Chapter 12

Time, they say, moves like a tide — quiet, constant, and unstoppable.

It had been almost two years since Katrina stepped through the grand gates of the university, clutching her admission letter with trembling hands and eyes full of dreams.

Now, she was twenty-one.

Wiser, stronger, and more determined than ever.

University life had shaped her in ways she hadn’t expected. Gone was the shy, uncertain girl who once lived under her mother’s careful gaze in the small town of Arilon. The Katrina who now walked through campus carried herself with quiet grace — calm, focused, and untouchably confident.

She had become one of those students everyone knew about but few truly knew.

Always at the top of her class. Always early to lectures. Always in the library, chasing excellence with a relentless heart.

Her professors spoke highly of her; classmates whispered her name with admiration.

To them, she was the girl who never failed.

But beneath that calm brilliance was a girl who carried her mother’s hopes like a weight she refused to set down.

⸻

It was her second year — the middle of the semester — and exams were only two weeks away. The air around campus buzzed with tension. The hallways were filled with open books, sleepless faces, and the hum of nervous students preparing for the test that could make or break their grades.

Katrina thrived in that energy. It was the kind of pressure she understood best — the silent kind that came with chasing perfection.

Mathematics, her chosen field, was not a subject many embraced with joy. But to her, numbers were music. Equations were poetry.

They had structure, rhythm, and reason — unlike life, which often felt messy and unpredictable.

And maybe that was why she loved it so much.

Math never betrayed her.

⸻

She spent most of her days buried in calculations and theorems, rarely paying attention to anything else — especially not boys.

Many had tried to get close; some were subtle, others bold. But she always found ways to avoid them gently. Not because she didn’t believe in love, but because she wasn’t ready for it.

Love, in her eyes, was a distraction. A sweet one, yes, but a dangerous one.

Her goal was clear — to graduate with excellence, to make her mother proud, and to prove that nothing, not even circumstance, could hold her back.

Her friends — Anita and Fave — often teased her for being too serious.

“Sometimes I think you’re half robot,” Anita said one afternoon, dropping onto her bed dramatically.

Katrina laughed, flipping through her notebook. “Robots don’t feel tired.”

“Exactly! You never do,” Fave chimed in, tossing a pillow at her. “We’re going out this weekend. You should come.”

“Out? Where?”

“There’s a party at the main hall,” Anita said with a mischievous grin. “Everyone’s going. Even the Engineering boys.”

Katrina rolled her eyes. “And what would I do there? Solve equations on the dance floor?”

Her friends laughed, but they knew she meant it.

Fave sighed. “One day, Katrina, you’ll realize there’s more to life than numbers.”

“Maybe,” she said quietly, returning to her notes. “But until then, numbers are enough.”

⸻

Days turned into nights, and nights into sleepless dawns.

As exams drew closer, Katrina’s schedule grew even more intense. She barely ate, barely rested, but she didn’t mind. Her mother’s words always echoed in her mind:

“Work hard, my daughter. The world only bows to those who refuse to give up.”

Then came the week of her final tests.

Each exam was a storm she faced with calm determination.

She filled every page with precision, every calculation with confidence.

When the last paper was handed in, relief washed over her like rain after a drought. The long nights, the endless pages — it had all been worth it.

As she stepped out of the exam hall that afternoon, the campus felt different. Brighter. Freer. The sound of laughter carried through the air as students celebrated the end of stress.

But for Katrina, it wasn’t quite over.

There was still one thing left — an assignment she needed to submit the next day. It wasn’t a huge project, but it carried enough marks to boost her final grade in one of her core courses.

And she wasn’t about to take chances.

Her professor had said clearly, “Those who want excellence should give me their best. No shortcuts.”

That night, she planned to meet Anita and Fave at the library to finish it together.

⸻

Evening came quickly.

The sky outside her dorm was painted in fading streaks of gold and pink. The sound of music drifted from the distance — laughter, footsteps, the lively rhythm of post-exam freedom.

Katrina packed her books neatly into her bag, glancing at the clock. 6:30 PM.

Her friends were supposed to meet her at six.

She checked her phone. No messages.

Minutes passed.

Then half an hour.

Still nothing.

She dialed Anita’s number.

It rang twice before someone picked up, music blaring in the background.

“Kiki!” Anita’s voice was breathless, mixed with laughter. “Oh my God, you won’t believe it! Fave dragged me to the party at the main hall. You should come!”

Katrina frowned. “The library, Anita. We were supposed to meet there. The assignment—”

“Relax, genius,” Anita interrupted. “We’ll do it later! It’s just one night. You deserve to breathe.”

The call ended before Katrina could reply.

She sighed, staring at the phone in her hand.

The sound of music echoed faintly through the night air. Somewhere in the distance, people were dancing, laughing, living freely.

But inside her heart, a quiet resolve settled in.

She had made a promise — to herself, to her mother, to her future. And she wasn’t going to break it now.

She zipped her bag and stood.

The dorm hallway was silent except for the hum of ceiling lights. The air outside was cool, heavy with the scent of damp earth and blooming jasmine.

The path to the library was dim, lined with tall trees that whispered softly in the wind.

Most students were out celebrating, leaving the campus unusually quiet.

But Katrina didn’t mind. Silence had always been her companion.

She clutched her bag tighter, her steps steady and unhurried.

The moon had begun to rise, pale and watchful in the deepening sky. Her shadow stretched long across the pavement as she walked — one girl, alone but unafraid.

When she reached the entrance of the library, she paused for a moment, glancing up at the tall glass doors that reflected the faint shimmer of night.

It looked almost mystical — like a portal between two worlds: one of noise and distraction, and another of knowledge and focus.

She smiled faintly to herself.

If this was what it meant to chase greatness, then so be it.

Katrina pushed the door open. The sound of her footsteps echoed softly as she stepped inside, swallowed by the quiet hum of flickering lights and the faint scent of old books.

Her friends were nowhere to be seen.

Only the empty seats and open books waited — silent witnesses to her devotion.

She found her favorite spot near the far corner, where the tall windows overlooked the courtyard. Setting down her bag, she took out her laptop, notebooks, and pen.

The night was hers now — quiet, steady, full of purpose.

She brushed a loose strand of hair from her face, exhaled softly, and whispered to herself,

“Let’s do this.”

Outside, the clock tower struck seven.

The world celebrated.

But Katrina, with determination burning in her eyes, walked deeper into the rows of books .