Winter break ended in a blink and before I knew it, Vivian came back
The door flew open.
"I'M BACK!" she announced at full volume.
I was still half-asleep, buried in blankets.
"Cecilia!" She stormed straight into my room like a tornado. "Come on, get up! Your dearest friend came back early to see you!"
"I'm awake," I grumbled, sitting up and rubbing my eyes. "Stop shaking me."
She froze.
Her eyes widened.
"Cecilia…you…"
I followed her line of sight then remembered what I was wearing.
A pink. Fluffy. Bunny pajama set.
Complete with ears on the hood.
I forgot I'd worn it to bed. It was warm. And soft. And I normally make absolutely sure no one's around when I wear it.
Vivian's mouth was already hanging open.
"You're wearing a… pink… fluffy… bunny pajama set!"
My entire face went red. "D-Don't tell anyone."
She grinned like she'd won. "This is the best thing I've ever seen."
I looked away, mortified. "It's embarrassing."
She did not let it go. She followed me around the room like some excited kitten, bubbling with laughter.
"Bunny pajamas. Pink bunny pajamas," she kept repeating. "Cecilia Florence, the merciless ice queen, sleeps in fluffy rabbit pajamas!"
"Vivian," I growled, covering myself with a blanket to quickly hide them, "stop talking about it."
She leaned close with sparkly eyes. "Does it come with little bunny slippers too?"
My ears went hot. "No."
"It does, doesn't it?!"
I pulled my hood down in embarrassment.
She made squealing noises, clutching her face with both hands like she'd witnessed a religious miracle. "I knew you were cute under all that murder! I knew it!"
Half an hour passed and she was still giggling about it while I brushed my hair and attempted to restore my dignity. She tried putting bunny ears on my head, took them back when she saw I might actually punch her, then hugged me from behind and said:
"I swear, if you ever wear that in public, I'll faint from happiness."
"I'll faint from embarrassment," I muttered.
She was still smiling when she left to unpack her luggage, humming some stupid song about bunnies.
"Now if you'll excuse me," I said, pulling on my coat, "I would love to spend the last day of break buried in the library."
Vivian immediately whined. "I came back early and you're already ditching me for books?"
I pointed to the stack on my desk. "I need to return these. And there are a few things I still need to check. You can come with me if you want."
Her entire face lit up. "I can come?"
I nodded. "Yes. And after that, let's go out for dinner. My treat."
She practically jumped with excitement.
We made our way down to the library. For once, Nox and Lux stayed behind. There was something Damian still didn't know… I had completely cracked the spell formula for accessing all of the restricted floors and no, I learned it after my second visit to his office. I was just being polite.
Vivian stopped dead in the doorway as the massive aisles of ancient tomes towered above her lanterns glowing blue, runes humming faintly in the walls.
"Whoa," she whispered. "This library is insane."
I smirked. "I know. But don't touch anything."
She was already running her fingers along one of the dusty shelves.
"Vivian. That could be extremely dangerous. I just told you not to touch anything."
"Hehe."
"Don't 'hehe' me." I narrowed my eyes sharply. "A single wrong move and these books could swallow you alive."
She yanked her hand back instantly.
I headed toward the shelf to return the books, silently praying that Vivian wouldn't accidentally set off another spell.
Of course, the universe laughed at me.
Vivian (bright-eyed, curious, and absolutely ignoring the "DO NOT TOUCH" sign):
"Ooooh, what's this glowy thing? Looks harmless enough!"
"It was not harmless enough."
She pokes the shimmering orb with one finger.
BOOM!
A puff of pink smoke explodes in her face. A magical seal lights up beneath her feet.
Because the moment I turned my back, I heard a suspicious sparkling sound behind me and the next thing I knew, Vivian was flailing dramatically, surrounded by pink smoke, her hair standing up.
"I-I just touched it!" she squeaked, eyes comically wide as magical glitter exploded everywhere.
"Vivian…" I groaned, pinching the bridge of my nose. "That was literally the 'Do Not Touch EVER' section."
She gave me a nervous laugh.
