Rayana sat beside Danielle in the dining hall, happily chatting away while munching on her food. Meanwhile, Danielle was half-mindedly listening and eating, the rest of his attention was captured by Xavier, who stole quick glances her way. She knew very well what those meant.

Much like her, Xavier didn't seem engrossed in eating or listening to the conversation between Ryan and Joanna, who had joined them, today. Each look he gave her way was suggestive, filled with urgency and curiosity. He wanted her in the quad right at ten that night. Needless to say, she would be there.

A new surge of trepidation hummed through her body. She knew she was expecting too much. What could a chess board possibly serve her that could help her prove her innocence? But deep in the contours of a heart, the flames of hope flickered yet didn't extinguish. She hoped that this was a key to her freedom, to erase the stain from her name. If it wasn't...

She didn't even want to imagine. Having her hopes crushed into tiny specks of dust seemed too painful of a thought even to consider. So, tucking away all her pessimistic thoughts, she filled herself with optimism.

The dining room, even though still haunted by the recent death, had started to slide back into its own skin. A low hum of chattering filled the air. Students huddled together, talking. Occasionally, a few waves of laughter could be heard, too but they were immediately shut down with the stern glares by the other students.

Danielle looked behind her. She could see the hazy figures of Vijay and Sameera sitting at the end of the bench, near the darkness. From the last time, she had seen her, there had been no improvements in their state. If anything, it had only deteriorated.

Vijay's face was, now, hidden by a curtain of unkempt beard. His eyes had sunken further into their socket. The dark circles under his eyes had gotten darker, if possible. His face had lost its natural colour and looked a few tones lighter. There was a clear sign of exhaustion and unspoken pressure on him. The only thing that made him look sane and presentable was his meticulously combed hair and his crisp, clean grey shirt and pants.

Beside him, Sameera didn't look much better. Her beautiful face was worn down with secrets that only she knew. She had gotten paler and the dark circles under her eyes were more visible. Much like Vijay, her eyes, too, had sunken in their pits. Unlike Vijay, her hair was put up in an extremely messy bun and her blue shirt and grey pants all wrinkled and crinkly.

By the looks of it, Danielle knew that none of them were eating much of what was on their plate. They were quiet, minds preoccupied with thoughts that haunted them.

Danielle didn't like to see them in this state. So accustomed to the pristine Sameera and Vijay that having to see them fall apart was like an unimaginable horror. Even though she never said it out loud, Vijay and Sameera were like her family. The family she never had but yearned for. Having to see the people she considered family suffer silently pained her. Yet, she could do nothing.

Silently, finishing her food, with Rayana's rambling as the backdrop, she got up. Tossing the empty plate in the dustbin, she walked out of the dining hall and out of the building.

As soon as her feet touched the gravelly path that led to the residential quarters, she started sprinting. The cold, night breeze threaded through her black hair that danced to the rhythm of the air. The crescent moon was gleaming brightly in the inky blue sky with thousands of stars adorning its surroundings. The moonlight helped her see her surroundings, albeit vaguely. The silhouettes of the trees around the campus stood as silent spectators as they swayed to the melody of the breeze.

Rushing inside the quarters, she hurried, upstairs, to her new room which she shared with Rayana. Closing the door behind her, she pulled out the picture from her jeans pocket. Heart hammering wildly against her ribcage, she stood calmly, breathing as slowly as possible as she looked at the picture. She needed to hide it.

Tiptoeing towards Rayana's wardrobe, Danielle felt guilty. She was about to invade someone's personal space without their knowledge, which she preferred to keep that way. Opening the wardrobe, she crouched down and from the bottom of the last shelf, she pulled out an old, worn-out leather purse. Unzipping it, she found a stalk of old leaves and flowers. In the safety of those year-old crunchy leaves and flowers, she entrusted to have the picture hidden from Rayana.

Putting back the purse in its place, she closed the wardrobe. She knew that Rayana would never touch the purse, which belonged to her dead younger sister. It was crafted with memories that both pained her and gave her solace. Rayana found it extremely hard to keep the purse as well as throw it away. That's why she kept it out of her line of sight: hidden yet close to her: forgotten yet cherished.

Danielle decided against dwelling on her action as it would only inflict pain upon her conscience and instead, decided to get ready for her rendezvous with Xavier. Taking off her flimsy top and jeans, she slipped into a pair of denim and a warm full-sleeved tee shirt. The last thing she wanted was to stand in the quad at night, shivering like the last time. Even though, she still had a wait of an hour and a half.

Knowing very well that if Rayana saw her like this, all dressed up, she was bound to question her. That's why she crawled into her bed and pulled up a blanket over her body, up to her chin. The warmth, which she knew would soon become unbearable, had started to build inside the cocoon she enclosed herself in.

