CHAPTER THREE198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdWi8zVXBT2
Seline198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6pFQe0yCDi
Seline sat at her desk in the journalism room, the quiet hum of the computers around her barely registering as she turned the letter over in her hands. She’d taken it out yesterday, from where Kim had tucked it inside the novel.198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyIef7mwl2R
The letter itself was older than she’d realized at first glance. The paper was yellowed at the edges, the ink slightly faded, and the language felt almost formal, like it belonged to another time. 198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSnIqTtcf41
She frowned, piecing it together. 198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡurmGqz6R4z
Kim must have stumbled on the letter by accident, maybe while reading or returning the book. That would explain why Kim seemed so distracted lately-she hadn’t written it, and it wasn’t meant for her.198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq7UOsQp6Ur
Seline read the letter again, this time as an investigator. 198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoAuN45spDT
She read it twice. It talks about “the quiet hour when the bougainvillea shadows the wall,” and something about “meeting where the stone is chipped.” It’s vague, but there’s no mistaking the secretive tone. This isn’t a love letter or a joke-this is a clue, a breadcrumb in a trail I didn’t even know Kim was following.198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBxELv9iHDF
The references to the bougainvillea and the chipped stone by the wall weren’t just poetic-they were clues, markers for a meeting spot or a secret tradition. The signature was just an initial, and the whole tone felt like part of a coded exchange.198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGRaRD6yVVY
She knew about the rumors about the Order of Hermes: a secret student network, passing messages through hidden signals, colored threads, and carefully chosen drop spots. If this letter was old, maybe the Order had been operating for years, and Kim had unknowingly stepped into the middle of their trail.198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKeX5hHTYgt
Seline’s mind raced with questions Kim hadn’t thought to ask. 198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyFCjTvpubb
Who wrote this letter, and who was it meant for? Was the chipped stone still there? Did the Order of Hermes still use the same signals? And had anyone else found the letter before Kim?198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTLnrHGrKws
She pulled out her notebook, jotting down every detail: the age of the paper, the style of handwriting, the references to the wall and flowers, and the way Kim had found it. 198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiOoY9FCtXs
Seline realized she was closer than ever to uncovering something big-something Kim had only brushed against by chance. This was no longer just about missing furniture. It was about a tradition hidden in plain sight, waiting for the right person to put the pieces together.198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5GaT2NLD5y
**********198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡorR72mhbxr
Kim198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡradQL4ge5R
I can’t stop thinking about that letter. Juma’s words are sweet, but the way it reached me-handed over by a jittery Form One girl, sealed with blue thread-feels staged. I need answers, and I’m done waiting for clues to drop into my lap.198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJtgWmjEdub
I start with what I know: the Order of Hermes is more than a rumor. People whisper about them in the dorms, say they use codes and signals-blue threads, folded corners, secret drop spots. They say the Order can get a message to anyone, anywhere, but no one ever admits to being part of it. Still, every secret has a crack.198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAWeWJH1Srk
I spend two days watching the usual suspects: the prefect who always lingers near the library, the girl who’s always first to collect the class notes, the one who never seems to eat lunch but is always around when someone’s looking for a lost book. 198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡboObMCN6ro
I drop a few hints in conversation-mentioning “Hermes” and “blue thread” to see who flinches, who looks away too quickly.198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfIYEMTdC77
Nothing. So, I get bolder.198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJuZxj9KYy6
I write a note-careful, just vague enough to be safe:198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtnnfpa9iV2
To the one who delivers secrets: I know you watch. I need to speak. Meet me by the chipped stone at dusk, or the next blue thread in this school will be tied around a teacher’s pen. 198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡViDPvB9YMf
Yours in silence-K.198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh31Mbraz5x
I slip the note into the back of the library’s suggestion box, the one no one ever checks unless they’re looking for something hidden. 198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaoeOyOntZK
I make sure I’m seen by the right people: the Form Two who always volunteers for errands, the girl who runs the lost-and-found. I even let a rumor slip that I’ve found something “the Order wouldn’t want teachers to see.” 198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡypBsTklo7E
I’m not above a little blackmail, if that’s what it takes.198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc8Gq431g6H
That night, I wait by the chipped stone near the wall, heart thumping, rehearsing what I’ll say. I don’t know if they’ll come, or if I’ll just get another cryptic letter. But I do know one thing: I won’t stop until I find out who’s pulling the strings-and why Juma’s letter had the Order’s mark on it.198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUdsOC2fLTW
If you want secrets, you have to be willing to make a little noise.
***********198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4T3YvHkeVB
Seline, determined to get to the bottom of Kim’s recent secrecy, follows her discreetly. She sees Kim slip away from the noisy courtyard, weaving through the less-traveled paths behind the dorms. Kim glances over her shoulder, checking if anyone is watching, but Seline keeps her distance, blending in with a group of students before breaking off quietly.198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBXtwPMhLCJ
Kim pauses at the edge of the old assembly hall, where a chipped stone juts out near the wall-a spot Seline recognizes from the mysterious letter from the library. Kim hesitates, her movements tense and deliberate. She lingers, scanning the area as if waiting for someone or something, her face set with determination and worry.198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbY0FwbizRz
From her vantage point, Seline sees the whole exchange. She notices how Kim’s actions match the coded instructions from the old letter-using a hidden spot, acting with caution, and leaving something behind. Seline realizes Kim is trying to contact someone, possibly the elusive Order of Hermes.
