Maria pulled her boxes behind her as she stepped out of the administrative building, the late afternoon sun illuminating the faint golden streaks in her dark hair.

“Thank you, sir,” she said, her voice quiet yet filled with polite gratitude as Mr. Williams waved her off, already buried in another student’s file.

The boxes clattered noisily against the marble steps as she dragged them down.

Grrrrr… grrrrrr…

“Ah-ah! Common now, lift those boxes! You can’t go about disturbing the peace of the whole building,” scolded a matronly woman who swept past her with a file tucked under one arm.

Maria bit her lip and muttered an apology, her face heating up as she tried to adjust her grip and quiet the noise.

At last, she made her way to Queen Ashley’s block, the girls’ hostel she’d been assigned to. She stopped at the porter’s desk, still catching her breath.

“Hello, ma,” Maria began, standing stiffly. “My name is Maria Kura, from Asia. I got admitted to study International Relations, and was allocated to Queen Ashley’s Block, room 20.”

The porter, a round woman in a neat uniform, peered over her reading glasses.

“Alright then, welcome to Macleod College of Arts. I’m the porter of this block. Now, your boxes will have to be checked before you can go up…”

But she was interrupted by a pair of girls sashaying into the lobby.

“Ewww! What sort of dress combination is that?” one of them mocked, her eyes raking Maria.

“Oh my God, look at those ancient boxes,” the other added, laughter following them as they disappeared up the stairs.

Maria froze, fingers tightening around the handle of her suitcase.

“Don’t mind those bullies,” the porter said softly, sighing as she did a quick inspection of Maria’s belongings.

When she was done, she motioned for Maria to follow her.

“After me,” she said curtly, leading her up the stairs and down a dimly lit corridor to a door with a brass number: 20.

Maria muttered her thanks as the porter left her alone at the door.

***

Monday morning came really late. Maria was awake by five, her hands already busy cleaning her corner of the room. The three other girls, still lazing in bed, eyed her warily.

“Hey!” snapped Tia, the boldest. “Don’t you dare forget not to touch my things. I don’t know about others.”

“Well, same here,” sneered another.

“Me either,” the third added without even looking up from her phone.

Maria kept her head down, cleaned her own space, and got dressed for her first lecture.

She walked out of the dormitory as composed as she could, despite the muffled laughter that followed her out.

On the walkway to class, more whispers and giggles surrounded her.

“Who wears that to school?” someone snorted.

“Take a look at those ancient sandals,” another chimed in, their laughter ringing in her ears.

Maria tried to smile, tried to greet a few of the girls.

“Hello, my name is …”

“Save it. I never asked,” came the blunt reply.

She stopped trying after that.

***

At nine o’clock, she made her way into the mega lecture hall for her first General Studies class.

A middle-aged man in a crisp grey suit stood at the podium.

“I welcome you all to Macleod College,” he began in a deep, resonant voice. “This man here—” he gestured to himself— “will be your General Studies lecturer throughout the academic year. My name is Dr. Ben Abberton. I expect your full cooperation. Thank you.”

He wasted no time, launching into his lesson before finally appointing a course representative and dismissing them.

“Have a nice day, everyone,” he said, gathering his notes and leaving.

Maria lingered at her desk a moment longer than necessary, listening to the chatter of classmates already forming into little groups. She walked alone to lunch.

In the canteen, she found a corner table and absentmindedly doodled on the wooden surface with her pen. The scratches she left behind were her only outlet for the loneliness and frustration that pressed down on her.

Three days on campus, and already she felt like a ghost.

“Hello,” came a cheerful voice, breaking her thoughts.

Maria looked up to see a tall, blonde Caucasian girl smiling down at her, holding a pen and notebook.

“Hi,” Maria said cautiously, almost startled.

“Your name, please?” the girl asked as she flipped open her notebook.

“M-Maria,” she stammered.

“I’m Stephanie Hank,” the girl said warmly. “I’m a finalist in Linguistics and president of the Solace Academia Heroes. We help students adjust to life on campus. Next week we’re hosting a ‘Welcome to Campus’ lecture. Hope you can make it.”

She handed Maria a brightly printed leaflet and moved on to other tables.

Maria stared at the paper, feeling her chest ache a little more.

It wasn’t a friend.

It was just… another program.

She tucked the leaflet into her notebook and left the canteen quietly.

***

Later that afternoon, she remembered she still had documents to finalize. She hurried back to the administrative building, but the long line of waiting students made her shoulders slump.

Mr. Williams spotted her.

“Ah, Miss Maria,” he called out. “Settling in okay?”

“Yes, thank you, sir,” she replied faintly.

“Come back Thursday evening,” he advised. “It’ll be quieter then.”

“Alright, sir. Thank you.”

As she turned to leave, she spotted her roommates leaving the admission office, laughing among themselves.

She swallowed hard and hurried to catch up.

“Hey, girls!” she called. “I was hoping to walk back to the dormitory with you.”

Tia stopped and gave her a cold once-over.

“Did we come in with you?” she asked.

Maria shook her head.

“Exactly,” Annette added, smirking.

“Oh yeah! You’ve got your answer,” Lilian chimed in as they walked away, their laughter echoing down the stairwell.

Maria stood there a moment, then walked out into the courtyard, her feet carrying her almost on instinct like the day before, toward a small, quiet garden.

She found an empty bench and sat down heavily.

Am I jinxed? she wondered bitterly as the first tears slipped down her cheeks.

Hated back home, hated here… maybe it really is me.

“Hello,” came a soft baritone voice, pulling her out of her thoughts.

Maria froze.

She looked up and saw him: tall, striking, his skin glowing warm under the setting sun. His eyes held hers in a steady gaze.

“Are you alright?” he asked again, his voice low and calm.

Maria’s breath caught in her throat.

“Yes,” she lied, wiping her face hurriedly as she stood to leave.

“Oh my,” she muttered under her breath, scolding herself as she walked away. “I’ve not only graduated from being an outcast but now also an attention-seeker. Brilliant, Maria.”

But before she could take another step, she felt a firm yet gentle hand close around her wrist.

“Wait,” he said, his voice commanding yet kind.

She turned, startled, her eyes meeting his again.

“Please… come back,” he said, almost pleading now. “I won’t bite.”

Maria’s heart was thundering so loud she was sure he could hear it. She let herself be led back to the bench, sitting down once more as he watched her carefully.

When she finally dared to look at him, his gaze softened.

“Sorry if I intruded on your thoughts,” he said, leaning forward slightly. “But… why were you crying?”

Maria looked away, staring down at her hands.

Her voice trembled when she finally spoke.

“Why do you care?” she asked, her words sharp but fragile, before the dam broke and another wave of helpless tears spilled down her cheeks.