Chapter 36 — First Day at Aranya University
Morning sunlight spilled through the tall glass windows of the Goa mansion.
Outside, the Arabian Sea wind moved the palm trees slowly.
Inside…
Absolute chaos.
Except for one person.
At the long dining table in the center of the hall, Care sat calmly with a thick notebook open in front of her. Pages were filled with neat formulas, notes, and diagrams. A cup of hot tea rested beside her, steam rising slowly.
The house was quiet.
Peaceful.
For exactly three minutes.
Then—
A loud scream echoed upstairs.
"WHAT TIME IS IT?!"
It was Mia.
A door slammed open.
Footsteps thundered down the hallway.
"WE'RE LATE!"
Another door banged open.
Matt stumbled out of his room half asleep.
"Why are we screaming?"
"Because we have university today!" Mia shouted.
Matt froze.
"…Oh."
Another door opened.
Ace walked out, already dressed, arms crossed calmly.
"You all overslept."
From another room, Race groaned.
"Why does morning exist?"
Downstairs, Care calmly turned another page of her notes.
She didn't even look up.
Upstairs chaos only got worse.
"WHO TOOK MY BAG?" Mia shouted.
"WHY IS MY SHIRT MISSING?" Matt yelled.
"I DIDN'T TOUCH IT!" Race defended.
Ace sighed.
"This is embarrassing."
At that exact moment—
The kitchen exploded into a different kind of chaos.
"THIS IS BURNT!"
Cole's voice.
"No it's not," Alex replied casually.
"It's literally black."
"It's toasted."
"Alex that is not toast that is charcoal."
Alex leaned against the counter lazily.
"Stop being dramatic."
Cole held up the pan.
"THIS WAS EGGS."
Alex shrugged.
"They evolved."
Cole glared.
"Move."
Alex folded his arms.
"No."
Cole grabbed another pan aggressively.
"You are banned from the kitchen."
"I was cooking perfectly fine."
"You burned breakfast."
"You micromanage breakfast."
Their argument echoed through the house.
Care still didn't react.
She sipped her tea calmly.
Lyra walked downstairs rubbing her eyes.
She stopped halfway on the stairs and looked at the kitchen.
Cole and Alex were now arguing about butter.
Lyra sighed.
"Good morning chaos."
Ash appeared beside her.
"…Did they start fighting already?"
Lyra nodded.
"Breakfast war."
Ash laughed.
They walked downstairs.
"Care," Lyra said, dropping onto the chair beside her, "how are you studying in this madness?"
Care turned a page.
"Practice."
Ash leaned over the table.
"You woke up early again didn't you?"
"Four."
Lyra groaned.
"Who wakes up at four voluntarily?"
Care raised an eyebrow.
"People who like being prepared."
Before Lyra could respond—
A loud shout came from the kitchen.
"WHO PUT SUGAR IN THE OMELETTE?"
Alex looked innocent.
"…Experiment."
Cole looked ready to throw the pan.
Lyra burst into laughter.
"This house is going to burn down."
Suddenly—
A phone on the table started ringing loudly.
Lyra glanced at the screen.
"Oh."
She grinned.
"Philippines chaos calling."
Everyone looked up.
Lyra tapped the screen.
The large tablet on the table lit up.
Immediately—
Eight loud voices exploded at once.
"CAREEEEEE!"
On the screen appeared:
Percy, JJ, Keifer, Aries, Freya, Endrix, Cin, and Rakhi.
All crammed into one chaotic video call.
Percy leaned so close to the camera his face filled the entire screen.
"BABY SISTER!"
JJ shoved him sideways.
"Move!"
Rakhi laughed.
"You're blocking everyone!"
Cin leaned into view.
"Care! First day at university!"
Freya waved dramatically.
Endrix adjusted his glasses calmly.
Aries crossed his arms.
Keifer stood behind JJ with a small smile.
The entire mansion suddenly became loud.
Mia rushed downstairs.
"WHO IS SCREAMING?"
She looked at the screen.
"Oh."
