"They're checking the undersides of chairs again!" Tom Lamrin announced after peeking through the door.

Marilda sighed and turned to Evanna, who stood dumbstruck. "Last year, this girl got suspended after her diary was found taped to the underside of her chair."

"What do they check exactly?" Evanna managed to croak. "The lockers? Bags?"

She nodded, twin bunches of hair bobbing with the motion.

It was as if someone tipped a bucket of ice down her stomach. She slumped against the wall and watched the activity before her. Do I have my earphones in there? No, you took it out, remember, Ev? What other contraband do you have in there? Think! 

Students clustered together in the corridor, and more spilled out from adjacent classrooms. A buzz of conversation permeated the atmosphere, not unlike an agitated beehive. Evanna's idle stare examined a painting, its focal point being the silhouette of a unicorn. Messy brushstrokes depicted a leaden sky over icy tundra, the bleakness threatening to swallow up the odd creature. Wait, my phone!

"Mari-chan!" Evanna hissed.

"Huh?" Marilda wheeled around, startled by the urgency in her voice. "What?"

"What do they check in phones?"

"Well, everything. Messages, calls, photos..."

"What?"

"What? You didn't know that?"

Evanna dipped her head and clapped a hand to her mouth.

"You bring your regular phone to school?" The other girl leaned on the wall next to her, forehead puckered into a frown. "And you haven't cleaned it?"

She shook her head in one lethargic motion.

"Evie!" Marilda exclaimed, her voice glazed with disbelief.

Minutes slipped by as Evanna observed the proceedings. Her eardrums pulsed with the drone of voices, fueling her mounting anxiety. Her eyes darted to the four boys from Obsidian, who stood some distance away by the wall opposite. They seemed surprisingly relaxed.

The elevator doors opened with jarring abruptness. Four prefects stepped out, gripping handheld metal detectors.

A group of boys were the first to be scanned. The prefects waved the detectors over each person, searching for hidden pen drives. Dead silence now pervaded the corridor.

Evanna's eyes widened when a short prefect strode over, holding her device aloft.

The next second, she sensed the detector positioned behind her head, making her stiffen. Then it made its slow descent to the level of her chest—and beeped, blinking red.

She jumped, staring at the prefect with wild eyes. Huh?

The prefect paused for a moment and continued scanning her, while a smattering of sniggers punctuated the stillness.

Evanna's eyes flitted from one person to the next, lingering for a moment on Shane, who leaned back against the wall, trying to suppress a laugh. Marilda's giggle snapped her attention back to the situation at hand. It was when the prefect moved away that comprehension dawned. She squirmed, her face heating up.

One by one, people were summoned back into their homerooms. When it was Evanna's turn, she drifted into 12-E, wishing that she was invisible.

A dozen students sat brooding, though the checking was still underway. Bags lay emptied on the desks nearest to the lockers, and prefects combed through the contents like a bomb disposal squad. Lycurgus stood motionless, overseeing the operation, while Inoue watched on from the teacher's table. One willowy prefect was stationed next to a front row desk, which showcased confiscated phones.

Evanna's gaze snagged on her seat across the room. Sunlight streamed in and illuminated the chair in a heavenly glow, as if it were a shiny checkpoint in a challenging video game. Hope soared in her heart.

She only took a few steps when the prefect with the phones beckoned her over. Her spirits plunged back into the tepid waters of uncertainty.

"Your phone's here?" the prefect asked in a toneless voice.

She attempted a smile. "Yeah."

"Which one?"

Evanna pointed it out, an icy claw gnawing at her insides. The prefect handed it to her. She stared at her blankly.

"Unlock it," the girl said with a touch of impatience.

Her clammy hand almost dropped the phone. She swiped her pattern in and handed it back for inspection.

For an excruciating minute, Evanna waited with bated breath. She bounced on her heels and tugged at her ponytail. Another minute of tapping and scrolling ensued while the girl's grey eyes trained on the screen with hawk-like focus.

