Orchid was outside the hall as Headmaster Roux and a few other staff went into the classroom. The academy went into lockdown and all students were confined to their dorms. Except, Orchid was stuck in place, unable to move.

Professor Green is dead. Hung in his own classroom. I saw his corpse.

Stoll arrived as soon as he could. "Stoll?" Orchid hissed, snapping out of shock. He was in a gray hoodie, covering most of his face. "You can't be seen with me, especially at a crime scene—"

"I came because I'm a janitor and Professor Green's classroom is on my cleaning roster. That will be my lie." Stoll shoved her into a dark corner and Orchid's cheeks went red. Stupid Saira planting stupid ideas in my mind. "Also, this corner is a blind spot," he clarified, seemingly thinking the same. "So is it true?"

"That Professor Green is dead? Yes, it is. I saw him hung in the classroom, his neck was so purple from how tight the r-rope was," Orchid spluttered, cursing. I don't stutter, she thought. "Oh my god, this is terrible."

"A professor died on campus," Stoll realized. "That means news outlets are going to be reporting on this, this time, Headmaster Roux can't control the school media regardless. And you..."

"I discovered the body," Orchid groaned, burying her head in her hands. "That means I'm going to be in the media. Crap, what if they trace the—" She lowered her voice, "stuff back to me. I don't need this extra coverage, Stoll."

"I know, Gray," Stoll grimaced. "But you're still a minor, so they can't really name you, right?"

"Everyone will know regardless." She shook her head, her lungs filling with dread. The spotlight will be back on you, her mind hissed. Everyone will find out your sins. "This is awful."

"It's not like you're doing anything wrong, you're exposing actual evil people like Ivory Kee, that girl is a witch. Silverleaf is cloaked in evil, lies, secrets, and so much more."

"But I'll be facing suspension or worse, expulsion by Roux."

Suddenly, Stoll grabbed her out of the blind spot and back by the door of Professor Green's classroom. Headmaster Roux came back out, sighing. "I'm so very sorry you had to stumble upon your professor's body."

Orchid felt tears coming and let them slip, furiously wiping them away. "Professor Green always o-offered me to come and study in his classroom since the Study H-Hall was too crowded. And I-I just saw his co-corpse—" Get the stutter out.

Headmaster Roux placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'm very sorry...?"

"Orchid Gray."

He nodded. Headmaster Roux was an elderly man, but he served as headmaster nearly his whole life. Sure, his judgment might be tinted because of the whole Stan Crawford thing, but at least he wasn't harsh. Mostly. "This must be disturbing." He looked at Stoll, puzzled. "Mr. Finnegan?"

"Green's classroom was in my cleaning roster," he explained, looking pained. Orchid couldn't tell if the pain was fake or real, he had become as good a liar as she had. "I saw everything and this girl was crying, I didn't know what to do, sir."

Orchid swiftly changed the subject. "How did he die?"

The Silverleaf headmaster blinked. "That's hardly a concern of a student."

Orchid and Stoll exchanged a glance. "Suicide?" Stoll offered and Orchid wanted to punch him. You obviously don't offer Roux an idea, Stoll, she thought as the headmaster shook his head.

"Still not your concern—"

"He was hung by a noose—"

"Stoll Finnegan." Headmaster Roux was also swift when someone questioned his authority, something Orchid thought was his Achilles' Heel. The man's smile turned rather crooked. "Must I involve your brother, Sam?"

"No, sir." Stoll looked quite ashamed.

"Headmaster," Orchid squeaked, averting Roux's attention onto her to help Stoll avoid punishment, "is th-the police coming? This feels like a crime scene." She hated her stutter, but at times, she could also use it to her advantage.

Headmaster Roux paled. "This is n-not a crime scene, Silverleaf Academy is not a place of criminal activity! Professor Green is not your concern to discuss and I wish for you two to keep this private."

Roux sent them off, saying Orchid should go back to her dorm and Stoll should go clean or something. They walked away from Professor Green's class and their footsteps echoed in the hallway.

Orchid glanced at Stoll. "The police are coming, right? No matter how this will look for Silverleaf, Headmaster Roux has to alert them."

