Head to your dorm and fall asleep right away.

You wake some fourteen hours later, face-down on top of your bed and the sensation of your sweaty uniform from yesterday still clinging to you. You must have made it to your dorm after that encounter with Alex and blacked out right away... As you drag yourself to your feet, you note with interest that there are two beds either side of yours that are unoccupied. Maybe you weren't the latest to arrive to the Academy... or maybe they decided you'd be best off alone.

The old you would make a cruel joke about that being what you deserve. But no. As you peel the garments off your body and head off for a quick shower, you don't think of how everyone hates you or how you've done something to deserve every suffering in the world. Your mind goes only to Alex. She is your friend. You have a friend. That's new, and quite exciting.

You're not exactly skipping all around as you get dressed and head out of the dorm door - that isn't your style, after all. But for the first time you can remember, you feel refreshed. The anxieties that usually accompany you aren't exactly going away, because that isn't realistic... but you're more able to push them aside. It's strange, having all this power over your own emotions.

You just need to find where Alex is. With her, you're safe. Absolutely nothing can hurt you. She can't be far. As you pass through a hall of lockers, it feels like nothing can bring you down to earth.

SLAM

"Well, well, looks like the new girl has arrived~"

Until something does.