CHAPTER FOUR185Please respect copyright.PENANANLjCimV67r
Kim lay in bed, eyes wide open, heart still pounding.185Please respect copyright.PENANAN1qhXjkLON
The dormitory around her breathed in the steady rhythm of sleeping bodies—girls tucked in rows, their breathing shallow, their faces soft in the low yellow glow of the emergency light. But she couldn't close her eyes.185Please respect copyright.PENANAAdqIubVP4P
Not after what she'd seen. The boys had been on their side.185Please respect copyright.PENANAIpC4zrmWXa
The girls in uniforms—had been chasing them.185Please respect copyright.PENANAoc2p9QCpAv
And one of them had looked right at her.185Please respect copyright.PENANAlfrDnqbf8U
Her bed, second from the end by the window, suddenly felt like a spotlight. Every creak of the wooden frame. Every shift of fabric. Every whisper of wind outside made her flinch.185Please respect copyright.PENANAV5IBol8Ksz
At 2:17 AM, she finally sat up. Just to breathe. 185Please respect copyright.PENANAUZUXscx2DQ
Just to feel like she still existed in the real world. She turned slightly—and froze.185Please respect copyright.PENANADewWej24CU
Seline was awake.185Please respect copyright.PENANAJPwyeNYFcV
Sitting up in bed across the aisle. Motionless. Eyes open. Watching her.185Please respect copyright.PENANAr1GwvOAQRF
The two girls stared at each other through the shadows. Neither spoke.185Please respect copyright.PENANAB0PTHoD4DI
Then Seline lay back down slowly, pulling her blanket over her shoulder as if nothing had happened.185Please respect copyright.PENANAAOJ62ZH7lQ
Kim couldn’t move. Couldn’t even think.185Please respect copyright.PENANAHa0qxdA11j
In the morning, everything was normal. Almost aggressively normal.185Please respect copyright.PENANAalTshVIC4W
Girls lined up for breakfast, giggling and gossiping. Prefects shouted roll calls. Spoons clinked against metal cups.185Please respect copyright.PENANAQrj04aGcVv
Except… people were whispering more than usual.185Please respect copyright.PENANA9Cvw9CpNXJ
Kim caught the fragments.185Please respect copyright.PENANAXy9fPDOXSP
“Someone saw shadows near the dorms…”185Please respect copyright.PENANAD7nreWINhU
“Mr. Omondi was called late last night…”185Please respect copyright.PENANA079rJBGrLg
“Boys? No way. They’d never be that stupid…”185Please respect copyright.PENANA17GoKHcrcS
“Someone left clothes outside their dorm locker. Wet clothes.”185Please respect copyright.PENANAtNB9y2e5Ll
“I heard someone say....”185Please respect copyright.PENANAlZAKUcNDAZ
Kim’s hand trembled as she lifted her cup of uji, a warm, porridge-like drink made from fermented millet, to her lips. Kim cupped the dented metal mug in her hands, its sides too hot to hold for long. 185Please respect copyright.PENANArgfi0Uwm4b
The uji inside—thick, slightly sour—slid slowly as she tilted it, steam curling into the morning air. 185Please respect copyright.PENANAcSbxXXv1Kj
All around her, girls sipped in silence or murmured in tight clusters, their voices barely louder than the clink of spoons. It was the kind of morning where the heat of the porridge wasn’t just warmth—it was armor. A ritual. A way to pretend nothing had happened in the dark.185Please respect copyright.PENANAm4Xjjd3w5b
Across the dining hall, Seline sat perfectly composed, cutting a banana with a spoon. Her purple pen was clipped neatly to her collar.185Please respect copyright.PENANALtsCdUC2OH
She didn’t look up once.185Please respect copyright.PENANAEVmUl3HyPS
185Please respect copyright.PENANAWHZhFmoYRR