𝑺𝐂𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐌 . . . original character

017. 𝑺trings attached

[ chapter 17 ]

the next day, the group split up as planned, each of them watching their backs, wary of the eyes that seemed to be on them from every corner. clara and noah stayed close as they dug through files on the usb, hoping to find something useful hidden within the folders. meanwhile, bridget and lottie scoured the halls, whispering as they passed classrooms, looking for anything—or anyone—out of place. carlos and kai lingered in the courtyard, pretending to review notes but keeping an eye out for anyone acting suspiciously.

after hours of scrolling, clara finally came across something odd on the usb: a hidden folder labeled "connections." opening it, she found documents, emails, and surveillance photos of the group spanning months before the murders even began. her heart raced as she clicked through each file, realizing that someone had been watching them for far longer than they'd thought.

"noah, look at this," she whispered, barely able to keep her voice steady. "this isn't just recent surveillance...this goes back almost a year. ghostface has been keeping tabs on us for a long time."

noah leaned over her shoulder, his eyes narrowing. "and it's not just us—there are pictures of teachers, too. look—mr. ford is in here. and selena's been in his classroom a lot more than she fucking told us."

clara's stomach dropped. selena had always been a bit of a mystery, but this was something else. she'd seen selena as her closest friend, but now doubts started creeping in, mixing with the nagging suspicions she'd tried to ignore.

just as they exchanged a troubled look, clara's phone buzzed. she glanced at it and saw a message from lottie: *meet us in the courtyard. we found something...weird.*

clara and noah rushed outside to find lottie, bridget, carlos, and kai huddled together, looking grim. in carlos's hand was a crumpled piece of paper, as if it had been slipped into one of their lockers. he handed it to clara.

scrawled in messy handwriting were the words: *someone among you is hiding a big secret. only a matter of time before it comes out.*

clara's eyes widened as she looked up at the others. "you think this is from the killer?"

kai shrugged. "who else could it be? and what secret?"

everyone shifted uncomfortably, clearly wondering who might be hiding something.

carlos broke the silence, his voice tense. "look, we all have things we don't talk about. but if someone's got something going on that could help us, now's the time to say it. no more secrets."

they glanced at each other, each face clouded with hesitance. then, finally, bridget spoke up, her voice low. "i think... we need to address the fact that selena has been acting strange lately. and not just strange. the messages, the hints—some of them have been things only selena could know. the rumors about clara... it all points back to her."