The weak sunlight, following the minute hand of the clock, timidly rose, piercing through the dark clouds and shining down on the treetops. The sky donned a temporary coat of pinkish-purple. Everything remained silent in its slumber. On the leaves, the droplets of night dew still lingered. A gentle breeze swept through the dark, damp space. The black clouds gradually dissipated, bit by bit. Under a nearby tree, Mys was still sitting and playing the guitar. The sky had not fully brightened, and the chilly atmosphere made one shiver slightly.

When the clock on his wrist struck exactly four in the morning, Mys stood up, slung the guitar over his back, and went inside to gather his books and prepare for school. Just then, Elli woke up. Yesterday, everyone had slept soundly outside; fortunately, there were a few blankets, or they would have frozen. He looked around and saw Mys just finishing tying her shoes, so he asked:

- Have you eaten anything yet, Mys?

- I'll grab something to eat after school.

- Why are you going to school so early?

She paused, seemingly reluctant to speak.

- Um... There's something at school; I'm part of the student council, and I have to go early to sort it out...

He approached her, ruffled her hair, and smiled:

- Be careful on the way; I'll go make breakfast! Goodbye!

- Yes, goodbye!

Mystery shouldered her heavy backpack and walked straight to school.

The sky was dimly lit. The morning sunlight was still quite hazy. The sky shifted to a reddish-orange hue. On the quiet, flat road, a few figures occasionally glided past on the sidewalk. The streetlights had long since turned off. Mys quickened her pace through the alleys, avoiding any troubles she didn't want to get entangled in. No one knew what lay in those alleys—thieves, kidnappers, drug dealers, or even more chaotic elements. They usually operated from eleven at night until five in the morning. This time was considered their peak hour; Mys knew she could take them on but didn't want to get involved with the chaotic ones just yet. Those individuals were not simple, not overly frightening, and not hard to deal with. Even though this world could be seen as perfectly developed, with gates leading to cities like tiny nations, there were still many hidden dangers that had yet to be eliminated. As she walked down a path that had seen much turmoil and was now gradually sinking like a ship slowly descending into the abyss, Mystery felt increasingly anxious about something else.

The sky gradually brightened, and the morning light shone through the corners of the streets and alleys. More people began bustling along the familiar road. Some opened food stalls, some headed to work, and others went to buy breakfast... Everything returned to the usual rhythm of a Monday morning.

In Forsaken City, people had also woken up. The little ones scurried to change their clothes, while the adults prepared for work, and a few stayed at home. Elliot left for work earlier than usual, so the kids had to walk to school. When Mafioso offered to give them a ride, they all declined in various ways. Buiderman and the others chuckled, saying the kids should eat quickly and head to school. After finishing a hot bowl of rice and some food from the table, the five kids grabbed their bags and headed to school.

Yoru and Wolf walked ahead, with Pr3typriicess, C00lkidd, and Bluudu following behind. It wasn't peak hour yet, but the road was already crowded with people coming and going. The five of them sneaked through the crowd, hurrying to their beloved school. The road to school was long, so the kids chose to take a shortcut to get there faster.

It took forty minutes to get from home to school. If they took a shortcut, it would only take twenty-five minutes, arriving exactly at six twenty-five. At this time, most students were already present at school. The teachers had been in a meeting since five o'clock and still hadn't finished. The honor society and the professional committee were preparing for the upcoming competition. The student council was having some sort of meeting, and loud arguments could be heard. The five of them went to class, put their bags away, and headed to the canteen to find something to fill their stomachs.

Upon arriving at the canteen, they saw Mia sitting alone, eating ice cream. Seeing the five of them, she invited everyone to join her. Yoru happily nodded. Wolf asked to go ahead because he just remembered he was the top student and had forgotten to prepare for the competition. C00lkidd went to grab some snacks, while the other two sat down next to Yoru. The atmosphere suddenly became a bit awkward, and no one knew how to start a conversation.

- Hey guys - Mia spoke up first - Have you heard about the dormitory situation at our school?

The group turned to look at her, puzzled:

- No.

- This morning, the student council had a meeting about the dormitory, and I heard there was quite a heated argument. I don't know if it's settled now.