Whimsical, silvery moonlight entered the room through the open window illuminating the room in a ghostly glow. The inky blue sky speckled with tiny, glowing stars and a bright glistening crescent moon seemed like a dream, so far away yet within her reach. The trees outside swayed, gently to the rhythm of the breeze as the whispered rustling of the leaves floated to Danielle. Now, she didn't want to leave the room, too engrossed in the fairytale that she wove for herself.

The door creaked open, pulling Danielle out of her pleasant reverie. Immediately, she closed her eyes, pretending to be asleep. Soft footsteps entered the room and the door closed behind them. Rayana had returned.

"Danielle?" Rayana called out. Danielle lay, motionless.

Rayana called, again. No answer.

"Did she fall asleep, already?" Rayana wondered out loud. Danielle felt a presence coming towards her. A warm hand swept away the hairs falling on her forehead. With a small pat on her head, Rayana left. Danielle let out a breath she didn't know she was holding.

After what seemed like hours, the room fell quiet. Rayana's rustling had stopped as she fell into a deep slumber. Peeling off the blanket off her, Danielle sat up. The cool, night breeze caressed her skin, delightfully. For a few minutes, Danielle sat there, relishing in the feel of the cold air against her sweaty skin.

After she felt normal enough to do anything, she looked at the clock on her bedside table. It read the time: 9:45 pm. Still, fifteen minutes left for their midnight rendezvous. She decided that she would rather wait in the quad than be in the room.

With extreme caution, she slipped out of the room, not wanting to wake up Rayana. Once out in the corridor, she could hear the faint jingling of the anklet their warden wore. It was coming from the floor right upstairs. For a split second, Danielle thought of knocking on Xavier's door but soon, decided against it. The sound of her knocking could be thunderous on this silent night.

Quickly, she hurried down the stairs, wanting to reach the ground floor before the warden. The last thing she wanted was to get caught roaming the building after curfew. The quiet thuds of her sneakers, to her, seemed loud enough for the warden to hear. So, that's why, she was always on the edge, anticipating the warden to appear before her any moment.

When she, finally, reached the quad, she let out a sigh of relief but knew better than to let her guard down. She went and stood in the shadow of one of the darkest corners of the quad, where she stood last time, masking her from any prying eyes. But if anyone decided to step inside the quad, they would immediately spot her; a crooked piece in the maze of darkness. Hence, the corner served her purpose perfectly.

She didn't know how long she waited but as soon as she saw Xavier's silhouette walking into the quad, she left her hiding spot and approached him.

Xavier looked surprised to see her. "You're already here."

"Yeah, probably for the last fifteen minutes," Danielle confessed.

A flicker of guilt and shame passed over Xavier's face. "I am so sorry to keep you waiting."

Danielle shook her head, vigorously. "Oh, no! I was here ahead of our agreed time. I was feeling a bit hot in my room, so, I decided to wait here than in my room."

Xavier nodded. Then, sweeping a gaze around him, he said, "We better hurry. Or else the warden will see us."

Danielle and Xavier started walking back into the blurry darkness of the corridor, towards their destination, towards her former room.

Danielle could not help but tease. "Oh, I thought you were the principal's son."

Xavier chuckled, a low, quiet sound dissolving in the stillness of the night. "Yeah, I am but my mother won't be too pleased to know that I am roaming the school grounds with a girl after curfew. Besides, I will get off scot-free if caught but I can't guarantee the same for you."

Danielle raised an eyebrow. "It's hypocrisy."

"You can say that." Xavier shrugged.

Abruptly, he stopped. In a sudden motion, he grabbed Danielle and pulled her under the staircase, his hand on her mouth. That's when she noticed it; the faint jingling of anklets descending the stairs. A moment later, the corridor was illuminated faintly by a beam of torchlight. And then, the silhouette of the warden appeared before them.

Danielle was breathing rapidly. The thought of getting caught, if Xavier didn't hear the sound of the anklet, made her heart beat faster. She was thankful for him staying attentive, unlike her. The warden's torch wandered to every dark corner of the corridor to spot a lingering student, disobeying the school rule.

Danielle was expecting the warden to check under the staircase and discover them but when she left without checking under the staircase, she couldn't be more grateful. With a sigh of relief, she leaned back, resting her head on Xavier's shoulder as a soft laugh escaped her lips. She didn't get caught.

Xavier's hand fell from her mouth and that's when the gravity of their closeness hit her. Her back was pressed against his chest, his hand snaked around her waist and her right hand clutched his bicep. She felt his hot breath on her neck which was exposed to him as she rested her head against his shoulder. Even in the darkness, she could feel the intensity with which her brown eyes gazed into hers. None of them was ready to break the trance they were enveloped in.

But Xavier being the more logical one and the only one in control of themself, cleared his throat. "I think we should get going."

