The doors parted without sound.
Light spilled inward — cool, silver, and alive with motion.
Avalon proper waited beyond the Concourse like a different world altogether.
Aria's breath caught.
It wasn't just beautiful — it was curated.
Everywhere she looked, students moved like models stepping out of an editorial shoot.
Perfect silhouettes. Airbrushed complexions. Uniforms that clung and hung in all the right places — dynamic fibers shifting subtly with their gestures.
Even the imperfect were perfected here.
She saw it instantly.
One girl with blunt features was saved by ruthless curation.
A razor-sharp bob framed her face with geometric perfection, while muted blush tones and subtle contouring softened her harsher lines without pretending to erase them. Her eyes were sharpened with minimalist graphic liner — nothing playful, just angles — and her lips coated in a muted rose that spoke of restraint, not allure.
A lanky boy with a crooked nose wore draped tech-silk — the fabric alive with quiet intelligence. As he moved, it adapted seamlessly, contouring and loosening in algorithmic waves that disguised sharp joints and exaggerated limbs. Each step recalibrated, turning awkward geometry into effortless, ghostlike grace.
He didn't move beautifully. The fabric made him beautiful.
Avalon didn't remove flaws.
It elevated them.
Here, there was no ugly. Just... optimized.
Aria clutched her Starter Kit tighter, feeling suddenly raw.
Back home in Sydney, she was the girl.
The one who turned heads without trying. The one whose posts always hit explore. Pretty, rich, flawless — the algorithm's favorite child. The kind even AI filters couldn't improve, because perfection didn't need enhancement.
Here? She was background noise.
Every face in the corridor could have been on the cover of something. The Solara girls radiated designer-level glow, and even the quiet ones moved like curated profiles come to life.
Perfect wasn't rare here. It was baseline.
She wasn't trending.
She wasn't special.
For the first time since arriving, it cut deep.
Not fear. Not jealousy.
Something colder.
She felt... small.
"Suite designations uploaded," Lyric chimed in her ear, sensing the shift in her thoughts.
"Your path diverges here, Princess. Your brother goes left. You? Up and radiant, naturally."
Aiden glanced at her, the faintest edge of a smirk playing on his lips.
"This is where we split?"
She nodded, lifting her chin.
"Try not to hack Avalon before breakfast."
He rolled his eyes and turned, already syncing his ONYX to the guided path.
In seconds, he disappeared down a glowing corridor, Vox trailing silently behind.
Unlike Aria, Aiden didn't seem fazed by the curated beauty.
His attention had zeroed in on something else entirely.
ESTÁS LEYENDO
Valmont Series - Inheritance Code
Novela JuvenilWhat if your perfect life was just a rehearsal? On their twelfth birthday, Aria and Aiden Lancaster wake expecting luxury, freedom, and the future they were promised. Instead, they're given an ultimatum: Leave everything behind - their friends, thei...
