tempting offer

The rooftop was the only place on campus where the city sounded far away.

Up here, the noise of traffic turned into a dull hum, like the world was underwater. The wind moved gently, lifting strands of my hair and tugging at the loose sleeves of my uniform.

I rested my hands on the cool railing and closed my eyes.

New city.

New school.

New life.

That was the point of leaving.

Some memories didn’t follow if you ran far enough.

At least, that’s what i hoped.

A soft sound brushed against the concrete behind her.

She turned.

Something red lay near the stairwell door.

A rose.

Perfect. Fresh. Dew still clinging to its petals like it had just been cut.

My brows furrowed.

No one came up here. The door was usually locked. Even the students who skipped class preferred bathrooms or empty classrooms.

Slowly, i walked toward it.

The wind picked up slightly, carrying a faint scent of something sweet.

My fingers hesitated before touching the stem.

Cool.

Real.

I lifted it.

No thorns.

i looked around.

Empty rooftop. Empty sky. Empty air.

“Don’t start,” i whispered to herself. “You’re just tired.”

She brought the flower closer, studying the petals.

The rose stayed in my hand all the way down the stairs.

I don’t remember deciding to bring it with me.

It just… felt wrong to leave it.

Like it would be lonely.

Like I would be.

The hallway outside the rooftop exit was quiet My footsteps echoed louder than they should have, sharp against the tiles. I checked my phone.

5:47 PM.

My last class ended at three.

I knew that.

So why were my feet still moving toward my classroom?

I stopped outside the door.

The lights inside were off. Chairs tucked in. Empty.

Still, I reached for the handle.

It opened.

I don’t know why I went in.

Maybe I just wanted to sit somewhere familiar. Somewhere that didn’t feel like it was watching me back.

I walked to my seat by the window and sat down slowly, placing my bag on the desk.

The room smelled like dust and marker ink.

Quiet.

Safe.

I looked at the rose again, turning it between my fingers.

A sound came from the hallway.

Footsteps.

I froze.

They stopped right outside the classroom.

I stared at the door.

A shadow shifted at the bottom gap.

Someone was standing there.

The door creaked open slightly.

Just a few inches.

Enough for me to see an eye.

Looking in.

I sucked in a breath. “Hello?”

The door opened wider.

It was a girl with shiny short hair blonde that framed her face wearing a fitted charcoal blazer with fine gold rum an ivory blouse and a skirt— navia, I think. The class president the one who always sat in the front.

Her brows were furrowed.

“Viviane?” she said slowly. “Why are you in here?”

“I— I just forgot something,” I lied, standing too fast.

“Something good happen?”

I smiled without meaning to. “I found something.”

“Oh?” She leaned closer. “What?”

I lifted my hand between us, careful, gentle.

“A rose,” I said. “On the rooftop. Just lying there. It was so pretty, Vivi. Like it was waiting for me.”

She blinked. “A rose?”

“Yeah. Bright red. No thorns. Isn’t that strange? I laughed softly. “It didn’t even look real. Like those perfect ones in pictures.”

navias smile faded.

“viviane…” she said slowly. “What are you talking about?”

I glanced at her, confused. “The rose?”

“…Your hand.”

I looked down.

My fingers were curled slightly.

Like I was holding a stem.

But there was nothing there.

Just my empty hand.

The air seemed to thin.

“I—” I swallowed. “I was just holding it.”

navia didn’t speak.

I turned my hand over. Touched my fingertips with my other hand.

They felt cold.

Not normal cold.

Like I’d been gripping something frozen.

“But I picked it up,” I murmured. “I remember the petals. They were soft.”

My chest tightened.

I could still feel the shape of it. The weight. The smooth stem between my fingers.

Couldn’t I?

“Maybe you dropped it?”

“No,” I said too fast. “I brought it down with me.”

She shook her head slowly. “Your hands were empty when I came over.”

navia touched my arm. “vivian… are you sleeping okay?”

I didn’t answer.

Because I wasn’t sure what scared me more.

That the rose wasn’t there.

Or that my hand still remembered holding it.

The rose slipped from my fingers and hit the floor.

Short sentence about how you feel like vivi changed in a blink the kind girl turned into something

She tilted her head, studying me like I was a page she hadn’t finished reading.

“You’re a provisional student, right?”

My grip tightened on my pen. “Yeah. Just until my records transfer.”

She nodded slowly. “That means your grades matter more than anyone else’s.”

I didn’t answer.

She leaned closer.

“There’s an exam next week specific for all provisional student enrolled this year. Professor Ashcroft keeps the answer key in her office drawer. Second cabinet. Bottom.”

My stomach dropped.

“I’m not stealing anything,” I said immediately.

“I didn’t say steal.” Her lips curved faintly. “Borrow.”

I stared at her. “Why are you telling me this?”

Her eyes didn’t blink.

“Because people like us don’t get second chances,” she said. “You transferred here for a reason. You can’t afford to fail.”

A chill crawled up my arms.

“You don’t even know me.”

“I know enough,” she replied.

My chest felt tight again. “Then why don’t you do it yourself?”

A small pause.

Then she said, quietly—

“I wil not steal anything for you!”

“its not for me, its for you.”

The air shifted.

“What?”

“you’re wondering why I told you about the answer key?” she clarified, though her gaze flicked toward the empty classroom “

I shook my head. “So you want me to risk getting expelled?”

“I think you already are,” she said softly.

I froze.

“I’m helping you “she said” But nothing valuable is ever free “she added

So this comes with a price?i thought “what do you want?”

“Not now”

The classroom felt smaller, like the walls had leaned in to listen.

I forced my voice steady. “Why me?”

She smiled.

A small, unreadable smile.

“Because,” she said softly, “you already know what it feels like to do something… and not remember doing it.”

My blood ran cold.

“How would you—”

She stood up, smoothing her skirt.

“Think about it,” she said, heading for the door.

Then she stopped.

Without turning around, she added—

“Oh, and vivian?”

My throat tightened.

“A favor is most useful when it’s collected at the right moment “she said coldly”

“When I ask, you won’t refuse”

“And If I do?”

“You wiont … Afterall…you owe me”

The door clicked shut behind her.

ing in. I sucked in a breath. “Hello?”