WHERE'S TARI ?!
Soraya's voice rang through the small restaurant like a firecracker. Tari's parents looked up from behind the counter, startled.
"He's upstairs in the apartment," his mother said, half-laughing. "Soraya, what's going on?"
But Soraya didn't answer. She was already dashing toward the stairs, a letter clutched tightly in her hand. She took the steps two at a time, barely stopping to knock before bursting into Tari's room.
"Soraya!" Tari yelled, nearly falling off his chair. "What if I was naked?!"
She smirked, tossing her braids over her shoulder. "Pfft, please. What haven't I already seen?"
Tari groaned as she walked in fully, leaning over his desk and staring at his latest drawing—an elegant rendering of a woman wrapped in flowing celestial robes, standing before a broken tower.
"This new?" she asked, eyes lighting up.
"Yeah. Was working on it all morning… until you stormed in like a wildwoman."
She waved her envelope in front of him. "Forget that—it came!"
Tari blinked. "The letters?"
She nodded, pulling his envelope from where it sat on the shelf.
They stared at the two envelopes in silence for a moment. The crest of Solaris Institute of Sciences, Craft and Arts glinted under the sunlight leaking through the window.
"This is it," she said.
Tari sat up straighter. "Alright. On three?"
"On three."
"One…"
"Two…"
"Three!"
They ripped the envelopes open in unison, hearts thudding.
As their eyes scanned the contents, the silence was broken by Soraya's shriek.
"We got in! We got in, Tari!"
Tari could barely believe it. The words blurred for a moment. "...awarded full scholarship… welcome to Solaris Institute… appointment scheduled for… Lumaire campus…"
He looked up in awe. "We really got in."
They screamed and danced in the small room, Soraya bumping into his desk and Tari knocking over a pencil holder, but they didn't care.
They were going to Edenbarrow.
The day they left was full of sunlight and teary goodbyes. Tari's parents hugged him three times before letting go. The blimp-like airship waiting at the cliffside terminal was massive—engines humming low, lifting slowly into the air as students boarded in clusters.
"Don't throw up," Soraya warned with a grin as they took their seats.
Tari rolled his eyes. "Only if you start crying first."
The skies of Edenbarrow were clearer than he imagined, even as they floated above the lowlands. But it wasn't until they switched to the mag-train bound for Lumaire that the beauty really struck him. The sun sat like a golden crown over the capital's vast cityscape.
On the train, Soraya leaned her chin on her palm, staring out the window.
"Do you think the White King's Curse is real?" she asked suddenly.
Tari blinked. "That old story again?"
"I'm serious. People are disappearing. There are rumors about an organization hunting… cursed ones."
"That's just superstition."
She frowned. "You're way too calm about things that freak me out."
"Because they're not real, Soraya."
She didn't look convinced.
They reached Lumaire as the city's lights began to flicker on. The air smelled like mountain rain, and the capital shimmered with blue lanterns, marble towers, and sleek mag-lifts.
From their tram window, they saw the huge dome of the Planetarium, and rising behind it, the colossal walls of the Solaris Evolutionary Institute.
"There's the Department of Arcane Tech," Soraya whispered excitedly, pointing. "And over there—the Hybrid Bio-Arts Wing… and that tower belongs to the Language and Music Consortium!"
Tari smiled as she listed every building like she'd memorized the map.
They arrived at the registration gates breathless. The crowd was thick, filled with students in every shape, color, and style. Some wore noble crests, others had rougher coats and ink-stained fingers. Tari gripped his bag tighter.
They signed their names in digital glyphs, scanned their IDs, and were handed dorm assignments.
When Soraya saw her name on the unisex dorm list, she cheered. "Told you! If we're lucky, we'll be roommates."
The secretary blinked at the two of them. "You're… a couple?"
Tari nearly choked. "What?! No—no, she's just—"
Soraya winked. "Relax. She's just messing."
After the coronation ceremony in the Grand Assembly Hall that evening, students exited in groups. The dome ceiling had opened to reveal the moons and stars, casting soft light over the crowd.
As they walked out, Soraya nudged Tari and pointed ahead.
"See them? That's Lord Ravien. His father's a count from North Aria."
Tari glanced at the two boys ahead. The tall one walked like he owned the ground. The one beside him… he looked ordinary. Not awkward, but… quiet. Focused.
"Is the guy beside him also a noble?" Tari asked.
"No idea. Never seen him before. Maybe a commoner… maybe a nobody like us."
Tari laughed. "Great. Hope I don't end up with a snob."
They got distracted by upperclassmen trying to recruit freshers into societies and cult-like clubs before finally making it to their dorm buildings. Soraya checked her slip.
"A Block. Yours is B, just one down."
They stood awkwardly at the divider for a moment.
"Well," she said, kicking the stone path, "See you in the morning."
"Goodnight, Soraya."
Tari entered his dorm room to find someone already inside. Headphones on. Music blaring.
The guy didn't look up as Tari walked in, dragging his duffel.
"Uh… hey," Tari offered. "I'm Tari. From Pinellas."
So what.. outsider"The guy snared, turning up the volume.
Tari sighed, unpacking quietly, regretting the effort to be polite.
".... so much for being a snob" Tari said to himself "what a jerk"
After a while,After a while, Tari sat beside his bed, earbuds in, lost in the music of his favorite band. The soft rhythm pulsed through his veins, a small comfort in the chaos of the institute.
His roommate got up to grab a drink. As he returned, something about the sound caught his attention. He paused at the doorway, squinting.
"Wait a minute…" he said, stepping closer. "Is that… Lomi?"
Tari looked up, pulling out one earbud. "You know them?"
"They're my favorite band!"
"No way," Tari said, raising a brow. "Name the lead guitarist."
"Kaoru Mitsune," his roommate answered without missing a beat.
Tari narrowed his eyes. "Biggest album?"
"Midnight Black Sunrise."
Tari stared at him, then slowly grinned. "Okay ,Okay. ..Sing the chorus."
"Really..are you for reals??..."he said
" yeah I'm waiting.."Tari responded skeptically.
" Fine..."The boy stood, placed a hand over his chest, and belted out the lyrics, badly but with passion. Tari cracked up and joined in.
When the song ended, they collapsed on their beds laughing.
"Maybe you're not an outsider after all,"the boy said.
"Tari."
"Keal."
The next three weeks flew by. They ate together, laughed together, and once, Keal even saved Tari from a group of students from another academy who tried to shove him into a fountain over some stupid regional insult.
Everything was good.Until it wasn't.....
TO BE CONTINUED....