"Huh?" Badr pushed the door. "It's locked."

"Boring," Yousef whistled.

"Let's go down before someone sees us!" Malak quickly bossed, and at the same time she hurried downstairs. Yahya yawned and followed her downstairs with Badr and Yousef. Malak sat down on the front steps and glued her eyes to her papers

"Let's check the other stairs!" Badr pointed at another stairway that was approximately four meters apart from the one they were sitting on. Yahya agreed by walking to the stairs before everyone.

Malak hastily followed the three boys to the dust-filled stairway. The quadruple climbed the stone steps carefully. It was really similar to the one they had climbed earlier: three sets of burgundy stairs with a high balcony on the second floor. When they reached the third and last staircase, they noticed that there was a bunch of old chairs and tables clumped together beside a white-painted door.

"This is new..." murmured Yousef. Badr, Yousef, Malak, and Yahya sneaked along the dusty path. The chairs and tables made the path very narrow and uncomfortable to walk through. Nevertheless, the group still made their way to the front of the door.

Once they stopped on the last step, Badr noticed a key through the lock of the door.

"Woah, cool!" Badr exclaimed as he opened the door further. Malak turned around to check if anyone was there then she followed the boys to the sunlit rooftop.

The rooftop was an open area covered with gravel and it overlooked the nearby school buildings. The gates of the academy were visible from afar adjoining the garden grounds and the fountain in the middle.

"This is pretty cool," Yousef admitted.

"Yeah, I didn't know rooftops had pebbles! The one in my house is just like...it just has floor," said Badr. Malak chuckled.

"Is that so...?" Yahya gazed at the clear blue sky above. Badr and Yousef started examining the pebbles while Malak strolled further around the rooftop. She looked below and saw some of the buildings of the academy. The cool spring breeze lightly blew her hair. She continued walking around when something caught her eye. She bent down to pick it up.

It was a cardboard folder that was partly burnt from the bottom right corner. Malak stared at it for a while, confused.

"What happened?" Badr questioned her. He was standing with Yousef behind Malak.

"I found this..." Malak showed them the folder.

"Is that a burn?" Yousef took the folder and felt it. "This folder is actually burnt from here."

"Probably contains some school secrets," Badr guessed loudly. "Open it!"

Yousef roughly opened the folder and peered at its contents. There were just a few papers inside so he took them out and inspected them.

"What's going on?" Yahya appeared from behind them.

"Malak found this folder on the ground," explained Badr.

"Guys, this is really weird," observed Yousef. "There's a picture of some guy and like...information about him. All of them are burnt from here."

"Show me," Badr took the picture from Yousef's hands and examined it. It showed a photo of a middle-aged man with a wide face and bristle-like hair under his lips, coating his chin. "It's just a picture of a random man."

"Does it say his name?" questioned Malak.

"No."

"Hmm..." Yahya was reading the papers that Yousef was holding. "These are past exams for...I think this is science."

"What? This is so weird," Malak commented.

"True," Badr nodded. "What's this supposed to mean?"

"Who is this guy?" Yousef wondered.

"And why is the folder here?" queried Malak.

"And why the heck are they burnt?" Yahya finished.

They all gave suspicious looks to each other. Badr stared at the sky and Malak licked her dry lips and thought carefully. Yousef wanted to sit down since his knees were getting tired while Yahya's eyes narrowed as he inspected the picture.

"He looks kinda like a...doctor or something," Yahya guessed.

"Hahaha! Maybe you're right, he does look like a doctor," Yousef giggled.

"But why would a picture of a doctor be here?" Malak inquired.

"You're right. It doesn't have anything to do with the school," Yousef agreed.

"Then why is this even here?" Badr was getting tired of all the possibilities.

"Maybe he worked here or something?" Malak suggested.

"Can be," Yahya said.

"Think deeply," Yousef told them. "A burnt picture on a rooftop. What could that mean?"

"Hmm..." Malak played with the ends of her hair.

"Maybe he was fired...so they set fire to his papers," Badr laughed at his joke.

"Wait, that's a good guess actually," Yousef pointed out.

"Really? It was just a pun I created..." Badr scratched his head, grinning.

"Maybe he was fired!" Malak thought about it.

"Maybe," Yahya replied. "But still...why would they burn the papers?"

"Oi, Badr," Yousef nudged Badr. "Do you remember what Mr. Samer told us that day?"

"What...oh wait! I remember!"

"What did he tell you?" Malak asked with interest.

"That the principal of the school killed Mr. Samer's wife," Yousef informed her.

"What? That's horrible!" Malak gasped.

"That could be related to this..." Yahya stared at the picture.

"But why would he do that?" Malak was really shocked.

"Don't ask me," Yousef shrugged.

"Who is the principal of the school anyway?" questioned Badr.

"Come to think of it," Yousef crossed his arms. "We never saw him before."

"Do you think this is him?" Malak gazed at the picture in Badr's hands. Yahya silently read through the papers that accompanied the picture.

"Maybe," Badr spoke.

"What if it's just some random dude?" Yousef objected.

