Chapter 10: Where She Goes on Saturdays
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Greg’s hand trembled slightly as it gripped Arios’s sleeve, and Arios couldn’t help but notice the sheen of moisture in his eyes. The desperation wasn’t an act. This wasn’t soone trying to gain favor or manipulate him for points — this was soone on the edge, clinging to a sliver of hope.
"I know I’m not close to her anymore," Greg said, his voice low, "but I rember the way she used to smile when we were kids. Before everything happened. I rember when she still had this... spark in her."
Arios didn’t pull away. He just listened, eyes locked on Greg’s. His mind was already spinning — not just about Liza, but about Greg himself. There was sothing painfully sincere about this boy. He didn’t have charisma. He didn’t have strength. But he cared, deeply, and without calculation. That was a rarity in this academy, where everyone wore masks.
"She always sat by the window during lunch," Greg went on, voice distant. "Even when people whispered about her or mocked her behind her back. She acted like she didn’t hear it. But she did. She always did. I think... I think it broke sothing inside her when no one stepped in."
Greg let go of Arios’s sleeve and stared at his own hands. "I should’ve said sothing. I should’ve protected her. I had chances. But I was scared. I was cowardly. I just sat there and watched."
Arios didn’t say anything for a mont.
He rembered the eyes of people who had seen suffering and done nothing. It was a different kind of guilt — heavier than even failure. It was the guilt of omission. Of choosing safety over integrity.
"You were a kid," Arios said eventually. "Kids are scared. You’re not that kid anymore."
Greg looked at him, and for the first ti, there was sothing close to surprise on his face — maybe even gratitude.
"I don’t expect her to forgive ," he said. "I just want her to be okay. Even if she never speaks to again."
There was silence for a beat. Then Greg rubbed the back of his neck, a bit embarrassed. "She likes going swimming on Saturdays," he said suddenly. "Always did. Even back then. Said it helped her clear her head."
"Swimming?" Arios repeated.
Greg nodded. "There’s a pool auditorium under the west dorms. It’s mostly empty in the evenings. She doesn’t go to the main campus pool. Too many eyes there. But that small one? She goes there almost every weekend. Alone."
That was all Arios needed.
He gave a slight nod and turned, not saying goodbye. Greg didn’t seem to expect one. Instead, the boy just stood there as Arios walked away, hands in his pockets, expression unreadable.
As he passed under the shadow of the dorms and made his way toward the west wing, the sun had already started dipping below the horizon.
By the ti he reached the doors to the pool auditorium, the halls were quiet. The only sound was the distant hum of overhead lights and the gentle echo of water lapping against the edge of a pool.
It wasn’t a Saturday, but Arios knew Liza would be here on a Friday. She had to be, because she wasn’t in class that day. She obviously wouldn’t be in her dorm; that would be too obvious for people looking for her. If she wanted to be alone, she would go sowhere few people would think of.
Arios pushed the door open slowly.
Inside, the room was dim, lit only by the reflection of soft blue lights built into the pool’s walls. Water shimred under the surface, and the air was warm and still.
There — at the far end of the pool, sitting on the edge with her feet dipped into the water — was Liza Garnet.
She wore a one-piece swimsuit, a vibrant blue. It hugged her curves like a second skin, leaving little to the imagination.
The material stretched tight across her chest, the thin straps barely containing her ample cleavage. As she turned, the suit’s high-cut legs revealed the generous flare of her hips and the alluring curve of her bottom. The wet fabric clung to her, emphasizing every dip and swell of her figure.
Gravity was truly unfair to Arios. He ca here to bring back Liza and bond with her, but he was instantly distracted by how her massive boobs bounced up and down every ti she swung her legs, which were imrsed in the pool.
There are huge, he thought.
In his past life, he knew it would have been impossible for soone like him to land soone like her. She had curves that could allure even the biggest "Chads," but he remained focused, needing to complete his mission.
She hadn’t noticed him yet. Her hair was tied up in a loose bun, and she wore a dark one-piece swimsuit beneath an oversized towel. She looked smaller like this. Quieter. Not the loud, confident girl from class. Just... a girl. A girl who looked tired.
Arios watched her for a long mont.
And for the first ti, he wondered how much of Liza Garnet was real — and how much of her had been built just to survive.
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