Chapter 12 Chapter 12

Chapter 12 Chapter 12

Myla’s POV

The silence stretched longer than it should have. Too long.

The room went silent as everyone exchanged glances and whispered among themselves.

I kept my eyes locked on the tutor even though my hands felt shaky now.

“What?” The tutor asked after a while as she too had her brows raised.

I gulped hard and shifted my weight from feet to feet.

“What I mean—” I started and hung over my next words as my insides went cold. “I mean that if they were raised with force all their lives, how would they separate that from control?

Seconds after I stopped talking, I kept hearing my voice playing through my head, repeating heavily.

The tutor's gaze stayed on me, sharp and unreadable, like she was seeing something past the question I had just asked.

Then, she turned away. “Not relevant,” she said flatly.

And just like that, she dismissed me with a wave of her hand.

More whispers spread through the room and the tension in the room grew as my question certainly unsettled things.

People moved slightly around, exchanging glances while some looked directly at me and others pretended not to.

But no one spoke out loud and the tutor continued like nothing had happened.

“Control is learned through discipline, not emotion,” she said, picking up from where she had left off with her voice still steady.

Acting completely unshaken by my question, like it hadn’t just stopped the entire room.

I blinked once. Then slowly lowered myself back down to my chair.

My fingers tightened slightly around my pen.

Not relevant?

The words sunk into me heavily, unsettling me as she was clearly thinking over it, she paused.

She had thought about it. So it was relevant.

She just didn’t want to answer.

I looked down at my notebook and the words I had written earlier stared back at me.

“What was that all about?” Kyle asked beside me but I didn't bother answering.

I just kept staring down at the words in my book.

Control is not force.

My grip tightened slightly.

Then what was it? Because nothing about what I had seen so far felt like anything else.

I pressed the tip of the pen against the paper, not writing, just holding it there, listening as I could but far from the same way as before.

Now, I was questioning every word that came out of her lips.

She continued the lesson, moving through points, examples, corrections and I followed with a question of my own in my mind.

Every explanation she gave now felt like it had something missing. Like there was a part she wasn’t saying. A part she was deliberately leaving out.

And I couldn’t ignore that anymore.

The rest of the class passed by without me paying much attention to it as everything squeezed up inside me.

And when the class finally ended, I was standing to my feet with more questions than when I entered.

“You good?” Kyle asked as we both got to our feet.

“I'm fine,” I replied, then stretched out the note to him. “Here you go.”

“Nah, I'm good. You keep it, seems you'll be needing it more than I do,” he replied with a smile.

But I couldn't find it in me to match his smile, so I just nodded.

We made our way through the small crowd of people as they all started gathering their things and leaving, picking up from where they stopped in their conversations.

As we got closer to the door, I heard a voice calling me back.

“Myla.”

I stopped mid-step as I turned slowly.

The tutor was already staring at me. “Stay,” she muttered, not giving me a choice.

Something in my chest tightened slightly and I shared a look with Kyle before nodding once to her.

But as I made my way back, I realized I never mentioned my name, so how did she know?

People started filing out faster than before, one by one, they all left.

Some glanced back at me while others didn’t.

I turned to the door and spotted Kyle still lingering near the door. He had his brows pulled together slightly as he looked at me.

I gave him a small nod and mouthed, “I’ll be fine.”

He didn’t look fully convinced. But he left anyway. And with that, the room emptied.

The noise faded away till it was just the two of us.

The tutor didn’t move immediately, she remained where she was standing, staring at me.

Then her eyes went to the door as the last person stepped out. Then she walked towards it, closing it properly.

The soft click echoed louder than it should have.

Then she turned to me. “Sit.”

I was okay standing, and actually preferred to, but I moved anyway, sitting back down slowly.

She didn’t return to the front, instead, she walked towards me slowly.

She had her eyes on me all along, till she stopped just beside the desk I was sitting on.

Not too close. But close enough for me to see every inch of her face clearly.

For a second, she just looked at me. Then—

“How are you, Myla?” She asked and the question caught me off guard.

I blinked. “Fine.”

My reply came out faster than I intended and she tilted her head slightly.

“Fine isn’t an answer.”

I hesitated. Then shrugged faintly. “I’m okay.”

