chap. 4

When I arrived at school, I saw something shocking.

Police cars were parked outside the building. Several detectives were standing near the entrance, and even a forensic team was inside the school.

I froze.

The entire corridor smelled like something had burned.

My heart started beating faster.

Then suddenly I heard someone shouting my name.

“Flora! Flora!”

Everyone in the hallway turned to look at me.

I didn’t understand what was happening.

I stood there, confused.

Two police officers walked toward me.

“Are you Flora?” one of them asked.

“Yes…” I replied nervously.

“You need to come with us.”

My eyes quickly scanned the crowd, hoping someone would help me. But instead of helping, many students were smiling.

Some of them even looked pleased.

As the officers escorted me away, the entire corridor filled with whispers.

People were gossiping about me.

Some of them said rude things loud enough for me to hear.

The distance from the hallway to the main school gate usually took only fifteen minutes to walk.

But today

It felt like hours.

My legs felt heavy, and fear slowly filled my chest.

I was terrified.

At the police station, they took me into an investigation room.

“Sit here,” one officer said.

Then they left.

I was sitting there alone.

My mind was completely blank.

I couldn’t think about anything.

I was just… scared.

After a while, the door opened.

One officer walked inside and sat across from me.

He looked straight into my eyes and asked,

“Do you know why you are here?”

“I… I don’t know,” I said quietly.

The officer leaned back in his chair.

“There was a murder at your school last night,” he said. “Three students were burned alive. And right now… you are the main suspect.”

My body froze.

For a moment, I couldn’t breathe.

The officer noticed the confusion on my face. His expression softened, and he spoke in a gentle voice.

“Don’t be scared. Just tell me what happened. I know it’s hard to accept that three of your schoolmates are dead, but you need to stay calm.”

He handed me a glass of water.

“Drink this.”

My hands were shaking as I took the glass. While I was drinking, someone knocked on the door and called the officer outside.

He stood up quickly and left the room, as if something urgent had happened.

I was alone again.

I tried to ignore everything around me and think clearly.

Yes, I was terrified that those students were dead.

But what scared me even more was how they died.

Burned alive.

My heart started racing.

Should I tell him the truth?

Should I tell him that I tried to burn them in anger?

What if… what if I was the reason they died?

But that didn’t make sense.

The lighter was still in my room.

And when I last saw those boys, they were alive.

When I left the school, I clearly remembered hearing their laughter behind me.

I was sure of it.

So how could they be dead?

No… something wasn’t right.

I just needed to stay calm and make my story clear.

While I was thinking about all of this, the officer returned to the room.

He looked at me seriously and sat down again.

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