He didn't remember the first time stealing for his family, maybe because it made him feel queasy. Stealing wasn't right, he knew, but it was a necessity. There was a thieving job that he remembered quite well though.

He had gone to the Cleaners' Quarters and unlocked the cabinets, the ones above the sink. At thirteen years old, Stoll was a short boy and needed a stool to climb onto the counter. The surface was cold and smooth as if to wake Stoll up. He remembered how Sam teased him about being the shortest thirteen-year-old, but later, he would be one of the tallest students at fourteen.

His knees were shaky as he grabbed Mrs. Black's ring. She wore on her middle finger, so she could tastefully flip off Mr. O'Donnell, so he assumed it wasn't a wedding ring. This is wrong, he thought the whole time. He grasped the ring in his hand, wondering how much it was worth. It was a silver band with a studded diamond, it was beautiful.

Suddenly, his trembling knees gave away and he fell off the counter, crashing onto the floor. Luckily and not so luckily, Mrs. Black was already coming back from a shift and heard the noise."Stoll!" Mrs. Black swung the door wide open, abandoning her cleaning cart, and running over to the boy.

Stoll was crying, not because of the fall, but because of the guilt that ate him away so quickly. The stubby woman saw the empty cabinet, her ring in Stoll's hands, and his remorseful tears. It didn't take much to piece it together. "You stole my ring."

"I-I'm so sorry, Mrs. Black!" He sobbed even harder.

"Stand up, you fool." Her voice was shaking as Stoll got up from the floor. She raised her hand and slapped him. The mere force of the hit sent him tumbling back onto the floor. I deserved that slap, he thought as the sting burned. She yanked him back up after, wrestling him into a hug. "My boy, do you know the story b-behind this ring? It is not a wedding ring."

"N-No," Stoll sniffled.

"I had a foster son once, his name is Oliver. I loved Oliver a lot, he was a good boy. He was my boy. But then his saukerl of a father took him back from a few anger management classes," Mrs. Black cursed in German, her grip tightening on Stoll. He didn't realize that the old woman had a foster son once. He also knew that saukerl meant bastard in German since she said that word to Mr. O'Donnell so often. "That saukerl killed Ollie, the cops arrived at his doorstep and that damned idiot lost his own son. Ollie was gone."

Stoll's eyes widened. "O-Oliver died?"

"My only son died." Mrs. Black's voice dripped with agony. "I had this ring engraved with his name." She released the thief and flipped over the ring in Stoll's palm, showing the name Oliver 'Ollie' La Jeune. She looked Stoll square in the eye, they were both crying by the time she spoke again. "Promise me you will never steal again, my boy."

Stoll thought about it. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Black, but I can't lie to you." When Mrs. Black slipped back on the ring and nodded silently, without question. Stoll ran back to the Finnegan House in tears, fleeing in despair.

That was one of the heists that Stoll would remember forever. Professor Asher and Professor Yarwood escorted him into Headmaster Roux's office. He passed by Helen Okotie-Eboh the office secretary, who gave him a comforting smile before the door slammed. Great, Stoll would meet his fate.

"Roux," Yarwood called and the headmaster spun around in his chair. He looked slightly amused to see Stoll again. Stoll was shoved in a chair and sweat trickled down his forehead. God, why did I have to steal that stupid pin? It probably wasn't worth a lot of cash either. I'll get kicked out of the academy as a whole.

Sam. He shuddered, Sam would be utterly furious.

"Mr. Finnegan." Headmaster Roux seemed to remember their last conversation well—Stoll stormed out after insulting him on the audio recording. "This doesn't shock me."

"This student tried to steal my pin, it was made out of gold, young man," Professor Yarwood huffed. Ah, so it was worth some cash, Stoll thought. "Roux, you have to expel this kid. At least suspend him!"

"Calm down," Roux assured him. "You two may leave and go back to your respective classrooms." Yarwood and Asher looked angry but did so without question. No one questioned Headmaster Roux's authority, Orchid once said something about how it was his Achilles' Heel. Roux looked at Stoll, smiling. It made him feel more uncertain about his fate.

"So you've been stealing, huh, thief?"

"Please, don't call me a thief."