"Ma'am, we have one," the prefect finally said, straightening up.

Evanna jerked, her heart thrashing in her chest.

Lycurgus turned, head revolving on her scrawny stalk of a neck. A mirthless smile crossed the teacher's face before she diverted her attention back to the task at hand.

"You stand here," the prefect commanded, indicating a spot next to her.

Evanna crossed her arms and stared at the floor. Head bowed, she struggled to stem the hurricane of thoughts that gathered speed inside. Dread pooled in her gut. Calm down, Ev. It's probably something stupid. They'd just assign some gardening duties or whatever.

Lycurgus soon left to inspect the other raids being conducted on the same floor.

More students trickled into the classroom, and Evanna was shocked that only six were singled out—one of them Mort. Marilda, now seated, caught her eye and mouthed "hwaiting", though she was too strung up to react. Genelle gave her a reassuring smile.

The inspections finally ended, and a charged silence reigned.

Thelma Lycurgus entered the classroom with exaggerated slowness. All eyeballs swiveled in their sockets to follow her progress to the front of the room. The prefects positioned themselves near the teacher's table, while Inoue leaned back in her chair, arms folded. Evanna and the transgressors stood to one side and awaited judgment.

"Well, well, fewer students this time around," Lycurgus drawled. "It's almost like Tsunokory is losing its touch..."

"You make it sound like it's a bad thing, Thelma," Inoue said, her tone neutral.

"I would certainly have been pleased." She surveyed the class with lidded eyes. "but I have a feeling the rascals are just being careful."

Inoue looked like she wanted to facepalm, but said nothing.

"Aliyev, read out the offenses," Lycurgus barked.

Aidana dutifully stepped forward as another prefect handed her a sheet of paper. "Mortimer Elean. We confiscated two DVDs hidden inside the lining of his bag. Contained movies. One appears to be Rated-R for gore. He'd been caught previously with this kind of material."

"Assign the usual. Double it." Lycurgus threw a glance in Mort's direction, her erect stance unwavering. "You, boy, are going for counseling as well. Hopefully, Sigrid can fix you up. Next."

"Sery Kwan. We found makeup hidden in her bag. Assign to gardening, ma'am?"

"For a week."

Sery, who stood near Evanna, seemed to implode, her face crumpling.

"Tom Lamrin. Profanity scrawled in a notebook. Specifically, the F-word—"

Someone made an explosive sound, though no one else dared to laugh.

Lycurgus snapped her head to the source of the disturbance. "What's your name, boy?"

"Mano Gamage, ma'am," he stuttered, humor evaporating.

A frigid smile appeared on her face. "Aliyev, add his name to the list."

Aidana got hold of a pen and started scribbling. "What should we assign—"

"Handle it."

"Yes, ma'am."

Gamage's corpulent form collapsed into a slouch.

Evanna was the last on the list. By the time Aidana called out her name, she was cold, clammy and tremulous—not unlike jelly extracted from the fridge. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she stared in apprehension at the paper in Aidana's hand. She tried to not think about the many eyes watching with rapt attention as the drama unfolded.

"We found inappropriate material in her phone, ma'am," Aidana said.

Lycurgus raised her eyebrows. "Such as?"

The willowy prefect hastened to show the phone to the teacher, tapping rapidly to pull up the offending material. "Profanity—moderate severity."

Moderate severity? Oh, you mean "shit". Evanna gulped.

After a painful pause, the prefect said, "Then there's this..."

Her stomach flipped. What! There's what?

The discipline incharge regarded the phone with narrowed eyes until Inoue spoke up, "What is it?"

While the prefect handed Inoue the phone, Lycurgus focused her stare on Evanna—like a ravenous wolf about to spring on its prey. "An eccentric one, aren't you, girl?"

Evanna shivered, the iciness inside spreading to her extremities. As the pressure spiked, her chest tightened. The dead silence and staring eyes escalated her panic. She balled her fists to stop herself from hyperventilating.

