CHAPTER FOUR187Please respect copyright.PENANAo7rlea7hSU
Kim lay in bed, eyes wide open, heart still pounding.187Please respect copyright.PENANAdrgvsyqOAd
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.187Please respect copyright.PENANAVX109VfXZy
Not after what she'd seen. The boys had been on their side.187Please respect copyright.PENANAc4nkrPnyoB
The girls in uniforms—had been chasing them.187Please respect copyright.PENANASbLFLbCXsI
And one of them had looked right at her.187Please respect copyright.PENANAKfcO7l184Y
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.187Please respect copyright.PENANAp7xWLX8lnp
At 2:17 AM, she finally sat up. Just to breathe. 187Please respect copyright.PENANAk3o1o5H673
Just to feel like she still existed in the real world. She turned slightly—and froze.187Please respect copyright.PENANAdXvFw9c5Gs
Seline was awake.187Please respect copyright.PENANAJAPEX2Bg16
Sitting up in bed across the aisle. Motionless. Eyes open. Watching her.187Please respect copyright.PENANA0B46OPPcKu
The two girls stared at each other through the shadows. Neither spoke.187Please respect copyright.PENANAwwCOGf8mop
Then Seline lay back down slowly, pulling her blanket over her shoulder as if nothing had happened.187Please respect copyright.PENANAOg4TUurvbR
Kim couldn’t move. Couldn’t even think.187Please respect copyright.PENANASCTMetj3FN
In the morning, everything was normal. Almost aggressively normal.187Please respect copyright.PENANAYoJIZUanlP
Girls lined up for breakfast, giggling and gossiping. Prefects shouted roll calls. Spoons clinked against metal cups.187Please respect copyright.PENANAgf3Vf0gSaR
Except… people were whispering more than usual.187Please respect copyright.PENANANyZTjPW5aF
Kim caught the fragments.187Please respect copyright.PENANAqjQ4H8Dd7S
“Someone saw shadows near the dorms…”187Please respect copyright.PENANANfnwPCO0xH
“Mr. Omondi was called late last night…”187Please respect copyright.PENANAyXV3yrPQKC
“Boys? No way. They’d never be that stupid…”187Please respect copyright.PENANAYPTft61da8
“Someone left clothes outside their dorm locker. Wet clothes.”187Please respect copyright.PENANA1veer5fDNn
“I heard someone say....”187Please respect copyright.PENANAVGLhKdx7d2
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. 187Please respect copyright.PENANAjALEDPciWQ
The uji inside—thick, slightly sour—slid slowly as she tilted it, steam curling into the morning air. 187Please respect copyright.PENANAMwzsdWAsqD
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.187Please respect copyright.PENANAZA22jifK1B
Across the dining hall, Seline sat perfectly composed, cutting a banana with a spoon. Her purple pen was clipped neatly to her collar.187Please respect copyright.PENANAVw8uG0JyYs
She didn’t look up once.187Please respect copyright.PENANAcsJWf9co1n
187Please respect copyright.PENANAohRcgMCRVs