The Other World || A Short Story

1 || The New Girl

Last semester, I met the demon king.

If anyone were to hear what had happened to me in the last four or so months, they wouldn't have believed me.

And I bet you wouldn't either.

But not being able to tell anyone... I'm at my wits end. Sometimes, I wake up in the middle of the night and think to myself, was it all a dream? Was any of it real? Until I look down and gaze upon a simple bead bracelet of pearl whites and stars. 

Her handicraft, her gift for me. 

A smile would creep up my rosy lips as my hazel green eyes twinkle at the memory. But as all memories, it fades like mist as I remembered what I did to her. 

What I didn't do for her.

Are you still here to listen to my story?

Good. 

Because I need someone to know.

This tale started four months ago when a new girl came in.

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It was in the middle of October.

I sat in the rightmost long table for our biochemistry laboratory class. It was raining that day, enveloping the university's surrounding forest in a blanket of thick fog and mist. 

A yawn escaped my lips as I blinked away the tiredness from my eyes. Maybe I shouldn't have spent most of my sleeping hours grinding to emerald in league last night. That asshole Markus challenged me. Said I can't get to challenger by the end of the semester. 

"Hey, 100 bucks on the line, man. I'd say just at least 1 tier per week should not be so hard," my best friend Hugo said, nudging me on the side. "You're what now, emerald II? Ladder's not too far, bro."

While Hugo was laying out to me a daily grind planner and Prof. Ross was explaining the mechanics of electrolysis, a tuft of long, wavy, black hair caught my eye. I stole a glance sideways, and my hazel green eyes were met with the most vibrant and vivid blue I have ever seen.

She was beautiful.

She stood there, a girl I hadn't seen before. Clutching her laboratory manual and tugging on the hem of her uniform, she guided her skirt and sat with grace. She gathered all her long, soaked, wavy black hair on one side and wrung it dry. She sighed and looked back at me, her eyes piercing and deathly. As if behind them were layers upon layers of tortured trauma and buried secrets. She was glaring at me, as if a woman was ready to fight for her life.

I averted my gaze. Yes, she was beautiful, but I'd like to keep my head on my shoulders for as long as I can. Thank you.

Prof. Ross paused briefly. "This is Estrid Blackburn, class. She will be joining us for biochemistry every Thursdays and Tuesdays. Please get acquainted," he said, gesturing to the new arrival.

That's it? Nothing else? What about the school she was from? Or her parents? Or maybe why was she accepted in the university mid semester? My own sister was rejected because of that dumb policy. 

So then... why now?

Back then, I remembered thinking these thoughts, but I never said them out loud. I was naive. I gaslit myself, thinking she must be some high-profile candidate. A child of a wealthy businessman who wished to keep his family a secret. Perhaps if I asked back then, things would be different.

Hugo's brown arms elbowed me to the side. "Hey! Period's over," he said, leaning in close, "don't tell me you're daydreaming about the new girl. She your type, huh?"