"But you are a thief, Mr. Finnegan." Stoll knew that Headmaster Roux was enjoying this far too much now. A thief's karma, his mind retorted. Maybe Stoll did deserve it. "What shall I do with you? Shall I let Sam know?"

He paled. "No! Don't tell Sam!"

"Why not?"

"He'll be mad," Stoll fibbed, he was too good at lying now, though his lie was partly true. He didn't know what punishment Roux would give him since he lived on Silverleaf's campus, literally in the Finnegan House. Banning him from the school would be a curse and blessing. "Please, don't."

"You should realize that stealing is a serious crime."

"I know."

"Then why did you do it?"

"Because it's all shiny and everything, I couldn't resist looking at it," he lied yet again. Stoll was a natural liar, but it always made him feel like his chest was tightening and compressing. "I never get shiny things, Headmaster Roux. I-I guess I wanted to see what it looked like. What it felt like. And considering the history of my family, I think you know why."

He knew he hit a soft spot once Roux softened. But it confused Stoll, Roux looked more afraid than pitiful. What had he said? And considering the history of my family, I think you know why.

Roux forced a smile. "I understand that. If you write a lengthy and decent apology letter to Professor Yarwood, I will lighten your punishment. You will join cooking duty and wash all the dishes starting from 4:00 AM to 5:00 AM for a week."

That's merciful, he thought as Stoll nodded rapidly. "Yes, yes, thank you, headmaster! I'll get started with that letter right away!" Headmaster Roux finally sent him off. As he headed out of the door, smiling at the secretary, Helen, but then something itched his brain—why didn't Roux give Stoll a heavier punishment? He stepped outside, in the hall, but didn't leave.

"Why was he so nice suddenly..." He heard Helen speak to Headmaster Roux.

"Sir, I have some bad news." Helen's voice was trembling.

"Yes?" Roux snapped. Stoll pressed his ear to the closed door, trying to hear what was happening.

"The school f-funds are missing again, this time, it's ten thousand—"

"Ten thousand dollars?" Roux roared. He doesn't sound very happy, Stoll thought. There was a sudden train of curse words followed by Helen's squeaks of fear. "How the hell does someone steal that amount from our accounts again—"

Again?

"Please, sir, calm down," Helen soothed and there was less swearing. Stoll craned his neck to try to peek through the keyhole but to no avail. "There was a strange transfer to an unknown bank account and I already called the bank—"

"You called the bank, Helen?!" Roux sounded more enraged and anxious.

"W-Well, this is theft, is it not? Someone stole the academy's money and with this hell of a flood, we're barely keeping up with the bills and everything. We'll need more diverse students from scholarships if we want the school board to keep paying us."

Of course, Silverleaf Academy was only giving out scholarships to diverse students to show to the school board that they were growing as a school system. It's always the diversity quotas that pissed Stoll off.

"Jesus Christ," Headmaster Roux groaned. "Is there any information about the account?"

"No. Sir, we'll need to tell the police, this is getting dangerous—"

"No! We don't need cops sniffing around this place and its history," Roux barked. What is that supposed to mean, huh? Stoll cupped his hands to hear better. "Just...Just don't let anyone else know."

There were footsteps that faded away from Helen's desk. Stoll turned away and went down the corridor. Before he could think, he saw Orchid and Saira running towards him. "Gray? Levine? Shouldn't you be in Professor Asher's class?"

"Math is a snooze-fest." Orchid rolled her eyes.

"And it's too easy for me," Saira added. "Well, Finnegan? Are you expelled from Silverleaf? Suspended?"

"Both of those aren't really possible in my situation of living on campus, and Roux just gave me a punishment for petty theft. Well, not that petty. I think everything is so stressful for Headmaster Roux that he can't think straight." When the two girls looked confused, Stoll went on. "I overheard the secretary telling the headmaster that ten thousand dollars are missing from the school funds. Apparently it's not the first time this has happened."

Saira furrowed her brows. "Wait, funds are missing? What does that mean for scholarship kids like Fareeda and me?"

"Diversity quota," Stoll replied and she scowled. "But that's not even the most damning part, guys. When the secretary suggested for the police to be involved, Roux seemed scared. He doesn't want cops sniffing around, especially because of Silverleaf Academy's history."

