They dispersed like shadows, each heading in different directions to avoid suspicion. The clock was ticking. Every second felt like a countdown to doom.
The rest of the day passed like a blur. They stayed low, skipping classes and hiding in empty rooms, careful not to be seen together again.
By nightfall, Brookside High fell into its usual hush. Most lights were turned off, giving the school more dark spots. The corridors were emptied, as the majority of the students had retired back to their form rooms. Staff and dorm officials also retired to their quarters.
It was time.
Mira was the first to reach the maintenance wing, their meeting point. The silence around her was thick and looming. Cold air stung her cheeks as she checked her phone again. 11:47 p.m. Raquel and Liam were 17 minutes late.
Liam showed up two minutes later. Sighting just Mira, his jaw clenched into a hard line. He slung his backpack and just leaned on the wall. They didn't speak to each other.
Raquel was the last to arrive. Her hoodie was pulled so far over her face, you could barely recognize her. She kept looking over her shoulders till she got to the spot.
"I stuffed some snacks in my bag," she murmured. "A portable charger and my torchlight."
"Smart," Mira said, although her tone held no warmth.
The metal door creaked open under Mira's hand. For a moment, none of them moved. This was it. They were stepping out of student life and into something darker and heavier. It was now or.. face the expulsion.
"Let's go," she said, and they slipped into the night.
They moved fast, cutting across dark lots and narrow alleys, ducking from streetlights like fugitives. Mira's contact, her father's mistress, Dahlia, owned a small townhouse just outside the city. They would have to go past the train tracks and connect to the highway roads.
Soon, they reached the rendezvous point, a forgotten petrol station near the edge of town. A single sedan car was parked close to a petrol dispenser. A woman with dark red lipstick and sunglasses sat at the wheel. The car's engine was still running.
"Get in," she said flatly when Mira approached.
Dahlia never asked questions, one thing Mira loved about her. Dahlia was her getaway for when she wanted to be rebellious. Always. All she had to do was get enough money from her father to give Dahlia to keep her shut.
They piled into the backseat. The car smelled of lavender and expensive smoke. Dahlia pulled out of the petrol station and onto the highway, stepping slightly on the gas.
They drove for nearly twenty minutes. Nobody said a word.
Finally, the house appeared, small and tucked between trees, like it was built specifically for this purpose, a getaway.
The windows were dim and the curtains were drawn. The porch lights were turned off.
Safety or secrecy? None of them cared.
Inside, Dahlia handed them blankets and set three plates of reheated spaghetti on the counter.
"You've got two nights here, Mira," she said. "Then you figure something out. You know it's none of my business what you lots are up to, but I'm not running a hotel for runaways. Does anyone know you're here?"
"Not really," Raquel replied.
Dahlia raised an eyebrow. "'Not really' or no?"
Mira looked Raquel up and down. Then she turned to Dahlia. "No. I'm certain."
"Good. You've got two nights."
"Understood," Mira said, and just like that, Dahlia walked away, closing the guest room door behind her.
They ate in silence. The spaghetti was lukewarm and bland, but it filled the gnawing ache in their stomachs.
When they were done, Raquel curled up in a corner of the couch, hugging her knees.
"We can't live like this," she whispered.
"We won't have to," Mira replied, already pulling out her phone. "We just need a new angle. Somewhere else to go."
Liam looked up, incredulous. "You're still scheming?"
"What else do you want me to do? Sit here and cry? You heard Dahlia. She's gracious enough to grant us two nights. We can't stay beyond that."
"Maybe try feeling guilty for once in your life," he snapped. "We ruined her, Mira. She trusted us. Bella was your best friend."
Something flickered in her eyes. Shame? Guilt? but it disappeared before anyone could really notice it.
"She ruined me first," Mira said coldly. "She always had everything. Her mom, her grades, her perfect little world. I was nothing but her shadow. So I turned the lights off."
"That's sick," Raquel murmured.
"I know," Mira whispered. "But I don't regret it."
Liam got up. "You should."
He walked out of the room, slamming the bathroom door behind him.
Silence again.
Mira stared at the screen of her phone, then slowly powered it off.
Raquel was crying now, quiet, soft sobs into the throw pillow.
"This isn't what I wanted. I thought it was just a joke. Just… pressure. A scare. I didn't think it'd get this real."
"Oh, stop whining and grow up for once, please," Mira lashed out rudely. "This is your reality now. Accept it."
"Easy for you to say, huh? You've always been this way since we were little, doing evil things and never caring about the consequences, never caring about who you hurt because you have your rich daddy to bail you out of whatever mess you find yourself in. You forget that not everyone is as influential as your father."
Raquel turned and pulled the quilt up to her chin.
"Mum should have listened to Dad when he complained that bringing me to school in Brookside High with you was a huge mistake."
Mira didn't say a word in return.
Outside, the wind rattled the windows. A storm was coming.
—
Back at Brookside High, Aunt Angie had already gone to the principal's office. Her phone buzzed relentlessly with calls, files had been sent. Evidence had been printed. The board would meet in the morning.
Expulsions were inevitable. Even legal consequences were likely.
But Mira, Liam, and Raquel were gone. No one had heard from or seen any traces of them in the past sixteen hours.