A fine autumn drizzle washed over the ancient bricks of Prinston University. The entire campus seemed shrouded in a gray veil, but for Kara, it only made the colors more intense: the burnt yellow of the fallen leaves, the dark green of the pines, and the deep red of a coat she saw every day — always in the same place.
Alice.
The girl in the red coat, a recent transfer, sat on the farthest bench in the inner courtyard, near the old library. She never spoke to anyone. She always had a closed book on her lap, but she rarely seemed to read it. Her gaze drifted as if she were lying in wait for something invisible.
"There she is again," Natalie murmured, adjusting the strap of her backpack as she walked beside Kara.
"I swear she doesn't even blink. It's kind of creepy."
Kara didn't answer right away. She watched Alice like one might observe a painting they didn't understand, but felt compelled to decipher.
"Have you noticed she rarely goes into the cafeteria?" Kara commented.
"She's never anywhere with a lot of people."
Natalie laughed.
"Maybe it's because everyone here is insufferable."
They paused for a moment at the entrance to the garden. Alice seemed oblivious to their presence, but Kara swore that, for a split second, the girl's eyes moved in their direction — a quick glance, but with a silent weight, as if it had passed right through Kara's skin and touched something inside.
"Are you going to talk to her?" Natalie teased.
"Because if you're not, I will."
"I am," Kara said, before she could talk herself out of it.
She crossed the stone path, feeling each step echo in the garden's silence. As she got closer, she noticed details she'd never seen from a distance: Alice's skin was pale in an almost unreal way, and her black hair seemed to absorb the light. Her eyes... they were a brown so dark they looked black, but with a glint that didn't match her distant expression.
"Hi..." Kara said, trying to sound casual.
"I'm Kara. We have Literature together... I think."
Alice raised her gaze slowly, as if deciding whether it was worth the effort to reply.
"I know who you are." Her voice was low, almost a whisper.
"But I don't think you have a reason to talk to me."
Kara blinked, surprised.
"Maybe I just want to get to know you."
"Not a good idea." Alice averted her eyes, fixing them on a single leaf falling slowly.
"I like being alone."
Kara felt a slight shiver, but it wasn't from fear.
"Well, I don't like being alone," she insisted with a shy smile.
"And I don't think we should decide that before we've talked for at least five minutes."
Alice seemed to fight back a reaction, biting her lower lip as if holding back words she didn't want to say.
"Kara..." The pronunciation of her name was careful, almost gentle.
"...you should spend your time with other people."
"Maybe I want to spend it with you."
The silence that followed seemed to last longer than it should have. The rain tapped lightly on the leaves, and the cold wind brought the smell of wet earth. Alice closed her eyes for a moment, as if wanting to burn the scene into her memory — or perhaps push it away.
When she opened them again, her expression was different. More serious.
"You don't know what you're getting into."
Kara felt her heart quicken. She didn't know why, but she was certain Alice was saying much more than the words implied.
Before she could reply, Alice stood up, adjusted her coat, and walked past her, leaving a soft, strange scent in the air, like flowers mixed with something metallic.
Kara followed her with her eyes until she disappeared between the library's archways.
"Wow..." Natalie said, appearing behind Kara.
"And here I thought it was just going to be a 'hi, how are you'."
Kara, still staring at where Alice had gone, answered almost to herself:
"I don't know who she is... but I'm going to find out."
And in that moment, something deep inside her knew that girl was not like the others.