The next morning, the campus felt like it had been turned inside out.
Nothing looked different. The buildings were still tall. The glass still reflected the sky the same way. The schedules still populated everyone's phones. Teachers still walked through corridors like they belonged there.
But the students moved differently.
They walked faster. They talked in tighter circles. They checked their phones more often, not to scroll mindlessly, but to hunt for certainty in a world that refused to provide it.
XH noticed it immediately when he stepped into the cafeteria.
The noise was sharper than usual, not louder, but more anxious. Every conversation seemed to have an edge. Every laugh ended too quickly. Even the clatter of trays felt aggressive.
He spotted his group by their usual table.
JP was already there, elbows on the table, phone in hand, flicking through messages with a scowl. TZ leaned back, staring into space as if his brain was busy calculating the future. NS sat slightly apart, posture closed, as if he were listening to everything and speaking to no one.
Kitty sat with NC and Anna at the edge of the group, hands wrapped around a warm drink. Her expression was calm, but her eyes were alert, tracking the room the way she did when she felt unsettled but refused to show it.
June arrived a few minutes later, walking briskly, bag strapped tightly, chin lifted. She slid into her seat without greeting anyone, then opened her phone as if it contained oxygen.
JP broke the silence first, because he could not tolerate it.
"So," he said. "We survived the assembly."
June did not look up. "Barely."
TZ glanced at her. "Your family's calling again?"
June's thumb paused. "Yes."
Kitty's gaze flickered briefly to XH, then away.
XH took his seat slowly, feeling as if every movement was being interpreted by someone, somewhere.
JP tossed his phone onto the table. "People are already posting. Some guy from business major said the international program is delayed."
NS spoke quietly. "Delayed is different from canceled."
June looked up sharply. "Delayed is still a threat."
The firmness in her tone made JP lean back slightly.
"What do you want us to do?" JP asked. "Storm the office and demand a contract?"
June did not smile. "I want us to have options."
XH exhaled slowly. "We do."
June's eyes narrowed. "Do we? Or do we just pretend we do because it feels safer than admitting we are trapped?"
The word trapped made Kitty's fingers tighten around her cup.
NS watched XH's face carefully, as if measuring his reaction.
XH kept his voice calm. "We are not trapped. We are just in a waiting period."
June stared at him. "You keep saying that like waiting is harmless."
"It's not harmless," he said. "But panicking won't fix it."
June's laugh came out short and tired. "You think making a plan is panicking?"
"I think," XH replied, "that you are moving so fast you are going to burn yourself out."
June leaned forward. "And you are standing still long enough to get crushed."
The air between them tightened.
Kitty spoke softly, interrupting before it could turn sharp. "Can we not fight at breakfast?"
June looked down immediately, as if realizing how much of her fear was showing. "Sorry," she murmured, though her tone made it sound like she was apologizing for existing rather than arguing.
XH did not respond right away. He saw the tension in her shoulders. He saw the way her eyes kept darting to her phone.
He also saw Kitty watching, quiet, steady, present.
That balance, that fragile triangle, felt more obvious now. Like the campus itself had stripped away distractions and left only what mattered.
After breakfast, June headed straight to class. Kitty stayed behind to pack up her notes. NC and Anna walked ahead, chatting softly.
XH stood as if he might leave too, but Kitty's voice stopped him.
"XH."
He turned.
Kitty hesitated, then said, "Are you okay?"
It was the same question as before, but this time it sounded different. Like she was asking about something deeper than the university.
He swallowed. "I don't know what okay means right now."
Kitty nodded slowly. "That's honest."
He studied her face, the controlled calm she always carried, and wondered what it cost her to hold it like that.
"You're calm," he said.
Kitty's lips curved faintly. "I look calm. That's different."
He wanted to say more.
He did not.
She held his gaze for a moment longer than usual, then looked away first.
When XH walked into class, the atmosphere was tense even there.
The instructor tried to keep things normal. Slides progressed. Definitions were repeated. Concepts were explained.
But every student was half present.
Someone asked about deadlines, and the instructor answered too quickly, too rehearsed. Someone mentioned future placements, and the instructor deflected.
XH felt his attention drift again, not because he did not care, but because his mind kept splitting into two directions.
One direction was practical.
What if the rumors were true?What if the program changed?What if the promises disappeared?
The other direction was personal.
