Maya's POV
I tripped over my own feet and crashed into a trash can, sending garbage flying everywhere.
"Great start, Maya," I muttered, trying to pick up the scattered papers and food wrappers. My hands were shaking so badly I could barely grab anything. Students walking past me either stared or quickly looked away, and I heard someone say, "Is that her? The girl from Starfall?"
This was it. My first day at Riverside School, and I was already making a fool of myself. I stuffed the last piece of trash back into the can and hurried toward the main door, my cheeks burning with embarrassment.
The building was so different from Starfall Academy. Everything felt smaller, older, more ordinary. But right now, ordinary sounded great. Maybe here I could hide. Maybe here I could just be another student instead of the "fallen star" everyone talked about.
"Maya Chen?" A happy voice called out behind me.
I turned to see a girl with bright pink hair and a big smile bouncing toward me. She was carrying way too many books, and they looked like they might fall at any second.
"I'm Lily!" she said, somehow managing to wave while balancing her pile of books. "I'm supposed to show you around! The director asked me to be your buddy!"
A friend. Like I was in kindergarten. But Lily seemed so truly happy to meet me that I couldn't help but feel a tiny bit better.
"Thanks," I said quietly. "I appreciate it."
"No problem! I know how scary first days can be. Plus, I've always wanted to meet someone from Starfall Academy! You must have seen some amazing magic there!"
My stomach dropped. Of course she knew where I came from. Of course she wanted to hear about the magic I could no longer do.
"It wasn't that amazing," I lied. "Pretty basic stuff, really."
Lily's face scrunched up in confusion. "But I heard you were one of their top kids! My cousin goes to Starfall, and she said you could do spells that even seniors couldn't manage!"
"Your cousin was wrong." The words came out harder than I meant them to. "Sorry, I just... I'd rather not talk about my old school."
"Oh! Of course! I'm sorry!" Lily's face turned red. "I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. Let's just focus on today, okay?"
I nodded, glad that she didn't push. Maybe having a buddy wouldn't be so bad after all.
But as Lily led me through the halls, I could feel everyone staring. Students would stop their talks when I walked by, then start whispering the moment I passed. I caught bits of their words: "...heard she was faking it..." "...probably used magical devices..." "...my sister said she cried during her Assessment..."
Each whisper felt like a needle in my chest. How had the story of my failure spread so far so fast?
"Don't listen to them," Lily said softly, noticing my face. "People always gossip about new kids. It'll die down."
But I knew it wouldn't. This wasn't normal new-student gossip. This was the story of Maya Chen, the girl who fell from glory. The girl who went from star student to failure overnight.
My first few lessons were torture. Teachers introduced me as "the transfer student from Starfall Academy," and I watched as every student in the room turned to stare. Some looked curious, others looked pitying, and a few looked mean, like they were already planning ways to make my life unhappy.
During Basic Magic Theory, the teacher asked if I wanted to perform a simple levitation spell. It should have been easy – I used to be able to levitate full desks. But when I tried, the feather barely lifted off the table before dropping back down.
"Don't worry," the teacher said kindly. "It takes time to adjust to a new setting. We'll work on building your confidence."
Building my security. Like I was a little kid who needed help to tie my shoes.
The worst part was lunch. Lily had to go to a club meeting, so I was on my own. I got my tray and looked around the cafeteria, trying to find somewhere to sit. Every table seemed full, and the few empty seats were next to students who quickly looked away when I approached.
Finally, I found an empty table in the corner. I sat down with my back to the room, hoping to make myself unnoticeable. But I could still hear the whispers behind me.
"...can't believe she thought she could fool everyone..."
"...my mom says some kids use illegal enhancement potions..."
"...bet she's here because no other school would take her..."
I stared at my sandwich, my appetite totally gone. Was this going to be my life now? Sitting alone while people talked about my failures?
"This seat taken?"
I looked up to see a boy with dark hair and kind eyes standing beside my table. He was carrying a lunch tray and seemed totally unaware of all the staring and whispering around us.
"No," I said quietly. "But you probably don't want to sit here."
"Why not?"
"Because I'm Maya Chen. The girl everyone's talking about. The failure from Starfall Academy."
He sat down anyway. "I'm Alex Rivera. And I don't care what anyone says about you."
Something about the way he said it made me look at him more closely. He seemed different from the other kids somehow. Calmer. More sure. Like he knew things that nobody else did.
"You're new too, right?" I asked. "I haven't seen you around."
"Just moved here today, actually. Same as you."
"From where?"
Alex paused for just a moment. "A school far away. You probably haven't heard of it."
Before I could ask more questions, a group of older kids approached our table. The boy in front had muscles and a mean smile that made my stomach clench.
"Well, well," he said loudly. "Look who we have here. The popular Maya Chen, sitting with the new kid."
I shrank back in my chair, but Alex didn't move. He just looked up at the boy quietly.
"I'm Marcus," the boy added. "I run things around here. And I think you should know that your new friend here is bad news. She's a liar and a cheat who got kicked out of her fancy school."
"That's not true," I whispered, but my voice was so quiet nobody heard me.
"Is that so?" Alex said, his voice still calm but somehow different. Colder. "And what makes you think you have the right to decide who I sit with?"
Marcus laughed. "Because this is my school, transfer boy. And I don't like troublemakers."
"Then maybe you should leave," Alex said, standing up slowly.
The cafeteria went dead silent. Even the lunch ladies stopped what they were doing to stare. Nobody talked to Marcus like that. Nobody stood up to him.
Marcus stepped closer, his hands clenched. "What did you just say to me?"
Alex smiled, and suddenly the temperature in the room seemed to drop ten degrees. "I said maybe you should leave. Unless you'd like to find out what happens when you mess with people I care about."
That's when I felt it – a pulse of magical energy so strong it made my teeth ache. It was coming from Alex, but it was like nothing I'd ever experienced before. It felt ancient and strong and barely controlled.
Marcus must have felt it too, because his face went pale. He took a step backward, his tough-guy act breaking.
"This isn't over," Marcus mumbled, but he was already backing away. His friends followed, all of them looking confused and scared.
The cafeteria stayed quiet for a long moment, then slowly conversations started up again. But now people were looking at Alex instead of me.
"What was that?" I whispered. "What did you do?"
Alex sat back down, and suddenly he looked like a normal teenage boy again. "I just stood up for my friend."
"But the magic I felt—"
"Your magic isn't weak," Alex said quietly, stopping me. "It's just... sleeping."
My heart stopped. "What did you mean by that?"
"I mean that someone has been lying to you about what happened during your Assessment. Your powers didn't fail, Maya. They were taken from you."
"That's impossible. Magic can't just be taken—"
"It can if you know the right magic. Very old spells. Very dangerous magic."
I stared at him, my mind running. "How do you know all this? Who are you really?"
Alex looked around the restaurant, then leaned closer. "Meet me after school by the old oak tree behind the building. There are things you need to know about what really happened to you. And Maya?"
"Yeah?"
"You're in more danger than you know. The people who took your magic aren't done with you yet."
He got up and walked away, leaving me sitting alone with my heart pounding and a million questions running through my mind.
But the biggest question of all was this: How did Alex know about the oak tree? That was the exact same meeting place mentioned in the mysterious text I'd gotten last night.
Was Alex the person who had sent me that message? And if so, how had he known I needed help before he'd even met me?
I looked around the canteen, suddenly feeling like everyone was watching me for reasons I didn't understand. Whatever was happening to me, it was bigger than a failed Assessment. And somehow, Alex was right in the middle of it.