Danielle's cheeks heated up in embarrassment. Here, her life was on the line but no, she was busy gushing over a boy. She felt extremely ashamed of herself. "Right."

With that, they both, as silently as possible, hurried up the stairs. They reached their destined floor and looked around to make sure there was no sight of the warden. Tiptoeing down the corridor, they reached Arianna's room. Xavier fished out the key from his pocket and unlocked the door. After entering, they closed the door, silently behind them.

Like last time, they were greeted by a thick darkness. A beam of torchlight pierced the darkness, driving them to occupy the corners. Xavier, now, aimed the beam of light at her. Danielle squinted her eyes and shielded them with her hands.

"Tell me where's the chess box," Xavier said.

Danielle, still trying to shield herself from the glaringly bright light, said wryly, "I would if you would be so kind as to not blind me with that light."

Xavier chuckled and moments later, the bright light moved from her face. Danielle let her hands fall to her side. Then, pointing at Arianna's bed, she said, "It's under the bed."

With that, she got on her knees before the bed. Before she could peer under the bed, Xavier stopped her.

"Here." He handed her a pair of white gloves. "Wear them."

Danielle rolled her eyes but wore them, anyways.

Danielle extended a hand under the bed. Her fingertips grazed a smooth surface, covered with dust. She grabbed onto the box and yanked it out. The box was white and soft with intricate designs, made of ivory but due to its long stay under the bed, it was covered with dust.

Danielle looked up at Xavier. The light from his torch, was now, shining on the box. "This is it."

"Why is it under the bed?" inquired Xavier and then, quickly added, "Is there anything else under there?"

"I don't think so." She extended her hand, silently asking for the torch. Xavier handed it over to her. Sweeping the light under the bed, she found nothing but heaps of dust and cobwebs.

"No, there is nothing." Danielle handed him back the torch.

"How old is this?" Xavier asked. The beam of light had returned its focus to the box.

"She told me it belongs to her grandfather's grandfather." Danielle stood up with the box in her hands.

"Why did she keep it under the bed?" Xavier inquired.

Danielle put down the chess box on the bed. A cloud of dust flew as the box came in contact with the days-long amassed dust bedsheet, heavily. Then, turned around to face Xavier with her hands on her hips.

"It is some kind of an asset to her family," Danielle explained. "She hated it when someone touched it. So, to avoid that from happening, she used to hide it under the bed. The only time I saw her fuming was when I, once, touched it, asking her to teach me chess."

"Weird," Xavier commented, still eyeing the chessboard box.

"Well, can you keep it with you?" Danielle asked. She didn't want to take the risk of keeping it with her, lest Rayana found it.

"Sure." Xavier picked up the box with his gloved hands. "But why?"

"I don't want Rayana seeing it," she confessed. Danielle hated saying it out loud. She considered her friend to be the killer. It made her feel awful.

Xavier studied her for a few moments before nodding. "Understood."

Danielle exhaled, relieved at not being asked any more questions.

"Let's go." With that Xavier walked towards the door, Danielle right behind him.

The moment the door opened terror seized her. A bright beam of light appeared around the corner leading to the staircase of the floor they were on. In a swift movement, Xavier thrust the chessboard box in her hand and closed the door, shutting her inside the impenetrable darkness of the room. All of a sudden, she became acutely aware of all the things in her surroundings.

This room- it belonged to the dead girl, too. Her presence still lingered in the dusty corners of her rooms and on her dust-covered belongings. The mere thought of being shut inside the room with a dead girl's presence still lingering. Danielle balled up her fingers in a fist to stop herself from shaking or doing something stupid that could get her caught. She sat down on the dusty floor and concentrated on breathing and tried hard to forget where she was and why she was there. In the stillness of the night, she could vaguely hear Xavier and the warden conversing, Xavier's voice gruff and authoritative while the warden sounded exasperated and a bit annoyed.

Danielle didn't know how long she sat there. Finally, the door opened and Xavier came in. "Come on." There was a sharp urgency in his voice. "Get up before she comes back."

Danielle, immediately, got on her feet and walked out of the door. Behind her, Xavier locked the door and then, accompanied her upstairs. All the while, Danielle's heartbeat fast. She wanted to ask what Xavier did out there but out of the fear of alerting the warden, she kept quiet. Standing in front of the door of Danielle's new room, Xavier and her stared at each other, a wordless conversation taking place. Xavier extended his hands and Danielle, though quite reluctantly, dropped the box in his awaiting hands. She turned around to enter her room but stopped.

With a final nod, Danielle slipped inside her room.

SANNAYA!
well, i took ages to write this. i had finished writing most of it last week but couldn't find time to finish the last few paragraphs. but it's here now! hope you enjoyed this.

with this, we come to the end of part I. see you soon in part II.

anyways, don't forget to vote and let me know what you think.