"Its history?" Orchid asked. "About Bill Johnston, Samuel Anders, and Maya Bells. The thing you talked about." Stoll looked away, wincing. The true history of Silverleaf always blurred the lines of glory and lies.

Saira cleared her throat. "Okay, let's not get ahead of ourselves. We need to find a secure place to explain, we're quite literally only a few feet outside the headmaster's office. To the girls' washroom, we go."

The Originals walked warily, but everyone was in their classes, so they secretly slipped inside the washroom. It was empty, although there was smudged lipstick on the mirror, spelling out a less-than-polite word.

"These female students are savages," Stoll muttered.

Saira spun around hands on her hips, her blond-pink hair in a tight high ponytail. "What do we know? Well, we know that someone has been stealing school funds online, large chunks of money, and Headmaster Roux isn't willing to investigate with police officials due to Silverleaf's sketchy history."

"Who would steal from the school?" Stoll asked and then he felt the girls' gazes on him. "I didn't do it if you're thinking that," he protested before going pale. They don't think it's me. "You th-think it's Sam."

"It checks out." Orchid's voice was soft, but stern and insistent.

Then Stoll turned as white as a ghost. "My laptop, oh my god, my laptop. I programmed and rewired it for hacking and specifically to get into other people's private information for the Shades of Gray exposés." He was starting to pace around the washroom in a panic.

"That also means bank accounts," Saira gasped. "Oh crap—"

"It fits, you're right, Orchid, it checks out!" Stoll was on the verge of hysteria. Sam stole from the academy, he grasped the concept loosely. This isn't just petty or not-so-petty theft, this is huge. How could Sam do this without even consulting him? "We live in the same house and he comes into my bedroom all the time for God's sake, he has access to my laptop! And he was the one who taught me to code and program. This is bad, really bad."

"Why would Sam want to do this?" Saira asked. Sam swallowed hard—he had told them his, or more likely, Sam's secret, but didn't go into full length.

"I..." He was also at a loss for words. He knew his brother was the type to be greedy, maybe a bit selfish too, but never this length. Why would Sam do this? "I don't know, but other than the money, there may be another reason."

"This is all speculation," Orchid spoke up. "Sam could be innocent." Stoll would bet his life that Sam wasn't. God, he was such a hypocrite, he got angry when Orchid and Saira suggested Sam was involved, but he was just as quick to judge.

Saira snorted. "Like what? The cash is looking pretty tempting."

"Remember how I mentioned Roux doesn't want cops looking into Silverleaf's background and history?"

"Yeah, you and Professor Xing made a whole show about it in Yarwood's class." Orchid still referred Madeleine to Professor Xing, and Stoll wasn't quite sure why.

"It's about time I give you a bit of a history lesson of my own."

"Stoll." Sam's voice was stern and strict. Their father had just left a week ago, a man named Mr. O'Donnell and a woman named Mrs. Black often dropped off food at the doorstep. A young Stoll came over, quivering.

"Yeah?"

"Sit down."

"Okay." Stoll sat on the armchair opposed to his brother, staring at him square in the eye. He felt uncomfortable, but couldn't quite avert his eyes from Sam's gaze. "What's up?"

"Do you know the history of Silverleaf?"

"Yeah, Bill Johnston was a gothic literature novelist who founded this whole academy. He's known as a hero in the school," he said, flinching when Stoll shook his head disappointedly.

"Wrong, wrong, wrong."

"I-I don't know all the d-details," he stammered, feeling embarrassed. Every time Stoll spoke, it felt like Sam was just waiting for a snarky comeback. He often felt like a stupid, foolish boy.

Sam kicked up his feet on the coffee table, crossing his arms across his chest. "Let me tell you a real history lesson, baby brother." He closed his eyes. "It was the early 1990s, and Bill Johnston was buck-broke. He didn't have anything.

"Good ol' Bill was friends with Samuel Anders, who also had a lady friend named Maya Bell. Now, Maya was a real beauty, that'll become important later." Sam tilted back his head. "Samuel had the idea of founding an academy; he and Maya poured their heart and life savings into Silverleaf Academy. It wasn't easy, a lotta' people didn't like the pairing—a black man and a white woman. Bill joined the ride and got a contractor who would invest in the academy's building."

