"Nuna'a to the principal's office, immediately please."
Mrs. Hathaway's voice chirped from the cracked speakers in every hallway and dorm, cheerful as ever, like she wasn't tired of the mischief the students of Hillbury get into daily.
Somewhere beneath the dormitory roof, a cluster of girls whispered.
"Is Nuna'a finally going to bloody show up, attention seeking at its finest?"
"I heard she caught Tante kissing Shay. Her best friend! If that were me, I'd be mad as hell too. But pushing Tante down the chapel stairs? Breaking both legs? Nah bitch that's psycho behavior even for Nuna'a. Then again I can't put it past her she stays with her pranks she is a literal fucking joke."
"How does someone like that from a rich family get to have near-perfect grades, too? She should be investigated if you ask me."
"What if she killed herself? No one's seen her for two days. It's getting creepy."
Curled in her usual corner of the dormitory roof, she had a love-hate relationship with the roof, it was where she found peace, it's also where she heard everything, all the rumors and secrets, how everyone felt about everyone else. Where she heard Tante was all alone with Shay near the chapel. Nuna'a frowned, clutching her sketchbook.
"What does she mean I haven't been seen for two days?"
Her mind flickered with static memories. Tante's smug face. Shay's silence. The pain that bloomed in her chest when she saw them, locked in an embrace that shouldn't have meant anything, that should have been her. That look Tante gave her before she fell. Too cunning. Too wicked.
"I didn't push that thieving dumb bloody bitch."
Her fists clenched. The chapel lights had flickered. Tante had screamed. Then nothing but bones snapping like twigs and Shay's cries for help.
"Screw this. Time to see Mr. Bantyman."
The office reeked of cinnamon air freshener and cold coffee.
Ms. Duskmoor sat like she owned the place, crossed legs, tight blouse, perfect lipstick. The only thing louder than her perfume was her voice and the fact that she flirting.
Mr. Bant sat upright, hands steepled before him, but his mind wandered. He had always maintained a strict professionalism, a reputation forged from discipline and those steel-grey eyes that made even the most defiant students sit straighter. But beneath the tailored shirts and lean muscle was a man who knew he was the whispered favorite of many mothers in Hillbury. He never encouraged it except once.
She sat across from him now.
Sally Duskmoor.
Composed, regal, her mouth painted in the color of control, but her eyes smoldered. He had memorized every inflection of that voice, the curve of her dismissals, the weight she carried with her wealth and wit. And now he was about to end whatever unspoken future might have existed between them.
He cleared his throat. "Nuna'a must be expelled."
Sally didn't blink, but the air thickened. That was all it took.
He felt the thread snap.
Maybe she'd expected him to look the other way to make an exception for her. Maybe she thought the nights he stayed after PTA meetings, just to walk her to the car, meant something more. But he wasn't the kind of man who bent rules for affection.
"Mr. Bant, the security cameras fried during the exact moment my daughter entered the chapel. That's not a coincidence, it's sabotage. There's no proof Nuna'a pushed that girl."
Mr. Bant blinked at her slowly, eyes sliding from her face to the second button of her blouse, now unfastened. A bead of sweat glided down his temple, tongue running across his lips.
"That may be," he began, "but Tante claims Nuna'a assaulted her. And Shay, the... third party in this teenage soap opera, refuses to speak. We don't condone romantic relationships and public displays of affection at Hillbury, let alone this kind of triangle. And with the footage damaged..."
"Then punish them all, not just my daughter," Duskmoor snapped, leaning forward. "If there was kissing as the rumors suggest, it wasn't my daughter's lips involved. You're scapegoating her."
There was a motion that showed even more cleavage. Mr. Bant swallowed.
"Your daughter has a history. Pranks. Detentions. One time she replaced the choir's incense with skunk weed."
He chuckled nervously.
"We believe in second chances, Ms. Duskmoor. She's had more than her fair share already. She's a bright, brilliant student, but at the cost of the well-being of three hundred more students and teachers, she's teetering on utter expulsion."
"Hi Mom. Hello, Mr. Bant."
Both adults jerked to look at the door.
Nuna'a stood there, arms crossed, dark eyes unreadable.
"When did you get here?!" her mother gasped.
"Mrs. Hathaway!" Mr. Bant barked. "Why wasn't I informed as soon as Ms. Duskmoor had arrived?"
Mrs. Hathaway burst in, wild-eyed and flustered.
"What do you mean, oh my! When did you get here, little girl?"
Nuna'a smirked.
"Since Mom unbuttoned her top."
Silence. Then a slow, awkward cough.
"It's fine," Mr. Bant muttered, disappointed. "You can leave, Mrs. Hathaway."
Duskmoor couldn't tell what disappointed him more, being caught ogling, or the pitiful job Hathaway did letting Nuna'a in without prior notice.
"You've caused enough trouble in this school, little girl. Pushing Tante is where I draw the line," Mr. Bant said, his voice low and stern, though his eyes kept flicking to Ms. Duskmoor, searching her face. Was that a flicker of satisfaction he saw?
"Mr. Bant, I beg you to reconsider," Ms. Duskmoor said, her irritation slowly rising. "There aren't many other good options, and even if there were, I doubt they'd be welcoming. My daughter can be… very difficult, dealing with a lot of issues and the absence of her father, but you'd be failing her if you expelled a girl with no proven guilt who is going through so much trying to fit in. There's no clear evidence, it is all a borderline mysterious incident."
"Mom," Nuna'a cut in dryly, "I'm still in the room. And for the record, I don't have issues... aside from the mommy ones I get every time you publicly humiliate me."