She held my gaze for a second longer. Then nodded once.

“Your name…” she muttered.

“How did you know?” I asked. “How did you know my name?”

“It doesn't matter,” she said. “I just want to hear you say it.”

I paused, not knowing what to say to that.

She studied me. Then continued. “Where are you from?”

I hesitated again. “Just… a normal place.”

Her brow lifted slightly. “That tells me nothing.”

I swallowed lightly. “It’s not important,” I said with a flat expression.

She nodded and shrugged with her gaze not wavering a bit.

Then, she let it go. “For now.”

A small pause. Then, “Your parents?”

The question came just as steady as the rest, directly aimed at me.

I looked away briefly. “They’re… normal.”

The word felt strange even as I said it.

“And they are?”She pressed and I sighed.

“Mr. and Mrs. Carter,” I replied.

Her eyes didn’t leave me. “Alive?”

“Yes.”

Another pause. Then—

“What is your ability?” She asked and my fingers went still completely.

My chest tightened slightly and I didn’t answer.

I didn’t even try to.

The silence stretched. But this time, it felt different.

Not heavy. Not pressuring. Just… lingering.

The tutor watched me. Then, after a moment. “It’s fine,” she said.

Simple and calm.

“You don’t have to answer that,” she added and my shoulders eased slightly without me realizing it.

She stepped back just a little. “Your question,” she started and my attention snapped back to her. “It wasn’t wrong.”

I went still.

“But it was dangerous,” she added.

I pulled my brows together slightly. “Dangerous?”

She nodded. “Yes.”

A moment passed, then she walked slowly, circling where I was slightly, not pacing—just moving as she continued.

“Everything you’re being taught here has been fully prepared,” she said. “Refined and properly structured.”

Her gaze flicked back to me.

“But it didn’t start that way,” she added and something in my chest tightened again.

She continued. “There was a time when force was all there was.”

My fingers curled slightly.

“No control. No discipline. Just power and the will to use it,” she added, lowering her voice slightly.

“People broke under it,” she went on and I swallowed.

“Some adapted,” she added. “Most didn’t.”

Silence settled for a second. Then she stopped moving, turning to face me fully again.

“What you asked—” she continued, “about separating force from control…”

A small pause.

“That is the question that changed everything.”

My breath caught slightly and she didn’t look away.

“It’s what led to the structure. To systems. To places like this.”

My mind tried to catch up, to process everything at once.

“So why not answer it?” I asked before I could stop myself and her gaze sharpened slightly.

“Because not everyone needs to think that far,” she replied in a simply calm manner.

But pretty firm.

“Not everyone should,” I replied, and the words sat heavily, going down uncomfortably.

She studied me for a moment longer. Then her tone shifted slightly, dropping softer. “You’re here to learn what you need,” she said. “Not everything that exists.”

My jaw tightened slightly. “But how do I know what I need if I don’t know what’s missing?” I asked.

The words came out before I could stop them and the room went still again.

The tutor didn’t answer immediately. Then—

A faint, almost invisible emotion touched her expression.

Not quite a smile, not quite touching, but something close.

“You don’t,” she said.

Simple and honest.

“And that’s why you listen first,” she added and paused. “Then question.”

She stepped back fully now, putting space between us again.

“You’ve had enough for today,” she said firmly and I knew what that meant.

“But—” I started.

She shook her head, cutting me off. “Enough.”

Silence. Then—

“Be careful where your questions take you,” she added with her voice quieter now but heavier.

“Not everything you find will help you.”

I didn’t move, didn’t respond.

Something about the way she said that didn’t feel like a warning. It felt like a fact.

She turned slightly towards the door. Then paused without looking back—

“Go.”

I stood slowly, picked up my things and walked to the door.

My hand rested on the handle for a second. Then I stepped out.

The hallway was as loud as always, busy, just as it normally is.

But my mind was anything but normal

Why? Cause now I know one thing.

What I had asked wasn't just questioning the topic, it was questioning everything else.

And the way she had avoided it at first, then answered it only after like she was choosing what to say and what not to tell me everything I needed to know.

This wasn’t everything. Not even close.

And as I walked away, one thought settled quietly in my chest.

There was a lot more to know about this place, and I knew exactly where to start.