I shouldn't even be surprised. I've triggered tons of spells myself. But with Vivian? It wasn't just a spell… It's a whole fireworks show.
It took thirteen painfully long minutes for the spell to finally fizzle out.
Thirteen minutes of sparkly pink chaos.
There was glitter on the desks, on the ceiling, in my hair, between my teeth and most importantly, all over Vivian, who looked like she had been dunked into a cotton candy explosion. Since using magic would risk activating the same glitter nightmare all over again, we couldn't use a single spell to clean up. So there we were, broom in hand like defeated peasants, sweeping up sparkles in silence.
The only sound in the room was the pathetic whisk of bristles against the floor and the occasional squeak of my soul leaving my body.
We kept sweeping until Vivian, for some reason, thought it was a perfect time to casually drop a life-altering bomb. No warning. No build-up. Just vibes.
"By the way… I awakened my class," she said, like she was announcing the weather.
I froze mid-sweep. "You did," I repeated slowly. "Well? What is it?"
She paused, then shrugged nonchalantly. "It's Creation."
I blinked twice. My broom clattered to the ground. "...CREATION? Did you just say CREATION?"
She nodded, as if she hadn't just revealed she awakened one of the rarest, borderline mythical classes in existence.
I stood there, broom in hand like I was stunned.
"You awakened Creation," I repeated slowly, just to make sure I wasn't hallucinating from excessive glitter inhalation.
Vivian scratched her cheek sheepishly, glitter flying off her sleeve as she moved. "Y-Yeah. I mean… I only found out yesterday. I was going to tell you…."
I needed a moment.
And to make matters worse, I suddenly realized something terrible:
If Vivian had awakened Creation... that meant someone would definitely try to kidnap, or weaponize her.
"Vivian," I called her name gently but with caution, enough for her to straighten up immediately. "Did you… Tell anyone else about this? About your class?"
She blinked, turning toward me with a broom still in her hand. "No. I haven't told anyone else. Just you."
I let out a slow breath, lowering my voice. "Good. Keep it that way."
"You know how rare it is," I said, my voice low and serious, "And I'd prefer it if you didn't display it at all. Use only your innate magic from now on, not your class spells."
"I understand," Vivian replied softly, her eyes downcast.
I stopped walking and turned to face her fully. "From this moment on, your training will be more advanced and much harder than before," I warned. "You need to be able to protect yourself if anything happens."
She frowned, puffing her cheeks a little. "You're over-exaggerating it now. I'll be fine."
I narrowed my eyes. "No, Vivian. I'm not exaggerating. And you're taking this way too lightly. You have no idea how dangerous this kind of power can make you in other people's eyes." If only she knew how dangerous and cruel the world is.
She opened her mouth to argue, then slowly closed it, realizing I wasn't joking.
"From now on," I continued, "you're to accompany me to the library every single day after training. No excuses. I'll supervise your practice myself and keep an eye on you until I'm sure you can control your powers."
She let out a sigh but nodded reluctantly.
"Remember, Vivian," I said in a low voice. "Not a word."
"I won't tell anyone."
I gave her a small smile even though the unease in my stomach didn't go away.
A few days had passed since our serious talk, and the year was coming to an end. Honestly, it felt like the entire year had flown by in a blur. I'd been training Vivian non-stop ever since and I had to admit, she had improved tremendously. All that remained now were the end-of-year exams.
Just when I was enjoying a rare moment of peace, perched comfortably on a thick tree branch, I heard her yelling my name like a banshee.
"CECILIA! Cecilia! Where are you? Cecilia!"
"I'm up here," I called calmly, legs dangling from the branch.
She came running into view, sweating and panting like she'd sprinted across the entire campus. Her eyes widened as she spotted me. "Why are you sitting in a tree?" she huffed. "Do you know how long I've been looking for you?!"
I jumped down, landing right in front of her. "So? What was so important that you ditched class just to find me?"
Her lips curled up into a grin. "You won't believe it—it's hilarious! I bet the entire academy has seen it by now."
"What is it?"
"Just follow me!" she said, grabbing my arm with surprising strength.