Inoue put the phone on the table, the muted clatter surprisingly loud in the stillness. "Material deemed as entertainment is prohibited, but these are just images. Hardly—"

"Quite a fixation on cartoon boys..." Lycurgus interrupted in a low drawl.

It was like an invisible fist punched Evanna in the gut. Her head started to spin as embarrassment knotted her insides.

Inoue sighed. "Are we going to punish students over cartoon boys now, Thelma?"

Sounds of air whooshing disturbed the silence as students tried desperately to stifle their laughter.

"Er, excuse me, ma'am," a thin girl with brown pigtails piped up—Stephanie Cross, a widely despised prefect from Shirotsume.

Lycurgus shot her a glance. "Yes?"

"I confiscated this book from her bag as well. I got an anonymous tip on some of the inappropriate content in the book."

The girl proceeded to hand the teacher her beloved Animorphs book, along with a note. Evanna's eyes almost popped out. What the freaking hell. Kids read it!

Lycurgus flipped the book in distaste before giving it back to Stephanie. Then her eyes skimmed over the note. The quiet now pressed in like a conscious entity.

"Multiple offenses," the teacher said, her voice dripping venom. "This warrants a trip to my office, girl."

"There's nothing inappropriate about that book!" Evanna blurted out, indignation soaring above her fear.

Her words carried over the many heads. The tension almost crackled, and the fine hairs on her nape rose as if touched by static.

Lycurgus handed the paper to the prefect. "Read it."

There was a rustle as Stephanie straightened it out. "This story contains disturbing material. Scenes of torture—a character gets tortured over an extended period of time. Gore and violence with bloody fights. Genocide—"

"Is this true, girl?" Lycurgus asked in dangerous tones.

Evanna blinked. "Um, yeah, but it's not glorified or anything—"

"Go on," the teacher interrupted.

Stephanie cleared her throat. "Romance between strange creatures."

"What?" Evanna goggled at her. "They're just aliens!"

"A blue, furry centaur with stalk eyes and a large lizard covered in blades. Then the former and a human girl."

Lycurgus snapped, "And is that true?"

Words tumbled out of Evanna's mouth while her face burned, "Yeah, it just sounds weird when you say it like that, but the story's beautiful!"

"Talking back as well," Lycurgus drawled. "Aliyev."

"Yes, ma'am," the chubby girl said immediately.

"Make a record of the material in her phone. Then delete everything."

"I'll see to it, ma'am."

"You," Lycurgus snarled, addressing Evanna. "Meet me at my office at 6.30 on Monday morning."

The levels of intimidation rose to such an extent that a dark cloud appeared to coalesce in the room, stripping any remnants of mirth.

Evanna drew in a shaky breath to clear her head while her queasy stomach demanding a toilet break. "Yes, ma'am."

Lycurgus nodded at Inoue and stormed out. The prefects hastened to follow her. Aidana picked up the phone from the teacher's table and went over to brief the other transgressors about their punishments. Evanna hurried to her seat, avoiding all eye contact.

Chemistry class commenced, but it wasn't long before school ended for the day. Aidana returned her phone just before the last bell. Entire chats had been deleted, gallery emptied and apps removed. The book they had confiscated was gone for good.

Evanna trailed out, still shaken from her ordeal. A group of girls breezed by, pushing past her. She looked up to see the receding backs of Oleanda, Sara and none other than Alcina.

Alcina glanced back with an arrogant smirk of satisfaction on her alluringly perfect face.

If there was any doubt who was behind the tip-off, that one look put it to rest.

Thursday afternoons were usually pleasant, since there were no afterschool classes and the weekend was enticingly near. That particular afternoon, however, Evanna failed to experience even an iota of positivity. To the contrary, she was curled up in bed in her cami and tights, willing her mind to stop tormenting her about what happened at school. It was like the dull ache of a burn, long after the wound had been inflicted.