What if he lost June?What if he lost Kitty?What if he lost both, not because of a dramatic breakup, but because he never chose anything clearly enough?
By lunchtime, campus had become a living rumor machine.
Students clustered around notice boards. Phones were held up showing screenshots from forums. Names of majors were thrown around as if they were rival teams.
"Engineering has connections, they will be fine.""Business people always know first.""Health track is the most vulnerable.""My cousin said the Headmaster is in the hospital.""My friend said he is abroad.""Someone said he is not coming back."
XH heard it all.
And the worst part was that nobody knew what was true.
That afternoon, June pulled XH aside outside the building.
Not dramatically. Not loudly.
Just with a look that told him she was done waiting for the perfect moment.
"We need to talk," she said.
XH nodded. "Okay."
June's eyes flicked briefly to the side, making sure no one was too close. Then she said, "My mother wants me to transfer."
XH froze.
Not because the idea was surprising, but because hearing it out loud made it real.
"To where?" he asked.
"I don't know yet," June replied. "But she already started asking people. She's already making calls."
A small part of him admired the decisiveness. Another part felt exhausted.
"What do you want?" he asked.
June blinked, as if that question was harder than it should be.
"I want," she said slowly, "to not waste time."
XH exhaled. "June."
She shook her head. "Don't say my name like that. Don't make it sound like I'm being unreasonable."
"I'm not," he replied. "I'm just trying to understand where you are going with this."
June's voice softened. "I want you with me."
The confession was quiet, almost casual, but it hit him harder than any argument.
"You want me," he repeated, careful.
"Yes," she said, eyes steady now. "If I move, I want you to move too. If I stay, I want you to stay too. But I cannot keep living like you are standing in the doorway, one foot in and one foot out."
He did not speak.
Because he did not know how to respond without lying.
June watched his silence and her expression tightened again, but she forced herself to stay controlled.
"I'm not asking you to promise forever," she said. "I'm asking you to stop treating me like an option you will decide on later."
He swallowed. "You're not an option."
"Then act like it."
She walked away before he could answer.
XH stood there for a long time after she left, staring at the ground as if it contained guidance.
That evening, Kitty messaged him again.
Kitty: are you eating? you disappear when you think too much.
He stared at the message.
Then replied.
XH: I'm eating.
A pause.
Kitty: good.
Three dots appeared.
Kitty: can we talk sometime? just us.
His chest tightened.
Because of course.
Of course she could feel it.
Of course she could sense the pressure building.
He typed carefully.
XH: yeah. we can.
Kitty's reply came quickly, as if she had been waiting for him to say yes.
Kitty: not tonight. rest.
He sat on his bed and stared at the screen, realizing that both girls were giving him something, even in the middle of fear.
June gave him urgency.
Kitty gave him patience.
Neither was wrong.
Both were dangerous.
Later, the boys gathered again.
JP kicked off his shoes and fell onto the floor dramatically. "I hate this. Everyone's acting like the ceiling is about to collapse."
TZ tossed him a snack. "Because it might."
NS sat quietly, then said, "People will split soon."
JP frowned. "Split how?"
NS glanced at XH. "They will choose a side. Or a person. Or a plan."
XH did not respond.
NS continued, voice low. "And you can't hold everyone together."
JP looked between them, suddenly serious. "So what are we supposed to do?"
XH finally spoke. "We stay calm. We don't turn on each other. We wait for facts."
June's voice echoed in his head.
Waiting is dangerous.
Kitty's earlier words echoed too.
Don't disappear into indecision.
XH looked down at his hands.
He had always believed that doing nothing was safer than doing the wrong thing.
But now, doing nothing was becoming its own kind of wrong.
That night, the campus lights looked colder than usual. The air outside felt sharper. Even the silence in his room felt like pressure.
He checked his phone again.
No new messages.
But the absence of messages did not feel peaceful.
It felt like the calm before something inevitable.
XH lay down and closed his eyes, but sleep did not come easily.
Because for the first time, he understood that the university was not the only thing under threat.
The truth was simpler.
The longer he delayed, the more people would decide without him.
And when they did, he might finally realize that the things he cared about most were never guaranteed to wait.
Not the program.
Not the future.
Not love.
Not even friendship.
And the worst part was that he could already feel it approaching.
A moment where someone would ask him directly, without allowing him to hide behind patience, without letting him soften the answer.
A moment where silence would stop being a shield.
And become a betrayal.