She turned to Mr. Bant. "I didn't push that lunatic Tante. She looked at me with this… weird expression, then flung herself down the stairs. I wasn't even close. If she didn't push herself, then maybe it was the wind… There was a strong wind. It shattered some windows, too. But I didn't do anything."
Mr. Bant folded his hands. "Self-harm and the wind, hmm? Choose a story and stick to it, Nuna'a. Even your best friend isn't defending you…"
"Don't mention that ungrateful snake," Nuna'a snapped, her voice breaking. "She'll hear from me once I'm done with this circus."
"Ms. Nuna'a Yaa Duskmoor, you better shut your dirty, sharp mouth before I shut it for you with slaps! Yakaame!" her mother barked, raising her hand.
Mr. Bant leaned back. "As you can see, this behavior is exactly why she must leave this institution immediately. My decision is final."
Ms. Duskmoor sighed heavily. "I tried to keep you from that creepy school your father went to. Ravenshade gives me weird mojo-jojo vibes every time. But you're wild and savage like him; that might be your only salvation now. You're going to Ravenshade today, Nuna'a. Pack your things." She turned to Mr. Bant. "Despite everything, I'm asking for a final favor, a glowing recommendation."
Silence fell like a curtain.
Mr. Bant eventually said, "I said immediately—but I didn't mean today. Perhaps by the weekend, to give her time to adjust. I'll work on the letter now." The satisfied smirk on his face betrayed his statement.
Nuna'a muttered as she zipped her suitcase. "You're going to Ravenshade today."
"Like I give a bloody fuck."
"Hey, Nuna'a..."
That voice. It couldn't be. After two whole days?
She turned. It was Shay, her best friend, her first and only crush. Her calm. Her anchor.
The betrayal was too much. "Get the fuck out, you snake! You couldn't even stand up for me. You know damn well I didn't push that manipulative little cunt!"
Nuna'a never shouted. But she was shouting now.
Shay stepped closer, her voice still soft, as if hoping it might soothe the storm. "But you did, Nuna'a. That's why I didn't speak. It wasn't you exactly… but it was. That wind… it was you. Every time your emotions spike, something strange happens. I didn't want to tell you before, didn't want to scare you, and I wasn't even sure what I was seeing. I assumed you knew, and I didn't want to weird you out."
Nuna'a blinked. "What are you saying? I'm not some paranormal freak, you ungrateful snake?" The dorm lights flickered. Shay backed away. "Just go, Shay. I'm leaving anyway. You won't ever see me again. Just... go!"
Shay fled the room, tears running down her cheeks. What had she done? Why had she betrayed the only person she truly admired? Had she... liked Tante? No, she could swear she hadn't.
She found herself in front of Mr. Bant.
"Please don't take her away," she sobbed.
He looked up. "Shay, did Nuna'a push Tante?"
She hesitated. "No… I don't know. It was all blurry, sir."
Mr. Bant sighed. "I know it's a lot. You've been through something strange. Take a day off. I'll book time with the school therapist. You can write to Nuna'a through our mail system, or during vacations. For now, take care of yourself, sweet one."
"Is that the last of Nuna'a's bags, Nii?"
"Yes, ma'am," the butler replied.
"Ask for the jet to be readied for Saltpond. We're going to Ravenshade," she added.
"Now, where is that little headache?"
Nuna'a stood silently over Tante's mangled body.
"Her legs are broken… I guess you won," she muttered, looking at the bandaged elevated legs. "You got the girl, and you get to stay in this school."
Tante squirmed slightly and fell back into uneasy sleep.
"I can see why she chose you," Nuna'a whispered, kneeling. "You look angelic when you sleep, even when you are in pain."
A strange mark peeked out from beneath Tante's hospital gown, a red tattoo: wings inked into a pentagram. It sent a chill rippling through Nuna'a's spine.
"Goody two-shoes has a tattoo?" she murmured, trying to mock, but the joke felt hollow, empty, dead.
Something inside her shifted.
A rage.
An urgency.
An uncanny familiarity.
A pull.
She leaned in closer, drawn to the symbol like it was whispering her name.
Then clatter!
A bottle of water tipped and crashed to the floor. Tante jolted awake. The tattoo was gone. So was Nuna'a.
"Let's leave this bloody hellhole, Sally," Nuna'a muttered as she approached the car.
"There you are," her mother snapped. "I hope you weren't up to any more trouble."
She cast a sharp look toward Nii, the butler.
"Shall we?"
The ride out of Hillbury felt like leaving the eye of a storm. The air outside the gates tasted fresher, almost lighter, as though the school was a burden that had been pressing down on her chest.
But the relief didn't last.
That sign, the one she saw inked on Tante's skin, why had it called to her? Why had it vanished? What was it?
A symbol from a forgotten story? A memory that didn't belong to her?
"You paying attention?" her mother snapped, cutting through her thoughts like a blade. "I have trips, events, meetings, your little stunt is costing me more than just money. I'm not worried about the cash, but the explaining? That's something else entirely. You better act right this time, or I swear, I'll pull you out of school and ship you off to the army. You can go and practice your wickedness there. You only have one more strike."
Nuna'a rolled her eyes, barely listening. Her mother was always threatening her, but she couldn't do anything that might go against his wishes.
Her thoughts drifted like a gentle sea breeze to her father.
His shadow.
She remembered strong arms lifting her as a child... but never his face.
Always the shadow.
Why was he never spoken of?
Where was he?
"Where's Dad, Mom?" she asked quietly.
The car fell into dead silence.
No more nagging.
No more scolding.
Just silence and the hum of the road stretching toward Ravenshade. Nii's peeks from the rear view mirror got louder with every mile.