"Alright, settle down," Mr. Grant said, though the class had already gone quiet the moment the transfer student appeared.
He turned back to the board, then looked at the boy standing beside him.
"This is our new classmate," he announced. "Go ahead and introduce yourself."
Every eye in the room turned toward the boy.
He was calm. Too calm. Hands at his sides, posture straight, expression unreadable. The buzz that had filled the classroom a moment ago condensed into a single, focused silence.
The boy looked up, met the class's collective stare, and said:
"Kai Ardent."
That was it.
No "nice to meet you," no awkward smile, no nervous laugh. Just his name, dropped like a stone into still water.
For a second, nothing happened.
Then the ripples hit.
"That's it?" someone whispered from the back.
"Cold," another muttered.
"Ardent… sounds like some fantasy novel protagonist," one girl giggled softly.
Another boy leaned toward his friend. "He talks like he's announcing a death sentence."
"Maybe he is."
A stifled laugh, a hissed "shh," the scratch of a pen falling off a desk.
Mr. Grant cleared his throat, clearly used to this class's talent for commentary. "Thank you, Kai. You can, ah… keep it short, that's fine."
He scanned the room, eyes moving over occupied desks. "Let's see… The empty seat next to Annika is open. You can sit there."
Annika blinked.
Me?
Four heads turned toward her at the same time—Rei, Leo, Mila, Yuen.
"Oho," Yuen whispered dramatically. "The universe has spoken."
"Shut up," Annika muttered under her breath.
Kai didn't react to any of it. He simply nodded once to Mr. Grant, then moved down the aisle with a quiet, measured pace. Not too slow, not too fast. Like someone used to walking through dangerous rooms.
He stopped beside the empty desk next to Annika's.
Up close, he looked even more intense. His eyes were dark but somehow clear, not dull the way exhausted students' eyes usually were. His uniform was straight, no wrinkles, tie properly done—too neat for someone who had just transferred.
Annika sat a little straighter without meaning to.
He glanced at her, just for a second, and then took his seat.
"Alright," Mr. Grant said, clapping his hands once. "Now that our class has grown by one, let's return to the thrilling world of mathematics."
A collective groan rolled through the room.
---
As soon as the teacher turned to the board and began writing an equation, the whispering began again—quieter this time, like wind slipping through the cracks of a door.
A girl leaned toward her friend in the row ahead.
"Did you see his eyes? He looks like he doesn't sleep."
"More like he doesn't need sleep," the other replied. "He looks like one of those anime characters who meditates instead."
In the back, someone muttered, "I swear, if he pulls out a katana from his bag, I'm transferring classes."
Near the window, a boy propped his head on his hand. "He's got the 'I've seen things' stare."
"Bro, he's sixteen," his friend said. "What things?"
"Taxes. Soul-crushing taxes."
---
At their cluster of desks, the main group was doing exactly what they always did: talking instead of paying full attention.
Yuen leaned sideways, trying to catch a better look at Kai without being obvious about it. He was absolutely obvious about it.
"He really doesn't talk much, huh?" Yuen whispered.
"Some people don't feel the need to narrate their existence," Rei replied quietly, pen moving smoothly over her notebook.
"I'm just saying," Yuen said, "that was, like, the shortest introduction in the history of this class."
Leo didn't look up from his notes. "Not true. Remember that one guy last year?"
Rei nodded. "The one who only said, 'I am here by mistake'?"
"Oh yeah." Yuen grinned. "He was a legend."
Mila smirked. "He also dropped out after a week."
"A fallen legend," Yuen corrected.
Annika didn't join in. She was still aware of the boy sitting next to her, gaze fixed forward, pen resting motionless on his desk. He hadn't even opened his notebook yet.
He looked like he could sit in silence for hours.
Mr. Grant's chalk squeaked across the board. "And so, when we factor this expression…"
Annika glanced at her book, then at Kai out of the corner of her eye.
Should she say something?
Welcome to the class?
I'm Annika?
Congratulations on being assigned the worst seat—right in front of the teacher?
She hesitated.
She wasn't shy. She'd talked to new students before. But there was something… different about this one. He felt still, the way the air feels still before a storm.
She took a breath.
Before she could decide, the boy in front of them twisted around in his seat.
He grinned at Kai. "Hey, new guy. I'm Aaron. Where'd you transfer from—"
Mr. Grant didn't even turn around. "Mr. Rios, if you turn around one more time, I will personally ensure your test paper is graded with tears."
Aaron rotated back to the front so fast his chair squeaked. "Yes, sir."
A small wave of laughter moved through the room.
Yuen whispered, "Legend number two thwarted."
Mila tapped her pen against her notebook. "You should talk to him later, Annika."
"Why me?" Annika whispered back.
"Because you're the only one here with basic social skills," Mila answered.
Yuen covered his heart. "I am offended."
Rei lifted her eyes. "You once tried to introduce yourself with 'Hello, I'm chaos.'"
"That's a strong brand identity," Yuen argued.
Leo underlined something in his notes. "It's accurate, at least."