahendra's Drive suppressing my own, so maybe keeping the others' energy flow in check is what his Drive effect does? Regardless, Arun's quite the mystery man compared to him or even the doctor.'
Arfa perked up as Arun suddenly spoke. "Here you are~! These are the dorms, where you'll be living with, obviously, people your age!!"
He stood there with a flourish, arms gesturing to the gates, beyond which her new social life was also about to be established.
Just as they took a step inside, they both froze.
"Amena, what the fuck—?! Why did you swap my breakfast with your shitty oatmeal?!!"
A girl with striking yellow-hazel eyes and gorgeous waves of hair, clad in a salmon pink hoodie and white jeans stomped in her loafers towards another girl— Arfa presumed— who was sheepishly holding her hands up and muttering something about it being healthy.
Both of them were really cute.
Arun grinned beside her, ruffling her hair again before stepping forward to address them.
"Ladies~!!! Is this how you behave in front of a new addition to our little family??"
Both the girls perked up, their gazes landing on her.
The girl in pink brightened up, her eyes landing on Arfa. Arfa blinked. She knew what was coming.
"No way~!!! After so long, Mr. Madhav??? A girl? To our academy?! Insane."
The girl practically skipped to Arfa, linking arms with her almost instantly. "I'm Ayesha Tazain, mystery girl!"
"Uh..." Arfa blinked.
'Her energy... it's like strings withholding their tension. No doubt her Drive effect is linked to her having stronger emotions. She might be really strong, then.'
She then grinned, almost in a sly way, leaning closer to Ayesha. "Hm, Ayesha? I must say you're quite the beauty, but even you have to earn my name~!"
The other girl simply offered a chocolate bar to Arfa. "I'm Amena. Amena Asfiya." Her voice had a slight accent to it. Arfa immediately thought, 'Wow, hot.'
Her second thought, 'That's unexpected. Her Drive is like a balm to my senses. Something nostalgic? No. Like an aftertaste.'
Arfa took the chocolate bar.
Arun witnessing the scene, laughed with a hand on his forehead. "You're settling well, nanna muddu~!"
Both girls gasped while Arfa just scowled.
"NANNA MUDDU?" Ayesha turned to Arfa, "Girl, has he been calling you his gold too?"
"Is this like, the 'new girl transfer' arc that our Academy's going through?" Amena adjusted her round glasses, sharp eyes narrowing at Arun.
Arun seated down on the windowsill, arms crossed with light hitting him like he was a particularly devious angel. He grinned.
"Well, more like, 'girl ate an eye and is now forcibly caught up in our world' due to entirely me, of course!"
Silence resounded.
Arun pouted. "What, no claps?"
"An eye?!" Amena and Ayesha shouted at each other, eyes wide in disbelief. Ayesha started laughing.
"We've got freaks already! I love you now. Let's go, roomie or er...?" She stopped, sheepishly. "What's your name again?"
Arfa paused for a second, thoughts rapidly echoing. 'Why, exactly, are they so trusting of me? I mean... I just came here. And I kind of want to die from all this attention.'
'So easily... they've accepted me? No. It's not like they have a choice. Neither do I.'
She sighed.
"Arfa Sayeed, your highness." Arfa dropped into a mock bow, hand over her heart and abruptly, Amena pulled her along.
"Well, Arfa. You just got here, come on. We absolutely HAVE to show you off now in front of the others!"
"I bet the gambling psycho will finally be interested!" Ayesha chimed in, both girls giggling as they dragged the bandaged girl to the inner rooms, their voices muffling.
"Get it, 'cause he's a gambler?!"
"Not funny Ayesha."
A sigh. "Aren't you loud?"
"If you think she's loud, wait till you meet Fazleen!"
Their voices grew distant.
Arun stood there, smile slightly softening. "Tch. Brats." Then he sighed, theatrically. "Oh, what a mess~! I'm never getting off the hook again by the higher-ups, then?"
At least it's me, and not her.
His eyes narrowed, squinting against the sun. 'Though who knows what kind of people gathered information on her already?'
"Great." He sighed, already with a dramatically slumped gait. "Just more work for me."
Maybe Mahendra can deal with it for me? I don't like paperwork anyway~!
He thought to himself, laughing childishly as he walked off.