CHAPTER 2 — The First Crack
200 Words
The incident happened during third period.
A commotion outside the school gates.
Shouting. A crash.
Then screaming.
Ava stepped into the hallway immediately.
Other teachers hesitated.
Security was running late.
Of course they were.
A man stood outside the gates, aggressive, trying to force his way in. A student was trapped near the fence.
Ava didn’t think.
She moved.
Fast.
Clean.
She reached the gate—
And stopped.
Because someone else was already there.
Damien Vale stood between the student and the threat.
No panic.
No hesitation.
Just stillness.
Then the man lunged.
It happened quickly.
Too quickly for someone untrained.
Damien stepped sideways—just enough.
A controlled strike.
The attacker hit the ground.
Silence followed.
Ava didn’t move.
Because she had seen that kind of movement before.
Not in schools.
Not in boardrooms.
In combat training.
Professional.
Deadly efficient.
Damien adjusted his sleeve calmly as if nothing had happened.
Security finally arrived.
Students were pulled away.
Chaos dissolved into procedure.
But Ava wasn’t watching any of that.
She was watching him.
Because the principal had just moved like a man trained to end lives.
And he was looking at her now.
Like he knew she had noticed.
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- Writer
