7:00 a.m.
A phone buzzed.
Keris checked his screen.
Marcus:Meet me in the backside corridor. Don't tell your father.
At the same time, Eden received the same message.
Luther and three other students did too.
Within minutes, five of them gathered in the narrow backside corridor.
Marcus was already there.
Alone.
That itself felt unusual.
"Where are Leon and Ethan?" Keris asked.
"I came to talk," Marcus replied calmly. "Yesterday the principal was arrested… and I don't think anyone in Hillcrest truly believes he tortured Eden."
Eden shifted slightly but said nothing.
"Eden," Marcus added carefully, "I'm not here for confrontation. Counselling sessions are ongoing. You should talk to them."
Keris frowned.
"Then why call us?"
Marcus took a slow breath.
"Because Principal Adrian wasn't a villain. He came to change this academy. And now he's sitting in a police station."
Silence.
"I just don't want someone to frame him," Marcus continued. "If someone wants to make him look guilty, they'll try to plant things."
Luther wanted to ask something — but stopped himself.
"You all just need to keep your eyes open," Marcus said. "Principal cabin. Principal quarters. Anything unusual."
Luther finally spoke.
"You want to protect Principal sir."
Marcus neither confirmed nor denied it.
"He got injured saving someone's life," Marcus said quietly.
Then he exhaled.
"I don't know if he's innocent… but I know he didn't deserve to be humiliated like that."
No one interrupted.
"For the first time," Marcus said, "Hillcrest feels like something is breaking from inside."
Eden looked down.
Because he understood that feeling.
Marcus left first.
The others followed silently.
---
Marcus returned to his room.
He opened the door.
Leon and Ethan were awake.
"Where did you go?" Leon asked.
"Canteen," Marcus replied.
"You lied," Ethan said.
Marcus avoided eye contact.
"Relax. Why are you interrogating me?"
Leon and Ethan exchanged a glance.
"I got information from the police station," Leon said.
Marcus looked up.
"What?"
"Principal Adrian was officially placed in lockup after last night's inquiry."
Marcus's expression tightened.
"His injury?"
"A doctor was called to monitor it," Leon replied.
Marcus nodded slowly.
"Any message from Mr. Lee?" Ethan asked.
Leon nodded.
"He said stay away from everything. Until things calm down, we don't talk to anyone. Especially avoid chaos."
"Hmm," Ethan murmured.
"Did Adrian appoint a lawyer?" Marcus asked.
"Not yet," Leon replied.
---
Later, the Devil Trio reached the academy.
Most students were gathered near the canteen.
Everyone assumed Adrian might return today.
At 1 p.m., a police van entered Hillcrest grounds.
Students exchanged glances.
Keris's father instinctively stepped slightly ahead of Keris.
Professors looked at each other.
The inspector stepped out.
"Our team is here for inquiry," he said. "Cooperate."
Raymond stepped forward.
"Sir… what about Principal Adrian?"
"Your principal remains under investigation," the inspector replied. "He is in lockup."
No one spoke.
The inspector gestured toward Lucas.
"Close the gate."
Two police teams began their work.
One for questioning.
One for evidence search.
---
Fragments of Inquiry
Keris and Luther were called first.
"Where were you when Eden attempted to jump?" the inspector asked.
"In class," Luther said. "Then canteen."
"Same," Keris replied.
"How many students were present?"
"Almost everyone," Luther said. "No one wanted rat stickers."
"Eden was present too," Keris added.
"Did you notice anything unusual?"
"I saw red marks on his hands," Keris said. "He said he slipped in his room."
The inspector wrote something.
"Why did you start sitting with Eden and Luther?" he asked.
"My friends avoided me," Keris replied. "Principal warned them about suspension."
"Interesting."
The inspector paused.
"Repeat that."
Keris blinked.
"Sir?"
"Say that again."
Keris repeated it slowly.
This time, the inspector watched his face instead of writing.
Then he dismissed Keris.
Turning to Luther, he asked quietly:
"Why endure bullying without complaint?"
"I'm here on scholarship," Luther said. "I can't afford to leave."
"Do you think Keris tortured Eden?"
"Keris is a bully," Luther said. "Not a torturer."
"Hmm. You may go."
Raymond, Lucas, and Samuel were called next.
"You informed the principal?" the inspector asked.