"Then why are his papers here?" Malak put her hands on her hips.

"Maybe they're burnt because the sun is too bright here," Badr suggested.

"Badr..." Malak shook her head. "I don't think so. It looks like someone set it on fire."

"Guys, guys," Yahya interrupted. "This is the principal of the school! Look, here it says that he corrected these exams!"

"Really?" Malak peered over to have a look at the papers. "He's right! It says: 'Corrected and revised by the principal of Evenlane Academy and the head of the science department: Mr. Jawad.' It says it right here!"

"This is unbelievable," Yousef concluded.

"Guys, we need to go," Malak placed the papers inside the folder. "How many minutes left?"

Yousef looked at his watch. "Um...six."

"SIX MINUTES?!" Malak screamed. "Oh my God I'm gonna fail! I need to revise the science papers right now! The quiz is like now!"

The group headed back to the door. Badr was the last one to leave so he closed the door and locked it, leaving the key inside the lock. The boys followed Malak downstairs. She kept on freaking out and revising her papers while shoving the papers she was done with in Yousef's face.

"Take this, revise!" Malak bossed him, not even glancing anywhere but her papers. The bell rang soon afterward and Badr and Yahya wished them luck. Malak was still revising her papers but Yousef decided to give up.

'It's easy anyway,' Yousef thought. 'I don't need to study.'

He sat down in class and waited for the teacher to distribute the quizzes. The quiz was four pages and constituted of questions that Yousef never paid attention to.

'When did we even take this...?' Yousef thought miserably. 'What is this? Am I the only one who doesn't know this? Crap, I'm gunna fail! I should've revised...'

The quiz was finally over and Yousef felt horrible. He wasn't sure of any of the answers he put and the fact that this material was included in the finals next week didn't help. He was really stressed out about the exams.

"So...what's stressing you out so much?" Yahya conversed when he was sitting comfortably in the dorms with Badr and Yousef.

"Exams...finals...life..." Yousef answered in a dull tone.

"Yousef," Badr sighed. "Listen. If you ever feel bad, think of me and my marks. Okay?"

"Life...I hate life," Yousef grumbled.

"It's okay. Bilal can explain anything to you," Badr assured him.

Thankfully, the finals of the second term were soon over and the third term started. Yousef vowed to himself that he would get high marks this term, especially since Malak's marks were constantly better than his. The club resumed its training and everyone was getting better at handling weapons.

Mohamed decided to pair the students up to make duels easier in the future and so, he held multiple challenges for the preteens to show him their acquired skills. He made them slice through different objects and fruits to test their strength and accuracy as well as dodge his punches to test their focus and reaction time.

Malak was ranked last in the strength and accuracy test. Mohamed gave her some helpful criticism: "You are not bad Malak, but the others are definitely ahead of you," he pointed out. "Train to watch your target closely and don't lose sight of it when you strike. You have this skill in defense, you just need to be confident enough to use it comfortably when you attack."

Malak nodded her head with motivation. She wanted to improve quickly to catch up with the rest. After her discussion with Yasmin's father, Malak was approached by Noor.

"You ranked last," she remarked.

"Um," Malak's shoulders dropped. "Yeah? I guess I did."

"You're bad, do you want some training from me?" Noor offered. Malak's mouth twisted into a smile after she heard that. "Sure! I just need to practice how to focus when I attack...any tips?"

"Well..." Noor paced around the clubroom and grabbed a sword from the pile in Mohamad's bag. She stared at Malak, who stared at her back with a confused expression. Noor smirked and suddenly pointed her sword at Malak. Malak took a step back and took a fighting stance.

"Try to take this sword from me," Noor challenged. The rest of the club members watched in interest. Malak felt nervous as they all watched her but she did not want to lose, so she dodged under Noor's extended sword and kicked her legs with enough force to make her lose her balance. Noor fell on the ground and her sword landed beside her with a thud.

Malak swiftly grabbed the sword and now pointed it at Noor, who was fuming with anger.

"Wow, Malak!" the boys cheered. Mohamad laughed and helped Noor up: "I'm impressed. Noor, you need to work on your defense skills. Malak was not fast in her attack but you still could not defend yourself!"

Noor frowned and heaved a sigh. Malak's face twinkled in victory.

Over the course of the next few weeks, after Mohamad finished deciding the skill levels of the students, each one of them was paired with another: the highest skill being Yousef and Yahya, then Noor and Bilal, followed by Badr and Jack, then finally Malak and Yasmin, who was terrified she would hurt Malak in any way with the sword.

Mohamad was always encouraging to the students: "I've just been observing how you guys handle the weapons, so don't get disheartened if your skill level is not considered advanced yet. Of course, we are all here to learn!"

Noor felt proud that she was considered the most skilled girl. Yasmin clapped for her, "That's amazing Noor! You are actually so good at fighting with a sword!"

"Thanks!" Noor smiled a little with her lipgloss-coated lips that she thought matched her tan skin tone.

"Yeah! You're a fast learner," Malak complimented her. Noor's smile immediately left her face and she rolled her eyes at Malak.

