ARLIE'S POV
I woke up before the sun rose, staring at the ceiling like I was watching a movie,
The faint light of the rising sun shining dimly into my room wasn't enough to make the room feel any less heavy.
I couldnt stop feeling like something was off with Gift. She acted way too strange last night.
I know she's hiding something, and I'm going to figure out what.
Once the bells ring for breakfast, and everyone exists their dorm rooms, I'll sneak into her room and see what I can find there, after all she told me to feel free to visit anytime.
I pulled my knees to my chest and waited for the bell, my eyes kept looking to the clock every few minutes.
The bell wasn't expected to ring for atleast and hour, and the wait was eating at me. I couldn't sit still. I shifted, stretched, then curled back up.
The quiet of the early morning felt too loud. My fingers found their way to my mouth, and I bit at my nails, a habit I thought I had broken.
I got out of bed and started pacing around the room. Back and forth, back and forth.
I kept listening for sounds in the hallway, half expecting and wishing the bell would ring earlier today, but unfortunately all I heard was my own footsteps on the wooden floors of my room.
I decided to do some stretches in a bid to loosen the tension building in my body, I sat on the floor and split too hard.
Pain instantly shot through my back, making me wince.
"Great, that's going to hurt for days" I muttered while groaning and decided to sit back on the bed.
I winced in pain, rubbing the sore spot, trying to ignore the clock that still hadn't moved fast enough.
The sunlight outside grew brighter, but the minutes felt like hours. I kept glancing at the clock, wishing the time would pass faster, but it never did. Come on already!
Finally, the bell rang. The sharp sound cut through the silence, and I could hear the other students waking up and moving around, their footsteps echoed down the halls. They were all rushing to breakfast, too caught up in their morning routines to notice anything else.
I waited a little longer, just to be sure. And then, when the halls were quiet again, I smiled to myself. This was it. Time to find out what Gift was hiding.
I slipped out of my room, closing the door behind me as quietly as I could, and tip toed into the empty hallway.
I walked towards gift's dorm room hurriedly but carefully, i finally reached Gift's door and hesitated, asking myself questions.
What if Gift caught me? What if I was wrong about her?
I decided to push aside my doubts and turned the knob. The door creaked open, revealing the room
Gift's space was tidy, her belongings were organized and it was way bigger than mine, i noticed there were two beds in the room so she probably shared the room with someone. I quickly began to search, scanning shelves and drawers for any clues.
A small, hidden compartment in her desk caught my attention. Inside, I found a parchment with the symbol of the hunters, the VENATORS! on it.
My heart sank. Gift was working with the Hunters, I knew she was hiding something but definitely not something as big as this.
Suddenly, I heard footsteps outside and the door creaked open.
I quickly hid behind the curtains, holding my breath as I watched Gift enter the room. Her eyes scanned the space.
Gift approached the desk and her eyes immediately went to the compartment of her desk that I left open, her eyes narrowed immediately.
"I know someone's been here," she muttered.
Fuck, I cursed inwardly!
I remained still, praying Gift wouldn't discover me.
Gift's eyes scanned the room again, this time her gaze remained on the curtains where I was hiding. I froze.
Just as Gift began to walk toward the curtain, someone shouted her name from outside the room, she froze immediately and her attention shifted to the door. "I'll get to this later," she whispered and exited the room, leaving me shaken.
I seized the opportunity to escape, slipping out of the room and blending into the crowd of students.
My heart raced all the way to my room and i locked the door.
Dozens of questions flew through my mind as I couldn't stop recalling what I saw
I couldn't believe gift is an enemy
Oh no, this is bad
If gift has been working with the hunters that means she's definitely a spy, Which means she's been giving them information, which also means all these times I haven't seen her she's been watching me
Watching the school
Documenting everything!
No wonder she asked about the artifacts last night, they're planning something, they're definitely planning something.
Something bad is coming and I don't know what it is,
I have to do something about this.