The quad was alive with noise, students standing in clusters, waiting to be sorted into their dorms. Haru stayed close beside you, his shoulder brushing yours, silently hoping fate would keep the two of you together.

You looked down at the slip in your hand. Room I67.

“Shit,” she muttered under her breath, noticing your number wasn’t even close to his. The small hope she had been clinging to seemed to slip away, and you could almost feel the disappointment radiating off him.

Before either of you could say anything more, a smooth, steady voice cut through the hum of chatter around you.

“I think we share the same room,” it said.

You lifted your head, startled. A girl stood there—tall, effortlessly beautiful, with dark eyes that seemed to notice everything at once yet reveal nothing back. Her presence was calm, self-assured, and for some reason, it made something twist uncomfortably in your stomach, like nerves mixed with excitement.

She extended her hand toward you, her lips curving into the faintest smile. “Maddison.”

The sound of her name seemed to carry more weight than the noise of the quad itself, and suddenly the slip of paper in your hand didn’t feel quite so heavy anymore.