Team

HUXLEE

Monday, 12:15 PM

A whole weekend passes, yet the admin never sends another message to the group chat after publicly exposing their latest victim. The silence should feel comforting, but it only makes everything worse. It hangs over the campus like a storm waiting to break, leaving everyone restless and suspicious. No one knows when the next notification will appear or whose secret will be dragged into the light next.

I stare blankly at my phone, letting my untouched lunch grow cold in front of me. The cafeteria buzzes with conversations and clattering utensils, but the noise barely reaches me. My appetite has completely disappeared, and I know it isn't coming back until we uncover who the admin really is—and whether they're actually working alone. Someone has to be feeding them information. There's no way one person can know every student's deepest secret.

"Huxlee, are you okay?" Cyprus's voice pulls me out of my thoughts.

I lift my head and find him watching me from across the table, concern written all over his face. And yes, he's eating lunch with us again. Honestly, I don't understand this guy. If I were in his position, I would've been too embarrassed to keep sitting with people who have made it painfully obvious they don't want me around.

"Yeah," I answer quietly.

I lock my phone and place it face down on the table before finally picking up my spoon.

"I'm almost finished eating, and you're only starting now?" Ciela asks, eyeing my untouched food.

A small, tired smile forms on my lips. "It's just..." I sigh. "I haven't really had an appetite. And the admin hasn't messaged anything this weekend."

Ciela rolls her eyes before pointing her spoon at me. "You look like someone who's been ghosted by their lover." She lets out a small laugh. "Stop overthinking it and eat. Trust me, the admin will send another message sooner or later."

Somehow, that isn't reassuring.

"Okay," I mumble anyway.

I scoop a spoonful of rice into my mouth, forcing myself to eat.

"Ehem."

The sound of someone clearing their throat makes me pause mid-bite. I turn around and immediately freeze. Standing behind me are Signy and Cleovon, each holding a lunch tray. For a brief moment, my eyes flick between the two of them.

They are together.

Have they already made up? Are they... together again? Did Cleovon forgive her that easily?

Questions flood my mind one after another as I stare at them for a few seconds. They both look awkward, exchanging brief glances before looking back at us.

Eventually, I lower my gaze to my food just as Signy finally speaks.

"I heard you guys are trying to find the admin." Her voice is calmer than usual, lacking the confidence she normally carries.

"We..." Cleovon hesitates for a second before continuing. "...want to join you."

The moment I hear his voice, a dull ache spreads across my chest. I frown at my tray and I grip my spoon a little tighter.

Maybe the food has gone bad. But that doesn't make sense. Ciela ordered the exact same meal, and she's eating just fine.

"So?" Ciela says, raising one eyebrow. "Why exactly should we let you join us?"

"Can we sit down first?" Cleovon asks.

Without waiting for an answer, he carefully sets his tray on the table and takes the empty seat beside me. Signy quietly follows, sitting beside him.

The table suddenly feels much smaller.

Across from us, Cyprus watches the two of them with unreadable eyes while Ciela folds her arms across her chest, clearly unconvinced by their sudden appearance.

"For starters, you all know that the admin has humiliated us too by exposing our secrets," Cyprus says, leaning back in his chair as his gaze travels around the table. His voice is calm, but there is enough frustration beneath it to make everyone pay attention. "We're not here to make excuses for what happened. We want to get even. We want to find out who the admin really is... and why they're doing all of this."

Ciela raises an eyebrow and studies him for a long moment. Her expression doesn't soften in the slightest. "I'm still not convinced," she says flatly. "Are you?"

Cyprus lets out a dry chuckle before shaking his head. "Nah. Not even a little."

I blink.

Okay... when did these two become comfortable enough to joke around with each other?

Just last week, they couldn't go five minutes without arguing. Every conversation ended with them throwing sarcastic remarks at each other, yet now they're talking almost normally. It feels like I missed an entire chapter of everyone's lives.

Silence settles over the table until Signy quietly clears her throat. "I'm sorry," she says, staring down at the untouched food on her tray instead of meeting anyone's eyes. Her fingers nervously play with the edge of her napkin. "I know what I did to your friend is unforgivable, Ciela... but I really am sorry." She slowly lifts her head and looks at me. "And... I'm sorry too, Huxlee."

I immediately look away without saying a word.

The apology doesn't erase what happened. She humiliated me in front of countless people. She laughed while everyone else watched me fall apart. How is she any different from the admin? If her own secret hadn't been exposed, would she even be sitting here apologizing? I doubt it. She'd probably still be walking through the hallways with that same arrogant smile, acting like she was untouchable.

"Don't try to earn sympathy from her," Ciela says before I can respond. Her voice is cold enough to freeze the room. "I'm the one you should be talking to.”

Signy lowers her head again without arguing.

Cyprus glances between the three of us before shifting his attention to Cleovon. "So..." he says slowly. "How exactly did you guys make up?"

"We decided it was better to forgive each other and move on," Cleovon answers with a small smile. "Holding onto all that negativity wasn't helping anyone."

