Maya couldn't believe what she had just seen.
In a hundred years, she could've never predicted that the reason for the student disappearing wasn't because he got lost, kidnapped by strangers, or caught up in an accident; it was the work of none other than a teacher.
She had been investigating and searching for clues for a few days now, and although it felt like she was trying to find a needle in a haystack, once she caught the slightest whiff of the scent left behind, her nose led her to this room.
The student was tied up to a chair, their mouth taped shut, their eyes blinded by a cloth, and a bead of water was dripping on their forehead every ten seconds or so.
Drip. Drip.
Drip.
A cruel, torturous rhythm designed to make the student go insane.
The teacher responsible for the kidnapping, Mr. Alfonsi, mainly taught freshmen, and although Maya had never attended a class of his before, she knew of his name and recognized his face. He looked harmless, gave his student soft smiles in the hallway, and had a boring reputation with no rumors or scandals to gossip about.
Standing in front of the student, he lifted their chin with a gentle, tender touch.
Carefully peeling off the tape, slow enough not to hurt the student, he uttered, "I was worried that you'd have gone mad by now, but… look at you. Still sane."
The student spat out a large ball of saliva immediately, "Fuck you."
Mr. Alfonsi easily dodged the spit with a lazy tilt of the head.
"Do you really think you'll get away with this?"
"Why wouldn't I?" Mr. Alfonsi replied with an amused smug. "You're nothing more than a poor commoner. Maybe if you were a noble, I'd be more worried about being exposed, but I reckon by now, everyone's already forgotten about your disappearance. Tsk tsk tsk. Naughty boy. How could you skip class? Don't you know there's a hefty fine to pay?"
'Is that why he picked this student?' Maya wondered as she watched from the corner, her eyes narrowing.
"You're really lucky that it's me who caught you eavesdropping. If it were some of the others, they would've killed you."
'...Others?'
The student managed to grit out, "Then why haven't you killed me? Aren't you worried that if I'm freed, I'll expose your secrets?"
"Ohohohoho. I'm not an evil person. I would never take the life of my own student with my own hand."
"Does that mean you'll kill me with someone else's hands?"
"Smart boy," Mr. Alfonsi complimented him while stroking his hair with a mock affection that made Maya's stomach turn.
"Get your dirty paws off of me."
"Your sacrifice will be remembered for generations to come," Mr. Alfonsi said as he leaned in and kissed the student on the cheek. "Don't say I never spoil you. I'll leave the tape off your mouth this time."
Even after the teacher left the room, humming off into the distance, Maya remained perfectly still in the corner.
Only when she felt that enough time had passed for him to have left the vicinity entirely, she approached the student.
Pressing her hand over his mouth, he freaked out for a moment before she whispered, "Don't make a noise, Mason. I'm here to help you."
Only when he settled and calmed down, she said, "I'm going to put my hand away now. Please, please don't make any sudden noise and expose me."
Slowly, she removed her hand.
"...Who are you?" he asked hoarsely.
"I can't tell you. But trust me, I'm an ally. I swear."
He hesitated to trust her with nothing more than words, but he could tell by the texture of her voice that she was around his age.
She was likely a fellow student at the academy.
The reason she didn't expose her name was that she wasn't going to free him at this very moment. There were two guards outside the door, and she could tell that she wasn't a match for both of them.
Maybe if Mason were one of the more powerful students, she'd take the chance, but according to her research, he was just the average Joe.
"Can you untie me?" Mason asked.
"No. I wish I could, but I'm worried that it'll put both of us in danger. Don't worry. Once I leave this room, I'll return with reinforcement to get you out."
Knowing that this person was probably already putting their life on the line just by being in the room, Mason didn't push for his immediate freedom once he was refused the first time. He swallowed and nodded.
"But before I go… I need to know what happened. Everything. I need the full story if I'm going to convince others."
"...Yeah. I can do that."
Mason had already given up on being freed, to be frank. Although this stranger speaking to him had given him a new sense of hope, in case it didn't work out, he wanted to make sure that the truth could get out there.