"Yes," Raymond said.
"What happened next?"
"He told me to leave. Then went another direction."
Lucas spoke.
"I received a message to place cotton sheets below the tower."
"From where did you get them?"
"Store room," Samuel replied.
The inspector nodded.
Professors were called next.
"You've been here longer than Adrian," the inspector said. "Why didn't you report bullying?"
One professor hesitated.
"Sir… those three students are powerful."
"Then why stay?"
Silence.
The inspector scribbled something and dismissed them.
The Devil Trio entered.
"Oh," the inspector said. "The unofficial rulers of Hillcrest."
Leon remained calm.
"We didn't torture anyone."
"Your past suggests otherwise," the inspector replied.
Marcus spoke.
"Principal Adrian was trying to improve things."
"Hmm," the inspector said.
More questions followed.
Then they were dismissed.
Meanwhile, the evidence team searched the principal's quarters.
A broken phone lay near the wall.
Cabinet drawers were opened.
Inside was a student list.
Several names circled in red.
Then one officer crouched.
"Sir… something here."
He pulled out a cloth-wrapped object.
Unfolded it.
A revolver.
Loaded.
The room fell silent.
"Photograph everything," the inspector ordered.
For the first time that day, suspicion became visible.
News spread across Hillcrest within minutes.
Keris heard the word revolver and felt his stomach tighten.
For the first time, fear replaced guilt.
Leon read the headline twice.
Weapon recovered.
His jaw tightened.
"If this is planted," Marcus said quietly, "then someone is playing a dangerous game."
Leon didn't reply.
But for the first time, he wondered:
If power couldn't control this…
Then who could?
Near the canteen, Raymond spoke quietly.
"This isn't normal."
"Maybe self-defense," Samuel said.
Lucas shook his head.
"Or maybe something else."
No one had answers.
Later, the counselling team arrived.
This was the second general session.
Everyone attended.
The counselling session began in the late afternoon, after the police inquiry had ended.
The room felt calmer — but heavier.
"Yesterday we spoke about shock," the counsellor said. "Today we speak about responsibility."
Silence.
"Responsibility is not the same as blame."
She looked across the students.
"When harm happens, there are three groups — those who act, those who suffer, and those who watch."
Luther lowered his eyes.
"Watching without acting teaches the mind that cruelty is normal."
Luther's hands tightened slowly in his lap.
Then she looked at Eden.
"You came today. That itself is strength."
He didn't respond.
"You don't need to speak."
Another counsellor added:
"Guilt can destroy people if it stays silent. But it can rebuild people if spoken."
Keris shifted slightly.
Marcus stared ahead.
Leon remained still.
"Individual sessions begin tomorrow," the counsellor said.
"And remember — truth does not weaken during investigation."
"It becomes clearer."
The session ended quietly.
Eden remained seated even after others began leaving.
His father noticed.
"Let's go," his father said gently.
Eden shook his head.
"They found a gun," he whispered.
His father stiffened slightly.
"Investigation will clarify," he replied.
Eden looked up.
"If Principal sir gets punished because of me…"
His voice cracked but he forced it steady.
"Then what was the point of surviving?"
His father didn't answer immediately.
He sat beside him instead.
"For surviving," he said quietly, "there doesn't need to be a point."
Eden stared ahead.
For the first time, surviving felt heavier than falling.
---
Outside Hillcrest, music played inside a private lounge.
Avein raised a glass.
"Why organize a party now?" his friend asked.
Avein smiled faintly.
"Because chaos is working."
A news alert flashed on his phone.
Weapon recovered from Hillcrest principal residence.
Avein locked the screen.
"My revenge doesn't need anger anymore," he said calmly.
"It just needs timing."
He took a slow sip.
---
Inside the police station, Adrian sat alone in the lockup.
An officer approached the bars.
"A revolver was recovered from your residence."
Adrian looked up slowly.
"Loaded," the officer added.
A brief silence passed.
"Do you wish to revise any statement?" the officer asked.
"No."
"You understand how this looks?"
"Yes."
"And yet you say nothing."
Adrian's gaze remained steady.
"Truth does not panic."
The officer studied him.
"Or maybe truth is afraid."
Adrian didn't respond.
After the officer left, Adrian leaned back slowly.
For the first time since his arrest, his fingers tightened slightly.
Just once.
Then stilled again.