For Yon, the day felt surreal—laughter, camaraderie, a club. A stark contrast to his middle school years, where poverty had marked him invisible. But here, under SMA Honour's gilded facade, he'd found three misfits as unlikely as himself.
By noon, the orientation event dissolved. Students scattered, leaving the four newly minted "Super Honor" members at the gates.
"I'm staying," Yon announced, slinging his bag tighter. "Gotta map this maze out."
"Suit yourself," Alice shrugged, already flipping open her novel. "I've got 300 pages of dragons to slay."
"And I've got a raid starting in 20 minutes," Direnjie mumbled, adjusting his glasses.
Arli waved dismissively. "Don't get lost, captain."
Yon watched them go, the weight of solitude settling back—until he shook it off. Not this time.
—
For two hours, he wandered SMA Honour's labyrinth. Classrooms with smartboards still glowing, bathrooms smelling faintly of lemon cleaner, courtyards shaded by ancient banyan trees. He traced his fingers over lockers, memorized shortcuts, even counted steps between floors.
But as dusk crept in, shadows stretched unnaturally long. A flicker of movement caught his eye—a girl, sitting alone in a ground-floor classroom. Her silhouette blurred behind frosted glass, head bowed as if in prayer.
Leave it, he told himself. None of your business.
Yet curiosity anchored his feet. The door creaked as he pushed it open.
"Hello…?"
The girl didn't look up. Her uniform was immaculate, hair ink-black and braided with crimson ribbons. A textbook lay open before her, pages filled not with notes, but… symbols. Strange, looping glyphs that pulsed faintly under the dying light.
"... ," she doesn't answer it.
Because it's pretty weird, he then go to her and poke her.
"sorry,..... I don't mean to be like, you know but why'd you here?" curiosity eats him up.
" ahhh, sorry..."
She doesn't answer it and run away from him.
"Hey—wait!"** Yon called as the girl darted away, her footsteps echoing down the empty hallway. He pursued her, cornering her near a stairwell. **"Why are you running? Scared of me?"**
Lexana nodded, her gaze fixed on the floor.
**"Introvert?"** Yon softened his tone, recognizing the familiar tremble in her shoulders—the same one he'd worn like armor in middle school.
Another nod.
"I'm Yon," he said, crouching to meet her eyes. "You?"
"L-Lexana," she whispered, voice fraying at the edges. "N-nice to… meet you."
"Lexana," he repeated, smiling. "Cool name."
Slowly, she unclenched. They talked—or rather, Yon talked, weaving stories about the absurdity of SMA Honour's ten-floor labyrinth, while Lexana interjected with shy hums and fleeting smiles. She'd hidden here to avoid the crowds, waiting for her father to pick her up.
"He's… strict," she admitted, fiddling with her crimson braid. "Doesn't like me… talking to strangers."
"But I'm not a stranger now, right?"
She blinked, then shook her head—almost a smile.
Thirty minutes later, a black sedan purred at the curb. Lexana stood, smoothing her skirt. "S-sorry… I have to go."
"See you around?"
She hesitated, then nodded—a promise, maybe—before vanishing into the car.
Yon lingered as the sedan disappeared, the school's shadow stretching long in the setting sun. Lexana's fear, her father's sternness, those cryptic symbols in her textbook… Pieces of a puzzle he hadn't known existed.
But High School Honour thrived on secrets. And Yon, it seemed, had just stumbled into one.
Yon then go home, especially it's already 15.00, he will got beat if he late for go back to school.