"WHEN THE WORLD AROUND YOU IS BURNING, LOOK AT THE STARS."
Transfer student Minni Lee has a premonition. Not all is right at Newhurst University. Between a hateful blog post and the strange death of campus mean girl, Somin, exists a tangled mystery...
(tw: violence, very brief mention of suicide, please read safely)
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MIN WAS STARTING TO UNDERSTAND that if things could get any worse, it was a guarantee they would. Students at NHU had been practically trained to grit their teeth and endure, doing whatever it took to just make it to graduation.
Min was following their lead, trudging through life by brunt force alone. Because if she stopped for even a second, the weight of what she had just done to Serevena would destroy the last vestiges left of the old Minni. The Minni from Cape Freewell with glowing skin and a taut smile. A girl who existed on the fringes, quietly biding her time and building a better life for herself from scratch. A girl that ate criticism for dinner and stomached dance for dessert. Her ability to persevere had gotten her so far–from the dead ends of the Cape to the city of glass. It was something she used to be proud of, her endurance.
Now, all she felt was a sinking sense of shame that her fight to keep her head above water meant pushing others under. Or watching the ripples in the waves as it happened.
Which is how Min found herself tucked on the couch between Kev and Jisoo on a Friday night, all of them completely unaware of the typhoon about to hit. They just completed two of the StarForce films. Jisoo did not want to watch, but eventually was convinced by Kev's long-winded descriptions of some of the characters. Bless her attempt, but she spent most of the night scrolling on her phone.
Eventually the heiress cracked in the middle of the third film. She adjusted herself in the middle of a monologue, reaching for a strand of Min's hair to braid. She was fidgeting, which meant she was overthinking.
Jisoo finally spoke up. "COTA is coming up."
The Celebration of the Arts was an annual event at Newhurst that every student was encouraged, if not required, to participate in. Students made custom, collaborative performances that could win awards, trophies, and cash prizes during the official showings in April.
It was a big deal, one that Min was putting off thinking about until the last minute. Simply because of the pressure. She had disappointed Madame Dufort enough as it was. Winning a COTA award meant global attention from dance companies, record labels, or whoever else was out there watching NHU's every move. She could not afford any more screw ups and with the way life was going, screwing up was almost a given.
Min swallowed thickly. "Already? Are you doing it?"
"I'm a business major." Jisoo shrugged. "Our side of things aren't so fun to watch."