"Samuel Anders and Maya Bell?" Stoll had never heard of their names. He also had never learned that there were two other Silverleaf Academy founders other than Bill Johnston. "Why does it even matter, Sam?"

Sam leaned toward them, glaring. "Because both Bill and Samuel fell in love with Maya. When it was clear that Maya would choose Samuel over Bill, he was furious and sued the two. He claimed that the academy was his idea and wanted every penny out of the already successful school."

"But that's not fair!" Stoll blurted. "It was Samuel's idea, Sam!"

"I know that, but not everyone knows, Stoll." Sam looked torn and grimaced. "It was a difficult time, so Bill won the lawsuit and got Silverleaf Academy. Samuel and Maya married, but they were poor. Eventually, one of their children would find their way back to the school and change the rest of the Finnegan family history.

Finnegan history? Stoll thought, puzzled. "You s-surely don't mean—"

"Stoll Anders needed a job and became a groundskeeper for Silverleaf. Then he learned the history from his mother, Maya, but he was already engaged and had a steady job income, but he didn't want to tick off Bill Johnston. So he changed his last name to his soon-to-be wife's—Finnegan. Stoll and Violet Finnegan had kids in the Finnegan House, and so were their descendants. They were never educated about their Anders history until Mom told me."

Mom. The word was foreign to Stoll, he never knew his mother, he specifically was the reason for her death; childbirth. He knew that Sam, depending on his mood, would resent Stoll for taking Mom's life away.

Stoll looked at his hands in his lap. "Then w-why did we stay?"

"We have nowhere else to go, Finnegans—or the Anders family—are ingrained into the roots of Silverleaf Academy, Stoll. We're here to stay whether we like it or not." Sam grinned ear to ear.

"Why are you grinning?" Stoll was afraid to hear his reply.

"Because we'll take back what's ours, my boy. One day."

┉┈◈◉◈┈┉

Orchid and Saira looked mortified once Stoll was finished with his story. "Wait...That means you're the descendant of this whole place," Saira gasped, pacing around the washroom. She was flinging her hands, eyes wide. "You could make a buttload of money from this!"

"And considering how we Finnegans aren't the richest, it's a wonder how Sam didn't think about this before." Stoll didn't like the words on his tongue. He was confirming that his older brother had stolen the funds.

"That solves the mystery of how the cash was stolen and why Roux doesn't want cops sniffing around. He'll be in real trouble if he has to hand the Silverleaf estate over," Orchid agreed. "But like I said, it's all speculation. Where's our proof?"

"I'll confront Sam," Stoll muttered.

"Are we sure that's the safest option?" Saira asked worriedly.

He groaned. "I thought we crossed my brother's name off the suspect list, Sam is a thief and he may have encouraged me to also steal, but he isn't a murderer." He couldn't imagine his brother committing homicide.

"But bank fraud is also unlawful," Orchid pointed out. Sam leaned against the sink counter, thinking. If I go to the cops, they'll arrest Sam. He didn't want Sam in jail, that was a horrible thought. But then he'll continue to steal funds. "So? What's our verdict?"

"Give me a second, Flower," Stoll sighed. After a few minutes of debating, he said, "I'll tell him to stop, he won't hurt me." With that, they fell into uncomfortable silence. Stoll hated this, he wished things could go back to the way they were. "What about Shades of Gray exposés? I miss those, I know they're on hold, but they give me a thrill, Gray."

"Same," Saira admitted.

Orchid crossed her arms, sighing loudly. "I don't know, this week has been a mess. I don't feel safe enough to return to writing exposés when I've received a threat, and we still don't know who Professor Green's and Scarlett Mako's killers are!"

Stoll went pale, widening his eyes. "Wait...You've been receiving threats? Who the hell sent them?" When Orchid and Saira exchanged glances, his temper only flared. Is she in danger? "Levine, you knew and did nothing? Gray, you're on thin ice if someone is threatening you."

"I know," she mumbled.

"I'll find them, I'll track them. I'll—" Stoll was about to say 'kill' but realized it probably wasn't an appropriate word. "I'll deal with them for you, Gray." It was his job to make sure that Orchid was safe, wasn't it? He kept Sam safe, even if his brother didn't realize it, and Stoll always wanted to be some sort of heroic protector when he was a child.

