The air was different on campus. It wasn't the breeze, or the new semester energy—it was her.
Ivy Achieng didn't try to stand out. She wore a navy-blue sweater, dark jeans, and no makeup. But silence followed her like perfume, and eyes—especially the wrong ones—couldn't stop staring.
She didn't walk like the rich girls. She walked like a storm that didn't care who drowned.
In the lecture hall, she took the only available seat—beside Ochieng.
Zahra saw it. Clara noticed it. Even the arrogant golden boys of the Alpha Business Union whispered about it.
---
Ochieng hadn't said a word to Ivy, not even a glance. But as the lecture on "Tech and Ethical Influence" went on, Ivy raised her hand.
"What if… technology isn't just changing people—but exposing them?"
The class turned. Even the professor hesitated.
Ochieng slowly turned toward her. His eyes, sharp and unreadable, narrowed.
"Say that again," he said.
Ivy repeated herself, slower.
Ochieng tilted his head, then smirked. "You speak like someone who's lost something to truth."
Ivy replied without blinking, "And you speak like someone who hides behind it."
Gasps filled the room.
The fire had begun.
---
Bianca was reviewing the student profiles when she landed on Ivy's.
"Eldale?" she whispered.
Her assistant nodded. "She's a charity case. Poor background. No connections."
Bianca narrowed her eyes. "She's a threat. And threats must either be… caged or crushed."
"Want me to dig into her?"
"No," Bianca said with a sly smile. "I'll handle this one personally."
---
A banner dropped across the quad:
"Moonlight Gala – This Saturday – Sponsored by WekesaTech."
All the elites would attend. Zahra had already bought her gown. Clara was working backstage. Ivy? She didn't even know what a gala was.
But Ochieng… Ochieng had already made a decision.
He would ask someone else to go with him.
Not Zahra.
Not Clara.
Ivy.
---