Chloe slammed her locker shut, the loud bang echoing through the room.
"I'll get rid of them," she hissed under her breath. "All of them."
Kaylie shifted nervously beside her. "Don't get worked up, Chloe. We can handle this the usual way."
Chloe's expression softened slightly, the reassurance calming her anger just enough to let a slow, confident smile form on her lips.
Stella crossed her arms, her smirk filled with quiet arrogance. "They won't last a week here. Trust me… we'll remind them who really owns this school."
The three girls exchanged knowing glances, their smiles sharp and wicked, as if everything had already been planned....
In Oceania, nights were calm, peaceful — the water glowed faintly, currents whispered ancient songs, and darkness was never truly dark. But here, on land, every night felt different, heavy, silent in a way that pressed against chest. The kind of quiet that make you hyper-aware of your own breathing.
Corelia was seated on her bed in the hostel, the soft hum of electricity filling the space. The ceiling fan spun lazily above her, stirring the warm air. Books were spread across the bed — maps of the school, notes she had secretly written in the old mermaid script, symbols only Mishell and her could understand. The faint yellow light from the desk lamp cast long shadows across the walls, making the room feel smaller than it was.
Mishell was still at the Music room working on the spell, the energy in there proved to be more stronger than they expected so she needed more time. Corelia could still picture her earlier — excited, energetic, and satisfied at what happened at the studio. Thats so much like her. But Corelia? She preferred Observation, strategy and control.
Being left in the room alone gave Corelia the most perfect opportunity to observe the school's map more and think of their next move. Her finger moved slowly across the paper, tracing hallways, buildings, pathways… memorizing every detail, every exit, every blind spot, every isolated structure that could hide something important or someone.
The more she studied the map, the more she realized how deceptively normal everything looked. The school appeared peaceful on the surface, carefully designed, orderly… harmless.
Yet something beneath that calm felt unstable, like still waters hiding dangerous depths.
A soft knock interrupted her thoughts, she didn't react. It was probably Lydia or Mishell, and neither of them would wait politely if they truly needed her attention.
She didn't react but continued with the research.
Then the knock came again, slightly louder this time.
Corelia paused, her eyes lifting slowly toward the door. If it was Lydia, she would have knocked once and walked in immediately without waiting. If it was Mishell, she wouldn't have bothered knocking at all.
Then the knock came again, yet the door remained closed.No handle turning, no footsteps leaving.
Just silence.
Corelia's brows drew together slightly as she pushed herself up from the bed and stood. Before she could reach for the door, something slid across the floor from underneath it.
A letter.
It stopped near her feet, she bent down slowly and picked it up. Already alert.
No magical scent.
No strange markings.
Just simple handwriting.
She unfolded it.
"Come to the Willow Dormitory.
Nothing else was written.
No name.
Corelia stared at the words for a moment, trying to sense who might have sent it, but there was no magical trace attached to the paper.
Strange.
Her gaze quickly returned to the map as she searched for the location mentioned.
Willow Dormitory.
An abandoned building meant to house female students.Construction had stopped years ago, leaving the place unfinished and unused.
Isolated.
Quiet.
Almost forgotten.
Without wasting another second, Corelia folded the map and left the room.
Not too far from the abandoned building, Chloe and her friends hid behind thick bushes, dressed in dark clothes that blended easily with the night.
Each of them held a small torch, their lights shaking slightly as they waited.
"This place is seriously creepy," Kaylie whispered nervously.
Chloe rolled her eyes. "Relax. It's just stupid rumors people made up to scare first year."
Even Stella, who usually acted confident, held her torch a little tighter.
Everyone knew the stories about this place, strange sounds at night, shadows moving where nothing stood. Students feeling watched whenever they passed too close but most people believed the stories were just made up to frighten new students while some sworn it was true.
Their plan was simple.
Trick Corelia and Mishell into entering the building, lock her inside and let fear do the rest.
"You sure they would come?" Stella asked.
"They should, I dropped the letter directly at their door". Kaylie responded.
"Dropped? You fool you were suppose to slid it in". Chloe said giving her a sharp annoying look.
"That was what I meant to say". Kaylie corrected.
"If our plan is ruined tonight, I would have you blamed for that". Chloe said already getting pissed.
"Wait our plan is actually perfect... Look". Stell replied, pointing at a figure approaching the building.
Corelia walked toward the building calmly, as if she didn't sense anything strange about the place.
Kaylie frowned slightly. "Why isn't the other girl with her?".
Chloe shrugged lightly. "Doesn't matter. One problem at a time."
They ducked lower into hiding as Corelia stopped in front of the building. She studied the structure carefully.
"What is she doing?". Stella whispered.
"I don't know, shut up". Chloe whispered back.
The building was tall, silent, empty and dusty. The broken windows looked like dark eyes staring back at her.
"Who sent this letter…" she murmured softly.
When no answer came, without wasting much time she stepped inside.
The moment she disappeared beyond the entrance, Chloe rushed forward and pushed the heavy door shut.
The lock clicked loudly.
A sharp metallic finality echoed into the night.
"Done," Stella whispered.
"Let's go," Chloe said quickly.
Even she didn't want to stay near this place longer than necessary.
They left immediately, their torchlights disappearing into the darkness.