The Only Rule

The air felt like it was closing in on you, heavy with tension as you sat across from Professor Anderson. You could feel your palms growing cold against your thighs, the faint trickle of sweat forming on your temple. Your breath hitched, bracing yourself for whatever scathing words he was about to throw your way.

"Do you know what's worse than being invisible, Ms. Paradis?"

He finally opened his mouth, his voice was low.. deliberate. Each word felt like it was crawling toward something dark.

Your eyes immediately shot up to meet his, expression serious—even as the rest of you tensed with dread, wondering what he's going to say next—

"Being invisible and useless."

You blinked. A lump formed in your throat, the sting of his sentence settling deep in your chest. "I—I'm sorry, sir—I—"

"You're coasting through college without any real direction. You're neither excelling academically nor contributing socially. The anonymous. You have no club, no involvement. A liability."

Shock froze you in place. Tears stung at the corners of your eyes, but you couldn't let them fall. Not now. Not here. Not in front of this.. monster.

Your tongue tasted bitter, like you'd swallowed something rotten. You couldn't even argue back, couldn't form a single word to refute his claims. You knew how he is—well this was the reason you put on your vigilante Zorro thing with Talia—but this.. this is too much.

It's not true.

It's not you

...

Right?

The professor's voice rose, sharp and cutting, "And the audacity to 'expose' me?" His voice was venomous while gesturing with his fingers, as if he'd been waiting for this moment to crush you. "You think your little performance could stand up to someone like me? You think people would believe someone like you?"

Beneath all the hurt, you can still feel your blood boiling. How dare he. Your jaw clenched, and for a brief moment, you felt like you could scream at him, defending yourself—"Sir—"

"No excuses. Can't you see?! You're on the verge of getting expelled, Paradis!"

The room spun.

The word echoed in your mind, reverberating around the office like a death sentence. You felt the weight of it, like a physical blow, knocking the wind out of you.

Expelled.

You could feel your worst fear wrapping itself around you like a cold, suffocating weight. Your vigilante stunts.. everything you'd done to rebel.. to carve out some sense of identity in this soulless college system—it all felt meaningless now. Suddenly, regret pooled in your stomach.

The tears you had been holding back for so long broke free, one slipping down the corner of your lip as realization dawned on you. He wasn't just a heartless professor—he's a man with the power to crush your future.

Stupid Rena.

"I'll just give you a last warning, though," he threatened, voice dropping into something almost mocking. "I might not expel you just yet, but you're guaranteed a D in my class."