She practically dragged me across the courtyard to the main notice board area, where a huge crowd had gathered. Students were snickering, whispering, Vivian boldly pushed through them and announced, "Excuse us, the person in question is here!"
Instantly, the crowd parted like I was a disease or something. Everyone kept staring at me, barely holding back laughter.
Vivian pointed at the notice gleaming proudly at the center of the board.
I leaned in to read it.
> NOTICE: CECILIA FLORENCE IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED FROM PARTICIPATING IN HER RESPECTIVE DEPARTMENT PRACTICAL.
I stared. Blinked. And then—
"WHAT. THE. HELL. IS THIS?!"
Vivian burst out laughing full, chaotic, doubled-over laughter. "You got officially banned from the practical exam! You're a LEGEND, Cecilia!"
The crowd started giggling too. Someone actually high-fived someone else like it was a national holiday. Some even shouted that they lost their bet. These people actually bet their money on me.
Meanwhile, I stood there, hands trembling, pointing at the notice like I had discovered a crime scene. "WHO DID THIS? WHY AM I BANNED? WHAT DID I DO?!"
Vivian wiped tears from her eyes. "They said—and I quote—'due to repeated offences including destruction of property, magical misconduct, and traumatizing the faculty.'"
I was speechless.
I folded my arms, still fuming. "I never destroyed anything, or traumatized a faculty member! Not once!"
A beat of silence.
Then I frowned. "Wait. Actually… I did. Two of them. Technically."
"Look at this," Nox snickered behind me, clearly enjoying every second of my misery. "I knew this day would come eventually. Honestly? It's hilarious."
"Don't," I growled, eyes narrowed in warning but it only made him laugh harder.
I didn't waste another second. Fuming, I stormed straight to the faculty room with the notice clenched in my fist like a warrant for war.
I slammed the paper onto the nearest desk. "Alright," I said loudly, glaring around the room, "who was the genius who decided to BAN me from the practical exam?!"
There was a moment of awkward silence, instructors staring at me over their teacups like I'd just barged into a meeting of ancient elders.
That's when a familiar voice came from behind me smooth, almost amused.
"Miss Cecilia."
I froze.
Of course, it was him.
I turned, slowly, to find Headmaster Damian standing right behind me with a terrifyingly calm expression.
"Why don't you come with me to my office," he said pleasantly… before grabbing me by the back of the collar like a misbehaving cat and practically dragging me down the hall.
I glanced back at Nox for help. He made the "you're dead" face.
I didn't even resist. My soul had already left my body.
I'm doomed. I thought miserably as he hauled me away. He's not going to let me off easy this time.
He chewed me out for half an hour straight without so much as a pause for breath. It honestly felt like he'd been saving every lecture in his arsenal for this exact moment, waiting patiently for the day he could unleash them all at once.
"Cecilia," he said firmly, eyes sharp, "You must learn to respect your professors. As long as you're here, in this academy, that is not optional. It's obligatory."
I slouched back in the chair, muttering under my breath. Sheesh, he nags like a mother. "Fine, fine. I'll do it. Going forward."
His expression softened just slightly. "I'm glad you understood."
"But—" I sat up straight again, frustration bubbling. "It's still unfair! Why am I the one banned from participating? I was actually looking forward to it!"
He leaned back in his chair, folding his hands. "Because, Cecilia, you're… different. Simply put, you're far too strong for the other students in your year."
I blinked at him.
"And," he continued calmly, "we can't exactly put you against the seniors either. The result would be the same."
I frowned, "Then what? Am I supposed to just sit on the sidelines?"
His gaze lingered on me for a moment, longer than usual. Then, very slowly, the corner of his mouth tugged into the faintest of smiles.
"Don't worry," he said. "Soon enough, there will be someone you can fight."
Something in the way he said it made my pulse quicken. A spark lit up in my chest. My frustration melted into something else entirely.
Does that mean… he's already seen someone? Someone out there who can fight me on equal ground?
The thought sent a strange shiver down my spine.
And for the first time, I wondered if that was a promise… or a warning?
To be continued.