J_A

[J_A @jamie_aros]

“And why are you here, Miss Markova?” Keller asked.

She could say something safe.
Something polished.
Instead, she heard herself answer, “Because I don’t want the story of my life to be written by someone else.”

[J_A @jamie_aros]

The sound of her own name in his voice felt unreal.
She stood, heart pounding, a hundred eyes turning.
“Elena Markova,” she managed. “First year. I’m… from a small town, outside the city.”

[J_A @jamie_aros]

Keller turned another sheet.

“Elena Markova.”

[J_A @jamie_aros]

Elena pressed her pen harder into the page.
Voss. So that was his name.

[J_A @jamie_aros]

A few students smiled, impressed.
Keller’s mouth twitched in approval.

[J_A @jamie_aros]

He rose with the ease of someone used to standing.
“Adrian Voss. Third year, assisting this class. From here. I’m here because I believe law is where duty and reality meet.”

[J_A @jamie_aros]

Another girl: “To make a difference.”
Another: “To work in international courts.”
Then: “Adrian Voss.”

[J_A @jamie_aros]

Keller read from his list.
A boy in a designer sweater stood, naming a district Elena had only ever seen on postcards.
“Family tradition,” he said when asked why law.
The room nodded as if that were an answer.

[J_A @jamie_aros]

Elena’s stomach dropped.
Of course.

[J_A @jamie_aros]

“Names.”

A low murmur swept the room.

“We will not do full introductions,” he went on. “But I will call a few of you. When you hear your name, stand. Tell us where you’re from, and one reason you’re here.”

[J_A @jamie_aros]

She forced herself to copy a few phrases from the board, writing slower than usual so her hand wouldn’t shake.

“Finally,” Keller said after a while, closing his folder, “we come to the part everyone pretends to hate.”
A few students chuckled nervously.

[J_A @jamie_aros]

Words about systems and justice slid past Elena’s ears, half-heard, half-lost under the drum of her own thoughts: late on the first day, great start, don’t mess this up.

[J_A @jamie_aros]

Chapter 7 – Names
The lecture blurred.

[J_A @jamie_aros]

But as Elena tried to slow her breathing, she couldn’t shake the strange feeling that she was the one who had just walked into his story, not the other way around.

[J_A @jamie_aros]

Down in the first row, slightly turned to the side, profile sharp under the lecture hall lights, Adrian sat perfectly straight, hands folded on an empty page.

He didn’t look at her.
He didn’t even seem aware of her.

[J_A @jamie_aros]

Elena kept her eyes on the floor until she found an empty seat near the middle.
Only then did she look up—and see him.

[J_A @jamie_aros]

A few first-years stared.
One girl smirked.
Someone whispered something that caused a soft ripple of laughter.

[J_A @jamie_aros]

“You’re late,” his gaze seemed to say. “Explain yourself by not doing it again.”

Heat rushed to her face.
She muttered, “Sorry,” though no one had asked for it, and moved along the back row, clutching her bag.

[J_A @jamie_aros]

The door clicked shut behind her, louder than it had any right to be.

Keller didn’t stop speaking, but his eyes cut to her for the briefest moment.
A pause, barely half a beat.

[J_A @jamie_aros]

Rows of faces turned towards the front, the professor’s voice rolling over them like distant thunder.
At least a hundred students.
No empty, anonymous corner to disappear into.