Then Mia sighed:

- I also heard that the chef ordered some more coconuts, so I think someone is going to be cracking coconuts soon...

Just then, C00lkidd brought over some drinks and, upon hearing the conversation, laughed:

- I heard the chefs talking about that earlier; it seems the coconuts are for Sister Mys.

- It's just normal; my little sister can crack as many coconuts as she wants, as long as she's not angry. When she was little, she cracked tons of coconuts, and her teeth are still sharp, not chipped at all. - Yoru chuckled, taking a sip of his tea. The group fell silent, realizing that cracking coconuts was already difficult, and a ton of coconuts was a whole different issue.

He took another sip of warm tea and turned on his phone. There was a new notification. The others opened theirs as well. The new notification was about the dormitory setup and registration for the dormitory, which was not mandatory, so anyone who wanted to stay could, and those who didn't could go home. C00lkidd looked at the older students, his eyes seeming to ask whether they should stay in the dormitory or go home. Yoru looked away; this decision could only be made by his younger sister. Pr3ty pondered, still chewing on a piece of cake. Bluudu was just waiting for the opinions of the two younger ones, allowing them to choose for themselves. Mia agreed to stay because her home was quite far from school. Pr3ty finished chewing the last piece of cake and nodded in agreement. C00lkidd also nodded along, and Bluudu nodded too. Only Yoru had not made a decision yet; he was still waiting for a response from his two younger sisters.

The bell signaling the start of class rang throughout the school. Students rushed into the classroom like a crowd. The five of them also returned to class, flowing with the tide of students. Today's lesson was math. It wasn't too hard, nor too easy, but it was very complicated. The teacher wrote the problems on the board as if announcing an impending apocalypse. As soon as the chalk stopped writing, everyone began working on the problems. In the class, some students buried their heads in geometry, some were dozing off in numbers, some struggled with proving theorems, some clutched functions as if they were gasping for air, some scribbled furiously on their scratch paper, some drew diagrams as if they were drawing the hardest thing in the world, some chuckled to themselves for solving a problem, and some screamed internally with numbers swirling around them... Math could be considered the most haunting subject for all students, yet the teacher still favored difficult problems. The students could only feel speechless. They couldn't complain, couldn't finish the work, and just hoped for recess to come.

Here is the English translation of your text:

Finally, the long-awaited bell signaling recess rang. The teacher packed her things into her bag, smiled warmly, and left. At that moment, the whole class dared to collapse, lamenting everything about math. Yoru dragged himself up and made his way down to the archery room—where his sister was practicing.

The archery room was quite spacious and empty, eerily quiet. Mystery stood in one corner, practicing her aim from a distance. Yoru quietly approached from behind and tapped Mys on the shoulder. She didn't say anything, her hands taut on the bowstring, eyes focused on the moving target, and asked:

- What brings you here, big brother?

- Um, well... - He scratched his head - About the dormitory, do you think we should stay or go home?

Silence fell again. The bowstring was pulled tight. It seemed she had aimed well, and she released her grip. The arrow shot forward quickly, hitting the bullseye. Mys set the bow down and smiled:

- That's my answer.

Yoru nodded and left, leaving Mys still fiddling with her practice. But as he walked away, a shadow lurked behind a nearby tree, observing Mys's every move. The figure clenched something tightly in his hand, a twisted smile creeping across his face. Next to him, another person was also attaching something to a bow, preparing for their plan.

Back in the classroom, Mia was talking to C00lkidd about some rather suspicious matters. Pr3ty went to get water from the tap to water the small plants on the balcony. Other students were playing various board games. Some were playing chess, while others were playing Chinese chess... Bluudu was doing homework. The class monitor was filling out information in the notebook. Wolf was solving advanced problems in a large textbook. The atmosphere was lively and full, with almost no one outside the classroom except for a few special individuals.

Outside the classroom, everything was lively and filled with laughter. Students were joyfully running around. At the end of the hallway, a few groups of students were whispering about something. On the gym field, two teams faced off, competing for the ball and passing it to their teammates. Outside the playing field, two cheerleading teams were enthusiastically rallying. On the soccer field, players were vying for the soccer ball rolling on the grass. The library was packed with students majoring in various subjects and those who were fans of comics. The schoolyard was paved with sturdy dark bricks, with some groups playing shuttlecock, and a few others sitting under a tree reading books... Somewhere in the hidden corners of the school, distorted things were being destroyed.

