CHAPTER FOUR196Please respect copyright.PENANAnBOiFfpPm0
Kim lay in bed, eyes wide open, heart still pounding.196Please respect copyright.PENANAeAm6qZIYbX
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.196Please respect copyright.PENANAdNb5svWe46
Not after what she'd seen. The boys had been on their side.196Please respect copyright.PENANApC3A7qemOF
The girls in uniforms—had been chasing them.196Please respect copyright.PENANAGdsNWZylQk
And one of them had looked right at her.196Please respect copyright.PENANAsZhBFm2SJr
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.196Please respect copyright.PENANAFiahge9okX
At 2:17 AM, she finally sat up. Just to breathe. 196Please respect copyright.PENANAoMLdtjbMGE
Just to feel like she still existed in the real world. She turned slightly—and froze.196Please respect copyright.PENANA6FtHhyxiYl
Seline was awake.196Please respect copyright.PENANA3CYfqzcMUd
Sitting up in bed across the aisle. Motionless. Eyes open. Watching her.196Please respect copyright.PENANAg94sCpdpod
The two girls stared at each other through the shadows. Neither spoke.196Please respect copyright.PENANAAZYz6fmGdd
Then Seline lay back down slowly, pulling her blanket over her shoulder as if nothing had happened.196Please respect copyright.PENANAmZn8Pbl2th
Kim couldn’t move. Couldn’t even think.196Please respect copyright.PENANAI3w8zhVm94
In the morning, everything was normal. Almost aggressively normal.196Please respect copyright.PENANA58Ga21JuXW
Girls lined up for breakfast, giggling and gossiping. Prefects shouted roll calls. Spoons clinked against metal cups.196Please respect copyright.PENANAdzSITsGlok
Except… people were whispering more than usual.196Please respect copyright.PENANAql5mognACJ
Kim caught the fragments.196Please respect copyright.PENANAxPuYAfcQdh
“Someone saw shadows near the dorms…”196Please respect copyright.PENANAjqTMxfQMqu
“Mr. Omondi was called late last night…”196Please respect copyright.PENANAWqgrFnRQSg
“Boys? No way. They’d never be that stupid…”196Please respect copyright.PENANA8QVF6ZuPBK
“Someone left clothes outside their dorm locker. Wet clothes.”196Please respect copyright.PENANAFfhlLLqblQ
“I heard someone say....”196Please respect copyright.PENANAo2Us99KL3c
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. 196Please respect copyright.PENANAWnOZAwwyrz
The uji inside—thick, slightly sour—slid slowly as she tilted it, steam curling into the morning air. 196Please respect copyright.PENANAZosjD0wvLc
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.196Please respect copyright.PENANAcGmPPgamEL
Across the dining hall, Seline sat perfectly composed, cutting a banana with a spoon. Her purple pen was clipped neatly to her collar.196Please respect copyright.PENANAyAyuGaUt4N
She didn’t look up once.196Please respect copyright.PENANAxdFufNp3eB
196Please respect copyright.PENANA5JmOjlLeXr