the new student

The next morning began like any other.

Luna woke before sunrise, attended her classes, and met her friends for lunch. Everything felt normal until Professor Hawthorne entered the Mythical Ecology lecture hall with an unfamiliar student following behind him.

The classroom immediately grew quiet.

The girl looked to be around twenty-two years old. She had long platinum-blonde hair, pale blue eyes, and small white wolf ears perched neatly on top of her head. Her uniform looked expensive, tailored perfectly to her figure.

More importantly, she carried herself as though everyone should already know who she was.

"Class," Professor Hawthorne announced, "this is Victoria Frost. She transferred here this semester. Please make her feel welcome."

Victoria smiled sweetly.

At first glance, she seemed friendly.

Then she spoke.

"Oh my goodness, this university is so huge," she said dramatically. "I was honestly nervous about transferring. Everyone here seems so much smarter and prettier than me."

Several students exchanged confused looks.

Victoria was clearly attractive and knew it.

The exaggerated humility felt strange.

The professor directed her toward an empty seat.

Unfortunately, the only available seat happened to be beside Luna.

Victoria sat down and immediately looked at Luna.

"Oh wow."

Luna blinked.

"What?"

"Your hair is so long."

"Thank you."

"I could never have hair like that. Mine is so plain."

Luna politely smiled.

Victoria continued.

"And your tail is so fluffy. Everyone must think you're beautiful."

Luna suddenly understood what kind of person she was dealing with.

Sophia, sitting behind them, also realized it.

Sophia's eyes narrowed.

Danger detected.

The lecture began.

Within ten minutes Victoria had raised her hand six times.

Each time she prefaced her questions with comments like:

"Sorry if this sounds stupid..."

"I'm probably the dumbest person here..."

"I know everyone else already understands this..."

The problem was that her questions weren't stupid.

They were advanced.

Several students grew annoyed.

By the end of class, Victoria had somehow managed to make the entire lecture about herself.

As students packed their bags, Victoria turned toward Luna.

"Would you mind showing me around campus?"

Luna hesitated.

She wanted to help.

Helping people was part of her nature.

"Sure."

Sophia immediately looked concerned.

Luna ignored the warning.

Big mistake.

The tour started normally.

Luna showed Victoria the library, cafeteria, gardens, and student center.

Throughout the walk, Victoria continuously made comments that sounded innocent but felt strangely competitive.

"You must get so much attention here."

"I wish I looked good in casual clothes like you."

"Guys probably ask you out all the time."

Each statement was delivered with a smile.

Luna simply nodded and changed the subject.

Unfortunately, Victoria wasn't finished.

While passing through the central courtyard, they encountered Ethan.

He waved happily.

"Luna!"

His expression brightened when he saw her.

Victoria immediately stepped forward.

"Oh my goodness, is this your boyfriend?"

Ethan nearly choked.

"No."

"We're just friends," Luna explained.

Victoria giggled.

"Really? Because he looks at you like you're his girlfriend."

Ethan's face turned red.

Luna's ears flattened.

The conversation became awkward instantly.

After Ethan escaped, Victoria seemed pleased with herself.

By lunchtime, Luna was exhausted.

She met Sophia and Maya at their usual table.

Victoria somehow appeared seconds later.

"Mind if I sit here?"

Before anyone could answer, she was already sitting.

Sophia stared.

Maya stared.

Luna silently accepted her fate.

For the next thirty minutes, Victoria dominated the conversation.

Every topic somehow returned to herself.

When Sophia mentioned a journalism award, Victoria responded by discussing the awards she had won.

When Maya mentioned business classes, Victoria talked about her family's company.

When Luna discussed wildlife conservation, Victoria explained how much animals loved her.

It was impressive.

Nobody had ever witnessed someone make every conversation about themselves so efficiently.

Later that afternoon, things became worse.

A group of students were discussing top academic performers.

One student pointed toward Luna.

"She's one of the best students in the department."

Victoria immediately laughed.

"Oh, she's definitely smarter than me."

Luna appreciated the compliment.

Then came the second half.

"I only got perfect grades at my previous university because the professors liked me."

The group fell silent.

Someone coughed.

Another student walked away.

Sophia looked ready to commit a crime.

Luna gently placed a hand on her friend's arm.

"Don't."

By evening, word had already spread across campus.

Victoria Frost had become the center of attention.

Some students found her entertaining.

Others found her irritating.

Most were simply confused.

Back at the dormitory, Sophia collapsed dramatically onto her bed.

"I lasted exactly eight hours."

Luna sat at her desk.

"Eight hours?"

"Before she became my least favorite person."

Maya nodded.

"That's actually impressive."

Luna sighed.

"Maybe she's just trying too hard to fit in."

Both girls looked at her.

Sophia pointed.

"See? That's why you're a better person than me."

"What?"

"You always assume the best."

Luna smiled softly.

Maybe Victoria was insecure.

Maybe she genuinely wanted friends.

Maybe all the attention-seeking behavior came from loneliness.

Luna hoped that was the case.

Because if Victoria Frost remained exactly the way she had been on her first day...

The semester was going to be very, very long.

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