She is awakened by a loud banging on the door. She lifts her eyelids and rises on her elbows, with sleepy eyes looking around the dark room. With her hand, she searches for the lamp standing on the nightstand and rises from the bed as light flares in the room.
He puts his slippers on his feet and, scuffing them against the surface of the paneled floor, walks to the door when he notices a note lying there. He takes it in his hand, guessing that someone has put it through the crack that is under the door.
"Stay a day longer, and you'll die a rag."
Her heart rises to her throat, and she panics so much that the piece of paper with the printed sentence falls to the floor.
Hannah runs out into the corridor and looks carefully around the building, but sees no one nearby. She lowers her gaze when she feels that she has stepped on something. She opens her eyes wider as her attention is caught by a large black bird that lies at the threshold of her door.
With her heart beating loudly, she backs away, leaving a trail of blood behind her. She feels like screaming, but doesn't want to wake up the whole school.
Unfortunately, she doesn't manage to hold back her scream, as she completely panics when the raven moves its wing slightly. A loud shriek comes from her throat, which attracts most of the people currently in the building to her.
The drowsy girls emerge from their rooms, along with the boarding school supervisor who oversees their floor. Curious boys also appear, creating a sensation around them. Everyone looks at Hannah, whispering among themselves and coming up with more gossip.
The brunette presses her lips together and feels her knees yield. She sits down on the floor and draws her legs to her chest. She embraces them with her hands, watching the half-dead bird suffer before her eyes.
Hannah is horrified.
Joseph steps forward and looks carefully at the girl, who is hunched over in front of the bed, looking at the bloodied raven with frightened eyes.
She closes her eyelids as she senses that this situation has happened before. Only that in Hannah's place sat a frightened Halsey, shaking and repeating that something strange was trying to kill her. She was convinced that it was hiding in the room and therefore she must leave.
She remembers then running up to her and hugging her tightly, asking her to forget the sight.
Things are different now because it is Jin who evades him and runs into the girl's room. He sits down next to her and hides her face in his embrace. She closes her eyelids and presses her face into his chest, as she finds in these arms an irresistible energy that calms her.
— Go back to your rooms! — The guardians send all the students away to avoid confusion. — Apparently, someone got together to make cruel jokes, and since you've already had your fill, please keep in mind that tomorrow you have classes waiting for you. Come on!
As they disperse to their rooms, the youngsters are having a lively discussion among themselves about the sight they just had a chance to see.
— Why are you still standing here? — The chaperone turns to Joseph, who has his gaze fixed on Hannah. — This command applies to everyone.
The boy pulls his eyebrows together, clearly surprised that the woman is paying attention to him.
— I wanted to make sure my friend was okay — he replies, lifting the corner of his mouth upward.
The man who accompanies them is the guardian of the boys, so with a nod, he orders the student to return to his place.
— All right, all right — he declares, raising his hands in a gesture of surrender. — I'm already back to my place. — Amused, he winks at the older woman, who is apparently outraged by his behavior.
— I have this every day. I'm used to their immature behavior — the man claims.
Joseph takes one last glance at Hannah, then heads toward the stairs.
The woman leads him away with her eyes and rubs her forehead nervously.
— I don't know what's going on here, but this is some kind of circus — she says, glancing at the bird out of the corner of her eye. — Can you take care of it? — he turns to the man, who presses his lips together in response. — Do you think I should do it? — Shocked, she puts her hand to her chest, being offended by his behavior. — I have to stay with the student. After all, I won't let her spend the night in the company of a student!
She points with her hand to Jin, who is sitting next to Hannah, speaking to her in a calm voice and squeezing her hand.
— Okay, okay. I'll take care of the bird, and you go to the student.
The woman rolls her eyes and goes inside. She immediately sends Jin back to his room. The boy is reluctant, but obediently follows the order of the attendant and leaves the room, closing the door behind him.
— I'm better now — admits Hannah, smiling faintly. — The first moment was the worst. Maybe it's because I can't look at suffering calmly. I guess that's what caused me the most fear: the thought that someone cruelly hurt this bird and left it in this state in front of my room door. — Tears glaze in her eyes. — Who is so cruel? Are there really people who have no feelings?
The tutor puts her hand on the student's shoulder and looks at her profile.
— We will find out who comes to mind with such bestial pranks. Although I can't guarantee that we'll find the student who did it.
The teenager nods her head.
— Someone is persistently trying to get rid of me from this school — she announces, handing the woman a threatening note. — There was a raven lying under the door for a reason. These birds are harbingers of trouble.
— I'll give this card to the principal.
— Maybe I should change rooms? — Hannah is devastated, and if it's going to bring her peace of mind, she's apt to share a room with the other girls rather than relive a similar nightmare every night.
— Well. Tomorrow morning I will talk to the director about it. We'll see what can be done, all right?
Hannah nods.
*
Walking down the corridor, she feels the stares of the students on her. She is the main source of gossip. She hears giggles and whispers from female students who think she went crazy faster than the previous occupant.