Everything continued normally until the end of the school day. At exactly four o'clock in the afternoon, students began to run home, while those who registered for the dormitory had people bringing their belongings to their new residence. Guest 1337 patted Yoru on the head, clapped him on the shoulder, and hoped that his adopted son could settle in peacefully at the new place with his strange friends. He turned back, hugging his two adopted daughters tightly as a farewell. The three waved goodbye to their father and headed toward the dormitory. 007n7 watched the three little ones scurrying after their older siblings to the students' residence, each one a different color, feeling a bit worried but reassuring himself that the kids would be fine. Mia took one last look at her father, the usual smile no longer gracing her beautiful face, replaced by a clear expression of unhappiness reflected in her dark eyes. She quietly walked away, ignoring her father calling her back to say something. Other students hugged their parents and waved goodbye. Parents stood at the school gate, watching every step their children took toward the place where they would live throughout their school years, some smiling happily, some feeling relieved, and others worried. Once the children had disappeared into the dormitory buildings, everyone got into their cars to head home.

The dormitory consisted of a row of tall buildings, each with a designated room number. Previously, students had been given keys corresponding to their room numbers, so they just needed to find the correct room indicated on their keys. Students jostled each other as they searched for their rooms. The room numbers were arranged from left to right, from low to high.

Mia looked at the room number and then at the door in front of her. It was room 276. She reached out and gently pushed the door open. The creaking sound of the door echoed. The people inside turned to look at the door. To her surprise, Mystery was a member of this room. There were two other people inside: one with light orange hair named Yujin and the other with chestnut brown hair named Jolie. They were both members of class 11B9. Mia forced a smile and walked into the room. The two students from the other class looked at her with disdain, as classes 11B9 and 11A1 were rivals. Mys said nothing, stood up, and walked past Mia with a reminder:

- Be careful with them...

The white-haired girl didn't know what to say, so she put her things away and ran after her. The other two were busy putting on makeup, oblivious to the two rivals leaving.

Meanwhile, it was fortunate that the others were all familiar with their roommates. Unity, Galaxy, Bitis, and Yoru shared room 298. C00lkidd and Bluudu were in room 222 with class monitor Stanislav and class vice-monitor Kai. Pr3ty, the vice president of the combat club Kate from class 11C8, along with Viking, the vice president of the special club from class 11D1. Everyone knew each other, and when they met, they chatted about all sorts of things. The new living space became noisier than ever.

The noise gradually subsided as the afternoon turned to evening. The soft orange sunlight reflected gently on the window panes. Unlike the bustling traffic outside, the inside was unusually quiet. Students took turns showering and preparing for dinner. The meals would be taken from the dormitory cafeteria. Some students stayed behind to eat and chat, while others went up to the rooftop to eat and enjoy the breeze, and some brought food back for the whole room. After finishing their meals, the first-year top students gathered together to chat about various topics. A few members of the student council sat together to resolve the issues from the morning. Yoru's group sat together after dinner, with some sipping hot coffee, others drinking plain water, and some having tea... Mia asked to join the group and was welcomed.

After finishing his iced milk coffee, Unity looked at the others and got straight to the point:

- I have something to discuss; what do you all think about joining the Temo class?

- Temo class? - C00lkidd tilted his head in confusion.

- It's a course with subjects like martial arts, sword fighting... You know, fighting styles. - Mia explained.

- Oh! So except for me and Yoru, everyone here is joining?

Everyone nodded.

- Then I guess I'll give it a try tomorrow. What about you, Yoru?

Yoru looked at his younger brother in red and just nodded.

- Then let me explain it to the two newcomers, shall I?

A girl approached wearing a rather short white dress, with light makeup and neatly tied lemon-yellow hair. She smiled and waved. Everyone looked at her with puzzled expressions, while Mys remained silent and rolled her eyes. The girl walked over, pretending to trip. Two eyes shed crocodile tears.