How can you be so stupid, Ev? How can you possibly think that they won't check phones? Her arms tightened around Debu-chan.

She glanced at the computer, and the log-in interface of Arcana Online beckoned her with its vibrant visuals. Artemisia's slender figure dominated the screen, engaged in idle actions against a backdrop of moonlit elven architecture. Wait, how come the cops didn't charge Junho and Max with something? Well, the Obsidian guys aren't stupid enough to get caught, Ev.

A worrying thought suddenly materialized. Before her nerve failed her, she grabbed the phone and called Shane.

Her eyes bored into the screen while the call went through. The words "Calling Ogre" stared back at her. She twiddled with her fingers.

He picked up.

"Shane, I gotta ask you something!" she said in a rush before he could get a word out.

An awkward silence stretched on. She was glad it was a phone call—facing him was the last thing she wanted to do, especially after the excruciatingly embarrassing events at school that day.

His languid voice wafted into her ear. "Hm. I actually have something to ask you as well."

"You do?" She furrowed her brow, and curiosity got the better of her. "What? You go first."

"Okay." He paused. "How did you find out I've lived in Valinia?"

She blinked. "Um, I've probably seen it somewhere online..."

"Where?"

"Probably some website. I don't remember—" She clammed up. Ev, he'd think you're stalking him online!

"I don't think so," he said, his words laced with amusement. "I've never mentioned Valinia. It's not public information."

She clutched the phone and thought hard. Holy cowsies! Don't escalate this into a mess. You can't lie to cover up lies. He'd see through it anyways—he's not Mari-chan.

"Evanna?"

"I, um, got to know about it from Junho and Max."

There was no response for a moment. "You're friends with them?"

"Yeah," she said and hastened to elaborate, "not, like, big buddies. Maybe, like, regular buddies. We chat now and then—but please don't tell them. In fact, that's what I wanted to ask you! Don't tell them you're going to Cape Valinia with me."

"Why not?"

"Just don't, okay!" Evanna whispered.

"Tell me why not."

"Fine." She let out an exasperated sigh and flopped back against her pillows. "They don't know it's me they're chatting with, and it'd be awkward if they know."

"Mm, that explains it..."

"Explains what?"

"Why they haven't mentioned it."

"Oh, yeah. So, don't tell them, okay?"

He laughed. She scowled. Now, Ev. Be nice or he'd tell them.

"Shane, please, please, please, don't. I'll do anything," she said in what she hoped was an entreating tone.

"Anything?" he asked softly, drawing out the word.

She rolled her eyes. "Um, I don't mean that literally. I'm not gonna be your slave or give you my kidneys. Duh. I meant do some homework you don't wanna bother with sort of thing."

"What if I'm dying and I need a kidney?"

She rolled her eyes all the way into her skull or that was what it felt like—and then remembered he couldn't see her. "I'm off."

"So, I can claim my wish later?"

"Um, okay," she murmured with a cautious undertone and made to hang up.

"Wait."

"What?"

"Do you...like Junho or Max?"

"No! I mean, yes, I like them! Not, like, like!"

He chuckled.

Why'd he ask me that! Does he think I crush on every guy I talk to? She was transported back to the classroom and "cartoon boys" reverberated in her head. She cringed.

"And there's something else I wanted to talk to you about," he said, humor dissipating.

"Yeah?"

"Be careful with the Lycan. She's not like other teachers."

"Okay..." Her brow scrunched up into a frown. "Anyways, I'm off."

She had the notion he wasn't done, but she hung up. What's the worst than can happen? Gardening at dawn? Helping the janitorial staff? I mean, yes, it's torture if I had to do it for a week or more, but...

Her mood underwent a significant improvement after the call, and she rolled to her side with a smile. Her eyes trailed over the raven feather that rested next to her terrarium. A dreamy sigh escaped her when she imagined Shane doing an ASMR video, his voice low and husky.

