The next morning, Evergreen High School was filled with the usual noise of students rushing to their classes. The bright sunlight outside made the school look much less frightening than it had the day before.
But Riya still couldn't forget what she saw.
That door.
And the shadow beneath it.
She walked into the classroom where Kavya was already sitting near the window.
"You look tired," Kavya said. "Did you not sleep?"
Riya shook her head slightly.
"I kept thinking about that door," she admitted.
Kavya immediately looked nervous.
"Riya… it's better if you just forget about it."
"Why?" Riya asked. "It's just a door."
Before Kavya could answer, the classroom door suddenly opened.
A group of boys walked in laughing and talking loudly.
They were well-known in the school. Almost everyone knew them.
Advik, the calm and confident one who often led the group.
Aryan, energetic and fearless.
Reyansh, the smartest among them who loved solving mysteries.
Ishaan, the logical thinker who never believed in ghost stories.
Aarav, quiet but friendly.
And Rudra, the mysterious one who usually stayed silent.
They sat down in the row behind Riya and Kavya.
As the class settled down, Riya heard them talking.
"Did you hear what happened yesterday?" Aryan said.
"What?" Aarav asked.
Reyansh leaned forward.
"Someone said the east hallway door appeared again."
Riya froze.
Advik frowned.
"That rumor again?"
Ishaan rolled his eyes.
"It's just an old school myth."
But Rudra, who had been silent until now, spoke quietly.
"It's not a myth."
Everyone looked at him.
Rudra stared at the desk for a moment before continuing.
"My older brother studied here years ago," he said slowly.
"He told me something strange about that hallway."
Aryan leaned closer.
"What?"
Rudra's voice dropped to a whisper.
"They say the door appears only sometimes."
"And if someone enters it…"
"…the room shows them something they were never meant to see."
A cold chill ran through Riya's body.
Without thinking, she turned around.
"You're talking about the door at the end of the hallway, right?"
The boys looked surprised.
Advik raised an eyebrow.
"You've seen it?"
Riya nodded slowly.
"I saw it yesterday."
The entire group fell silent.
Then Aryan smiled slightly.
"Well," he said.
"That makes things interesting."
Reyansh adjusted his glasses.
"If the door really appears, we should check the school blueprint."
Ishaan shook his head.
"You guys seriously believe this?"
But Advik leaned back in his chair, thinking.
"If the room doesn't exist," he said calmly,
"then we should find out why it appears."
Rudra looked toward the classroom window.
The wind outside was growing stronger.
Quietly, he murmured something almost no one heard.
"Because sometimes… some doors appear for a reason."
And somewhere deep in the school hallway…
something was waiting.