Stoll gestured to the window and Orchid peered outside. It was raining and damp outside. "It's going to storm for three whole days," he shook his head. "This is the worst flood that our town will ever face."

"Flood?"

"Yeah, surprising, ain't it? Police are going to be escorting the residents and evacuating them, I bet they won't care about a sorry suicide. I just hope the flood doesn't reach Silverleaf. I think we're good though, the property is on the remote outskirts of the town anyway."

"So we're stuck while there might be a flood?"

"It's not like Headmaster Roux can evacuate two hundred students all at once on late notice! It's a two-hour drive back to town and it's already storming." Stoll rolled his eyes as Orchid crossed her arms. "We live on a high hill, we'll be fine. We should be more concerned about Professor Green's death."

They continued to walk until they reached the stairwells that would lead to the Girls' Dorms. "Gray, I know the media might come after you, but we'll figure it out."

She whispered quietly so the cameras couldn't hear her. "No, we'll never be safe, it's too risky."

He groaned. "Did you seriously counterattack your own problem?"

"Yes, that's called Devil's Advocate."

"Some journalist shit?"

"Oh my god." Orchid slapped her forehead. "You're so dense for a hacker."

Stoll leaned against the wall, like how Sam did. Which then reminded Orchid to bring something up. "Stoll, did you mention me to Sam?" When Stoll blanched, she continued. "Sam recognized me. I don't want anyone to recognize me."

"I'll talk to him about it."

"No! You're not supposed to talk about it!"

"Fine, whatever, Gray."

Orchid sighed deeply. "I have a name, you know. Orchid."

"If you don't like Gray, I can call you 'Flower.'" Stoll snickered under his breath. Orchid fumed, wanting to punch him in the face yet again. "What? Orchids are a kind of flower."

"Stupid, foolish boy."

┉┈◈◉◈┈┉

Orchid tossed and turned that night, the bed sheet sticking to her because of her sticky, sweaty body. Professor Green is dead. Suicide. But was it truly suicide? The English professor didn't really have a reason to end his life, although, maybe he hid a lot of mental issues that no one was aware of.

But then Orchid was thrown back into that same scene, replaying in her mind.

After she screamed, she panted loudly, approaching Green's body. He wavered in the air, dangling from the ceiling fan. His neck looked tight and purple forming the swells of the brisk rope.

"P-Professor Green," she managed to stutter. You don't stutter, she thought. His eyes were so full of death and blankness, it horrified her. His wrists were also slit, bleeding, and Orchid noticed a puddle of dried blood smeared on the tiled floor.

His knuckles were bruised and the classroom didn't look right to Orchid. Before she could look further, a shrill scream came behind her. She jumped and spun around to see Professor Asher. "Oh my grace—"

Asher ran up to Orchid, yanking her away from Professor Green's body. "Henry!" Professor Asher cried out in vain, tears blotting her mascara. Orchid herself felt tears slip down her cheeks. "Oh my grace, H-Henry—"

Professor Asher took Orchid's hands and they stumbled out of Professor Green's classroom. She slammed the door, gasping for air. "Do n-not go inside, stay here while I find Headmaster Roux," she ordered Orchid.

Silverleaf was old-school, so they didn't have telephones in classrooms connected to the front office despite how gifted the school claimed to be. The PA system was dated and didn't work half the time. All of the announcements of events were posted on the Event Board, near the office.

"Okay," Orchid managed to say. Professor Asher stumbled forward but managed to run as fast as she could to the headmaster's office. This is real, she realized. Orchid slid down the wall, sobbing uncontrollably. Professor Green was forever gone—by a suicide?

Orchid jerked up, gasping for air. Cold sweat trickled down her forehead as she looked around her dorm frantically as if a scary beast was out to get her. Bailey was asleep in the bed on the other side of the room, snoring quietly. Orchid sat up, panting. It suddenly felt so hard to breathe. She had snuck into the dorm and Bailey was already asleep, so she didn't want to wake her up only to tell her miserable news. The rain rapted against the window, making it hard to fall asleep again.

It wasn't suicide, Orchid thought. It couldn't have been.