Chapter 23: Shadows In The Hallway
285 Words
The bell rang, echoing through the nearly empty corridor. Maria clutched her books tighter to her chest, her heart still pounding from what she had just overheard in the cafeteria.
“I told you, it was just a bet! Why is she taking it so seriously?” someone had said—someone who sounded very much like Alex.
She hadn’t stayed to hear the rest. Her feet had moved on their own, away from the laughter, the voices, the world. But now, standing by her locker, she couldn’t shake off the feeling that everything she thought she knew was beginning to c***k.
Footsteps echoed behind her. She turned quickly.
It was Daniel.
“I’ve been looking for you,” he said, brows furrowed with concern. “You left in a hurry.”
Maria tried to force a smile. “I just needed some air.”
Daniel hesitated, then asked softly, “Did you hear them?”
Her eyes narrowed. “So it’s true?”
He sighed. “Maria, it’s not what you think. Alex… he’s confused. Stupid, yes, but—”
“But what, Daniel?” she snapped. “I trusted him. I thought we had something real.”
Daniel looked away. “Sometimes… things start as lies but become real without the person realizing it.”
Her eyes welled up, but she blinked quickly. “That’s not an excuse.”
The hallway grew quiet again. Just when she turned to leave, a voice came from behind the door near the janitor's closet.
“I warned him,” it said low and cold. “Now he’ll pay.”
Maria and Daniel froze.
Someone else had been listening—and they didn’t sound like a student.
- Writer
