HUXLEE
05:00 PM
CRIING!
As soon as the bell rings, I quickly gather my things and sling my bag over my shoulder. The moment I glance toward the doorway, I nearly stop in my tracks. Cyprus stands by the entrance with that same annoyingly cheerful expression on his face, and for a second, it feels like I’m reliving the exact same moment from earlier.
Are we really going to include this guy? Why didn’t Ciela get rid of him earlier? Just looking at his face is already irritating enough.
“Hi!” he says brightly, lifting a hand in greeting as if we’re actually friends.
I ignore him completely and walk straight past him without saying a single word, pretending I neither saw nor heard him.
Unfortunately, that doesn’t stop him from following me.
I can hear his footsteps trailing behind me the entire way through the crowded hallway until we finally reach Ciela’s classroom, where Cleovon is already waiting outside. His expression is tense, and he keeps glancing around impatiently like he’s afraid we’re running out of time.
“Hurry!” Ciela says the second she steps out of her classroom.
Without wasting another second, she starts running down the hallway, and the rest of us immediately follow after her.
The sound of our footsteps echoes against the floor as we rush through the corridor filled with students. We need to find Catherine before she leaves her classroom. If she disappears somewhere in the school, tracking her down afterward will be a nightmare.
“What does she even look like?” I ask between breaths while running beside them.
Cleovon never showed us her face before. How are we supposed to recognize her in the middle of hundreds of students?
“That’s her!” Cleovon suddenly yells.
His voice is loud enough to make several students in the hallway stop and stare at us in confusion.
He points toward a girl with short hair standing near the classroom door with her friends. She already looks like she’s about to leave.
Ciela immediately rushes toward her and grabs her arm before she can walk away. I’m the last one to reach them, trying to catch my breath from all the running.
Beside me, Cyprus quietly offers a handkerchief.
I stare at the cloth for a moment before slowly looking up at him with a raised eyebrow.
“You’re sweating,” he says casually.
Without replying, I shove his hand away along with the handkerchief and turn my attention back to Catherine.
She looks startled. So do the friends standing beside her. Her eyes move from one person to another, clearly confused, before finally stopping on Ciela.
“Why? What do you need from me?” Catherine asks nervously.
Her voice is soft and low, almost gentle. Looking at her now, no one would ever suspect she could be the evil admin behind that group chat. She looks too innocent for it.
“You’re Catherine May Yeager, right?” Cleovon asks while trying to steady his breathing.
The girl slowly nods. “Yeah… why?”
Ciela lets out a scoff. “Come with us.”
Without waiting for an answer, she pulls Catherine back inside the classroom.
“Don’t wait for her,” Cyprus tells Catherine’s friends before they can follow.
The girls exchange uncertain glances with each other before eventually walking away.
The classroom is already empty by the time we enter. The noisy atmosphere from earlier is gone, replaced by an uncomfortable silence that suddenly makes the room feel smaller.
Only the five of us remain inside; Ciela, Cleovon, Me, Catherine, and Cyprus, standing near the door as the lookout.
“What do you need from me?” Catherine asks again, this time pulling her arm away from Ciela’s grip.
“Shouldn’t Huxlee be the one asking you that?” Ciela snaps, her jaw tightening. “What exactly do you want from her?”
Catherine looks at me in confusion. “What do you mean? I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Then she turns back to Ciela.
“If you don’t want to get locked up in here, then just confess already,” Cleovon says coldly.
“Confess to what?” Catherine fires back defensively. “I’m not the girl in the photo with the professor.”
“We’re not talking about that,” I say sharply.
Before she can react, I snatch her bag from her shoulder and pull out one of her notebooks. I immediately flip through the pages, staring at the handwriting written across them.
Cleovon hands me the love letter he received before, and I carefully compare the handwriting from the letter to the writing inside Catherine’s notebook.
My lips slowly part in shock.
They’re exactly the same.
The realization sends a sudden wave of anger crashing through me so fast that I barely even think before moving.
A sharp sound suddenly echoes across the classroom. My hand stings the moment it lands against Catherine’s cheek.
