Chapter 3: Days of Dust and Neon
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Two Weeks Later
Nova East Academy didn't change much in two weeks —
Still broken windows.
Still glitchy lights.
Still teachers who looked like they gave up on dreams a decade ago.
But somehow...
things inside Class D shifted.
Tiny things.
Whispers.
Tensions.
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Morning Routine
Kai shuffled into homeroom, the same faded jacket thrown over his shoulder, earbuds half-dead but still thumping out old beats.
Rin still cracking jokes.
Leah still pretending not to notice Kai stealing glances at her sketches.
Juno still bullying vending machines for free snacks.
Nia?
Still sharp as a blade.
Still watching everyone like a wolf watching wounded prey.
But Sera Winters...
She had started showing up later and later to class.
Head down.
Eyes darker.
Energy weird.
Rumors floated:
> "Family trouble."
"Money problems."
"She got into a fight with a Class B girl."
Nobody really knew.
Nobody asked.
Nova East kids didn't pry.
Everybody had skeletons.
Everybody had debts.
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The Rival School Pressure
Every hallway now had posters of the upcoming Exhibition Match —
Bright colors.
Fake smiles.
"UNITY THROUGH COMPETITION!"
Bullshit.
Everyone knew it was a flex for West Nova to come kick Nova East's ass in public.
And worse?
Some whispers said the Class C kids were being "evaluated."
> "Top two kids from each class get a shot at the Exhibition prelims."
Top two.
Even in Class D, the claws started coming out.
Leah's eyes burned brighter in tests.
Rin started actually studying — studying, bro.
Juno pushed himself in Defense class until he puked behind the gym.
Even Nia.
Especially Nia.
She started moving... differently.
Her smiles sharper.
Her words coated in fake sweetness.
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Kai's Struggle
Kai?
He wasn't worried about the Exhibition Match.
He was worried about keeping his grades above minimum passing so his family wouldn't get fined.
Yeah.
In Nova East, if you flunked too hard?
Your family got taxed.
"Educational Burden Fee," they called it.
A fancy way of saying "you failed, so now your parents owe the government."
Kai couldn't let that happen.
Not with Mira still needing school supplies.
Not with his dad's back giving out last month.
> "Stay invisible," he muttered to himself.
"Stay steady."
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The Two Girls
At the same time, two different girls started drifting closer to him — without Kai even meaning to.
Leah Vance, with her shy glances and her half-hidden smiles, offering her notes after class without a word.
Sera Winters, who started sitting one desk closer every few days, fiddling with her pencil, pretending she wasn't stealing glances at Kai when she thought he wasn't looking.
Nothing heavy yet.
No confessions.
No drama.
Just vibes.
Small, electric vibes.
The kind that could ignite a whole storm later on.
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Minor Drama
At lunch, a big argument broke out at the tables.
A Class C kid — some rich punk named Grant Voight — wandered over to the Class D corner with his smug squad.
> "Hey. Which one of you scrubs is supposed to be my competition for the prelims?"
Everyone went still.
Grant sneered at Rin.
Shoved Juno's tray off the table.
Food splattered everywhere.
Kai gritted his teeth.
He wanted to jump up.
He wanted to deck the guy.
But he didn't.
Rin just laughed it off, fake and easy.
Juno just growled and cleaned up his mess.
Nova East kids didn't start fights they couldn't win.
That was rule #1.
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After-School Moments
Kai stayed after class that day.
Helping Leah clean up her dropped books.
Nothing major.
Just small talk about dumb teachers and broken air conditioners.
She smiled.
Thanked him.
> "You're... not like the others," she said, almost too soft for him to hear.
Kai didn't know what to say to that.
Later, at the bus stop, he caught Sera sitting on the curb alone — no ride, no friends.
She didn't ask for company.
He didn't offer.
But they sat there.
In silence.
Two shadows under a dying streetlamp.
Breathing in the same busted city air.
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Time Passes
Days blurred together.
Tests.
Workouts.
Cafeteria fights.
Late buses.
Broken promises.
Kai kept his head down.
Kept moving.
But something was building.
Pressure.
Energy.
The city was changing in small, hidden ways.
Kids whispering about weird sightings.
Teachers acting nervous.
The whole academy buzzing under the surface like a live wire nobody dared touch yet.
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END OF CHAPTER 3.