Marjani's POV :
I stood there, still staring at the elevator doors. I pulled on my hair and let out a groan of frustration.
"You good?"
I jumped and opened my eyes, turning to see Clio who'd just stepped out of someone's room.
"Uh, not really," I sighed. "Boy problems."
"I see," she mused. "Wanna talk about it?"
"Not really," I shook my head. "I just want to sleep right now."
"Mood. Reminds me I should go to bed now. Goodnight, Marjani."
"Wait!" I stopped her before she could leave. "I have a question, please."
"Yes?"
"Um, what happened between Roman and Kylo? I mean, I heard they used to hangout together and were buddies at some point when they were freshman."
"That's true," Clio said after a short thought. "They used to be friends back then. They used get along so well. Time sure flies and things change," she shrugged.
"And do you know why? Why things changed between them? Cuz apparently they don't even know what came up."
Clio thought for a while.
"Oh yeah, I remember."
I beamed with curiosity.
"Tell me, please. What happened?"
"Actually, nothing that was their fault. It was that of the students of TUPA."
I frowned in confusion and surprise.
"What? Really? What happened?"
"Roe and Kai use to hang out together and were cool with each other. But it all changed when training at the undergraduate level began," she explained. "Soon enough, they were both discovered to be Sphinixes. And that was when the drama began."
"Oh," I listened attentively.
"The students began to constantly compare them. During training, they would convince the coaches to always put those two against each other. The students and everyone else always wanted determine who was the best or the strongest between them," she sighed. "And as you've probably guessed it by now, the constant comparison gave way for rivalry between them."
"Oh wow. That makes sense now," I said with wide eyes.
"Yeah. They began to be in constant competition with each other to the point of forfeiting a friendship that had once existed between them. It was crazy back then because the students encouraged this rivalry even more when they began to take sides."
I listened in surprise.
"Roman and Kylo literally began to compete in everything they did. From school grades to even the best spots in the cafeteria," she mused and shook her head. "Without realising, they'd lost their complicity and started to really dislike each other when they could've otherwise even been best friends if things hadn't turn out the way they did."
"Probably," I muttered.
"Irony was, in everything they competed to have, most of the time they ended up having the same thing. How? Let me tell ya," she chuckled. "Ever since the rivalry began, both always end up having the same results and cumulative GPAs at the end of every school year or semester."
My eyes widened in amusement.
"Seriously??"
"Yup. Except once in our third year as undergraduates when Kylo had a 3.8GPA on 4 while Roman had a 3.5GPA."
"Oooh, that must've pissed Roman off," I chuckled.
"You bet it did. He was butthurt while Kylo was on cloud nine. He even organised the biggest end of year party of that year and had the nerve to invite Roman," she chuckled.
"Ouch. That's wrong. Kai did him dirty on that one," I laughed. "Knowing Roman, he probably tried to get his revenge, didn't he?"
"Of course," Clio mused and I rolled my eyes in amusement.
"I knew it. Let me guess, he beat him in the fourth undergraduate year? He scored higher?"
"Nope. They continued to share the same scores from that time until now," she mused. "But he got his revenge in another way."
"How??"
"Our fourth year was the year of the next students election."
"Oh no."
"Yup. Roman originally had no intentions of participating in the elections but changed his mind when he found out that Kylo was going in for the spot of student president."
"He did not dare!" I laughed.
"Fuck yeah, he did," Clio mused. "Roman went in for the same spot. The student campaign was impressive that year. You should've seen it. The competition was real. Roman being the most competitive of both ended up with the post as you can see today. He had three extra votes compared to Kylo who had no choice but to become vice president."
"Oh my goodness."
"It was the talk of the year because people compared the three extra votes Roman had won with to the three extra GPA points Kylo had passed him with in our third year," she said. "Kylo never got over and it even caused a fight."
"They fought??" I asked with wide eyes.
"Yeah. Kylo had started it. It was and still is the scariest fight ever witnessed in TUPA. It was violent and they had to pay up for the school property they'd destroyed. It was the scariest because no one was winning and they just kept on hurting themselves endlessly."
I had goosebumps just imagining it all.
"It got really bloody and five coaches had to stop them by using extremely strong spells. They were suspended for a while, were severely punished and made to repair their mistakes and the destroyed property by themselves. Took them two months," she mused. "Luckily, their posts in the government weren't taken away from them."
"Hmm! Man, must've been a crazy era."
"It was. But luckily after graduating in fourth year and becoming Master's freshmen, the tension between them seemed to have decreased greatly until now. From then until now, they've never gotten into a serious argument or fight," she explained. "True that they tease and provoke each other from time to time but that's it. They never fought again and now they just prefer to ignore and avoid each other as much possible."
I nodded, finally understanding the dislike between them.
"So much happened back then that it wouldn't be surprising if they don't even remember that they used to be friends."
"Hm, Kylo does," I commented. "He told me he remembers that they used to hangout but he doesn't really remember if they were close or not. I guess it's cuz the rivalry that ruined everything very early."
