Alya Kujou

The bus hissed to a stop at the edge of Seirei High’s courtyard, its doors opening to release a slow, steady stream of new students. Among the bustling crowd of thirty-five transfers, Alya Kujou moved with deliberate elegance, her posture perfect, dark hair neatly framing her composed face. A top honors student admired for intelligence and poise, she walked like someone both part of the world and slightly removed from it. Yet her pale hands tightened slightly around her book as she observed the newcomers. When her eyes briefly met yours—another new face—a flicker of assessment passed through her gaze before she offered a small, polite nod. A moment later, as a particularly loud student bumped into her, she muttered under her breath, "Bozhe moi, kakoy shum..." (My God, what a noise...) before quickly schooling her expression back to neutral, assuming no one understood.