Tuesday morning drifted by in a haze of AP Calculus and European History.
By the time the midday bell chimed, Airis was more than ready for the quiet sanctuary of the culinary pavilion.
However, her phone buzzed softly in her blazer pocket just as she stepped into the hallway.
It was a frantic text from Chloe:
DISASTER. Mr. Harrison is making the entire Gala committee stay back to inventory the folding chairs. FOLDING CHAIRS, Airis. Save yourself. Eat without me! T_T
Airis smiled, typing out a quick, sympathetic reply.
A solitary lunch wasn't a punishment for the soul of Lin Ye; it was a rare, treasured opportunity for absolute silence.
Before heading to the pavilion, she made a detour to the girls' restroom on the second floor.
Like everything else at Sakura Crest, the restroom resembled the lounge of a five-star hotel.
The counters were polished marble, the lighting was soft and flattering, and the air smelled faintly of eucalyptus and expensive hand soap.
Airis set her leather tote bag on the counter and turned on the brass faucet.
Just as she was rinsing her hands, the heavy oak door of the restroom pushed open, and a girl practically sprinted inside.
The girl bypassed the mirrors completely and threw herself into the furthest stall, the door slamming shut with a loud bang that echoed off the marble tiles.
Airis paused, reaching for a thick, linen hand towel. She listened.
From behind the locked stall door came the unmistakable sound of a ragged, panicked exhale, followed by a frustrated, tearful sniffle.
In his previous life, a twenty-seven-year-old male Lin Ye would have immediately evacuated the premises to avoid a crying teenager.
But he was Airis Dover now. And the corporate pragmatist inside her recognized a crisis when she heard one.
"Excuse me," Airis called out softly, her melodic voice easily cutting through the quiet hum of the ventilation system.
"Are you alright in there?"
There was a sudden, tense silence.
"I'm... I'm fine," a small, trembling voice replied.
"Just... please give me a minute."
Airis dried her hands.
"You don't sound fine. If you need the school nurse, I can go get her."
"No! No nurse," the girl said quickly, her voice laced with sheer mortification.
A heavy sigh followed.
"I just... my cycle started early. Really early. And I don't have anything in my bag. I'm stuck."
Ah. The universal female emergency.
To the soul of Lin Ye, the biological mechanics of his new body were still a bizarre concept, largely managed by the System's 'Perfected Cellular Vitality' which ensured she experienced zero cramps, zero hormonal mood swings, and a perfectly regulated internal clock.
But Mrs. Gable, the ever-prepared housekeeper, left nothing to chance.
She packed Airis's tote bag with the meticulous care of a quartermaster outfitting a soldier for deployment.
Airis unzipped the side pocket of her leather bag.
"Which class are you in?" Airis asked calmly, pulling out a sleek, discreetly wrapped premium sanitary pad.
"Class 2-B," the girl sniffled.
"My name is Maya."
"I'm Airis," she said, walking over to the end stall.
She slipped the small, floral-wrapped square beneath the gap in the door.
"Here. I have extra."
A hand quickly snatched the item from the floor.
"Oh my god. Thank you. Thank you so much, Airis. You are literally saving my life right now."
"It's just basic logistics, Maya. Take your time,"
Airis replied, her tone entirely devoid of the usual high school drama.
A few minutes later, the stall door clicked open. Maya stepped out.
She was a pretty, quiet-looking girl with soft brown eyes and wavy auburn hair tied back in a messy ponytail.
She looked absolutely mortified, her cheeks flushed a bright, embarrassed red. She was nervously pulling at the hem of her blazer.
"I am so embarrassed," Maya whispered, walking over to the sinks.
"I thought I ruined my skirt in the middle of AP Bio. Luckily, I had my sweater tied around my waist."
Airis didn't offer a pitying smile or a dramatic gasp.
She simply turned toward Maya and allowed the passive [Aura of Serenity] to gently wash over the space between them.
"There's nothing to be embarrassed about,"
Airis said smoothly, her voice a cool, soothing balm. She reached into her bag again and pulled out a small tube of expensive peach lip gloss.
"It's biology, not a character flaw. Did any of it get on your skirt?"
Maya took a deep, shuddering breath as the supernatural calm of the aura hit her system. The frantic, panicked energy drained out of her shoulders.
"No,"
she sighed, looking down.
"Just the sweater. I can wash it at home. But I was so panicked I didn't even grab my lunch from my locker."
Airis applied a sheer layer of gloss, clicked the tube shut, and looked at the auburn-haired girl.
Maya wasn't part of Monica Sterling's aggressive social circle.
She didn't look like she cared about Gala themes or the soccer captain's attention. She just looked tired and a little overwhelmed.
Lin Ye could relate to that perfectly.
"My friend Chloe was commandeered by the faculty for folding chair duty,"
Airis said, picking up her tote bag.
"I was planning to eat on the rooftop. It's quiet up there.
If you don't have a lunch, Mrs. Gable packed enough seared salmon and quinoa in my bento box to feed two people. You're welcome to join me."
