Spring High School 🏫

Chapter 12 – Secrets Beneath the Surface

The lunch bell rang, slicing through the tension-filled atmosphere of Class 2B. Students streamed into the cafeteria, laughing and chatting, but Isabella walked with purpose. Her mind wasn’t on food—it was on the paper she had found in her locker that morning. No name, no handwriting she recognized, just a single line:

> “Your past isn’t as buried as you think.”

Her hands trembled slightly as she tucked it back into her notebook. No one else knew—not even Hazel—that she had changed her identity before transferring to Spring High. And yet, someone did.

“Isa, you coming?” Hazel’s voice pulled her back to the present. She stood beside the vending machine, holding two fruit juices.

“Yeah, sorry,” Isabella said quickly, forcing a smile as she took one. “Just tired.”

Hazel studied her. “You sure you’re okay? You look like you saw a ghost.”

Before Isabella could answer, someone bumped into them—hard.

It was Kaito, the silent, sharp-eyed boy from Class 2A. “Watch it,” he muttered under his breath and walked off.

Hazel scowled. “What’s his problem?”

But Isabella was frozen. Because in that brief moment, she had seen it—something clutched in Kaito’s hand. A copy of the same paper she had received.

That night, as rain tapped softly against her dorm window, Isabella sat at her desk, flipping through the school directory. Kaito Mizuno. Transfer student. No clubs. Keeps to himself.

But if he had the same note… then maybe he knew something. Or worse—maybe he was the one watching her.

She stared at her phone, thumb hovering over the call button for Hazel.

But she stopped.

Not yet. Not until she knew the truth.

And tomorrow, she would confront Kaito—alone.