"Mum… someone's listening to this call."
There was a beat of silence.
Then Carla's voice dropped to a whisper. "What do you mean? How do you know?"
Bella's heart pounded. Her eyes scanned the corridor beyond the booth window. There was no movement anymore, no sound. Nothing but the whooshing sound coming from the sway of trees outside in the open space.
But the sensation in the atmosphere had changed, the prickle in her skin, the way her breath caught, the slight tremor in her fingers. Something wasn't right.
"I—I don't know," Bella breathed. "It's just… I heard this tiny click. Like an old-fashioned phone line. And then a… hum. Just for a second."
Carla was silent again, but Bella could feel her thinking.
"Could be bad signal, sweetheart. But listen, hang up and call me back. Let's test it."
Bella nodded then. She ended the call and redialed her mum's number with trembling hands.
The line rang once
Then immediately went dead.
Bella frowned. She tried again. Same thing. No ringtone, she didn't even get a voicemail. Just a soft beep, then blank.
Bella's throat tightened. She checked her bars. It had full signal now.
"Mum?" she whispered, hoping to hear her mum on the other end of the line again.
Then her screen came on and off.
Once.
Twice.
No response.
Her phone immediately powered down.
"No, no, no—" Bella muttered, pressing the power button. The phone vibrated like it was rebooting, then suddenly flashed white, totally white, and then went dark again.
A chill rolled down her back.
She slid off the booth bench and peeked down the corridor. The hallway was dim and silent, except for the wall bulb near the common room. Her dorm door was closed, and she was the only one in this booth. There were no footsteps even s, just silence.
Bella turned her phone in her hand and caught something in the reflection of the screen, it was a movement. A shadow.
Behind her.
She spun, her heart leaping, but there was nothing. The corridor behind her was empty.
Her breath fogged in the cold air. That was the thing: the booth was warm when she came in. Now it felt like she was standing in a freezer.
She backed away slowly, toward her dorm.
A soft thud echoed somewhere above her. Then another, closer. Like someone stepping on creaky wood.
"Is anyone there?" Bella called out.
No answer.
"Anyone there?" she called again.
Then she heard shuffling of feet, like someone was coming closer and closer.
Her heartbeat skyrocketed.
Closer and closer.
She grabbed her handbag and held it up in her defense.
Suddenly, the figure appeared from the hallway.
She waited until it walked properly into the light to recognize who it was—
Luca Damaris.
She finally let air out of her lungs.
He stood by the window, bathed in chandelier light. His dark curls were damp with sweat, and his tool bag hung carelessly off one shoulder. He looked up at her, his brows pulling together the moment he saw her pale face.
"Bella?"
"Luca."
She stopped mid-step.
"What are you doing here?" she asked, her voice low.
Luca's gaze dropped to the phone in her hand. "I came to drop this off—" He gestured to a small sketchpad on her desk. "You left it in class."
"Oh," she breathed, still clutching her useless phone. "Thanks."
He took a step closer, frowning. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine."
His eyes lingered on her trembling hands. "What happened?"
"Nothing." She quickly turned away, wiping at her eyes. "Nothing questionable."
Luca's footsteps creaked across the floor as he came up behind her. "That phone looks fried."
She didn't answer.
"Who was that you were talking to on the phone just now?" he asked quietly.
Bella turned to face him, willing her voice to stay steady. "Just a friend. It's not a big deal."
Luca studied her for a long moment, and she hated how easily he could read her. Ever since the kiss they'd shared in his hideout, things between them had shifted. The air between them now simmered with charged electricity. It was hard to look at him without remembering the kiss they shared.
"You're lying," he said gently, cutting through her thoughts. "And whatever you're doing, Bella… you need to stop."
She blinked, surprised by the sharp edge in his voice.
"I'm serious," he continued. "There are rules here. And breaking them—"
"I'm not breaking any rules."
"You think they won't find out?" he said, stepping even closer. "Bella, you can't keep secrets in this place. This place isn't safe for secrets. Or rebels. They watch everything. They will know."
Her pulse quickened. "Luca—"
"I've been in this school since I was a kid," he said. "I know about out others who tried to disobey the rules here, thinking they could do that in their corners and get away with it. One of them ended up leaving in the middle of the night. Banished to the forest."
Her breath caught.
He looked down at her again, softer now. "I know you're trying to find answers. But nothing is hidden here. Maybe you think no one would find out. No, Bella. They see you, and whoever you're talking to, if they're suspicious…"
"She's not," Bella said quickly. "It was just my mum."
Luca's jaw tightened. "Then why lie?"
She had no reply.
Luca took a step back, glancing toward the door. "If someone's listening… they're probably already here."
Bella clutched the dead phone tighter.
"I'm just trying to understand," she whispered. "That's all."
He looked at her for a moment longer, his voice dropping to a murmur. "Then understand this, curiosity here doesn't just kill the cat. It kills rebellious humans too. You were given the pamphlet, weren't you? Calls like the one you were making are prohibited, and you know that."
She exhaled slowly. "Everything's so strange. I just needed to talk to her."
"You should be very careful, Bella."
And with that, he walked to the door.
Right before he stepped out, he turned his head slightly.
"Bella… don't call that number again. Take what happened to your phone as a sign."
Then he left her standing there, alone in the cold, with only her broken phone and a deeper, louder silence filling the room.
How did he even know I was on a call? How did he know what I was talking about on the call?