Truly yours

The university had that constant murmur that seemed to swallow anyone who walked with their head down. Selena liked it because all that noise covered its silences. She always chose to sit in the fourth row, next to the window, with a new, but ordinary, notebook from the kind they sell at the supermarket and a new, sharpened pencil. Going unnoticed was her passion: simple clothes, long black hair tied back in a ponytail that fell down her slender back, and a gaze that rarely met anyone else.

Selena didn't have any friends on campus, so she didn't receive invitations to parties that were announced last minute on chat rooms, and she didn't belong there either.

The most popular students were the Blackwells, a pair of triplets with white skin and light eyes, children of a very powerful and influential family.

Selena knew them from afar and avoided them; she didn't like them: the most handsome was Adrián, the one who ruled the roost; Luciano, the most rebellious, changed girlfriends every two months, and Elías, the kindest.

That Tuesday morning, the literature class smelled of coffee and damp earth. It was raining outside, and the windows were fogged up. Selena was copying down the professor's words when a murmur, thicker than the others, crossed the room. She didn't have to turn around to know the triplets had entered.

Selena continued writing without looking at them until a cold laugh forced her to look up. She saw them out of the corner of her eye, took a deep breath, and returned to her notebook.

"Miss Valen," the professor said, "do you want to read your analysis?"

Selena raised her head, not ready to speak. She never was. She read in a low, clear voice. As she spoke, a strange, electric sensation ran down her neck, as if she were being watched with special interest. She didn't look back.

When Selena finished reading, the professor nodded approvingly. She heard other students commenting in favor, but further back there was a male whisper that she couldn't decipher. When class ended, she hurriedly packed her things to leave before the hallway became a parade of egos.

There was a lot of noise in the corridor, and Selena pressed herself against the wall to let a group of perfumed girls pass by, talking about a party on Friday. She couldn't help but overhear one of them comment.

"If the Blackwells don't go, I'm not going."

The other replied,

"They always go."

Selena lowered her head and followed the path that led to the library, her territory. She felt comfortable among the tall bookshelves, the smell of ink, and the long tables where she didn't have to prove anything. She chose a cubicle next to a column and took out her notebook.

She opened her laptop and plugged in her headphones, muting all the sound just so no one would try to engage her in conversation, and began to write an essay. Every now and then someone would pass by and notice him because the shadow he cast shifted the light on his keyboard.

"Are you busy?" a man standing to her right asked.

Selena hadn't realized he was talking to her. When she looked up, it was Elías, holding a notebook, a pencil between his fingers, and his icy-blue gaze. He wasn't smiling, but he wasn't imposing on her either.

"No," she said, putting away her backpack. "You can sit down."

Elías nodded and took the chair opposite her. Without saying anything else, he took out his notebook and began to write something restlessly, writing, erasing, and rewriting. Meanwhile, Selena tried to concentrate on her essay. She bit her lip and put it down, changing her task: reviewing her notes for the next class.

"I liked your contribution in class," Elías commented, breaking the silence.

Selena blinked, surprised.

"Thank you," she replied in a barely audible tone.

Elías scribbled at the corners of the paper.

The silence between them was comfortable until someone placed a hand on the back of Elias's chair. At that moment, the air tensed. Selena looked up and found herself met with a sharp smile.

"Shall we interrupt your date?" Luciano asked, leaning on it with both hands. He wore an open jacket, his hair damp from the rain, and the gleam in his eyes was somewhere between mockery and curiosity.

"No," Elias replied, not moving. "If you're not going to sit down, then go."

Luciano laughed softly and approached Selena, leaning in as if he wanted to know her secrets.

"I don't bite," he said. "He does, though," and he pointed with his chin back.

Selena didn't need to turn around to sense it; the third was there, filling the space without saying anything. He needed no introduction; he was the leader. There was a quality to Adrian's silence that made the others sit up straighter. Selena's unconscious reaction was to press her fingers against the edge of the notebook.

"It's late," Adrian commented, his voice low and warm.

"For you, it's always sooner or later," Luciano replied jokingly.

Elias lowered his gaze and calmly closed the notebook.

"See you later," he said goodbye. "Selena."

When Elías mentioned her name, she became more uncomfortable than the interruption. She hadn't said it to him, hadn't even spoken to him before. Maybe the teacher had said it out loud during class. Maybe. The triplets left as quickly as they'd arrived, and Selena was left trying to overcome the distraction.

She took a deep breath. Her heart was beating faster than usual, as if she'd been running. She found her reaction to the presence of the most popular kids amusing. She closed her laptop and got up to go to her shift at the cafeteria in the architecture building.

It had stopped raining, and the sun was faint between the clouds. The aroma of coffee and toast permeated the counter as she hung up her apron. The supervisor greeted her without comment other than a brief greeting and handed her the tray of sweets.

"We have a lot of people," he commented. "Be alert."

Selena knew how to do that; she wasn't distracted even by her thoughts; she was very good at her job.

After half an hour, the door opened and they entered. Elías entered first and nodded; Luciano followed, playing with his keys, and Adrián, last, sweeping the room with a look that everyone felt.

"What would you like to drink?" Selena asked when she had them in front of the counter.

Elías ordered black tea. Luciano a cappuccino, and Adrián, who hadn't been looking at the menu, looked up at that moment, and for the first time Selena's eyes met his.

Selena compared the color of those eyes to honey and felt like swallowing. A warning sign, a sign of caution.

"An Americano," he ordered. "No sugar."

His tone of voice registered in Selena's memory, and she busied herself pressing the button on the machine while the dark liquid filled the glass. As she placed the lids, she concentrated on her work routine and handed out the orders. "For the smile you denied me," Luciano commented, leaving a tip that was too high for what she was used to.

Adrián brushed his fingers against hers as he took her glass, and Selena pulled her hand away because of the spark. "See you."

Elías simply said, "Thank you."

When they left, the cafeteria regained its bustle, as if the volume had been lowered only by the presence of the three of them.

Selena breathed, resting her palms on the counter, and greeted the next person in line with a wide smile.

That night, when she returned to her dorm, the rain had returned. The window rattled with the pounding of the water, and Selena sank down onto her bed in the darkness. The silence of their shared room gave her space to think. She closed her eyes and soon let sleep take her. She dreamed she was in the woods.

The woods were damp and dark, the air smelling of freshly turned earth. She heard a distant howl, but couldn't determine which direction it was coming from. And through the trees, she saw a barely perceptible golden glow approaching her, then disappearing, without touching her.

Her heart was racing when she woke up, and she felt like someone had been watching her from very close. She placed her hand on her chest, her heartbeat stronger than usual.

Outside, it was still night, and the campus was asleep. In one of the buildings, three shadows crossed an empty hallway. A door was heard closing.

"It smells different," one of them said.

"You always bite," the other voice commented, laughing.

Nothing was heard from the third shadow.

Selena closed her eyes again, thinking about Friday's party, and although she didn't know it, her world had begun to change.