Chapter 46: Smile And Wave

Starlight opened her mouth to object, but Elle didn’t even wait for a response and instead turned to yank the door open, only for Ariel to reach out and caught the back of her collar before the girl could charge into the hallway.

"Hold your horses, madam manager," Ariel said dryly, pulling her back half a step. "You just spent seven days telling our resident celebrity how dangerous a crowded hallway could be for her, and now you’re about to throw the door open and march her straight into the chaos. At least check the coast before you send her out. Today is the first day of lectures, and I bet every student in this dormitory is out there right now."

"Oops, you’re right," Elle admitted, slapping a hand against her forehead dramatically.

Chloe immediately burst out laughing, while Starlight had to bite the inside of her cheek to stop herself from doing the same. Ariel simply rolled her eyes, looking entirely unsurprised.

With exaggerated caution, Elle slowly opened the door a crack and poked her head around the doorframe first, her eyes darting left and right with theatrical suspense as though she were scouting enemy territory. Unfortunately for them, the corridor was anything but empty.

It was absolute chaos.

The noise that spilled into their room the moment the door creaked open was almost overwhelming. Students streamed back and forth in freshly pressed uniforms, laughter and conversations bouncing off the walls as everyone made their way toward their first day of classes after Freshman Week. Through the narrow opening, Starlight caught glimpses of countless students moving shoulder to shoulder through the hallway, weaving between one another as they hurried toward the elevators and stairwells, all simply trying to keep up with the crowd. It was the first time since arriving at Asterion that she had seen the corridor packed with so many students, and these were only the students from Eclipse House.

"Well, that’s definitely more people than I expected," Elle muttered, slowly pulling her head back inside and pushing the door shut again. She turned toward the others with a solemn expression. "Okay. We need a new plan, and we are not leaving this room until we figure out how to get Starlight through that crowd without causing a public incident."

"We?" Ariel asked, raising an eyebrow. "I thought you were the manager here. Figuring that out is part of your job. Why are you involving us?"

"You can’t back out on me now. We’re all in this together, guys," Elle huffed. "A manager is only as good as her support team, and congratulations, you and Chloe have just been promoted to assistant managers. So if Starlight gets mobbed out there, I’m dragging you two down with me."

"Hah!" Ariel barked out a laugh, shaking her head in disbelief. "You’re so shameless, Elle. I’ve never seen someone volunteer people for extra work with this much confidence."

"You’re welcome," Elle replied without a trace of shame. "So, what’s the plan?"

Unable to sit through the ridiculous conversation any longer, Starlight reached for the door handle to open it herself, only for Elle to instantly throw herself against the wood, blocking the exit with her entire body. "What do you think you’re doing?" She hissed in a frantic whisper.

"Isn’t it obvious?" Starlight asked, staring at her. "I’m obviously trying to open the door and leave. We have classes to get to, Elle. We can’t spend the entire morning hiding in here."

She let out a soft sigh. "I honestly don’t see why we have to turn walking to class into some kind of military operation," she continued. "We can just walk through the hallway like normal students. I still need to grab breakfast from the dining hall before heading to our first lecture. I’d really hate to start my very first day on an empty stomach just because you all are convinced it’s not safe for me to step outside my dorm room."

"You think we’re overreacting?" Elle gasped, clutching her heart in mock horror. "Seriously, Star? It is not safe for you to just walk out there looking that stunning and expect nobody to lose their minds!" Her eyes widened as inspiration suddenly struck. "Wait! I have an idea." She snapped her fingers. "How about we throw an oversized hoodie over your uniform to cover your face and hair? That way nobody recognizes you!"

"That won’t work," Chloe chimed in, shaking her head as she adjusted the sleeve of her uniform. "It’s strictly against school policy for students to wear non-uniform outerwear during academic hours. Besides, hiding under a massive hoodie in a sea of red-and-white uniforms will only draw even more attention to her."

"Then what are we supposed to do now?" Elle threw her hands into the air, pacing back and forth. "If we just walk out there, we’ll be swarmed in seconds! Our Star will be—"

Before she could finish whatever disaster scenario she was about to invent, Starlight let out a groan of growing annoyance. Losing the last of her patience, she shoved past Elle without waiting another second, yanked the door wide open, and stepped straight into the hallway.

The moment Starlight stepped across the threshold, the deafening roar of the corridor plunged into an eerie, sudden silence. Heads turned toward her almost in unison. She froze, suddenly aware of just how many eyes were on her, and an uncomfortable shiver ran down her spine. She immediately regretted opening the door. Maybe she should have listened to Elle after all. A few students even stopped mid-stride, their gazes fixed on her with open curiosity, while others raised their phones to capture the unexpected sight. Starlight stood frozen, her hand still gripping the door handle, debating whether she should simply turn around and shut the door again.

"Hi, Starlight!" one student called cheerfully, flashing her a bright smile and waving. The simple greeting seemed to break the strange stillness that had settled over the hallway, and suddenly more voices began calling her name from different directions.

"Okay, now smile and wave," Elle whispered behind her. Starlight immediately felt a very strong urge to elbow her self-proclaimed manager directly in the mouth. Did it look to her like she was in the mood to smile and wave?