Page 104 of Damsel in Disguise

Grabbing whatever is left of myself, I move as fast as possible, grunting in each step. I slip into the shadows along the edge of the courtyard just as the rhythm of approaching steps grows louder.

I need to make myself look like a student who accidentally got stuck on campus.

The shadows swallow me just enough to breathe, but not enough to disappear completely.

Footsteps scrape against stone in a measured rhythm, approaching too close for comfort. I straighten slowly, forcing my spine upright despite the sharp protest slicing through my ribs.

I need to calm down my racing heart, even out my breathing, and swallow down the pain radiating off my left shoulder.

My fingers drag through my hair, smoothing it back, shaking out the disarray just enough to look careless instead of desperate.

I tug my sleeves down, ignoring the sting as fabric brushes against torn skin, then wipe my palms against my thighs to ground myself and steady the tremor threatening to show from the outside.

By the time they round the corner, I’m already stepping out from the shadows and striding towards the main gates.

Not a meek demeanor because that would be more suspicious. Gotta act as if I belong here.

“Hey—” one of them calls, his voice sharp enough to cut through the quiet. “You’re not supposed to be out here.”

I pause mid-step and turn toward them with just enough confusion to make it believable, careful not to overdo it since too much always reads fake.

“I know,” I say, letting a soft, slightly breathless laugh slip through as if I’m aware of how ridiculous this looks. “I got locked in.”

Their attention shifts immediately. Not to my face but to my body—the stiffness in my posture, the dirt clinging to my clothes, and the faint smear of blood along my wrist that I didn’t quite manage to hide.

One of them steps closer, his gaze narrowing slightly. “What happened to you?”

I glance down as though I’m only just noticing the damage, flexing my fingers carefully as if testing the ache. “Tried climbing down from the second floor. Didn’t exactly go as planned.”

The words settle somewhere between truth and lie, balanced just enough to hold.

“Do you need medical support?”

I’m taken aback by their concern. “No, it’s fine. I’m good,” I try to move my arm, but flinch in pain.

“You sure? Because that looks serious to me.”

“Yeah,” I sigh. “Don’t overthink,” another nervous giggle.

He frowns, clearly unconvinced, his gaze dragging back up to my face as he studies me more closely. “Second floor?”

“Mhm. I thought it would be manageable,” I reply with a small shrug, immediately regretting the movement as pain lances through my side, though I only let a fraction of it show through the slight tightening around my eyes. “Turns out I miscalculated.”

“Which building were you in? And what were you doing till now?” his brow frowns.

“The south quad,” I answer, gesturing vaguely behind me. “I was using one of the studio rooms and lost track of time before security locked everything up.”

Another lie delivered cleanly without hesitation.

They exchange looks in silence.

One of them finally speaks again. “Your ID card?”

My hand unhesitantly slips into my bag, fingers brushing past in a way that suggests inconvenience rather than urgency, acting like I’m just another ordinary careless student—not someone who just fell four floors and crawled out of a situation I shouldn’t have survived.

I pull it out and hand it over, keeping my breathing steady and my posture relaxed despite the tension coiling beneath my skin.

He studies it longer than necessary, his eyes flicking between the card and my face.