It didn't just concern him; it concerned the entire academy.
And the image of a girl whom he had a crush on kept appearing in his mind.
As he spoke, Maya's eyes widened. The conspiracy he unraveled was massive — dangerously so.
How could all of this be happening behind the scenes without anyone discovering it until now?
"Is that—"
Before she could complete her question, she heard footsteps approaching the door, and she turned invisible faster than a blink.
The door opened, and reentering the room was Mr. Alfonsi.
Maya had been prepared to camp out in the room for hours or even days until the locked door opened for her again, but now that the teacher had made his return so soon, she took the opportunity to slip out.
"Well then." He smiled coldly. "Who were you talking to?"
Mason didn't flinch and replied with an expression of confusion, "What are you talking about?"
"You think I'm an idiot?" Mr. Alfonsi chuckled. "I heard you. Your cute little voice chatting away."
"I've had my mouth taped shut for days," Mason said. "Forgive me for wanting to complain and let out my fucking grievances before I die."
"..."
Mr. Alfonsi stared at him for a long moment. He was just jesting for the most part.
Someone couldn't have entered this room without alerting the guards. And even if they did, he would've caught them by now, since they wouldn't have had time to escape the room yet.
"No more talking," Mr. Alfonsi said. "You've lost your privileges."
He taped Mason's mouth shut again.
Maya was in a rush. Her immediate thought was to inform the teachers, but she changed her mind. Mr. Alfonsi had mentioned that there were others. How could she know who to trust?
Running through all the faces of authoritative figures who could help her, she kept shaking her head.
The only person she could trust was, surprisingly to the Maya from a few months ago, Bell.
She had to let him know as soon as possible.
Elsewhere, at the same time.
Bell couldn't help but find it hilarious that on one hand, he had spent the school day trying to keep Ozzie, a side villain, at an arm's length, and now, after school, he was sitting at the same table as one of the main heroines.
Life had a bizarre sense of humor.
Half an hour ago, he was about to enter his car when someone approached him from behind and said, flat and urgent, "Come with me."
He turned around, one foot already inside the vehicle, and saw Grace Hartley, the same girl who'd been eyeing him from a distance days ago.
"Why?" Bell asked, not bothering to hide his disinterest. He shifted to get in fully.
Grace reached for his wrist, and Bell casually shifted out of her grasp like swatting away a weak breeze.
Grace stared at her palm that caught nothing but air before saying, "There's something urgent that we need to discuss."
"We?" he echoed. "What do we even have in common?"
They had interacted a total of zero times.
Truthfully, he was curious. But the way she delivered her request as a command had killed any chance of him playing along easily.
"I'd rather not talk about this with half the student body in earshot."
"That's not my problem," Bell said. "Either speak your mind, or I go home."
Grace sputtered, caught between annoyance and desperation. "Why are you being so rude? Can't you just come with me? It's not like I'm going to eat you."
"Me?" Bell raised an eyebrow. "I'm the rude one? Ms. Hartley, the very first thing you said to me was 'Come with me.' Demanding me as if I'm one of your servants. Does that ring any bells perchance?"
Grace's lips pressed into a thin line as she had no choice but to swallow her words.
She knew he was right — logically. But admitting it would cost her her pride, so she shrugged and huffed, "So what? I heard you're not exactly hung up on etiquette anyway. Why do you care?"
"That's true," Bell admitted. "But this isn't about etiquette. It's about basic human decency."
That one landed. She exhaled through her nose like someone who had no choice but to sacrifice a pawn on their chessboard that they didn't intend to concede.
"…Fine. Can you please come with me? We have something important to discuss."
"Much better." Bell tapped his fingers against the car roof, then called to Ernit, "Come back in…" He glanced at Grace.
"Our conversation shouldn't take more than an hour," she said.
"Come back in an hour," he told Ernit, who saluted and drove off. "Now then," he said, motioning for her to lead. "Shall we find somewhere private, Ms. Hartley?"
Grace hesitated, then muttered, "…Just call me Grace."