"Wait, is everything okay?" asked Yasmin, who noticed Noor's annoyed expression.

Noor nodded before turning to Malak: "Just because you won that day, doesn't mean anything, because my skills were still ranked higher after all!"

Malak shrugged awkwardly, not knowing how to answer her. Noor glared at her.

"Um...congratulations?" Malak responded. Noor repeated her eye-rolling habit and Yasmin laughed as the bell rang, signaling the end of the club activities.

Meanwhile, the two with the highest skill levels, Yousef and Yahya, were already starting to duel with the swords while everyone else was still training against objects, such as cardboard boxes.

"Okay guys! Today, we will be observing Yousef and Yahya's match and we're gonna see how to improve their skills," Mohamad announced one hot spring afternoon. "You guys can watch or train over there in that corner."

"Okay, I wanna watch!" Badr yelled as he sat down on a chair. Yousef and Yahya got ready by standing face to face. The match began.

Yahya sped forward, tightly holding his sword horizontally. Yousef jumped to the left and swiftly whipped his sword diagonally towards Yahya, who blocked his attack using his own sword.

Yousef returned to his original stance; his left hand was behind his back and his sword was aimed at Yahya, ready to strike any moment. Yahya took and few steps backward. In a flash, Yousef's sword sliced through the air, nearly cutting Yahya's nose. Yousef smirked since it seemed like Yahya was giving up. Then, out of nowhere, he felt a strong kick in his stomach. He fell on the ground with a thud.

"Good, Yahya," Mohamad clapped. "You're not only using your sword skills, but you have combined that with martial arts. But you should work on your posture because you have many openings."

Yahya nodded and placed his sword back in the huge black bag that contained all of the weapons they brought from Estermage Island. Yousef stood up and sighed.

"Yousef, you need to work on your martial arts skills. If you can add that to your excellent sword skills, then you'll be a master of fighting," Mohamad advised Yousef.

"Okay, sir," Yousef tossed his sword back in the bag.

"The way you fight with a sword kind of resembles royal fencing," Louis observed.

"Huh? Me?" Yousef turned his face to Louis. "Ah...It's not that cool, I don't like it."

"What do you mean?" asked Yahya, who was leaning against the wall after his duel with Yousef.

"I don't know," Yousef shrugged.

"It's good," Louis said thoughtfully. "Were you taught to hold a sword this way?"

"Hmm...kind of," Yousef felt uncomfortable. He immediately averted his gaze from Louis.

"Okay boys, good job," Mohamad complimented Yousef and Yahya. "You can rest here."

Yousef and Yahya rested on the chairs. Yahya looked at Yousef and smiled.

"You're pretty tough," Yahya eyed Yousef from head to toe.

"You too...You're hard to beat," Yousef's mouth twisted to a smirk.

"Hey guys, great job!" Malak sat on the chair next to them.

"Thanks," they both replied.

The following days were similar to every other training day. Donia would sometimes bring them snacks to boost their stamina, while Mohamad and Louis would teach them more about swordsmanship.

On April tenth, and Badr woke up confidently. This was the day he was to be fourteen. He jumped excitedly from his bunk bed and headed over to the bathroom. When he came back outside, he completely forgot about his birthday.

He went to school normally and came back exhausted. In his mind, he thought he forgot something really important, but he wasn't sure what it was. He only remembered at the end of the day when Yousef asked him about the date of the nearest math exam.

"So..." Yousef was sucking on a strawberry-flavored lollipop. "Mr. Ismail said that the exam is on April seventeen. Wait what's today?"

"April..." Badr thought hard. "April ten! Today is my birthday!"

"WHAT?" Yousef spat the lollipop. "Are you serious?"

"Happy birthday...birthnight..." Yahya was fast asleep.

"SERIOUSLY?!" Yousef jumped out of the bed. "Are you stupid? Why didn't you tell me? Stuuupid!"

"Why? It's no big deal, really!" Badr assured him. "I'm fourteen now, finally, so yay!"

Yousef swiftly grabbed his wallet and stormed out of the room, skateboard in hand. Badr stared confusedly into thin air. A few minutes later, Yousef returned with a bag full of snacks including chips, sandwiches, gummy bears, lollipops, bonbons, and of course, Badr's favorite dessert, crème caramel.

"Wow!" Badr was so happy. "Thank you so much!"

"Happy birthday," Yousef mumbled, embarrassed. Badr grinned from ear to ear and stuffed a handful of tomato chips into his mouth.

Author's note: Thank you guys so much for reading this; we hope you enjoyed this part. We recently hit 4K reads which is insane!! 💚 Thank you guys so much for the support and for being the best readers ever!

This chapter is dedicated to one of the kindest people here on wattpad: afinkaf63  ❤❤❤ Thank you very very much for all the sweet comments and for always reading our updates so early. We love you so much and just keep writing poetry because you're awesome at it!!

P.s: When is your birthday? Let us know, we are curious!

(In case you're wondering: Badr - April 10 ; Yousef - July 7 ; Malak - November 22 ; Yahya - October 7)