"PHILIPPINES CHAOS!"
Percy pointed at Care.
"You survived the mountains!"
Care nodded calmly.
"Barely."
Percy clutched his chest dramatically.
"Baby sister almost died in Ladakh!"
JJ rolled her eyes.
"You fainted from altitude sickness."
"THAT WAS A STRATEGIC COLLAPSE."
Keifer laughed.
Ash leaned into the camera.
"Look who's being dramatic."
Rakhi waved.
"We miss you guys already."
Cin added,
"The university here already feels boring."
Endrix asked calmly,
"So… first day at Aranya?"
Lyra nodded.
"In about thirty minutes."
Percy gasped.
"YOU'RE STILL AT HOME?"
Everyone froze.
Then—
PANIC.
Mia screamed.
"WE'RE LATE!"
Matt ran upstairs.
"I FORGOT MY NOTEBOOK!"
Race shouted,
"WHO TOOK MY SHOES?"
Alex yelled from the kitchen,
"Cole burned the toast!"
"I DID NOT!"
Lyra grabbed her bag.
Ash ran toward the stairs.
Ace sighed and walked toward the door.
Only Care remained seated calmly.
Percy stared.
"…Why is she still sitting?"
Care closed her notebook slowly.
"Because we still have twenty-two minutes."
Everyone stopped.
Cole looked at her.
"How do you know that?"
Care stood up.
"Traffic timing."
Alex blinked.
"…She calculated traffic."
Lyra laughed.
"Of course she did."
Percy clutched his head.
"She's terrifying."
JJ smiled proudly.
"Baby sister is a genius."
Care picked up her bag.
"Time to leave."
---
Aranya University
The university gates were enormous.
Tall stone pillars.
Iron gates with intricate carvings.
Inside—
A massive campus stretched across acres of green land.
Ancient banyan trees.
Wide stone pathways.
Elegant academic buildings covered in ivy.
Students moved everywhere across the campus.
Some nervous.
Some confident.
Some already arguing about schedules.
Mia looked around in shock.
"This place is huge."
Matt whispered,
"I'm getting lost."
Race nodded.
"Same."
Ace looked impressed.
"Elite university indeed."
Zein glanced around quietly.
"So this is our new life."
Care walked ahead calmly.
She had already memorized the campus map.
Cole walked beside her.
"You've already mapped the campus haven't you?"
Care replied without looking at him.
"Yes."
Cole smirked.
"Of course."
They entered the main lecture hall.
Hundreds of students filled the seats.
The HU students looked nervous.
This was the first time they were sitting in a normal classroom.
No guards.
No control.
Just students.
Zein whispered to Mia,
"This still feels unreal."
Mia nodded.
"But nice."
The professor walked into the hall.
A tall older man with sharp eyes.
The room immediately went quiet.
He placed his books on the desk and looked at the class.
"Welcome to Aranya University."
His voice was calm but powerful.
"This institution is not easy."
He walked slowly across the room.
"Many of you were top students in your schools."
He paused.
"But here…"
"You will struggle."
Students exchanged nervous glances.
"Exams will be difficult."
"Competition will be brutal."
"And only the best will remain at the top."
He picked up a sheet of paper.
"Speaking of competition…"
He looked up.
"This year's entrance rankings were… interesting."
The room became curious.
He continued.
"Two students achieved the highest scores."
Murmurs spread across the hall.
"Both with identical marks."
He adjusted his glasses.
"Care."
The room looked around.
Care sat quietly in the middle row.
"Cole."
More whispers.
Cole leaned back in his chair casually.
The professor continued.
"These two students share the number one rank."
The class buzzed with curiosity.
Cole glanced sideways.
A slow smirk appeared on his face.
"Looks like we're tied."
Care didn't even look at him.
She simply opened her notebook.
Cole chuckled softly.
"Oh."
"So that's how it's going to be."
Across the room Lyra whispered to Alex,
"War has officially begun."
Alex nodded.
"This semester is going to be chaos."
And just like that—
The rivalry between Care and Cole had begun.