The rooftop door creaked open.
Sona hurried in first, her breath uneven. She dropped down beside Aria, her hands instantly reaching for her shoulders.
"Aria… are you okay? Please, say something," Sona whispered, her voice soft with worry.
Sreya and danvy
followed close behind, kneeling opposite her. "We were so scared when you locked yourself up here. You don't have to go through this alone."
But Aria sat still, her face calm, her eyes empty of emotion. She didn't cry, didn't smile, didn't even blink much. She just sat there, unmoved, as though their words drifted past her without weight.
Heavy footsteps soon filled the silence. Zorvath's circle appeared—Ritul, Mirzand, and Aswin among them. Their presence shifted the air, sharp and tense.
Aswin stepped forward, his face taut with guilt.
"Aria… I'm sorry," he muttered, the words stumbling. "I shouldn't have accused you like that. I said it without thinking. I was wrong."
For the first time, Aria moved—but not to respond. She simply stood, brushing past them, her footsteps carrying her toward the edge of the rooftop. She leaned against the railing, her eyes fixed on the distant view of GHSS.
The sight of her staring so long, so silently, at the rival school twisted something inside Zorvath. His jaw tightened, his anger flaring.
In a sudden motion, he strode to her and grabbed her arm, pulling her back toward the group.
"Stop looking there," he snapped. "Look here—at us. At this school."
He turned to the others, his voice carrying across the rooftop.
"What I did was wrong. All of it. But now…" His eyes swept over the students, sharp and unyielding. "From this moment forward—we follow Aria. If KHSS is to stand, then it will stand with her lead."
Shock rippled through the group.
Sona and Sreya froze in place. Ritul and Mirzand exchanged glances. Aswin lowered his head, silent. Every eye turned toward Aria.
Aria blinked, caught off guard. For a moment, her lips parted, but no words came. Then she exhaled and spoke, her tone cool and steady.
"You want to follow me? Then start where it matters."
Her gaze swept over the rooftop, then down to the broken campus below.
"First—clean this school. From outside, it looks like a haunted house, not a place of learning. Fix that. People should see a school, not a ghost house."
Her words cut like steel. She didn't pause.
"Second—block off those useless old buildings. Half of them are just empty shells that weigh us down. Remove what's unnecessary."
Her eyes hardened.
"And most important—clear the garden and the entrance. Make this place breathe again. If you want KHSS to live, start by making it look alive."
The group fell into silence, her words echoing in their heads.
Aria adjusted the strap of her bag, slinging it over her shoulder. She gave no smile, no nod of approval, only a final glance at them all.
Without a proper goodbye, she turned and walked toward the rooftop door, leaving her words behind like marching orders.
The students stood still, shaken—some doubtful, some thoughtful, but all knowing that something had changed.
Aria's Bedroom__
Aria lay sprawled across her bed, still in her school uniform. Her bag sat abandoned in the corner, one sock on the study table, the other forgotten on the floor. The room was as scattered as her thoughts.
Her mind replayed the day's events in fragments—the shocking sight of minors using drugs and alcohol, her desperate attempt to stop it, the moment Room Zero was locked, the stares and whispers that turned the whole school against her.
She winced at the memory, pressing a pillow to her face.
And then, unbidden, another memory surfaced—the kiss Zorvath had stolen on the rooftop. Just the thought of it sent heat rushing to her cheeks. Aria bolted upright, shaking her head hard.
"No. Not thinking about that," she muttered to herself.
She swung her legs off the bed, grabbed her laptop from the desk, and opened it. Aimlessly, she scrolled through the screen, anything to distract her restless mind.
That's when an advertisement popped up—something about a quiz.
Her eyes narrowed. Then, slowly, her lips curved. An idea sparked.
She quickly hit print, the hum of the machine filling the quiet room. One paper slid out. Then another. Soon, she had a small stack of freshly printed sheets. Aria gathered them up and dropped them onto her bed, the neat pile at odds with the rest of her mess.
She lay back down, hugging the papers to her chest. The faintest trace of a smile lingered on her lips.
For the first time that day, she closed her eyes feeling light. Happy, even.
Because now—she had an idea.