"Isn't that swee-e-e-e-t?" Saira said in a singing tone.

"Shut up," both Orchid and Stoll scoffed. Saira was about to swear but was interrupted by a notification on her phone. She checked it with eyes full of concern, excusing herself as she ran outside.

"What was that about?" Stoll asked, hoping it wasn't something serious. He knew a bit of Saira's and her mother's situation, it wasn't pleasant. Orchid shrugged, leaning against the sink's counter with him.

"I know you miss the Shades of Gray project," she said softly. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what?"

"For changing everything, nothing's the same again." Stoll saw that Orchid was close to tears. She cleared her throat, dabbing the corners of her eyes discreetly with her sleeves. Stoll wanted to tell her that she could cry in front of her, but Saira burst into the girls' washroom again.

He noticed her distress. "Levine?"

"It's my mama," she cried out and Orchid and Stoll became alarmed. Saira gasped for air rapidly, looking horrified. "Gray, I need cash right now, I'll pay you back, but I need money right now." She wrought her hands frantically, her eyes already red.

"I got some quick cash back in my dorm," she replied and the Originals started to file out of the washroom. They took to the stairwell, heading to the Girls' Dorms. Stoll could hear the panic in Saira's voice as she hurriedly explained.

"She just got laid off and she doesn't have enough cash to pay her monthly rent, it's due tomorrow. Mama's pressing for an extension, but her landlord is a pain in the ass," Saira sniffled and Stoll could see tears in her eyes. They arrived at Orchid's dorm door and the girl scrambled to open it with her key.

"It'll be fine, Levine," Stoll reassured her. "Don't stress about it." Orchid swung the door wide open and they scurried inside. Stoll slammed the door and locked it as Orchid ran inside her closet. Saira sat on the bed opposed to Orchid's, which belonged to Bailey Preston, Stoll believed.

Saira huddled on the bed, hugging her knees. "Mama is jobless, what are we going to do? We have no family to help out and our emergency funds won't last in the long run," she sobbed.

Stoll walked up to Saira, sitting next to her. "We'll find a way, maybe some of the money earned from Shades of Gray will help," he suggested, but they both knew the answer—the money was also short-term and wouldn't last long.

"I got it!" Orchid shouted, coming back with a mini safe. She punched in the code and inside the safe was a few hundred bucks. Saira gasped and Stoll stared intently. Who knew that Gray was loaded? "Take it, Saira."

Saira stood up. "Where did you get the cash from?"

"It's the main reason why I got enrolled into Silverleaf Academy, my parents aren't super rich, but my grandparents were. They had some disagreement with my dad's choice of marriage, so they cut my parents off their will, but I inherited a quarter of their wealth. This is only a little bit of money I have," Orchid explained, thrusting the safe into Saira's hands. "I keep some in a safe just in case."

She looked dumbfounded. "I get to use all of it?"

Orchid resisted but nodded slowly. Stoll knew how Orchid felt—they still didn't know each other very well. This was a leap of faith and Stoll applauded Orchid for taking it. "For your mama? Of course, Levine."

Saira started to cry while tucking the cash into her pockets. Stoll had never seen Saira's ugly cry, it was sort of a mix of human and whale sounds. "T-Thank you," Saira blubbered, her eyes red. She turned away to recover, the tears ebbing away.

Stoll stood up in relief as the two girls embraced in a hug. It looked stuffy and pretty awkward, so Orchid was the first to pull away. "I suppose you want a hug too, Finnegan?" Saira laughed, wiping away her tears.

"A handshake will do," Stoll said, holding out his hand. They shook hands and nodded professionally. Suddenly, the dorm rattled and they jumped back, spooked. "Who the hell is that?"

Stoll's eyes narrowed. "What the fuc—"

Before the others could respond, the door shook open. Bailey Preston opened it in tears, the dorm key grasped in her bloody hands. Her pale skin was freckled by vibrant red blotches of blood, her blond hair looked like a bird's nest.

"B-Bailey?" Orchid gasped. Bailey sobbed, stumbling forward, she dropped the dorm key and gripped Orchid's hand. Upon further inspection, Stoll was horrified to see her blouse was drenched in sticky blood. "Oh my god—"

"It's Robert, i-it's Rob," she gasped for air in between sobs. "He's d-dead."