Ciela gasps and immediately covers her mouth in shock, even I freeze in place because this is the first time I’ve ever slapped someone.
“I…” My voice comes out shaky. “I’m not sorry.”
I immediately step back, my chest rising and falling heavily.
Catherine slowly turns her head toward me. Her eyes burn with anger, but I can also see the tears forming in them. She’s trying her hardest not to let them fall.
Ciela crosses her arms tightly over her chest, her sharp gaze fixed on Catherine.
“Now, confess,” Ciela says firmly, her voice cold and unwavering. “If you confess right now, right here, we won’t expose you anymore. And you’re going to tell everyone in that group chat that the video of Von and Huxlee was made using AI.”
Catherine lets out a short, bitter scoff, though her expression already looks shaken. “How can I admit to something I didn’t even do?”
“Oh, come on!” Ciela suddenly snaps, her patience finally running out. “This isn’t the time to play innocent!”
“I’m not the admin!” Catherine says desperately, her voice cracking slightly as she looks around at everyone staring at her. “Why would I want to ruin someone else’s reputation?”
“Then explain this.” Cleo raises the folded paper in his hand before opening it in front of Catherine. “Why is your handwriting exactly the same as the handwriting in this love letter?”
The moment Catherine sees the letter, the color slowly drains from her face. Her eyes widen, trembling as they remain fixed on the paper. For a few long seconds, she says nothing. Then she slowly lifts her gaze toward Ciela, her eyes already glossy with tears threatening to fall.
Ciela raises an eyebrow, unimpressed by her silence. “What?” she says sharply. “I already told you this isn’t the time to act innocent anymore because we already found you out.”
Catherine’s lips part slightly. Her fingers curl tightly at her sides as if she’s struggling to force the words out.
“I’m…”
“Hey, students!” a security guard suddenly calls out from the classroom doorway before Catherine can finish speaking. His voice echoes through the nearly empty hallway, making everyone turn toward him. “Why are you all still here? Go home already!”
“We’ll continue this tomorrow,” Ciela says coldly before turning her back on Catherine. Without waiting for a response, she grabs my hand tightly and pulls me away with her.
We are already at the gate when Ciela suddenly stops walking and turns sharply to Cyprus, who is still casually trailing behind us with his hands inside his pockets.
“Why are you following us?” Ciela asks, narrowing her eyes at him.
Cyprus quickly shakes his head and lets out an innocent whistle. “I’m not following you,” he says, pretending to look around.
“Bullshit. Your car is still parked inside the school, and we’re literally heading outside,” Ciela snaps at him. “And you had one job—to keep watch. So how the hell did the guard end up catching us?”
Cyprus immediately raises both of his hands in surrender, though the grin on his face never disappears. “Whoa, easy,” he says lazily. “I got worried about her, so I left my spot.” His eyes shift toward me as he says it.
Both Ciela and I instantly sour at his explanation.
“I’m warning you right now,” Ciela says coldly, stepping slightly in front of me, “if you ever do something to her, I’ll bury your head right in front of your house.”
“Scary…” Cyprus mutters dramatically, but he is still smiling like he finds the whole thing amusing.
“Uhm…” Cleo awkwardly clears his throat, clearly trying to escape the tension building between them. “I should get going now. See you guys tomorrow. Hopefully, we can finally make her confess.”
Ciela shrugs one shoulder. “Yeah, see you tomorrow. And honestly, I hope tomorrow will be the last time I have to see both of you,” she says, pointing at Cleo and Cyprus with an annoyed look on her face.
Cleo chuckles softly before turning around and walking away from us.
“I’ll take you home, Huxlee,” Cyprus suddenly offers.
Before I can even respond, Ciela immediately pulls me behind her back protectively.
“She’s coming with me,” she says firmly. “Let’s go, Huxlee.”
I cannot help but smile at her reaction as I quietly follow behind her. The night air feels cool against my skin while we walk farther away from the school gates. Ciela has always been overly protective of me, but strangely, I do not mind it at all. If anything, it makes me feel safe knowing she is always by my side.
“See you tomorrow, Huxlee!” Cyprus calls out from behind us, his voice echoing down the street.
I do not bother looking back.