Episode 3: Fragments of a Strange

The broken compass sketch stayed in her notebook.

Emilia didn’t know why she kept it — maybe curiosity, maybe the quiet pull of something unfinished.

Days passed quickly at St. Marin University.

Classes, long hours in the library, and Maya’s endless chatter about campus gossip kept her occupied.

But sometimes, between pages and paragraphs, her mind would wander — to the boy with quiet eyes and ink on his fingers.

She started noticing things.

The way Luca sat in the cafeteria — never alone, but never really there either.

He laughed when his friends did, but his smile never reached his eyes.

He wore the same leather bracelet every day, one with faded initials carved inside.

And sometimes, when no one was looking, he’d press his thumb against it like it meant something.

Maya caught her staring once.

“Earth to Emilia,” she teased, waving a fork. “You good?”

Emilia blinked. “Just… zoning out.”

Maya smirked. “Sure. Zoning out right at Luca Rossi’s table.”

Emilia sighed. “He’s just… interesting. That’s all.”

“Yeah, that’s what they all say before they crash and burn.”

Emilia smiled faintly and went back to her food.

But she couldn’t help noticing again the next day.

It wasn’t that she wanted to. It just… happened.

⸻

Friday came with the kind of energy that hinted at trouble — music echoing from dorm halls, laughter spilling out into courtyards, the air heavy with weekend

Maya threw open the closet. “We’re going out tonight.”

“I’m not,” Emilia said without looking up from her laptop.

“Oh, come on! It’s the start-of-term bash. You’ve been buried in that computer. Live a little!”

“I’ll live tomorrow. After sleep.”

Maya groaned. “You sound like my mother trying to make me a good kid. Okay, fine. But if you change your mind, I’ll be with them.”

“Them?”

Maya gave her a knowing smile. “Luca’s group. They invited me to tag along.”

Emilia’s fingers froze on the keyboard. “Luca Rossi?”

“Who else? Don’t worry — I’ll tell him the scholarship girl said hi.”

“Maya!”

She laughed, already halfway out the door. “Relax, Emilia. He probably doesn’t even remember you.”

⸻

But he did.

Because when Emilia crossed the courtyard later the evening — backpack slung over one shoulder, earbuds in — she saw them.

Luca and his group standing near the parking lot, loud and alive, the night glinting off someone’s car.

He was leaning against the hood, cigarette in hand, his laughter low and careless.

A girl stood close to him — too close — whispering something that made him smirk.

For a second, Emilia thought he hadn’t seen her.

But then his gaze lifted.

Straight to her.

It wasn’t long, maybe two seconds, but it was enough to make her heartbeat quicken.

He didn’t say anything. Didn’t wave. Didn’t smile.

He just looked — with that same unreadable expression — then turned back to his friends.

And that was all it took to remind Emilia exactly where she stood.

The scholarship girl.

A face in the crowd.

⸻

When Maya stumbled in later that night, half-laughing, half-exhausted, Emilia was still awake.

“So?” Emilia asked quietly.

Maya flopped onto her bed. “You were right. He’s… different. Charming, but in that way that makes you wish you hadn’t looked twice.”

Emilia closed her laptop. “And did you?”

Maya grinned. “Maybe once. Don’t worry, I’m not joining his fan club.”

Emilia smiled faintly, turning off her lamp.

She closed her laptop after a long day of studying, her mind still lingering on what the guy had been sketching. She tried to brush it off, letting the thought fade, and drifted into sleep.

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