- Oh, hic, what did I do to you, Mys? Why did you push me? Are you jealous of my amazing archery skills?

She spoke in a very whiny voice, causing everyone to freeze, not understanding what they were hearing. Nearby, a group of boys from some class rushed over to help the girl up, asking and worrying:

- Are you okay, Sly?

- Hic! I'm fine... It's just that Mys is jealous of my talent, that's why she pushed me!

- You better kneel down and apologize to her quickly!!!

The boys turned to look at Mys, angry. Mys simply sipped her tea; after all, these were her peers from the special groups at school, and she didn't want to get her hands dirty by engaging with them. Her friends were worried when they saw this group causing trouble, not for Mystery but for the boys, fearing they might get beaten up so badly that their parents wouldn't recognize them. One boy from the group looked at the black-haired girl, grabbed her hair, and slammed her head down onto the table. The table broke. Blood flowed from her head, dark red and slowly trickling down. Those around them felt a chill witnessing the scene. Yoru turned to Galaxy and whispered:

- Why is there so much drama as soon as I arrive?

- How would I know? And why did they pick a fight with this demon?

- You ask me, I ask who?

The two looked at each other and quickly left their seats. Unity pulled Bitis and C00lkidd away from the scene. Pr3ty, Mia, and Bluudu also guessed what would happen next and hurriedly slipped away.

The boy saw that Mystery was still unmoving, which only fueled his anger further. Mys sat still like a statue, ignoring the torrent of insults directed at her. Taking advantage of the distraction, the girl sneaked over to Unity and fell into his lap. The sudden event caught him off guard, and he was pinned down by her. With sharp eyes, Sly looked at Unity, reached out to touch his face, and said:

- Why are you looking at me like that? You must be in love with me, right?

This action was nothing short of provoking some kind of demon. But that demon didn't budge an inch. Mys continued to stare at Sly. Unity quickly pushed Sly away, his skin breaking out in red hives. He ran away from the scene. She smiled, a victorious grin aimed at the sly fox.

- My uncle is allergic to your makeup.

Sly felt a bit frustrated that she couldn't provoke the one still sitting comfortably in the chair. She glanced at her friends, and her chestnut brown eyes met the cold red gaze of Yoru. There seemed to be something captivating in those eyes that made her yearn for his heart. He looked at her, his expression filled with fear, like a young lamb standing before a starving wolf. Seeing this, Pr3typriicess and Wolf grabbed a tablecloth and held it up to shield Yoru. Both shouted in unison:

- Don't look at my brother, you monkey!

Sly didn't bother glancing at the two; she pretended to tear up and turned to Mystery, bowing her head in apology:

- I'm sorry... I shouldn't have been better than you...

- Yeah. - Mys leaned back and cracked her knuckles - I shouldn't have to see some cunning fox polluting the environment here. A fox unworthy of carrying my shoes is not allowed to stand up.

- What did you just say?!

The boys glared at her in anger, but she remained silent, sipping her tea. Those around them fell silent at the cold, unfeeling words that had just been spoken. Sly, with crocodile tears in her eyes, spoke in a pained voice:

- Why are you so cold and unfeeling? Hic... It's just that we're only better than each other in achievements... Hic...

Mys smiled, a sly and enchanting grin of a potential archer, of a victor.

- I don't know who is jealous of whom. Besides, I'm already cold and unfeeling.

- You shouldn't be so cold; otherwise, no one will want to be friends with you... Hic...

At this remark, Sly felt a sense of triumph, as if to say that no matter how many traps there were, this cunning fox could still overcome them. Mys smirked, pretending to be pitiful, pouting her lips, her face downcast, and spoke in a choked voice:

- I've never had anyone to play with... Everyone hates me, right?... It's so nice to meet a cunning fox...

Everything around fell into silence. No one dared to utter a word. Mystery was unafraid to speak ill of anyone, nor did she shy away from criticizing anyone; she had no qualms about stating the truth. It was just that she rarely expressed her disdain unless something truly bothered her. And whatever bothered her would also be bothersome to her group of friends.

____________

To be continued...

AUTHOR: (preparing for a new project) Ugh, this is tough...