THE PRICE OF FOCUS

CHAPTER 7: THE ASCENT

Academic Hallway – 6:30 AM

The rankings board glowed like a surgical light in the predawn gloom.

Daniel stood before it, his reflection warped in the glass—a gaunt silhouette framed by the names of the fallen. The janitor had found him there at 6:30 AM, his fingers crusted with ink and dried blood from a night of relentless study.

1. **NWOSU, D.** — 100%

2. **ADISA, S.** — 98.7%

The other names hung suspended beneath them, hollow trophies in the wake of Evelyn's absence.

*"She's gone,"* Sarah whispered. Her hand on his shoulder was warm, alive—so unlike the clinical precision of Evelyn's touch.

A drop of crimson fell onto the glass. Then another. Daniel's nosebleed bloomed across the rankings in Rorschach patterns, each splatter distorting the names into grotesque shapes.

From the girls' bathroom down the hall, laughter echoed—high, melodic, and unmistakably Evelyn's. The sound raised the fine hairs on Daniel's neck, even as the nurse swore the building was empty.

**The Mirror's Testimony**

Inside the tiled chamber:

- A scalpel embedded in the mirror at precisely 170°—the angle of Evelyn's wrist during dissections

- Their class photograph, every face but Daniel's marked with crimson X's that smelled of copper and salt

- An equation carved into the paint:

**K⁺ + H₂O → KOH + H₂↑**

*Your turn.*

The fire alarm screamed as the faucets exploded to life. Water sheeted across the equation, reacting with hidden potassium chunks in the pipes. The resulting flames licked at the ceiling tiles as Daniel dragged Sarah backward—just as the first scalding droplets rained down where they'd stood