"Your first semester project is due in one month. I expect everyone to have their partners and topics ready by then. "
The professor said while leaving the class. I rolled my eyes, thanking my stars I was done this year.
Lumieré International University.
Top 2 in the faculty of Criminology.
Intensive and highly competitive.
I still remember my entrance exam after 5 long, excruciating years.
Case studies, forensic scenarios, mind-tiring puzzles.
For how intelligent I am, I still don't know how I got in here.
I'm the second best student in my faculty, just after Zyren Faye. Lumiere's pride and joy.
He was paraded like the school saviour.
I couldn't stand him. He carried himself like he owned the room.
He answered questions like they were trivial, and somehow, he made every single class feel like a competition.
I quickly grabbed my stuff and headed straight to my studio dorm to start working on the hefty project we were given.
I always worked alone. Not that I prefer it that way, but I just find it efficient. During projects like these, I always end up doing everything anyway, so why not just work alone?
I swiftly got through half of it before I decided to work on what actually mattered to me.
My parents' brutal murder.
My eyes scanned through the large, detailed detective board in front of my wall.
Clues, testimonials, personal theories, all between pins, pictures and colored tape.
I brought out my dusty brown bag from behind my desk and laid out the unfinished paperwork I had bribed cleaners at the police office to get.
They discarded my loved one's case and ruled it as undetermined. Case closed pending further evidence.
Yeah, right. I saw them laughing while reading their file. It turned my stomach.
I knew what I saw, and I was going to figure it out alone if I had too.
The new files I got contained the forgotten drawing of the mysterious mark that the police had me to do.
My fingers wiped the dust off it, a weird warmth emitting from my neck. It was more common than usual these days, and I took it as a sign I was getting closer to figuring this maze out.
I taped all the new evidence on my board and wrote it on my secret log. It had 12,500 pages of evidence. More than 3 years of evidence.
I always thought I would have been eventually robbed, or if their killer came for me too, he wouldn't have gotten everything.
This was everything I had worked on.
The next day, I woke up, papers in hand, with my project that was due in a month already finished. I got to class quite early, so I decided to pull my earphones out and play some bassy music.
Clap.
"Look who we have here." The loud noise woke me up.
Zyren.
I stared him down before I tried to get cozy again, but I noticed the papers I had with me had disappeared.
"Hey! When did you start stealing?" I asked loudly as he had his back turned against me.
"You already finished everything… What's the rush partner?"
"That's none of your business! Partner," I mocked him in a sarcastic voice. He gave me my papers back just before the whole class got in.
Slick bitch. Fortunately, I don't have time to deal with his bullshit. I never will.
Victimology class was always boring, and for the almost tenth time, I almost fell asleep.
I looked around as I caught myself from sleeping, pitying all the other students with their confused and uncomfortable faces.
We're basically dying here.
Class ended, and I waited patiently for everyone to leave before I ran down to the professor.
He teaches shit and runs immediately after. He must really love his job.
"Sir," I said lightly while handing him my project.
"Ayra… I'm afraid you'll have to follow my instructions this year." My face immediately frowned. I've been doing group projects alone for the past 2 years. What's the problem now?
"Your partner is Zyren, and you'll both be submitting next month like the rest of the class. I trust you'll understand. Have a nice day." I was speechless, confused, with my papers all over the floor.
"This is bullshit," I whispered beneath my breath.
"What did you say?" the bassy voice said from behind me.
""Fuck off, Zyren. I'm not in the mood right now."
"Who wouldn't?" The arrogant prick said.
"My dorm on Friday, Ayra. The address is pretty popular." He kept talking while I ignored him and just picked up my papers.
I finally stood up and stuffed the papers in my bag hurriedly, already annoyed. He was already out the door.
"Wear something short… preferably." He popped out again with his typical smirk.
"Fuck you!" I screamed.
This day couldn't get any worse.