"But they were close though. At least he admits they used to hang out," Clio mused. "Roman doesn't even want to reference the fact that they used to be buddies. It's like he's completed erased that part of his life in TUPA, from his mind. Or he's simply ignoring it so it's like it never even happened."
I nodded and thought shortly.
"I'm positive that they'll reconcile someday and become the good friends they used to be, again."
Clio shrugged.
"Maybe. There's a bet amongst the students which you probably don't know about."
"What bet?"
"One side bet that they would reconcile before the end of this semester or at the start of the next one. The other side bet that something would come up and cause another huge fight between them. Maybe not physically but still, it would revive their tensions. Their reason being that both guys have been calm for way too long and it's impossible for them to successfully ignore each other until the end of this long semester."
I frowned without realising.
"I'm neutral and waiting to see which side will win. But my guess is both bets might be won because of a girl," she mused and I blinked.
"A girl? Why?"
"Cuz surprisingly, throughout these years, they've fought over a lot of things but they've never ever fought over a girl."
"Oh..."
"So I think it would be a girl this time. She might either reconcile them, or another big fight will happen. In fact–" she looked me in the eyes and suddenly stopped talking, gtivine me a smile I found creepy.
"C– Clio?" I stuttered when I found it really weird.
"In fact," she resumed strangely. "I don't think it, Marjani Nthanda. I predict it," she continued and raised her palm before staring at it. "I predict two futures~"
I looked at her palm and what I saw scared me. The lines on her palm began to shift and move like small, thin snakes. Then I heard whispers, whispers with words I couldn't make out, all coming from her palm.
I watched the witch she was, smile at at the moving lines on her palms and nod like she actually understood the whispers.
She raised her head to look at me and her eyes were completely black. Her whole eyeballs were pitch black, the white of her corneas, tinted as well. I gasped and stepped back, afraid.
'What's happening to her??'
"One future predicts reconciliation between the gods of the earth and the seas~" she spoke in an enchanting manner and I suddenly felt drowsy, confusion kicking. "Another predicts a fight that will destroy beyond repair~"
"Wh– what are you talking about, Clio??" I asked, stepping back and afraid. She stepped closer.
"I can't tell which will come to pass~" she continued.
"Clio??"
"It's up to you~"
"Me?? What are you talking about??"
"Think wisely, Marjani. Give the right answer to each of them. It should be from your heart, not your head~"
I gulped, realising what was happening. My eyes widened with shock. I was the girl that would either reconcile or push them further apart? Was that what she meant?
I began to tremble.
"There are several outcomes to the answer you'll give. You might chose one and the other agrees to let go. You might chose one and the other refuses your decision and it leads to the predicted feud. You might reject both and they both accept your decision. You might reject both and they both refuse your decision, causing a feud. Or, one accepts your decision but the other doesn't. You might accept both but they refuse to have you together which leads to a fight. You might accept both but only one agrees to share you and the other doesn't. You might accept both and they both accept to share you."
My head hurt and my eyes welled up with tears. I heard endless whispers in my head while Clio stared blankly at me with her very black eyes.
"These were all said and they are all meant to happen depending on your final decision~" she continued.
I stepped back and tripped. I fell and hit my elbow on the floor. I cried out in pain and rubbed it. Clio continued to glare with her black eyes, creepy smile still on her lips.
"Think with your heart and not your head. Remember~" she said and squatted until we were at eye level.
I was trembling with fear. She raised a closed fist and opened it. I saw black powder. She blew it on my face and I lost consciousness, everything in my vision turning black.
~~~~~~
"Wake up, Marji!"
"AAH!"
I sat up with a scream and was immediately blinded by daylight. I struggled to recognise my surroundings.
It was morning. I was in my bed and Dove was seated close to me, smiling.
"Good news! Coach just cancelled the training games and postponed it. You won't be facing any sphinixes today!"
I blinked in confusion.
"Wh– what day is it?" I stuttered in disbelief.
"Saturday morning. Duuh."
'What??'
I immediately remembered everything about the previous night. Everything that concerned meeting with Roman first, then Kylo.
'Clio?'
It was blur. I remembered what had happened with her but it felt like a dream. It felt like I'd dreamt it.
"D– Dove?"
"Yeah?"
"How did I return to this room last night?" I asked lowly, goosebumps covering my skin in fear.
"You walked in and lay on your bed. You were so tired that you just collapsed and immediately began to snore. You didn't even change out off your clothes," she mused.
I froze. I remembered none of that. I tired to move but my elbow hurt and I rubbed it.
'What the fuck happened after Kylo left? Did I really chat with Clio? Did I dream it all?'
I looked at my hurt elbow.
'I don't know. I'm not sure. What's going on??'
~Author's Note~
And I oop 👀
What is all this about? 😂
First of all, what do you think of Marjani's so-called dream? 👀
Secondly, what do you have to say about the reasons why Roman and Kylo now despise each other? And what do you think of the fact that they used to be friends?
PLEASE VOTE AND COMMENT YOUR THOUGHTS. HOPE YOU ENJOYED THE CHAPTER 😊❤!