Evanna stretched and padded over to the wardrobe, humming Shattered Star. She picked an off-shoulder tee and a cargo skirt—a dark ensemble she proceeded to colorize with socks that reached her thighs in alternating stripes of black and burgundy. Complementing it was a moss green cami, which peeked out and enhanced the verdure of her eyes.

A few minutes later, Mary's voice called out, "Eva! Come down here."

"What is it, Mom?" she yelled, pulling her hair into a messy knot.

"Come down."

She slipped into her fluffy panda slippers and plodded downstairs.

When she entered the living room, Janet lowered the magazine she was reading. "You look more colorful than usual."

"I do wear color," Evanna murmured and added as an afterthought, "when it's paired with black."

Janet peered at her face. "Why are your cheeks flushed?"

She made a dismissive motion with her hand. "No reason."

"Someone wants to talk to you." Mary pushed her phone into Evanna's hands and headed to the kitchen.

Surprised, Evanna brought the phone to her ear. "Hello?"

"Hey," said a female voice that sent a painful jolt down her spine.

As a cascade of emotions flooded her brain, she managed a guarded whisper, "What do you want?"

"Can I meet up with you?" Anukie asked. "I need to talk to you."

Her aching heart shriveled a bit more. She clenched a fist to hold the memories at bay. Part of her longed to say yes and confide in her everything that had happened—what she would've done when they were children. For an instant, she clung to that fantasy, and the pain and fear she bottled inside faded ever so slightly. Yet, the very idea of being lured into a trap and having her heart crushed again was too much to bear. She refused to be so gullible. We're getting out of here, Ev! This reality doesn't even matter!

"Evie?"

"What do you want to talk to me for?" Evanna tightened her fist. "So you can pretend to be my friend and prank me to get in Alcina's good books? What was your role in today's anonymous tip? Your idea or you helped brainstorm?"

There was a tense silence on the other end. "I don't—"

"Ookie, leave me alone." She hung up and smacked the phone down on the coffee table.

"Are you alright?" Janet asked from the sofa.

Evanna blew out the breath she was holding and nodded.

As her mom returned from the kitchen with tea, she was suddenly overcome with an urge to just run to her and wrap her arms around her. That feeling died when she took in Mary's unsympathetic expression.

"You're still not talking to her?" Mary shook her head and eyed her with distaste. "And you look utterly ludicrous, Eva—that skirt is too short."

It took a good minute to fight off a sob. Then she stormed upstairs.

That night, she concentrated all her mental energies on planning her trip to Cape Valinia. Uneasiness mingled with her excitement and twisted her insides.

It was just four days away.

The Obsidian song played in her head with unwavering persistence. With it came the vivid memory of her bobbing to the rhythm with Marilda while the boys performed onstage. Her inner eye watched Shane bending over the mic, his voice calling out with soul-numbing intensity.

Try as she might, she couldn't get rid of the earworm. It tugged at her heartstrings, causing a symphony of discord in her innermost self. Yet, she shook her head and steeled herself for what lay ahead.

Friday turned out to be a bleak day marked with frequent showers. Evanna arrived at school later than usual and squelched her way towards the Hive.

Rain pattered incessantly on the paving, sending droplets flying in all directions. Her shoes were spattered with water and flecks of mud. Cold wind blew on her face, making her clutch her umbrella tighter. Up ahead, long queues loomed out of the mist for daily inspections. People stood under a canopy of black umbrellas, rivulets of water streaming down their glistening surfaces.

Evanna sat through physics in the morning next to Manik Halpe, since Genelle had skipped school to go to her parents' place for the weekend. She groaned when she remembered that the library periods were taken over by Oakfort for biology.

She wasn't the only one down in the dumps. When the class commenced in a biology lab on the third floor, a gloomy quiet pervaded the atmosphere. Oakfort went on about the conduction velocity of the action potential and the role of myelination while the wind howled outside and sprayed rain against the windows.