— The first-grader is facing the same thing as poor Halsey. What a shame that such pretty girls go crazy. At the end, their faces are so exhausted that they look like wraiths — she says, sighing loudly. Hannah stops in mid-step and turns to face the gossiping teenagers. — Don't you remember how exhausted and pale with fear Halsey was when her parents took her home? That girl went completely crazy and almost twisted her face from watching these paranormal phenomena. — The schoolgirl laughs in Hannah's face, but this is a bad idea because on the other side of the corridor Joseph is leaning against the wall. The boy hears their mocking remarks about his ex-girlfriend.
The 16-year-old notices his enraged face and guesses that this does not bode well.
Pressing his lips together in anger, he approaches the schoolgirl and grabs her by the collar of her uniform. He plunges his devilish eyes into her, which are full of such fury that Hannah gets the impression that he will tear this girl into tiny pieces.
— Are you amused by what happened to Halsey? — Her accompanying friends grab the notebooks in their hands and want to get away from there, but Joseph is so furious that he attacks them and snatches the notebooks out of their hands, throwing them on the floor. Some sheets of paper spill down the corridor, and the students observe the situation from hiding. — Did it twist her face? Did she look like a ghoul? — repeats, and the girl swallows her saliva harder, feeling tears coming to her eyes. — Let's see who actually twists her face! — He pushes her away from him. Under the influence of his force, the teenager hits her back against the edge of the windowsill. A sharp pain pierces her. — You will regret, bitch, that her name passed through your throat at all.
Hannah puts her hand to her mouth, with a frightened look at the older student, who is carried away with anger.
— When someone mentions his ex-girlfriend, he is, in a word, screwed. It's even worse when he speaks ill of her, then Joseph turns into a beast. He mercilessly destroys that person.
She looks at Jimmy, surprised that he spoke to her at all. He usually ignored her, and now he just so simply revealed something to her about his friend.
— Why are you telling me about this?
— So that you would know. — He shrugs his shoulders and his mouth twists into an arrogant smile. — You're standing here like such an orphan and watching this narrator with frightened eyes, so I let you in on the secret.
The teenager bites her lip as Joseph stands in front of them. He measures Hannah with sharp eyes, but doesn't say a word to her.
He ignores her.
— Let's get out of here before the bitch starts barking and gets me even more unbalanced.
At first, the 16-year-old thinks these words are about her, but she dismisses the thought when she realizes Joseph is looking over her shoulder. For the last time, he casts a warning glance at the student who insulted his ex-girlfriend.
This is the first time the dark prince entirely ignores Hannah.
*
Mariah lies on the grass, holding her head on her best friend's stomach. They both love to escape to this place to free themselves from Jimmy and the rest of the students, who make their lives miserable just because her ex-boyfriend decided to do so. He wants revenge for Mariah rejecting him and hiding her relationship with Nick from him.
Now the girl doesn't give a damn about him. He and multiple idiots who serve him. Although she feels pain in the area of her left breast every time she sees him, she will not be humiliated.
She doesn't need him. She has her best friend at her side, and it is he who covers up all her suffering. With him, she thinks less and less about her ex-boyfriend and is glad that she is not alone in this situation.
She mutters when a fly sits on her cheek. She fends off the intrusive insect and lifts her eyelids to look at her friend. Holding her head on his stomach, she can only see his chin, but guesses that the boy is falling asleep.
Nick loves to sleep outdoors. When they were younger, they often went camping, even though their parents didn't like it. They thought they should use expensive hotels where they would be taken care of.
— When we graduate from this cursed school, we'll go camping on the second day, what do you think? — He asks, but only hears muttering in response. — Nick!
— I was able to relax for a while, and you spoiled it with your squeaky voice.
— Squeaky? — she repeats indignantly, lifting her head from his belly. She looks at her friend's face, who is still lying with his eyes closed. — And there's that stony face of yours again!
The boy disregards her words.
— Why do you smile so little?
— Because I only smile when I'm happy. Nothing by force — he announces, scratching his eyelid. — We have known each other since we were children, and you ask me such things?
— So at this point you are not happy with me?
— He is relaxing now — she explains.
Mariah puffs out her lips, offended by his answer.
— So relaxation is more important to you than me? — She opens her eyes, and a happy smile appears on her face. — I knew that with these words I would wake you up.
— What do the two have in common? After all, I am relaxing in your company. I am tired from long, exhausting lessons.
The 18-year-old decides to change this, so she unexpectedly starts tickling his stomach. She knows all the places where she can beat him, so she laughs victoriously when the boy starts giggling like crazy.
— Just what I needed. Your sincere smile — she declares when she finally lets him go.
Nick sits down next to her and looks into her eyes.
— I'm sorry I've been so gloomy lately, but this school is having a bad effect on me. The longer I stay here, the more eagerly I dream that the school year will be over.
— It's only been a month. It's the beginning of October, and you're already thinking about the end? Let's suffer a little more, my dear friend — she says, putting her arm around his shoulders.
— I don't understand why, but I feel that during the last year, something will happen. In the first year there was this situation with Halsey, and now something strange is happening with a new student. Don't you think it's a little disturbing?
Mariah guesses the reason Hannah is facing the same thing as Halsey. It's not just the room that connects them, but also the connection to Joseph. The girl has noticed that he is interested in the 16-year-old, and someone knows this very well and is trying to take advantage of it.