Outside the dormitory, the cool night air carried the scent of autumn leaves. Elena exhaled a cloud of cigarette smoke that drifted lazily upward into the darkness as she muttered bitterly, "Bunch of hypocrites…"

Maya sighed. "Why did you have to get into an altercation with Sarah at the end? You only disparaged yourself more."

"Because I can't stand her!"

"Then don't get into pointless spats with her!"

"Ha! I'm the villain of this academy, Maya. I'm the evil temptress who controls male minds. It must be true, since people are talking. And Keith… oh, poor Keith. He must be devastated seeing this awful girlfriend seducing so many dickbrains all night long."

"What are you suddenly on about?"

"And of course," Elena continued without pause. "She feels so sorry for poor Keith. She must comfort him… because his evil girlfriend is too busy getting it on with whoever offers."

Maya's eyes widened. "Are you saying Sarah is the one who spread those awful rumours?"

"Oh, she's clever in an infuriating way…" Elena gritted her teeth. "I guess I'm to blame for teaching her to spin things around. I can never confront her directly without being the depraved one. In a battle of appearances, I'm always on the losing side. Oh, how I wish to make her taste her own blood!" Elena's tone was dripping with a fury that threatened to boil over.

"Elena!"

"I'm so sick of this 'Elena the villainess who stole a man from Sarah' bullshit! Like he never had a say in the matter!"

"I believe you!" Maya grasped Elena's shoulders to steady her. "I believe you, so please, calm down."

Elena did quiet down and leaned forward with her head in her hands as if she was feeling nauseous again and could throw up at any second. She remained still like that for a couple of moments.

Maya slouched back. "Do you really think Sarah is behind those rumours?"

"Whether she is or isn't, she certainly did use them to her advantage…" Elena mumbled into her hands.

"Was the story about Srah true?" Maya was curious.

Up until this point, Maya somehow assumed everyone's trauma was as earth-shattering as losing everyone you ever cared about. Though she didn't want to deny Sarah's suffering, she couldn't help thinking it was nearly trivial in comparison to what Linda and Andrea had shared, Maya's own trauma… and likely Elena's.

Elena's eyes were barely able to focus, yet she still looked at Maya with strange cold discontent. "You competing for the title of Gossip Queen against Andrea and Adam?" she mumbled.

"What?"

"What does it matter whether it's true or not? It's not like you can confirm it…" Elena let out a suppressed chuckle, then rubbed her face.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Maya turned away, her shoulders slumping. What a silly thing to ask Elena—a well-known paragon of dishonesty.

Elena sighed and looked at the sky, then grabbed her forehead as if that action had just induced a terrible headache.

"Tell me Maya…" Elena spoke quietly, her voice still a little raspy. "Has it ever crossed your mind, when they offered you a ticket here, that you could completely change yourself from the ground up?"

Maya looked at her, almost nodding. It was true. She and Leo had discussed changing her life here extensively. This was her only active goal so far—and she had made some progress. Wasn't that everyone's main reason for coming here?

"…Spin whichever lies you want and no one would be the wiser," Elena continued.

Maya tensed slightly, her expression dimmed a little. They weren't looking at it the same—Maya saw it as an opportunity for personal improvement, and Elena saw it as an opportunity to deceive others.

Elena chuckled emptily. "Well… you'd be surprised how many people didn't only think it…"

Maya stared at her. 'Of course…'

On her arrival, they offered Maya a chance to change her name. Maya didn't think much of it then, but now she understood that a chance to reinvent yourself wasn't only allowed but encouraged. How many people took the chance and invented new identities for themselves?

Andrea had changed her name upon arrival because she was used to a different one. Linda too, though not officially, went by a new name after Andrea misheard hers, and now everyone knew her simply as Linda. And Elena would spin a new story about her past each time someone asked. How many more people weren't as they were known in Vetus Orbis? Everyone received this chance equally.

Besides Daria—the only person in Amellan still connected to Vetus Orbis—who could tell if you were as you claim? Since this world is populated by people from all around the world, what were the chances of encountering someone you knew in the past? Stories Maureen receives as a downpayment might simply be just fantasies.

'Was the way Elena saw it actually more common?'

"Because it's nearly impossible to confirm the truth, you think we should believe everyone here is lying? Is that based on your own behaviour?"

Elena frowned. "I'm just saying everyone here brought in ghosts with them, not just you. Naturally, they'd want to stuff them into a closet."

"I don't believe that's true for everyone. People who honestly want to change shouldn't be lying about their past."

It almost seemed like Elena flinched at Maya's words, then she cautiously looked at Maya. "And what about things you can't change, where you can only deceive?"

Maya was a little baffled by Elena's question. To Maya, deceiving automatically cancels out wanting to change. The ones who look to deceive can only run from their past.

"What do you mean?"

"A sleazebag will stay a sleazebag, a cheater will stay a cheater, and a murderer will stay a murderer… There is no changing that. So what about those people?"

For some reason, Maya felt as though this was no longer just idle drunk talk, and there was something deeply personal at stake here. Elena seemed to be hanging on Maya's next words with an almost desperate intensity. Maya's head began spinning and she suddenly felt pressure to carefully consider her answer.

"Um… the ones who didn't suffer but caused others to suffer? Do you think they would still be chosen by gods?"

Elena frowned slightly—what might be her automatic response to the word god—and remained silent, still waiting for Maya's full response.

"Then… I guess those people will pay for their wrongdoings eventually, whether they try to deceive or not. One way or another…"

For a split second, Elena looked almost crushed. Then, a knowing smirk spread across her lips, her eyes glinting with dark satisfaction as though she had just proven some private point.

"And those unwary will live in their beautiful blissful ignorance…"

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