Ciela narrows her eyes at him. "That's funny coming from someone who disappeared without a word." Her expression hardens. "You really have the nerve to show your face again after ghosting us."

A guilty smile appears on Cleovon's face. "Sorry. I just wanted to fix our relationship first before coming back. But I'm here now." He gestures toward Signy with a hopeful grin. "And I even recruited another person. We're a team, aren't we?"

The grip around my spoon tightens until my knuckles turn white. My appetite disappears completely.

"When did we become a team?" I mutter under my breath.

"Huh?" Cleovon asks, confused.

I slowly raise my head and meet his eyes. "You're not part of our team anymore." My voice comes out quieter than I expect, but every word carries its own weight. "The moment you left every single one of our messages on read... that was the moment you stopped being part of this.”

His smile fades. "I just needed to settle something important first," he says. "I didn't want to carry all that baggage around. I didn't want to come to school feeling miserable.”

"Aren't you ashamed?" she asks, her voice sharp. “Everyone in this school has seen the two of you walking around together like nothing ever happened."

Cleovon doesn't even hesitate. "That's exactly what we wanted," he replies firmly. "We agreed that we'd stop hiding."

Signy lowers her head for a moment before gathering the courage to speak. "I know what I did was shameless. I..." Her voice trembles as guilt flashes across her face.

"At least you know you're shameless." Ciela interrupts her without the slightest hint of sympathy.

Signy bites her lip and looks down at the floor, choosing not to defend herself. Cleovon's expression hardens immediately.

"Can you stop attacking her for one second?" he says. "She already knows she messed up."

"And?" Ciela fires back. "Knowing doesn't erase what she did."

"It doesn't," Cleovon admits. "But people can realize their mistakes."

Cleovon takes a slow breath before speaking again, his voice calmer this time. "We're serious now, okay?" He glances at Signy before looking back at us. "She realized that she truly loves me. She finally appreciates everything I did for her... everything we had before."

Ciela rolls her eyes. “Oh, c’mon. I don't really care about you guys. I care about what she did to Huxlee.”

Signy's fingers tighten around the sleeves of her uniform. "I know saying sorry isn't enough," she says softly. "I can't undo everything that happened, and I don't expect any of you to forgive me overnight. But I really am sorry."

No one answers.

"We're not your enemies." His gaze moves from Ciela to me, then to Cyprus. "The real enemy is the Admin. That's who ruined everything. We only came here because we want to help find whoever's behind all of this." He pauses for a second. "We want to team up with you guys. That's all."

Cyprus finally breaks his silence with a skeptical look. "And why should we trust you?" he asks coldly.

Cleovon doesn't look offended. "You shouldn't," he answers honestly. "Not yet. You don't have to trust us immediately. We'll earn it."

Signy nods in agreement.

Ciela studies both of them for several long seconds. Her eyes narrow as if she's searching for even the smallest sign that they're lying.

Finally, she exhales through her nose. "I'm only saying this once," she says firmly. "If the two of you start dragging your relationship drama into this, or if you ruin our plans because you can't get your emotions under control… I'll knock both of you out myself."

Cleovon gives a small nod. "Fair enough."

A brief silence settles over the group before Cleovon cautiously asks, "So... does that mean we're a team now?”

I look at each of them one by one.

Ciela lets out a quiet sigh before giving a small nod, though she still doesn't look completely convinced. Cyprus doesn't say a word. He just keeps his eyes on me, like waiting for my reaction. Across from us, Signy smiles faintly, looking relieved. Cleovon notices and reaches for her hand, gently holding it as if to reassure her that everything will be okay.

A team, huh?

I let out a bitter laugh. "Bullshit."

Without waiting for anyone to respond, I grab my phone from the table so abruptly that the utensils rattle against my tray. Before anyone can stop me, I push my chair back and walk away. I can hear Ciela calling my name behind me, but I don't stop. I don't even look back.

Damn it.

Why does hearing that they made up make my blood boil this much? Why does it feel like something inside my chest is twisting? ...And why are my eyes starting to sting?

I bite the inside of my cheek and head straight for the nearest comfort room. The cold silence immediately replaces the noisy chatter from the cafeteria.

I walk straight to the sink, turn on the faucet, and splash handfuls of cold water across my face. Tiny droplets drip from my chin into the porcelain basin as I grip the edge of the sink and take several slow breaths.

Calm down. Just calm down.

After a few moments, my breathing finally steadies. I pull a tissue from the dispenser and gently pat my face dry before lifting my head toward the mirror.

The fluorescent lights above make me look even more exhausted than I feel. Dark circles linger beneath my eyes. My hair is slightly messy. My expression looks... pathetic.

I stare at my own reflection for several long seconds.

I'm... not that ugly, right?

Ting!

The sudden notification slices through the silence, making me flinch so hard my heart nearly jumps out of my chest.

I quickly pull my phone from my pocket. The moment I unlock the screen, my stomach twists into a knot.

It's a message from the admin.