The morning sun peeked through the cream-colored curtains of the girls' dormitory, casting long shadows on the floor. One by one, the girls stirred from their sleep. Hazel yawned first, stretching like a cat, then Riley pulled the blanket over her head, groaning at the thought of lectures. Lemon sat up, still slightly dazed, her thoughts wandering far from the present. Scarlett tied her hair up while Autumn walked to the bathroom brushing her teeth with her usual sleepy expression. Evelyn was already freshened up, pulling her sleeves as she scanned the group.
"Rise and shine, sleepyheads," Evelyn said with a smirk.
"Ugh, Evelyn. Can't we just skip today?" Riley groaned.
"No way," Hazel muttered, zipping up her jacket. "We have forensic lab today. Don't you want to play with some fake blood again, Riley?"
"Okay, sold," Riley laughed, finally sitting up.
After freshening up, dressing in their uniforms, and grabbing their books, the group left the dorm and walked toward the lecture hall. Lemon trailed slightly behind, her mind clouded.
They sat in the back, like they usually did, whispering to each other before the class began.
"Isn't it strange?" Scarlett asked, glancing around. "Why is no one talking about the murders anymore? Like—suddenly everyone's zipped shut."
"Yeah," Autumn nodded. "When Lydia was found, the entire campus was in chaos. Now with five girls dead, it's like nothing even happened."
Hazel, scrolling through her phone, raised an eyebrow. "I read something on social media," she said quietly. "There's a rumour Maplewood paid off the police. Like, gave them some hefty amount to keep the case silent."
Evelyn's eyes widened. "What? Are they that powerful?"
"It's not confirmed, but it makes sense," Hazel added. "They'd do anything to keep the school's name clean."
Lemon stared ahead. "Even the media came here, but nothing changed. It's like...we're the only ones still caring."
They exchanged uneasy glances. A silence lingered until the professor entered, shifting their attention.
After class, they walked straight to the canteen, hoping some food would distract them from the uncomfortable truths.
Lemon scrolled through her phone, tapping randomly, her mind absent. The canteen was buzzing as usual. Suddenly, loud voices pierced through the background noise.
A group of mean girls had surrounded a fresher. One of them—bold and cocky—was pulling at the fresher's hair. The fresher, red with anger, cursed loudly.
"Let go of me, Alisha!" she shouted, eyes blazing.
Lemon looked up.
Evelyn's eyes narrowed. She stood up and stormed toward the group without a second thought.
"Hey!" Evelyn barked, grabbing Alisha's hand. The bully froze, startled.
"Why are you hurting her?" Evelyn demanded.
Alisha scoffed, yanking her hand back. "Who the hell are you to interfere?"
"She's new here. You don't get to treat people like that."
Another girl from Alisha's group stepped forward and shoved Evelyn roughly. "Don't interfere, bitch. This is none of your business."
Rage ignited in Evelyn's eyes. Without thinking, she punched the girl square in the jaw. "That's for laying hands on me."
Gasps echoed. Chairs scraped. People stood.
Chaos erupted.
Lemon and Scarlett rushed to pull Evelyn back as Alisha lunged again. Evelyn, breathing heavily, tried to charge once more but Scarlett held her tightly.
"Calm down, Eve!"
Meanwhile, Riley, Autumn, and Hazel sat back, enjoying the show like a live drama.
"Popcorn, anyone?" Riley joked.
"This is better than last week's fight near the gym," Hazel laughed.
Eventually, a teacher stormed into the canteen and broke up the crowd. The girls glared at each other, their hair disheveled and faces red.
Alisha wiped blood from her lip. "You're gonna regret this."
Evelyn smirked. "I swear, I'll kill you next time."
Alisha hissed. "You can't."
Security was called. Names were taken. The crowd dispersed slowly.
Back at the dorm that evening, the group sat together, breathless, talking over each other about what had happened.