CHAPTER THREE199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfO5m318Xp4
Seline199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVkhnUElBVV
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.199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjp6gyrHjtJ
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. 199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ0LXsPr7Qz
She frowned, piecing it together. 199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRND9VpHVNt
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.199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXqMGhHyJ8R
Seline read the letter again, this time as an investigator. 199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj32OPDKPlA
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.199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS1InnlFwS3
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.199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGtttVC0phP
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.199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG9hRPAz5Da
Seline’s mind raced with questions Kim hadn’t thought to ask. 199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYaCGNPddIG
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?199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKiTjdiIDPY
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. 199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbQw8qzcDCy
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.199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAcgshSc5YQ
**********199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7vvOu901Pm
Kim199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTfFeuZoAVv
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.199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGB0x1n1ci8
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.199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHto17y2JvM
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. 199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHxHTJZny4l
I drop a few hints in conversation-mentioning “Hermes” and “blue thread” to see who flinches, who looks away too quickly.199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZtEceJX77R
Nothing. So, I get bolder.199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLHxDCbhrbs
I write a note-careful, just vague enough to be safe:199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVIFgrsnYAU
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. 199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwXQkMeBHDl
Yours in silence-K.199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbYD8SXtVgG
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. 199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT0a5AOZFsY
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.” 199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrg4lD2CXOM
I’m not above a little blackmail, if that’s what it takes.199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpOp3NerXkB
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.199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡswrSx45OfY
If you want secrets, you have to be willing to make a little noise.
***********199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ46ka6tAw8E
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.199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGKOhXUgKHf
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.199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3uoWuRnzLE
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.
