FIRST DAY,FIRST SPARKS

The autumn sun cut through the tall windows of Ravenwood University’s grand lecture hall, casting golden streaks across polished wooden floors. Students shuffled in, notebooks clutched like shields, eyes darting to avoid unwanted attention. For some, today was the start of a new chapter in life; for others, it was the start of chaos.

Lila Harper tightened the straps of her leather backpack and took a deep breath. New city. New school. New rules—or at least, she hoped. Her mom’s endless pep talks about “making friends” still echoed in her head, but Lila knew one truth: Ravenwood wasn’t just another college. It was an ecosystem of power, status, and secrets.

And she had just stepped into the middle of it.

As she navigated through clusters of chattering freshmen, she felt the unmistakable tension that comes with being an outsider. Then she saw him.

Cade Mercer leaned casually against the side of the hall, his dark hair tousled perfectly as if he’d just walked out of a music video. He wasn’t talking to anyone, but everyone was watching him. Girls whispered. Guys tried to size him up. But Cade didn’t care. He never did.

And that was exactly why Lila knew trouble was coming.

She barely noticed the seating chart posted at the front until a loud voice snapped her out of her thoughts.

“Don’t sit there, newbie,” a guy called from the back. “Trust me—you don’t want the seat next to him.”

Lila glanced over and realized the guy he meant was… Cade. Her stomach dropped. She wasn’t the kind to scare easily, but there was something magnetic—and dangerous—about him. She ignored the warning. After all, she was here to make her mark, not hide in corners.

Sliding into the seat next to Cade, she offered the faintest smile.

“Hi,” she said cautiously.

He turned, dark eyes scanning her like a puzzle. “You lost?” His voice was low, almost teasing, but there was an edge to it.

“Something like that,” Lila replied, matching his calm.

Cade smirked, leaning back. “You’ve got guts, I’ll give you that. Most people wouldn’t sit here.”

Lila raised an eyebrow. “I’m not most people.”

The corners of his mouth twitched upward. For a moment, it seemed he might say something more—but then the lecture began, and Cade’s attention drifted elsewhere.

Still, Lila couldn’t shake the feeling that sitting next to him was like stepping onto a tightrope. One wrong move, and everything could collapse.

The rest of the day passed in a blur of introductions, syllabus overload, and awkward small talk. But everywhere she turned, Lila noticed whispers—some about her, some about Cade, and some about people who had disappeared from social circles without explanation.

By the time the last class ended, her head was spinning.

As she packed up, a note slid into her backpack. She didn’t see who had left it. Heart racing, she opened it.

“Stay away from him… or you’ll regret it.”

Lila froze. Cade was sitting across the hall, oblivious—or pretending to be. She felt a chill that had nothing to do with the autumn air.

Sleepovers, prom nights, and late-night texts hadn’t even started yet, and already, the first day had delivered the kind of chaos she’d only seen in movies—or read about in scandals.

By the time she made it to her dorm, exhaustion and adrenaline collided. Her roommate, a bubbly girl named Harper—no relation—was already there, unpacking clothes and gossiping about who was dating whom.

“Did you meet him yet?” Harper asked eagerly, eyes sparkling. “Cade Mercer? He’s trouble wrapped in a… ugh, just wait. You’ll see.”

Lila clutched the note tighter in her hand. “I think I already have.”

Harper’s smile faded slightly. “He’s… complicated. And dangerous. And if you’re thinking about getting close—well, let’s just say Ravenwood teaches lessons the hard way.”

That night, as Lila lay in bed staring at the ceiling, she couldn’t stop thinking about the note, Cade’s smirk, and the way the campus seemed to hum with hidden stories.

Somewhere in the distance, laughter echoed from a dorm across the quad. Somewhere, someone was plotting. Somewhere, a secret was waiting to explode.

And tomorrow… tomorrow, she realized, would be worse.

Because chaos had only just begun.

As sleep pulled her under, Lila’s phone buzzed. A text she didn’t recognize lit up the screen:

“They’re watching you. Be careful tonight.”

Her heart raced. She wasn’t sure who “they” were… or what exactly she had gotten herself into. But one thing was certain: nothing at Ravenwood would ever be normal again.

And with that, the first day at Chaos College ended—with secrets, warnings, and has promised more fire than anyone could handle.