𝙎𝙪𝙨𝙥𝙞𝙘𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙎𝙚𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙩𝙨

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏

The halls of Bellrose Academy had never felt so quiet. Giran noticed it the moment he stepped through the front entrance. The usual hum of conversation, the laughter, the gossip—all of it seemed muffled. Whispers floated from one end of the hall to the other, hushed and wary, like a secret too dangerous to share.

At his locker, Giran glanced over at his best friend, Dini, who stood nearby, scrolling through his phone with a furrowed brow. Jay, Dini’s boyfriend, was leaning against the wall, looking equally tense. Even Wen, Giran’s close friend who usually brought a bright energy, was unusually quiet.

“Hey,” Giran said, nudging Dini. “What’s with everyone today? Did I miss something?”

Dini looked up, locking his phone. His expression was serious. “It’s all over the school group chats. There’s… been another disappearance. And they found the body this morning. Behind the mountain.”

Giran’s stomach dropped. It wasn’t the first time he’d heard this kind of news at Bellrose, but each time, it seemed to hit harder. “Do they know who it was?”

Dini nodded, his voice barely a whisper. “It was Kanya from Year 12. She went missing two days ago.”

Jay spoke up, arms crossed. “People are saying she was seen talking to someone right before she disappeared. No one’s saying who, but…” He glanced down the hall. “There’s already rumors it might be that new guy.”

Giran followed Jay’s gaze and spotted him: Filan, the new transfer student who’d only joined Bellrose a few weeks back. He was standing alone near the window, gazing out at the mountain with a calm, almost eerie look.

“Filan?” Giran asked, voice skeptical. “Why would he be involved? He just got here.”

“That’s what makes it strange,” Dini murmured. “Things have been… different since he arrived. People say he’s quiet, keeps to himself. Doesn’t really talk to anyone except that one friend of his, Shin. But there’s just something about him…”

Wen, who had been listening quietly, added, “Maybe he’s just misunderstood. It can’t be easy to be the new guy, especially here.”

“Maybe,” Giran replied, though he couldn’t shake the feeling of curiosity—and a hint of suspicion. Something about Filan didn’t quite sit right. And from the look on Dini’s face, he knew he wasn’t the only one feeling it.

As they walked down the hallway, Giran tried to push the thoughts of Filan away, but it was impossible. His gaze drifted back to the figure standing by the window, silent and watching, with an unreadable expression. Giran felt something strange stir inside him, a mixture of intrigue and caution.

Who was Filan, really? And why did his arrival feel like the start of something none of them could escape?

As Giran and his friends walked toward their next class, the uneasy silence in the hall weighed heavily on them. The rumor mill was relentless, and every whisper seemed to point in one direction—Filan.

“Do you think he knows we’re watching him?” Jay muttered as they rounded a corner, glancing over his shoulder to see if Filan was still standing by the window.

“He probably does,” Dini replied with a sigh. “At this point, everyone’s staring at him. Can you imagine being in his shoes? Joining a new school and instantly becoming the prime suspect in everyone’s eyes?”

Giran frowned, the image of Filan’s expressionless face lingering in his mind. It wasn’t exactly fear he felt—more like a strange pull. Something about Filan seemed to defy explanation, as if he were both a shadow and a spotlight at once, drawing attention without even trying.