When the lesson came to an end, the teacher heaved a sigh of satisfaction. "We'll do a quick recap and watch a video next week. Now, how many of you went to the seminar yesterday? Hands up."

Hands inched up into the air, including Evanna's.

"Good," Oakfort said in his sonorous voice and ambled over to a shelf. "You kids stay behind, and we'll redo the experiment you missed."

He picked up a transparent container and brought it over to the counter at the front. A cockroach sat inside, its antennae twitching. Then Oakfort retrieved some equipment, which included what he called an "amplifier box".

"We're going to listen to some neuron communication. So, what we're going to do is—we're going to cut off a cockroach leg, stick these pins in," he said, waggling two metal pins attached to the box, "and pick up the electronic message."

Evanna gaped. What?

"I have to go to a teachers' meeting now, however." He checked his wristwatch. "Before I send the rest of you off, I want someone who was present last time to volunteer and get the experiment going till I get back. Who wants to show your classmates how it's done?"

The teacher flashed an expectant smile, though many faces exhibited disgust. Evanna threw a worried glance at the container. In the corner of her eye, she saw Mort about to raise his hand. Of course. He's gonna volunteer, 'cause—

"I'll do it."

Evanna whipped around, and her heart flipped.

Shane leaned forward, arms propped up on the counter before him. She experienced a sinking feeling that somehow wasn't due to the nature of the experiment.

"Ah, Evans," Oakfort said cheerfully. "But you were not present yesterday."

"I can handle it, sir."

"Very well." He surveyed the students, hands on hips. "Class dismissed."

Chairs drew back, and people got to their feet. Evanna's dread rocketed up. The prospect of inflicting pain on an animal was awful, even if it was just a nasty insect. Yet, that accounted for only a part of her inner turmoil. There was no time to unravel her mental state—she had to talk Oakfort out of this experiment.

To her dismay, the teacher exchanged a few words with Shane about the placement of the electrodes, which were on the femur and coxa of the leg, and then he ambled out.

Soon, just seven students were left, including Shane, Manik and Ash.

Evanna flung an agitated glance at Manik, who appeared quietly gleeful about getting to work with two Obsidian boys, even though the experiment itself was far from pleasant. Ash went over to the container and observed the cockroach.

Shane simply left.

Where the heck is he going? Maybe the restroom before commencing the butchery! Evanna slunk over to Manik and whispered, "Are you okay with this?"

The girl shot her distracted look. "Huh?"

"Dismembering the roach..."

"Oh, yeah, it's gross and kinda awful. But, well, I'm not the one doing it." She shrugged. "And roaches get squashed anyways...and poisoned."

Evanna's heart rate accelerated when she contemplated grabbing the container and taking off with it, but Ash was still holding on to it. What if I, like, push him? No, I can't wrestle it off him! Can I? Maybe if I took him by surprise...

Ash caught her eye and seemed puzzled by her focused stare. Then he smilingly went back to observing the cockroach. He looked so peaceful that it annoyed her. She wished he looked more like a bad guy, so she'd feel better about manhandling him.

A sudden urge to go to the restroom cropped up. Okay, just clear your head and come back, Ev. You can't botch this operation. She tried not to think about the aftermath of her course of action.

"Where are you going?" Manik asked when she made to leave.

"I'll be back." Evanna dashed out.

A few minutes later, she emerged from the restroom and retraced her steps back into the corridor. The sight ahead startled her to a halt.

Shane was going into the lab, holding a glass of water.

What's the ogre doing! A frown eclipsed her face as she ran after him. She pushed through the door and froze.

Shane stood at the counter, calmly dunking the cockroach in the water. The others observed the spectacle as if it were an ancient ritual.

Rooted to the spot, Evanna watched as the animal's legs curled with agonizing slowness, and then its body went limp.

Almost as if he sensed her stare, Shane raised his head, and his dark eyes caught hers. A jolt ran down her spine.

She turned on her heels and stalked off, letting the door close behind her.