Chapter 3: The File
1040 Words
The hallway was almost empty.
Amara stood beside the lockers, staring at the message on her phone.
YOU ARE NEXT.
Her fingers felt cold.
She read it again.
Then again.
“Amara?”
She quickly locked her phone and looked up.
Jayden was standing a few steps away, watching her carefully.
“What?” she asked.
“You look scared.”
“I’m fine.”
Jayden raised an eyebrow. “You’re a terrible liar.”
Before Amara could answer, Maya appeared from around the corner.
“We need to talk,” she whispered.
“About what?” Jayden asked.
Maya glanced behind her before lowering her voice.
“The file.”
Amara’s heart skipped.
“What file?”
“Your student file.”
Jayden immediately became serious. “What about it?”
Maya swallowed.
“Someone tried to access it last night.”
Amara stared at her.
“How do you know?”
“Because I saw them.”
“Who?”
“I don't know.”
Maya shook her head. “They were wearing a black hoodie. I couldn't see their face.”
Jayden stepped closer.
“Where?”
“The administration building.”
Amara looked toward the end of the hallway.
“That building is locked after school.”
“I know,” Maya replied. “That's why I didn't tell anyone.”
Jayden frowned. “You should have.”
“And say what?” Maya snapped. “That I saw some random person sneaking around? Nobody would believe me.”
For a moment, nobody spoke.
Then Amara remembered something.
“The symbol.”
Jayden looked at her.
“What symbol?”
“The one from the photographs.”
Maya's face changed.
“You saw it too?”
Amara nodded.
Maya slowly reached into her bag and pulled out a folded piece of paper.
“I found this near the administration building.”
She handed it to Jayden.
He unfolded it.
There was only one thing written on it.
A small symbol.
The same symbol they had seen before.
Underneath it were three words:
SHE REMEMBERS EVERYTHING.
Amara's stomach tightened.
“Who is she?”
Maya looked at her.
“I think it's you.”
Silence.
Jayden immediately shook his head.
“No. That doesn't make sense.”
“It does,” Maya said. “Think about everything that's happened.”
Amara stared at the paper.
The strange photographs.
The anonymous messages.
The connection to Jayden's father.
And now someone searching for her student file.
But there was something else.
Something she had been trying not to think about.
A memory.
One she couldn't fully remember.
A memory from when she was younger.
A dark room.
A woman's voice.
And someone saying her name.
Amara.
She closed her eyes.
Then suddenly, another image flashed through her mind.
A red door.
Someone crying.
And a photograph being burned.
Amara opened her eyes sharply.
“Amara?” Jayden asked.
She stepped backward.
“I remember something.”
“What?”
“I don't know.”
Maya grabbed her arm.
“Tell us.”
Amara shook her head.
“I can't. It's not clear.”
Jayden looked at the paper again.
“We need to find out what's inside that file.”
Maya nodded.
“But how?”
Jayden looked toward the administration building.
“We go in.”
Maya's eyes widened.
“Are you crazy?”
“Probably.”
“Jayden!”
He smiled slightly.
“Relax. We're not breaking anything.”
Amara looked between them.
“You're serious?”
“Very.”
That evening, the three of them waited until the school grounds became quiet.
The administration building stood at the far end of the compound.
Most of the lights were off.
Jayden checked the hallway.
“Clear.”
They moved quickly.
When they reached the office, Jayden pulled out a small key.
Amara stared at him.
“Where did you get that?”
“Long story.”
“You're not making me feel better.”
He inserted the key.
The door opened.
They stepped inside.
The room smelled like old paper and dust.
Maya switched on her phone flashlight.
“Which cabinet?”
Jayden pointed.
“Student records.”
They searched through folders.
Amara's heart pounded as she watched the labels.
Then Maya stopped.
“Guys.”
She was holding a folder.
AMARA REYES.
Amara froze.
“Open it.”
Maya slowly opened the folder.
Inside were ordinary school documents.
Until they reached the last page.
It wasn't a school document.
It was a photograph.
Amara stared at it.
Her face went pale.
The photograph showed her as a little girl.
Standing beside a woman.
A woman she didn't recognize.
But someone else was standing behind them.
A man.
Jayden took the photograph.
His expression changed instantly.
“That's my father.”
Amara looked at him.
“What?”
Jayden turned the photograph around.
On the back was a handwritten message.
THEY WERE NEVER SUPPOSED TO MEET.
Suddenly, footsteps echoed outside.
Someone was coming.
Maya's eyes widened.
“Hide!”
They rushed behind the filing cabinets.
The door opened.
A shadow entered the room.
Nobody breathed.
The person walked toward the desk.
Then stopped.
Amara could hear her own heartbeat.
The stranger picked up the file.
And whispered:
“She found it.”
Jayden looked at Amara.
The stranger suddenly turned toward the cabinets.
“Come out.”
Amara's eyes widened.
The stranger knew they were there.
Jayden reached for her hand and quietly shook his head.
Then the lights went out.
A loud crash came from the other side of the room.
Maya screamed.
“Run!”
They rushed toward the door.
Amara looked back for one second.
The stranger was gone.
But the photograph was still lying on the floor.
She picked it up.
And beneath the photograph was another message.
This time, only four words.
ASK YOUR MOTHER ABOUT ME.
Amara stopped.
Her mother.
The woman who had always refused to talk about her childhood.
The woman who had always said there was nothing important about the past.
For the first time, Amara wondered if her mother had been lying all along.
And if she had...
What else had she been hiding?
To be continued...
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