Maya blinked, looking at Airis with a mixture of shock and awe.
Airis Dover was practically royalty at Sakura Crest. She was the untouchable, beautiful ice-queen of Class 2-A.
The idea of her casually offering a pad under a bathroom stall, and then inviting a quiet girl from 2-B to share her lunch, was completely contrary to the school's rigid social hierarchy.
"Are... are you sure?" Maya asked hesitantly.
"I don't want to intrude."
"If you were intruding, I wouldn't have offered,"
Airis replied with a gentle, pragmatic smile.
"Come on. The cafeteria is too loud today anyway."
The rooftop of Sakura Crest High School was an unofficial sanctuary. Strictly speaking, students weren't supposed to eat up there, but the faculty rarely enforced the rule as long as the area was kept clean.
The spring breeze was crisp and refreshing, carrying the faint scent of the cherry blossom trees from the courtyard below. The sky was an uninterrupted expanse of vibrant blue.
Airis and Maya sat on a clean, wooden bench situated in the shade of the stairwell housing. Airis opened her multi-tiered, lacquered bento box.
As promised, it was overflowing with perfectly prepared food—flaky, buttery salmon, seasoned rice, steamed vegetables, and delicate tamagoyaki.
She handed Maya a spare pair of disposable chopsticks she always kept in her bag.
"This is... incredible,"
Maya said, taking a cautious bite of the salmon. Her eyes widened.
"This tastes better than the restaurant my parents took me to for my birthday."
"Mrs. Gable is an artist,"
Airis agreed, eating slowly, her optimized taste buds savoring the meal.
For a while, they simply ate in silence. It wasn't an awkward, heavy silence that demanded to be filled with nervous chatter.
Thanks to Airis's Aura of Serenity, the quiet was deeply comfortable and grounding.
Maya visibly relaxed, leaning back against the wooden slats of the bench. The cool breeze played with the loose strands of her auburn hair.
"You're not really what people say you are,"
Maya finally spoke, her voice soft, lacking the defensive edge most teenagers carried.
Airis didn't stop eating.
"And what do people say I am?"
"Untouchable," Maya admitted with a sheepish smile.
"Monica Sterling's group calls you the 'Ice Queen'. They say you think you're too good for everyone because you turned down Julian."
Airis let out a soft, genuine laugh. It was a beautiful, melodic sound that seemed to float away on the wind.
"Julian is a nice enough boy, I suppose. But my self-worth isn't determined by the captain of the soccer team.
And as for Monica... exhausting yourself to climb a social ladder that ceases to exist the moment we graduate seems incredibly inefficient."
Maya stared at her, genuinely fascinated.
"You talk like a CEO, not a high school junior."
"I just prefer peace,"
Airis said, looking out over the railing at the distant, hazy skyline of the city.
Beyond the glittering towers of Riverdale, she knew exactly where the Southside was.
She knew that Lin Ye was out there, safe and focused. "Drama requires energy. I'd rather spend my energy enjoying my lunch."
"I get that," Maya sighed, looking down at her hands.
"I just want to pass my exams and get into a decent college. The whole popularity contest thing just gives me anxiety. That's why I usually hide in the library."
"The library is a highly strategic location,"
Airis nodded approvingly.
"Good lighting, climate control, and a socially acceptable excuse not to talk to anyone."
Maya laughed, a bright, clear sound that completely erased the lingering embarrassment from the restroom incident.
For the remainder of the lunch hour, they talked. It wasn't about boys or Gala themes or petty rumors.
Maya talked about her struggles with AP Chemistry and her amateur photography hobby.
Airis listened, offering the calm, grounded advice of an adult who had already navigated the pressures of academics and the corporate world, carefully filtering her wisdom so it sounded like the profound insights of a very mature teenager.
It was a slow, smoothing interaction.
Airis found that she genuinely enjoyed Maya's company.
Chloe was wonderful, fiercely loyal, and fiercely protective, but her energy was always set to a chaotic maximum. Maya was a calm, steady stream.
As the warning bell for the afternoon classes rang, echoing across the rooftop, they both stood up.
Airis neatly packed the empty bento boxes back into her leather tote.
"Thank you, Airis,"
Maya said, her brown eyes filled with genuine gratitude.
"For the... supplies. And for the lunch. And for just letting me sit here. Today started out as a nightmare, but this was really nice."
"You're welcome, Maya,"
Airis smiled, her sapphire eyes crinkling slightly at the corners.
"If the cafeteria ever gets too loud, or if you just need a quiet place to eat, you know where to find me."
As they walked back down the stairwell, re-entering the bustling, noisy halls of Sakura Crest, Airis felt a deep sense of satisfaction.
She hadn't needed to use her invincible Aegis Bioskin. She hadn't needed to summon meteorites or throw heavy objects with her mind.
She had just used a simple sanitary pad, a spare pair of chopsticks, and a little bit of empathy to turn a miserable day into a peaceful one.
Her slow-paced life was expanding, building a quiet, comfortable fortress of ordinary moments. And that, in its own way, was the greatest superpower of all.