Ajax tugged at the brim of his beanie as he strolled through Nevermore’s stone corridors. It was between classes, the halls buzzing with chatter and the occasional slam of a locker. He had gotten used to the stares by now — most people knew what was under his hat, though few had actually seen it. Still, he preferred keeping his snakes in check. They tended to twitch when he was nervous, and Ajax was almost always nervous.

He rounded the corner by the stained-glass window and nearly collided with someone.

“Watch it, Medusa-lite.”

The voice was sharp, laced with sarcasm, but not cruel. Ajax blinked, stepping back. In front of him stood a girl he hadn’t seen before. She leaned against the wall like she owned it, arms crossed, eyes scanning him as though dissecting his entire existence in one glance.

“Uh—sorry,” Ajax stammered. “I didn’t mean to—”

The girl smirked, tilting her head. “Relax. I’m Calliope. New student. Psychic.” Her tone made it sound like psychic was just another word for deal with it.

Ajax gave a small, awkward laugh. “Right. Ajax. Uh, gorgon.” He tapped his hat lightly, as if to prove it.

“I figured,” Calliope said, eyes darting up at the beanie. “You’ve got that whole ‘don’t look too close or you’ll regret it’ vibe going on. Works for you, actually.”

Ajax’s cheeks flushed, and he looked away. Compliments, even veiled ones, weren’t something he knew how to process. “So… psychic, huh? Like… you read minds?”

“Sometimes,” Calliope replied, her smile widening. “But don’t worry. Yours is too scrambled to bother with.”

That made Ajax laugh for real, shoulders loosening. “Fair. Totally fair.”

From down the hall, Bianca Barclay emerged, her cool aura filling the space the way it always did. She raised an eyebrow at the pair. “New blood?” she asked, her voice silky.

“Calliope,” the girl said before Ajax could. “Just transferred. Guess this place needed someone with actual personality.”

Bianca smirked. “Careful. The walls here have ears… and teeth.” She shot Ajax a knowing glance before sweeping past them, her heels clicking against the stone.

Calliope watched her go. “She’s intense. I like her.”

“Yeah, that’s Bianca,” Ajax said, rubbing the back of his neck. “She… takes some getting used to.”

They started walking together down the hall, students moving around them like a current. Calliope’s stride was confident, while Ajax kept trying not to trip over himself.

“So,” Calliope said casually, “you and that werewolf girl—Enid, right? I heard some whispers.”

Ajax’s throat tightened. “Uh, yeah. We… broke up.” He tried to make it sound light, but it landed heavy. “She’s—she’s happy, though. That’s good.”

Calliope studied him for a beat, her sharpness softening. “Breakups suck,” she said simply. “But if it helps, you look like someone who bounces back.”

Ajax met her gaze, surprised at the sudden sweetness in her tone. She wasn’t like Wednesday—there was sarcasm, sure, but less ice, more spark.

“You think so?” he asked.

“I know so,” Calliope said with a half-smile, brushing past him to push open the door to the quad. “Come on, Gorgon Boy. Show me the famous Nevermore weirdness.”

Ajax blinked after her, then followed, the snakes under his hat stirring like they were curious.