CHAPTER 3: Something Is Wrong

I told myself it was nothing.

Just my imagination.

People don’t just go quiet all at once.

Time doesn’t just… stop.

Right?

…

I couldn’t focus for the rest of the day.

Even in class, the words on the board blurred together.

Equations. Notes. Voices.

None of it stayed.

Because something felt… off.

Like the world was slightly out of place.

Like I didn’t fully belong in it.

…

“Lily.”

I flinched.

Charles was standing beside my desk, looking down at me.

“You’ve been zoning out for the past ten minutes.”

“I’m fine.”

“You’re a terrible liar.”

I sighed and closed my notebook. “Didn’t you say you weren’t following me?”

“I’m not.”

“You’re literally here.”

“Coincidence,” he said.

“…Again?”

“Okay, not a coincidence.”

I almost smiled.

Almost.

…

I hesitated.

Then—

“Did you feel it?”

His expression changed instantly.

Not playful.

Not teasing.

Serious.

“Feel what?” he asked.

“The cafeteria,” I said quietly. “Everything just… stopped.”

He didn’t answer.

And that was my answer.

“You did feel it,” I said.

He ran a hand through his hair, glancing around like he was checking who might be listening.

“You shouldn’t think too much about things like that.”

That made my chest tighten.

“That’s not an answer.”

“It’s the only one you’re getting for now.”

“For now?” I repeated.

He looked at me again.

And for the first time…

I felt like I didn’t know him at all.

…

That night, I couldn’t sleep.

So I did what I always do when my mind gets too loud.

I wrote.

I opened my journal and stared at the blank page.

Then slowly—

I started writing.

Something is wrong.

I don’t know what it is yet… but I can feel it.

And I think…

I paused.

My pen hovered.

I think Charles knows something.

…

A sudden chill ran down my spine.

I froze.

The room felt… different.

Too quiet.

Too still.

My eyes shifted toward the mirror.

And that’s when I saw it.

My reflection—

Wasn’t moving.

My breath caught.

Slowly… carefully…

I lifted my hand.

The reflection didn’t follow.

My heart started pounding.

“What…?”

Then—

It blinked.

Not me.

It.

The reflection smiled.

A slow… unnatural smile.

And then—

Everything snapped back.

I stumbled backward, gasping.

The mirror was normal again.

My reflection… normal.

My hand shook violently.

“No… no, no, no…”

I turned away quickly, clutching my head.

“I’m just tired… that’s all…”

But deep down—

I knew that wasn’t true.

…

The next day, things got worse.

Way worse.

I was walking down the hallway when—

I heard it.

Whispers.

Not normal whispers.

They weren’t coming from anyone.

They were coming from everywhere.

“…she’s different…”

“…star…”

“…unstable…”

“…watch her…”

I froze.

“Who’s there?” I whispered.

No answer.

But the whispers didn’t stop.

They got louder.

Closer.

Like they were inside my head.

“Stop…”

My vision blurred.

Then suddenly—

Silence.

Again.

Just like the cafeteria.

…

“Lily.”

I looked up.

Charles was standing in front of me.

Floyd stood behind him, arms crossed, watching me carefully.

Too carefully.

“What happened?” Charles asked.

“I—” My voice shook. “I heard something.”

Floyd and Charles exchanged a look.

A look that said everything they weren’t saying out loud.

“Warren,” Floyd said quietly, his tone different from before. “We need to report this.”

My stomach dropped.

“Report… what?” I asked.

No one answered me.

And that’s when it hit me.

This place…

This school…

It wasn’t just for outcasts.

It was watching us.

Studying us.

Maybe even controlling us.

And somehow—

I had just become the center of it.

…

Charles stepped closer to me, his voice low.

“You need to be careful now.”

“Careful of what?” I asked.

He hesitated.

Then said—

“Everything.”

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